SINGAPORE – The Hill @ One-North sold about a third – or 43 – of its units on the first booking day, a take-up rate an industry watcher described as one of the lowest for the first weekend of a launch among major private residential projects put on the market in 2024.
The units – sold at an average price of approximately $2,595 per sq ft (psf) on April 20 – were mainly two-bedroom (732 sq ft to 893 sq ft), two-bedroom plus study (753 sq ft to 958 sq ft), three-bedroom (947 sq ft to 1,227 sq ft) and three-bedroom plus study (1,012 sq ft to 1,259 sq ft) apartments, a project spokesman said on April 21.
The 142-unit development also features four-bedroom (1,227 sq ft to 1,410 sq ft) units and five commercial units.
Its temporary occupation permit is expected to be obtained in December 2026.
Singaporeans accounted for 86 per cent of the home buyers, with the rest being permanent residents and foreigners, for the 99-year leasehold project located in Slim Barracks Rise.
Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer of Mogul.sg, said the “muted” sales at The Hill @ One-North, developed by Kingsford Real Estate Development, could be due to the prices being higher than the $2,427 psf at nearby Blossoms by the Park.
The analyst at the property portal noted that the developer has sufficient time to sell all the units before the 2026 deadline for the additional buyer’s stamp duty kicks in, and may not be inclined to lower prices.
That the launch take-up rate at The Hill @ One-North was lower than that of Blossoms by the Park was not entirely unexpected and was “decent”, said PropNex chief executive Ismail Gafoor.
Blossoms by the Park sold more than 70 per cent of its 275 units when it was launched in April 2023.
Mr Gafoor said: “We think the market sentiment has turned a lot more cautious now, with easing home sales, buyers’ fatigue and perhaps a general lack of impetus for buyers to act.”
The Hillshore, meanwhile, sold three of its 59 units at its launch on April 20, according to a statement by Huttons Asia on the freehold development in Pasir Panjang.
Mr Gafoor said that sales at boutique developments, being niche products, tend to be more gradual as they appeal to a certain segment of buyers who may prefer the “more tranquil and exclusive” living environment due to the projects having fewer units. THE BUSINESS TIMES
