A three-bedroom unit on the 31st floor of one of the tower blocks at Queens changed hands at $1.55 million ($1,297 psf)
| BY AMY TAN |THEEDGE | AUGUST 27, 2012
Owners of units at Queens on Stirling Road in Queenstown have seen prices appreciating over the years, with recent transactions of high floor units almost on par with the peak of $1,328 psf achieved for a 38th floor,1,644 sq ft unit in August 2000. The second highest price psf achieved at Queens was in April this year, when a 12th floor, 915 sq ft unit on a neighbouring block was sold for $1.2 million ($1,312 psf).
The 722-unit, 99-year leasehold Queens is just a short walk to the Queenstown MRT station. The condominium contains three 39-storey towers, with a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom units as well as penthouses.It was developed by Allgreen Properties and completed in 2002.
“When Queens was launched for sale in 2000, many of the units were sold at $700 to $800 psf,” recalls Jiawei Tan, associate team director of Propnex Realty, who is marketing several units at Queens. According to Tan, owners who bought their units when the project was launched 12 years ago could easily realise a price gain of about $1 million if they were to sell their units today.
The most recent transaction at Queens was for a 2,336 sq ft penthouse on the 38th floor, which changed hands at $2.23 million ($955 psf). The previous owner purchased the unit in January 2005 in a resale at $915,000 ($392 psf).The other transaction, that of a 1,195 sq ft,three-bedroom unit on the 31st floor that was sold for $1.55 million ($1,297 psf), was the second highest price psf achieved this year, and the third highest on record.
The last time the unit changed hands was in January 2010, when it was sold for $1.15 million ($967 psf), and before that, it was sold for $1.05 million ($879 psf) in June 2009. Prior to that, the unit changed hands for $738,000 ($618 psf) in May 2003, and before that, for $713,000 ($597 psf) in March 2002.
Queens is popular with families as it is located near schools such as the Global Indian International School, Crescent Girl’s School,and Tisch School of the Arts Asia. It is also
near IKEA, Queensway Shopping Centre and Anchorpoint, as well as in the vicinity of mature
HDB estates such as Redhill, Queenstown and Tiong Bahru. “Many of the locals living at Queens chose the area because they wanted to live close to their parents. Most of them are HDB upgraders,” says Tan.
Queens is also popular among South Korean and Japanese expats, adds Tan. “The Japanese favour Queens as there is a school bus service that ferries their children to the Japanese school in Buona Vista. There is also a sense of community among the Japanese living here and that attracts more of them to rent here.” Rental yields at Queens are around 4%,with three-bedroom units renting at $5,000 to $5,500 a month. This has attracted a small pool of investors as rentals have been quite stable in Queens, notes Tan.
Tan expects to see more transactions in the coming months as he observes that many homeowners at Queens are looking to upgrade.“They just need to top-up a little or take a small loan to upgrade to a more central location like River Valley or Tanjong Pagar,”he notes. “Demand for units at Queens has also been strong as there aren’t many condos in the vicinity,” adds Tan.
These private condos tend to be clustered in the Alexandra area. They include the newly completed 293-unit freehold Alexis at Alexandra; the 382-unit, 99-year leasehold Metropolitan by Capita- Land Lippo Group, which faces the Redhill MRT station and was completed in 2009; as well as the 99- year leasehold,384-unit Tanglin View completed a decade ago by Far East Organization and the 210- unit Tanglin Regency by the former First Capital Corp (now GuocoLand), which was built in 1998. The largest of them all is the 775-unit The Anchorage by Frasers Centrepoint, located next to Anchorpoint and across the road from IKEA.
Another condo in the area that will soon be completed is Wing Tai Holdings’ 373-unit Ascentia Sky, which is more than 90% sold.The median price of units sold at Ascentia Sky was $1,533 psf, according to URA’s July monthly new home sales. There was a subsale of a 958 sq ft unit in the 28th floor at $1,722 psf in July.
Next to Redhill MRT station is another land parcel that joint-ventur partners City Developments Ltd (CDL), together with parent company Hong Leong Group and Hong Realty won in December last year in a public tender. The joint-venture partners purchased the 107,130 sq ft, 99-year leasehold land parcel for $396 million ($754.38 psf per plot ratio). CDL is expected to launch the 508-unit project in the coming months, and will be releasing a first phase of 200 units.
While launch dates and prices of CDL’s project have yet to be confirmed, Propnex’s Tan believes owners of existing condos expect the new project to set a new benchmark for the area and, in turn, drive up prices of their properties.
