When Pasir Ris 8 opened for preview on July 24, developers Allgreen Properties and Kerry Properties received more than 1,500 cheques collected over the course of two weeks. Pasir Ris 8 contains only 487 units, resulting in a higher than 3:1 ratio. On the first weekend of opening, developer sold 415 units (85%) at an average price of close to $1,600 psf.
On the morning of July 24, prices had started at around $1,400 psf. According to reports, the developer raised costs six times throughout the day. According to realtors, the biggest round of price increases occurred at 8 p.m., with two-bedroom properties seeing the biggest gain of nearly $360,000. At 10.30 p.m., a two-bedroom, ninth-floor property with a 710 sq ft indicative selling price of $1.145 million ($1,613 psf) was sold for $31.3 percent more at $1.503 million ($2,116 psf).
According to an agent who requested anonymity, “prices had started at an acceptable cost, and they were revised upward on multiple occasions.” “It’s a function of supply and demand, as the developer was assessing the intensity of the demand and raising prices along the way.”
Some potential customers, on the other hand, used social media to air their grievances. EdgeProp Singapore received a report from an anonymous investor yesterday on her experience. She had her sights set on a two-bedroom apartment on the fourth level of one of the seven buildings.
She discovered that the unit of her choice had already been taken by the time she got to the front of the line. Her reservation time was 4 p.m., but by the time she got in line, it was almost 5.30 p.m. She chose another two-bedroom kind as an option because the flat she desired was already taken. By 6 p.m., the asking price of her chosen units had jumped by $20,000.
It was 6.50 p.m. when it was her turn to book a unit. By that time, the project was said to be 80 percent sold. The asking price of the two-bedroom unit she had chosen had been raised by $150,000 as well. In a phone interview, she explains, “I couldn’t believe it, so I asked for a confirmation of the pricing.” “We were taken aback by the price hike. I couldn’t afford the significant price rise and opted to get out of the deal.”
“Those who bought earlier were lucky,” she continues, “but it won’t be fair for the latter buyers, especially because the increase was for the least desirable units.”
”I suppose there will be individuals who are willing to pay that price,” she replies philosophically. It’s all about eager buyers and willing sellers, after all.”
