Bumper profits elude pilot DBSS sellers

Bumper profits elude pilot DBSS sellers

RESIDENTS at The Premiere who are banking on their units' better location and fittings to land them a good resale price might be in for a rude awakening.

Units in the five-year-old pilot Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project in Tampines Avenue 6 are now ripe for the resale market, but a scan of the advertisements on various marketing platforms shows that sellers are asking for higher prices than consultants think the market will accept.

The asking prices for five-room units, available in 1,173 sq ft, 1,184 sq ft and 1,227 sq ft configurations, are sitting between $720,000 and $850,000.

Consultants say buyers are unlikely to bite.

R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng said that he expects a five-room unit at The Premiere to be transacted at between $650,000 and $700,000.

Mr James Wong, vice-president of resale at DTZ, was more optimistic, saying that he expects a five-room unit at The Premiere to fetch a $150,000 premium over a similar-sized Housing Board resale flat in the neighbourhood.

Going by the HDB website, regular five-room HDB flats within 500m of The Premiere that were approved for resale last year fetched between $520,000 and $608,000.

At the ST Property website, the three listed advertisements for units at The Premiere received 416 page views in the last two weeks. Based on the advertisements, the average asking price of those units is $655 per sq ft.

Consultants say that while The Premiere will certainly command a premium over regular HDB flats, sellers may have to lower their expectations, given the current climate. For example, HDB's lending restrictions have limited the pool of potential buyers.

The Premiere was the first DBSS site rolled out by HDB. Back in 2005, it was lauded as a major shift in Singapore's housing programme, offering buyers a middle ground between Build-To-Order flats and executive-condominium units.

Developed by the private-sector Sim Lian Group, the 616-unit project opened to much fanfare, pulling in 5,900 applications in late 2006.

Its residents have since lived there for five years and have become eligible to sell their units, but, to date, no resale transactions have been recorded. --The Business Times
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- wong chee tat :)