Five 2,099 sq ft, three-bedroom units on the first level of Marina Collection with direct views of the water and marina were transacted in early August
Elsewhere, at Sentosa Cove, the 124-unit luxury condo Marina Collection by developer Lippo
Group has seen a spate of buying activity. Five transactions were recorded over the period of Aug 3 to 10. They were all 2,099 sq ft, three-bedroom units on the first level with direct water views. Prices transacted ranged from $4.9 million ($2,344 psf) to $5.98 million ($2,850 psf).
| BY AMY TAN |THEEDGE | AUGUST 27, 2012
Owners of units at Queens on Stirling Road in Queenstown have seen prices appreciating over the years, with recent transactions of high floor units almost on par with the peak of $1,328 psf achieved for a 38th floor,1,644 sq ft unit in August 2000. The second highest price psf achieved at Queens was in April this year, when a 12th floor, 915 sq ft unit on a neighbouring block was sold for $1.2 million ($1,312 psf).
The 722-unit, 99-year leasehold Queens is just a short walk to the Queenstown MRT station. The condominium contains three 39-storey towers, with a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom units as well as penthouses.It was developed by Allgreen Properties and completed in 2002.
“When Queens was launched for sale in 2000, many of the units were sold at $700 to $800 psf,” recalls Jiawei Tan, associate team director of Propnex Realty, who is marketing several units at Queens. According to Tan, owners who bought their units when the project was launched 12 years ago could easily realise a price gain of about $1 million if they were to sell their units today.
The most recent transaction at Queens was for a 2,336 sq ft penthouse on the 38th floor, which changed hands at $2.23 million ($955 psf). The previous owner purchased the unit in January 2005 in a resale at $915,000 ($392 psf).The other transaction, that of a 1,195 sq ft,three-bedroom unit on the 31st floor that was sold for $1.55 million ($1,297 psf), was the second highest price psf achieved this year, and the third highest on record.
The last time the unit changed hands was in January 2010, when it was sold for $1.15 million ($967 psf), and before that, it was sold for $1.05 million ($879 psf) in June 2009. Prior to that, the unit changed hands for $738,000 ($618 psf) in May 2003, and before that, for $713,000 ($597 psf) in March 2002.
Queens is popular with families as it is located near schools such as the Global Indian International School, Crescent Girl’s School,and Tisch School of the Arts Asia. It is also
near IKEA, Queensway Shopping Centre and Anchorpoint, as well as in the vicinity of mature
HDB estates such as Redhill, Queenstown and Tiong Bahru. “Many of the locals living at Queens chose the area because they wanted to live close to their parents. Most of them are HDB upgraders,” says Tan.
Queens is also popular among South Korean and Japanese expats, adds Tan. “The Japanese favour Queens as there is a school bus service that ferries their children to the Japanese school in Buona Vista. There is also a sense of community among the Japanese living here and that attracts more of them to rent here.” Rental yields at Queens are around 4%,with three-bedroom units renting at $5,000 to $5,500 a month. This has attracted a small pool of investors as rentals have been quite stable in Queens, notes Tan.
Tan expects to see more transactions in the coming months as he observes that many homeowners at Queens are looking to upgrade.“They just need to top-up a little or take a small loan to upgrade to a more central location like River Valley or Tanjong Pagar,”he notes. “Demand for units at Queens has also been strong as there aren’t many condos in the vicinity,” adds Tan.
These private condos tend to be clustered in the Alexandra area. They include the newly completed 293-unit freehold Alexis at Alexandra; the 382-unit, 99-year leasehold Metropolitan by Capita- Land Lippo Group, which faces the Redhill MRT station and was completed in 2009; as well as the 99- year leasehold,384-unit Tanglin View completed a decade ago by Far East Organization and the 210- unit Tanglin Regency by the former First Capital Corp (now GuocoLand), which was built in 1998. The largest of them all is the 775-unit The Anchorage by Frasers Centrepoint, located next to Anchorpoint and across the road from IKEA.
Another condo in the area that will soon be completed is Wing Tai Holdings’ 373-unit Ascentia Sky, which is more than 90% sold.The median price of units sold at Ascentia Sky was $1,533 psf, according to URA’s July monthly new home sales. There was a subsale of a 958 sq ft unit in the 28th floor at $1,722 psf in July.
Next to Redhill MRT station is another land parcel that joint-ventur partners City Developments Ltd (CDL), together with parent company Hong Leong Group and Hong Realty won in December last year in a public tender. The joint-venture partners purchased the 107,130 sq ft, 99-year leasehold land parcel for $396 million ($754.38 psf per plot ratio). CDL is expected to launch the 508-unit project in the coming months, and will be releasing a first phase of 200 units.
While launch dates and prices of CDL’s project have yet to be confirmed, Propnex’s Tan believes owners of existing condos expect the new project to set a new benchmark for the area and, in turn, drive up prices of their properties.
Five 2,099 sq ft, three-bedroom units on the first level of Marina Collection with direct views of the water and marina were transacted in early August
Elsewhere, at Sentosa Cove, the 124-unit luxury condo Marina Collection by developer Lippo
Group has seen a spate of buying activity. Five transactions were recorded over the period of Aug 3 to 10. They were all 2,099 sq ft, three-bedroom units on the first level with direct water views. Prices transacted ranged from $4.9 million ($2,344 psf) to $5.98 million ($2,850 psf).
