Poor sales were recorded on the first day of launch for Marina One Residences with only 20 units sold last Saturday, according to media reports.
This is a sharp turnaround from the strong build-up seen during the preview phase, which saw more than 300 units taken up since 3 October, many by bulk buyers.
Singaporeans account for about 70 percent of buyers, while the rest are PRs and foreign nationalities. The top three groups of overseas buyers are from Malaysia at 20 percent, followed by Indonesia and China.
Approximately 70 percent of the units at Marina One Residences are one- and two-bedrooms. Prices start from around $1.4 million for a one-bedder while two-bedders cost above $2 million.
M+S appears to have adopted a cautious approach to selling units at the development. Just one of its two towers is available for sale right now and only 372 of the total 1,042 apartments have initially been released.
Located in the heart of Singapore’s new downtown core, the 99-year leasehold condominium is close to Marina Bay MRT station.
Meanwhile, sales of luxury apartments in Singapore’s central business district have been muted in recent times.
A CBRE report attributed the drop in sales to the TDSR framework which took effect at the end of June 2013.
At the same time, foreign buyers who used to be big players in Singapore’s prime residential market, appear to be retreating since the ABSD was raised to 15 percent.
Image: Artist’s impression of Marina One Residences.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
