Source : The Straits Times, Dec 19, 2007
A FUND to be managed by Islamic investment bank Kuwait Finance House has paid GuocoLand about $818.4 million for 97 units in the developer's Goodwood Residence.
The huge deal for the units - all four-bedders ranging from 2,500 sq ft to 3,900 sq ft - in Bukit Timah Road near Newton Circus has set new benchmarks.
GuocoLand's group president and chief executive officer, Mr Quek Chee Hoon, said the sale at the 210-unit estate 'is the singlelargest purchase of residential units under construction'.
Market sources say the price works out to slightly more than $3,000 per sq ft (psf), above levels achieved by nearby developments.
The 40-unit Sui Generis in nearby Balmoral Crescent has achieved a median price of $2,474 psf and a high of $2,713 psf.
A little farther away, new developments within a 2km radius of the Orchard MRT Station are priced from $3,000 psf to $4,500 psf.
The deal comes amid weak sentiment in the property market largely due to ongoing concerns over the sub-prime woes in the United States.
Savills Singapore's director of marketing and business development, Mr Ku Swee Yong, said foreign investors remained optimistic about Singapore's growth story.
These investors have more advantages when buying as they can leverage on tax savings and potential foreign exchange gains, he said.
GuocoLand plans to launch the rest of the freehold Goodwood Residence in the first quarter of next year. The date and prices will hinge on market conditions.
The estate also has 22 deluxe four-bedders - these are a bit bigger than the 97 units sold - and 81 two- and three-bedders.
There are 10 penthouses, eight with pools, ranging in size from 5,000 sq ft to 12,000 sq ft. The smallest will cost at least $15 million and the largest possibly up to $40 million.
The 210 apartments are housed in two 12-storey blocks, and the 24,845 sq m estate shares a 150m boundary with the lush Goodwood Hill park.
Landscaping and facilities will take up almost 80 per cent of the estate grounds.
Datuk K. Salman Younis, managing director of Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia), said: 'The charm of Goodwood Residence lies not only in its setting a new benchmark for luxurious residential living in Singapore but also in its unique location next to 20ha of green reserve at Goodwood Hill.'
Goodwood Residence is on the former Casa Rosita site, which GuocoLand acquired for $280 million, or $706 psf of potential gross floor area, in a collective sale in April.
The developer expects to launch its 270-unit Sophia Residence on the former Sophia Court site later next year.
In 2009, it will launch a project to be built on another collective sale site, Leedon Heights, which it purchased for $835 million.
Kuwait Finance House, which is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, previously joined hands with a unit of Malaysian trustee company Amanah Raya to set up a fund to purchase two low-rise waterfront villa apartment blocks for $286 million.
GOOD BUY
'The charm of Goodwood Residence lies not only in its setting a new benchmark for luxurious living in Singapore but also in its unique location.'
DATUK SALMAN, on why a fund to be managed by Kuwait Finance House purchased units at the estate
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