Making a splash: Watercolours opens
Opening its application on Labour Day, the executive condominium has already received 400 online applications.
Located in close proximity to Pasir Ris Park, the site was heatedly bidded for, receiving a total of 11 bids according to Maybank Kim Eng.
Here's more from Maybank Kim Eng:
A consortium comprising Ho Lee Group, EVIA Real Estate, UE E&C, and GPS Alliance scored the winning bid with S$122.2m that translates into a land price of SGD291 psf ppr and an estimated break-even price of S$60 psf. The indicative selling prices range from SGD680–720 psf, approximately 15% cheaper than the recently-launched Ripple Bay by MCL Land and 24% lower than Far East’s Seastrand that was launched last May. However, the latter two projects are full-fledged condominiums and not ECs. Watercolourscomprising 416 dwelling units has already received a staggering 400 online applications. Another EC, One Canberra, was launched last week by developer MCC Land. The site features 650 units with a total GFA of 730,700 sq ft, and is situated next to Far East’s Eight Courtyards, a private condominium. We expect the selling price to average S$700 psf, around 15% below Eight Courtyard’s average selling price of S$826 psf.
With the ECs priced so competitively compared to the private condominiums, we expect both ECs to be oversubscribed. The government has recently tweaked its EC policy to substantially increase the units allocated for 2nd-timers from 5% to 30%. We expect many second-timers to try their luck, drawn by the relatively attractive prices. If this round of EC launches is not to your taste, don’t fret, as three more ECs will be launched within this year or the next.
Since 2010, 16 EC sites were sold under the Government Land Sales programme and 13 have been launched by developers. As of 1Q12, the stock of completed EC units stands at 10,430 units. Currently,7,139 units are in the pipeline, while another 2,900 units are expected to be released by GLS by year-end. In 1Q12, developers launched 1,864 EC units and sold 1,557 units, compared to 432 in 4Q11.