23% of units at Sora condo in Jurong Lake District sold at launch

SINGAPORE – Jurong Lake District’s latest condominium project, Sora, sold 102 – or 23.2 per cent – of its total units as at 6pm on July 7 during its launch weekend.

The sold units went for an average selling price of $2,160 per sq ft (psf), said developers SingHaiyi and TK 189 Development.

Over the weekend, 320 of the total 440 units in the 99-year leasehold project were launched for sale.

Of the available units, more than 80 per cent of the one-bedroom units, which also include a study, were sold. Most of the remaining units sold were two-bedroom units or two-bedders with a study.

Mr Raymond Chia, chief executive of SingHaiyi, said that more than half the buyers are below 40 years old, which indicates “the rejuvenation of the area and the confidence in Sora’s relevance and potential”.

PropNex Realty CEO Ismail Gafoor said: “The launch weekend saw a healthy interest from buyers residing beyond the western areas. Only 30 per cent of the buyers are from Jurong and Clementi.”

ERA Singapore CEO Marcus Chu noted that units priced up to $1.5 million are perceived to be “more prudent options for now” for owner-occupiers and investors in their 30s and 40s, due to higher-for-longer interest rates and the elevated additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD).

ERA’s data, as at 4pm on July 6, showed that 81 per cent of the 538 sq ft one-bedders with a study, with prices starting at $996,000 – as well as 70 per cent of the 646 sq ft to 667 sq ft two-bedroom units priced from $1.3 million – were snapped up.

“As such, the take-up is within expectations,” said Mr Chu.

No hurry to commit

In contrast, Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer of Mogul.sg, said the “mediocre sales” at Sora show that some buyers are not in a hurry to commit to a purchase.

This is despite Sora having several factors in its favour, such as its proximity to Lakeside Garden and Jurong’s potential as the next Central Business District.

Private residences in Jurong are also not dependent on foreigners, with units in the area mostly purchased by Singaporeans and permanent residents – indicating that the 60 per cent ABSD applied to foreign home buyers would not affect housing demand in Jurong, said Mr Mak.

However, as there are about 20 residential projects set to launch in the next six months and several unsold units in launched projects, home buyers are “spoilt for choice” and becoming more price-sensitive, he noted.

“Property developers may have to accept that in the current market climate, the days of selling more than 50 per cent of the units in a major residential project within the first weekend of the launch are over,” he added.

He pointed to the launch of Wing Tai’s The LakeGarden Residences, which sold 71, or 23 per cent, of its total 306 units at its August launch weekend in 2023. Units at this 99-year leasehold project transacted at an average selling price of $2,120 psf during that weekend.

Caveats lodged as at June 30 indicate that The LakeGarden Residences has sold 141, or 46.1 per cent, out of its total units.

Sora occupies a site area of 191,974 sq ft, with a gross plot ratio of 2.1. The area was secured with a $260 million bid at a collective sale tender in July 2022, at a land rate of $1,023 psf per plot ratio.

The majority of the development’s units are two- and three-bedders. The four-bedroom units start from 1,528 sq ft, while five-bedders begin at 1,679 sq ft. The larger four- and five-bedroom units will feature a private lift.

Sora is the largest of recent launches in Jurong.

The LakeGarden Residences occupies 134,176 sq ft and has 306 units, while CapitaLand Development’s mixed-use development J’den is located on a site measuring 83,648.5 sq ft.

J’den, which is a redevelopment of former mall JCube, sold 88 per cent of its 368 residential units at an average selling price of $2,451 psf when it launched on Nov 11, 2023.

Caveats data showed that J’den has sold a total of 334 units, or 90.8 per cent, as at end-June.

THE BUSINESS TIMES