The joint venture partners behind Tenet are developer Qingjian Real Estate, Santarli Realty and Heeton Holdings.

Qingjian Realty said it achieved a strong absorption rate despite the fact that the launch took place in December, when most people were traveling abroad for the first time since the outbreak. This bodes well for the real estate market again.

The average price of Tenet is around $1,360 per square foot, a new high among EC projects.

Given Tenet's location in Tampines, an established and sought-after residential area, the pricing is high but generally accepted by the market.

While it sets a new benchmark price for EC, it is still well below the new 99 year old suburban condominiums launched this year at an average price of $2,100 per square foot.

Tenet, in addition to being located in an established eastern municipality, is a five-minute walk to a Government Land Sales (GLS) site soon to be planned as a mixed-use development, which will include a future shopping center of approximately 14,000 square meters (150,696 square feet).

The development will be connected to a transportation hub, the Tampines North MRT station on the Cross Island Line and a bus interchange.

The shopping center will be comparable in size to White Sands Shopping Center and will provide additional convenience to homebuyers.

In addition to its proximity to the future mixed-use development and integrated transport hub in Tampines North, Tenet is also close to three major transformation areas: Changi District, Paya Lebar Airbase and Punggol Digital.

The proximity to upcoming mixed-use developments and transformation zones offers upside potential for buyers of Tenet.

According to Ching Kin Real Estate, while all flat types are popular, the most popular flat type among buyers is the four-bedroom flat type.

Most buyers in Tenet are existing residents of Tampines and residents of surrounding communities in the eastern region, such as Bedok and Pasir Ris.

For many first-time buyers and HDB upgraders, they are able to live closer to their parents but enjoy the lifestyle and privacy of a private condominium at the same time.

Buyers in the EC program have two distinct advantages: no additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) to pay upfront and the option to have a deferred payment scheme (DPS).

The ability to defer payments is one of the main attractions of the EC project, especially in a high interest rate environment where a greater percentage of buyers are willing to pay an additional 3% of the purchase price to opt for a deferred payment plan.

Tenet's strong sales follow the now sold-out Copen Grand, a 639-unit EC in the new western town of Tengah.

Copen Grand was launched on October 22 and sold 465 units (73%) on the day of sale, averaging approximately $1,300 per square foot.

When sales reservations opened for second-time buyers on November 26, Copen Grand's remaining 146 condominiums were snapped up and the project was completely sold out in just over a month.

A second-time buyer is a buyer who has previously purchased a government subsidized HDB flat or received a CPF housing grant and is now in the process of purchasing another property.

Under the current EC regulations, only 30% of the units in a new EC project can be allocated to second-time buyers.

The next EC to be launched will be the project at 8 Bukit Batok West Avenue, which will likely hit the market in mid-2023.

This 375-unit EC project is another joint venture between Qingjian Real Estate and Santarli Realty.

As the inventory of new EC units dwindles, the launch of the next project is also expected to receive an enthusiastic response from HDB upgraders, and owner-occupiers seeking to enter the private residential real estate market.