Photo: Cheryl Marie Tay
With the luxury housing market continuing to cool, some property firms in Singapore are coming up with new ways to help developers boost sales.
On Tuesday (26 Jan), PropNex and JLL launched an exclusive team of about 200 property agents under its Luxury Real Estate brand to support the marketing efforts of both companies in the sales of high-end residential projects.
The new group was carefully selected from PropNex’s stable of 5,500 agents and had to meet very strict criteria in terms of track record, communication skills, ethics, and product and market knowledge.
The shortlisted candidates also underwent compulsory training in project marketing and were required to pass an interview before they could be certified.
This initiative comes a year after JLL and PropNex entered into a strategic partnership. JLL had acquired a 20 percent stake in PropNex’s project marketing arm, and since then, both companies have expanded their cooperation in areas such as auction and project marketing of commercial developments.
Commenting on the latest announcement, Chris Fossick, JLL’s Managing Director for Singapore and South East Asia, said: “Developers of luxury properties in Singapore need more help than before to move their inventory. The challenges are largely owing to policies that have suppressed demand from foreigners and investors. While they need more hands on deck, these developers are extremely particular with the quality, reputation, consistency and effectiveness of their sales force. Between PropNex and us, we believe we have now developed an optimal solution that addresses this as we jointly undertake their project marketing mandates.”
JLL estimates that luxury homes represent just one percent of the 1.3 million housing units in Singapore.
“These properties are mostly located near Orchard Road, Marina Bay and Sentosa and their values can vary considerably – from $5 million to $50 million,” said Fossick.
Although PropNex is one of the largest agencies in Singapore, little is known about its success with sales of luxury homes, admitted CEO Mohamed Ismail.
“PropNex was behind the sale of the most expensive penthouse in Singapore – the $51 million deal at Le Nouvel Ardmore. Likewise, PropNex sold the penthouses at St Regis Residences for $12.2 million and Marina Bay Suites for $18.98 million. Our agents have also consistently brokered good class bungalows (GCBs) and luxury houses at Sentosa.”
Meanwhile, Fossick believes there are still good opportunities in the local market.
“Relative to other major markets and in the context of the wealth in Singapore, our luxury homes are undervalued. For example, Hong Kong’s high-end residential market, despite facing similarly strong governmental measures, is trading at 165 percent of Singapore’s equivalent, while both New York and London are close to 100 percent higher than Singapore.”
He added: “In 2015, as many as seven major prime residential bloc deals totalling $900 million in value took place, an indicator that the market has found its bottom or is close to it. As such, luxury homes, especially with the recent softening of prices, remain an excellent medium to long term option.”
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
