The Oxley hits $2,083 psf

THERE are generally few transactions in the exclusive Oxley area off Penang Road in prime District 9, as very few units come on the market for sale, says Phylicia Ang, Savills Singapore's executive director of residential services.

According to caveats lodged with the URA, a 1,453 sq ft, two-bedroom unit on the 10th floor of Orchard Court changed hands this month at $1.8 million ($1,239 psf). The 99-year leasehold development was completed in 1970 and comprises a mix of two- to four-bedroom units. According to Ang, the price achieved for the unit is considered reasonable, given that it is an older development.

Over at The Oxley, a 710 sq ft, two-bedroom unit on the eighth floor was sold for $1.48 million ($2,083 psf). The unit last changed hands in 1997 for $1.1 million ($1,548 psf) in a sub-sale. Prior to that, the first owner purchased the unit in 1996 for $1.01 million ($1,426 psf). Located at 9 Oxley Rise, the freehold property developed by Tuan Sing Holdings and completed in 1997 is a boutique development with just 39 units.

The transactions at Orchard Court and The Oxley are the most recent in close to a year. The landmark development in the Oxley neighbourhood is Wing Tai Holdings' Belle Vue Residences on Oxley Walk, a luxury 176-unit freehold condominium designed by renowned Japanese architect Toyo Ito. Completed in 2010, the project still has 38 unsold units, according to a Jan 24 report by Maybank Kim Eng. The Belle Vue Residences comprises two-, three- and four-bedroom units. The last recorded transaction at the project was for a 4,090 sq ft, four-bedroom unit that was sold for $8.03 million ($1,964 psf), according to a caveat lodged with URA Realis last November.

Older developments such as Orchard Court and The Oxley tend to attract owner-occupiers rather than investors, as the rental rates achieved tend to be lower than those at newer developments in the neighbourhood such as Belle Vue Residences, notes Savills' Ang. According to the Maybank Kim Eng report, average rental in the Orchard/Tanglin/Holland area is $4.50 psf.

Elsewhere in the prime Orchard Road neighbourhood, Far East Organization recently sold a 2,067 sq ft apartment at its luxury 40-unit Skyline @ Orchard Boulevard for $8.74 million ($4,230 psf). So far, of the 16 units released in the project located at Angullia Park, five have been sold. The last transaction was for a 3,767 sq ft unit on the 27th floor that fetched $18.88 million ($5,011 psf).

Next door to Skyline @ Orchard Boulevard is China Sonangol's TwentyOne Angullia Park. The 54-unit luxury project designed by SCDA Architects, the same firm that designed SC Global's The Marq on Paterson Hill, has seen five units sold so far as well. TwentyOne Angullia Park is a high-end 36-storey residential tower that comprises a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments with double-volume ceiling height. All five transactions were done in mid-2012, with prices achieved ranging from $7.5 million ($3,958 psf) to $13.68 million ($4,338 psf).

The prime districts continue to see selective buying, according to Savills' Ang.


This story first appeared in The Edge Singapore weekly edition of Feb 4-10, 2013.