‘Hype, smoke, and hot air’ clouding Singapore real estate
- There is no shortage of optimism about the Lion City’s housing market, but experts say that confidence is misplaced
- Rising foreclosures and stagnating home loans growth against the backdrop of a worsening global economic outlook need to be taken into account
The project, One Pearl Bank, sits on a 99-year leasehold site once home to the iconic horseshoe-shaped Pearl Bank Apartments. It is set to stand among the tallest residential properties in the Lion City when completed by 2023, boasting unobstructed views of the city skyline.
Following the preview, developer CapitaLand revealed that the first weekend of sales saw homebuyers snap up 160 units – or 80 per cent of the 200 units released – at S$2,400 (US$1,741) per square foot.
This put the price for a one-bedroom flat of at least 527 sq ft, for instance, at around S$1.26 million (US$900,000). A 646 sq ft flat on Hong Kong Island cost an average of HK$11.1 million (S$1.95 million) in June.
CapitaLand had trumpeted One Pearl Bank as “the bestselling new launch in Singapore’s Central Area year to date”. But a closer look at the numbers shows a different picture.
