City Square Residences unit hits $1,394 psf

Condos in the Lavender, Little India and Farrer Park areas in District 8 have seen renewed interest of late. Popular
among buyers in the resale market are units at City Square Residences, located next to the City Square Mall and the Farrer Park MRT station, as well as Citylights, adjacent to the Lavender MRT station. Other condos in the vicinity
that have seen some activity include Farrer Park Suites, Kentish Green and Kerrisdale.

City Square Residences is a freehold twin-tower development by City Developments (CDL), located on Kitchener Link, off Kitchener Road. It was completed in 2009 and there are 910 units in the 30-storey towers. Most recently, the project saw the sale of two units. One was a 1,507 sq ft, three bedroom unit on 28th floor that was sold for $2.1 million ($1,394 psf). It has changed hands four times since it was first purchased at the launch in April 2005 for $820,160 ($544 psf). Just four floors down in the same block, a unit of the same size was sold for $2.08 million ($1,380 psf). The original owner paid $812,240 ($539 psf) at the launch. Thus, prices at City Square Residences have generally appreciated 150% to 160% in seven years.

Brandan Lim, senior team director of property agency HSR, says the recently transacted units are in high demand because of the spacious living rooms and city views. “The living rooms have windows twice as large as a typical unit at City Square Residences,” says Lim, adding that sales at City Square Residences are picking up slowly as buyers make provision for the 10% additional buyers stamp duty (ABSD), which was imposed on foreigners from Dec 8 last year. “Even the larger, more expensive units are being snapped up,” he says.

Previously, City Square Residences was popular with foreigners, mostly mainland Chinese, Indians and Middle Easterners, mainly because of its location on the city fringe and proximity to amenities such as shopping malls and the Farrer Park MRT station. With the imposition of the ABSD, Lim says, the recent purchasers are more likely to be locals or permanent residents (PRs), who are subject to an ABSD of only 3% on their third and second residential purchases.

City Square Residences is also popular, as it is rare to find a freehold condominium adjacent to an MRT station. Most condos that are adjacent to, or integrated with, an MRT station tend to be 99-year leasehold sites, comments Lim. Most of the condos in the area are also of 99-year leasehold tenure.

Units at City Square Residences measure from about 570 sq ft for a studio unit to 1,518 sq ft for a four-bedroom apartment. Lim says most of its occupants are expatriates who like its location, just five MRT stops from the CBD. Rental rates for two-bedroom units range from $4,200 to $4,500, he adds. Nearby is the 481-unit, 99-year leasehold condo Kerrisdale by Allgreen Properties, located on Sturdee Road and completed in 2006.

The project is said to be absorbing the spillover demand from City Square Residences, say agents. In early March, a 1,270 sq ft unit on the 19th floor was sold for $1.37 million ($1,079 psf). The seller had purchased the three-bedroom unit in 2005 for $598,000 ($471 psf), thus enjoying a 129.1% gain.

Also near the Farrer Park MRT station is the newly completed freehold property boutique apartments Farrer Park Suites, on Owen Road and across from the upcoming private hospital, Connexion, which also has an entrance to the Farrer Park MRT station. A 1,152 sq ft unit at the 29-unit project was recently sold for more than $1.6 million ($1,400 psf).

Just off Owen Road, on Oxford Road, is Far East Organization’s City Square Residences unit hits $1,394 psf
Generally, prices at City Square Residences have appreciated 150% to 160% in seven years. The 122-unit leasehold condo was completed 13 years ago. Most recently, a 1,098 sq ft unit was sold for $910,000
($829 psf), or 10.4% higher than the original purchase price of $826,000 ($752 psf) achieved in the last property boom in May 1996.

The 600-unit Citylights comprises four 42-storey towers and a row of conservation townhouses. The 99-year leasehold project was developed by CapitaLand and completed in 2007. As it is located across the road from the Lavender MRT station, it is sought after by both expatriates looking to rent and owner-occupiers. Most recently, an 893 sq ft two-bedroom unit on a high floor was sold for $1.34 million ($1,500 psf). It was first purchased in May 2007 for $800,000 ($895 psf), and sold a year later for $980,000 ($1,097 psf). High-floor units in Citylights also enjoy unobstructed views of the city skyline and the Kallang Basin. Units range from two-bedroom apartments to penthouses measuring 872 to 3,595 sq ft.