Freehold luxury project Van Holland, one of the few new launches in the highly sought-after Holland Road area this year, will be watched for how resilient prices are in Singapore's prime district following their drop in the core central region (CCR) in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) flash estimate for the fourth quarter last year.
Some analysts believe the 69-unit freehold project, which will launch on Saturday at prices starting from $2,600 per sq ft (psf), may well set a new record for the prime district, where demand for homes is expected to remain healthy. Its Jan 3 private preview drew over 200 visitors.
The nearby 296-unit 99-year leasehold One Holland Village Residences has sold 87 of 126 units at a median price of $2,606 psf, with some transactions above $3,100 psf, Savills Singapore executive director Alan Cheong said.
"2020 will be a CCR cabaret show. There will be a lot of volatility in CCR prices this year because over 41 per cent of the new launches will be in the CCR and many of these are collective sale sites bought at record prices," he said.
The CCR comprises districts 9, 10 and 11, as well as the Downtown Core and Sentosa. According to the URA's flash estimates, prices of non-landed homes fell 0.7 per cent in the fourth quarter following a rise of 1.3 per cent in the third quarter.
The decline was led by a 3.7 per cent drop in the CCR, compared with a 2 per cent hike in the third quarter. Analysts cited slower demand and a supply overhang from existing launches.
"Because Van Holland is freehold, the average price may well be higher than One Holland Village. Two hundred visitors for a preview of a 69-unit project is pretty healthy. But how many put down cheques to book a unit? If it is able to sell 30 per cent of the units, that will be very good," said Mr Cheong.
Excluding executive condominiums (ECs), there will be 45 new project launches this year, of which 20 will be in the CCR, according to Colliers International.
Located on the site of the former Toho Mansions, which was sold en bloc in March 2018 for $120.4 million, Van Holland offers a mix of unit types and sizes ranging from 495 sq ft to 1,991 sq ft and is expected to be ready for move-in in March 2023.
Each unit's flooring will be outfitted with Arabescato Altissimo marble from Italy. Other luxury finishes include Miele kitchen appliances, Italian bathroom fittings by Fratelli Frattini and a pull-down garment rail system. Master bathrooms will be fitted with Swarovski crystal-encrusted fixtures, while 16 of its 69 units will have private lift access.
Another selling point is access to a sheltered link-bridge which directly connects the project to Holland Village and mixed-use development One Holland Village.
The luxury project boasts a two-storey waterfall, a 26m infinity lap pool, a sky pool offering panoramic city views and a rooftop clubhouse with a fully-fitted kitchen and a wine cellar for residents.
"We are priced to sell. If not for the supply overhang, our starting price would have been above $3,000 psf," Mr Francis Koh, managing director and group CEO of Koh Brothers, told The Straits Times.
"Shoeboxes are not so easy to come by in the CCR. Van Holland is a new freehold (project) that's nearest to Holland Village, which is set to become even more vibrant."
The construction-cum-property player is also developing Hollandia and The Estoril, also in the Holland Road area, which it will develop in a 20:80 joint venture with Far East Consortium. Both projects are still being planned, he added.
Despite the latest cooling measures, Koh Brothers will be looking to tender for Government Land Sales sites this year.
