The transaction prices of units at Amaryllis Ville along Newton Road have increasingly reached the $1,000 psf level since June last year.
In January, prices at the 311-unit twin-tower condo project came close to the 2007 peak of $1,514 psf, when a 656-sq-ft unit was sold for about $1,371 psf or $900,000.
Lately, the number of transactions also started to rise, with 20 transactions recorded from January 1 to March 9, compared with 10 between October and December last year.
Aside from the overall buoyant property market lifting prices higher, the proximity of the development, which was completed in 2004, to the new launches such as Ho Bee’s Trilight and Wing Tai’s L’Viv could have contributed to the pick-up in sales and increasing prices at Amaryllis Ville.
Wing Tai formally launched a 147-unit freehold condominium project – L’Viv – mostly comprising of one- and two-room units. Before the launch, half of the units had already been sold at an average price of $2,000 psf. The condo project, which is located near the Newton MRT station and Newton Food Centre, is expected to be completed in 2013. Units at Ho Bee’s Trilight near the L’Viv project were sold for more than $1,800 psf after it was launched in October last year.
Other launches in the Newton Road area in 2009 include Rochelle at Newton, Lincoln Suites, Lincoln Residences and Miro at the other end of Newton Road, which is closer to Novena area. This area has been popular with many homebuyers, given its close proximity to the prime Bukit Timah area, the CBD, Orchard Road shopping belt and to several good schools like Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) and ACS Barker Road.
Between March 1 and 9, there were three transactions recorded at Amaryllis Ville, at around $1,188 psf to $1,240 psf.
Based on the caveats lodged with URA Realis, a 1,259-sq-ft unit on the 10th floor was sold on March 5 for about $1,215 psf or $1.5 million. This represents an 18 percent profit to the seller, who bought the unit for $1.29 million three years ago.
At the other tower along 22 Newton Road, a 1,237-sq-ft unit on the 16th floor changed hands for around $969 psf or $1.2 million in 2007, reflecting a 28 percent gain from this sale. Before this, the unit was sold for about $889 psf or $1.1 million in 2006, and $815 psf or $1 million in 2003, when it was launched.
Another 1,237-sq-ft unit on the 17th floor went for about $1,188 psf or $1.47 million. Its original owner purchased the unit for $1,030 psf or $1.27 million, making a gain of around 15 percent.
With these figures, older projects in the area are also riding the uptrend, as new launches in the Newton area are fetching higher prices.