Crowd at Waterfront Isle condo sales

Crowd at Waterfront Isle condo sales
By Joanne Chan | Posted: 05 February 2011 2048 hrs

SINGAPORE: The Lunar New Year period is traditionally a quiet one for the property market, with developers holding back on new launches.

But for one development, the gamble appears to have paid off.

A healthy crowd turned up at the Waterfront Isle showroom on Saturday, the third day of the Lunar New Year celebrations.

And as of 5.30pm, 29 of 59 units that were released on Saturday were sold. The number later rose to 37, as of 9pm.

Including sales from a preview last week, 125 out of 191 available units at the Bedok Reservoir development were snapped up so far.

The condominium is a joint venture between Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint.

Waterfront Isle has a total of 561 units, with prices starting from S$575,000 for a one-bedroom apartment.

Some visitors at the showroom Channel NewsAsia spoke to said they were looking for their second or third property.

Asked if they were affected by the latest property-cooling measures - such as a lower loan limit for a second property and a seller's stamp duty if the property is sold within four years - some said they are still able to comfortably afford it.

"Even if it (the loan limit) is cut down to 50%, I think we can still buy (a private home). We're going to keep it at least for 5 years, or even 10. For me, it's for the long run, not for flipping," said home buyer Royston Kwek.

Others said they were buying a private property to settle down in Singapore.

Dong Deng Shan, a home buyer from China, said: "My son is planning to settle down in Singapore, so he needs to buy a house. And I think the environment in Singapore is very good, I like it here."

Some visitors at the showroom said they are in no hurry to buy and will wait for the right unit before taking the plunge.

To ensure a steady supply of private homes and meet strong demand, the government has announced that 17 sites will be put up for tender in the first half of this year, which can potentially yield more than 8,000 units.

Most of the sites are located in the suburbs or outskirts of towns, where more affordable private housing is expected to be built.

- CNA/i

- wong chee tat :)