Lake Life EC priced below indication despite strong interest

Lake Life EC priced below indication despite strong interest

TODAY reports: The executive condominium has been priced at an average of S$857 per square foot (psf), below the indicative pricing of S$880psf to S$890psf.

SINGAPORE: Lake Life, the first executive condominium (EC) offering in Jurong in 17 years, has been priced at an average of S$857 per square foot (psf) for the 546-unit project, well below the indicative pricing as its developers seek to secure demand amid stricter financing rules.

The consortium of developers led by Evia Real Estate had earlier said units at Lake Life EC could be priced at S$880psf to S$890psf amid strong interest in the project. However, after analysing the profiles of its 1,853 e-applicants – a record high for an EC development – it found that the purchasing ability of the potential buyers was lower than expected.

“Most developers would target at least a 10 per cent margin, but then today we have the MSR (Mortgage Servicing Ratio), and looking at the buyers’ income levels and ability to borrow, I’m very reluctant to cross S$1.1 million for most units,” Evia’s managing partner Vincent Ong said on Thursday (Oct 30).

“There’s also the risk that there’s still a lot of stock in the market – for private units, BTO (Build-to-Order) flats and ECs. I could have taken the position to price higher after receiving a record number of applications, but after our calculations, we have to price with buyers’ affordability in mind,” he added.

Mr Ong said the price level translates to a margin of about  6 per cent. The consortium paid S$272.84 million in July last year for the 217,298sqft site at Yuan Ching Road/Tao Ching Road that Lake Life sits on. At about S$418 psf per plot ratio, it is the most expensive EC land to date.

Several months after the record bid, the government announced in December last year that EC purchases would be subject to the 30 per cent MSR cap, a rule that many property analysts said would hit demand for the hybrid public-private homes.

Lake Life’s show flats will open on Saturday and Mr Ong hopes to secure buyers for at least half of the units on offer this weekend.

“While Lake Life is on the higher end of the spectrum, its lower selling price as compared to that of a private condominium means buyers will stand to reap even more returns in the future when taking into account the anticipated appreciation in market value when the EC is fully privatised,” he said.

-TODAY/cy

- wong chee tat :)