Copen Grand, an executive condominium (EC) project in Dundalk Newtown, which has been on sale for five weeks, sold out of all 639 units after a second round of balloting on Saturday (26 November).
Analysts attribute this to the project's prime location and the option of a deferred payment scheme, which has made the project more attractive in the current interest rate environment.
Approximately 70% of buyers at Dundonald Garden have opted for the deferred payment scheme.
A spokesman for the project's developer, City Developments (CDL), confirmed to the Union-Tribune on Sunday that the project was sold out.
The spokesman said the developer made sales bookings on Saturday for second-time buyers who could not secure a unit in the first round of sales, resulting in the remaining 146 units being sold out.
The spokesman also revealed that about 70 per cent of buyers opted for late payment and that the average price of a unit in the project was $1,300 per square foot, with an additional 3 per cent of the price to be paid for the late payment option.
The 639-unit development by City Developments and MCL Land sold 465 units, or 73 per cent of the total, on its first weekend of launch on October 22.
In an interview with the Union-Tribune, ERA's Head of Industrial Research and Consultancy, Mr Mak Chun-wing, said the strong sales at Dunfermline Gardens were partly attributed to the deferred payment scheme.
In an interview, Huttons Group Chief Executive Officer Yip Yun-ming said that Dengfeng Garland was believed to be the first local EC to be sold out in the second round of the ballot and the best-selling EC this year.
He pointed out that, apart from being the first EC in Terengganu Newtown and having a head start, the project is also close to the future Terengganu Integrated Transport Hub, which will have three MRT stations and a bus interchange.
After Terengganu, the Tenet EC at 62nd Street in Tampines was launched on 12 November, with electronic applications closing on 28 November.
The EC market around Tengah Newtown is also expected to become increasingly busy in the coming years, with two EC lots in the neighbouring Bukit Batok Road 8 and Road 5 sold in March and September this year, with projects to follow.
Analysts believe that the main considerations for buyers are pricing and geography, such as proximity to public transport hubs.
Most EC buyers have a monthly household income between $10,000 and $16,000, while those earning between $10,000 and $14,000 can also apply for pre-buy rentals, according to Mr Mak.
Private home sales were weak in October, down 18.3 per cent year-on-year to 810 units due to cooling measures and a lack of new launches. Copen Grand was the top-selling new private home in October, accounting for nearly 60% of all new private home sales.
Launched jointly by City Developments (CDL) and MCL Land, Copen Grand is the first executive condominium (EC) project to be launched after the new cooling measures. 480 units were sold last month, accounting for nearly 60% of the overall sales, at a median price of $1,345 per square foot.
It was reported that 68 per cent of the units sold in the first round of sales on 22 October at Tenfongah Gardens had buyers opting for a deferred payment plan.
Perfect Ten in Bukit Timah took the runner-up spot in terms of sales, with 37 units sold last month, a significant increase from 23 units in September, and 155 of the 230 units sold so far, or about 68%.
Due to a combination of price and location, the EC project North Gaia in Yishun has only sold 30% of its 191 units since it opened in April, although it still came third in October with 18 units sold at a median sf of $1,307.
Excluding EC, developers sold a total of 312 new private residential units in October, 65.8 per cent fewer than the 912 units sold in the same month last year, which was the lowest single-month sales since 277 units were sold in April 2020, and 811 fewer new private residential units were launched than in the same month last year, at 102 units, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority estimates.
