A five-bedroom penthouse at Heron Bay EC (pictured) has been sold for S$1.774 million, surpassing the previous record set last week when a double-storey penthouse at 1 Canberra, also an EC development, fetched S$1.61 million, reported The Business Times.
Analysts noted that the record deals are mainly attributed to the size of new ECs. For instance, the Heron Bay penthouse measures 2,845 sq ft, hence a psf price of S$624. The 2,716 sq ft 1 Canberra unit was sold for S$595 psf.
Despite the sky-high prices, Singaporean buyers seem to have no difficulty meeting them, said Alan Cheong, Director of Research at Savills.
“In an environment with low interest rates and a system flush with liquidity, magic does occur,” Cheong added.
In a recent report, Savills highlighted that more than 300 new ECs have been sold for over S$1 million thus far, half of which took place in the first eight months of 2012 alone. Demand for these pricey units came mostly from young, affluent buyers keen on high-end penthouses or sky suites.
The trend of buying such ECs is likely due to rising incomes, rock-bottom interest rates and EC buyers being unscathed by the latest property cooling measures.
Still, the soaring prices do not represent overall pricing in general, said Eugene Lim, Key Executive Officer at ERA Realty.
“These types of transactions are not common. It is a one-off for big units, which is why there is a premium pricing to it.”
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