Sengkang EC's penthouse units snapped up in 90 minutes

OK now this article really takes the cake - my mouth was hanging open in disbelief and shock when I read this line - " The 16 penthouse units at The Topiary were sold within the first 90 minutes". And also the line which said the family with 3 kids "needs" to upgrade. I mean yeah I can understand that you want to upgrade - but a 2,000 sqft apartment costing $1.36 million on a <$12,000 a month salary? The mathematics is mind-boggling to me and I wonder if the other 15 who bought also have the same profile?

How can this be termed "affordable"??

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Dec 08, 2012
Sengkang EC's penthouse units snapped up in 90 minutes

By melissa tan

ALL the penthouse units at an executive condominium (EC) in Sengkang were snapped up on its first morning of bookings yesterday, in another sign of strong demand for EC projects.

The 16 penthouse units at The Topiary were sold within the first 90 minutes, said Kheng Leong, which is developing the project in a joint venture with Qingjian.

The single-storey units went for prices of between $1.3 million and $1.5 million, and are between 1,970 sq ft and 2,476 sq ft.

When The Straits Times visited the showflat at Fernvale Lane yesterday, the room was packed and the snaking queue for bookings reached outside the building.

Ms Jaime Chong, who bought a penthouse yesterday, said she reached the showflat at 9.30am, more than half an hour before balloting began shortly after 10am.

The 33-year-old account manager told The Straits Times that she had shortlisted six penthouse units at The Topiary and managed to secure the last one on her list that was available - a 2,013 sq ft unit that cost nearly $1.36 million.

"We have three kids, so we need to upgrade," said Ms Chong, whose children are aged between one and five.

She lives with her 33-year-old project manager husband and their children in a four-room HDB flat near Buangkok MRT station. The extra space in the penthouse would make it easier for relatives to visit, Ms Chong said.

She added that she was drawn to the EC's amenities such as a swimming pool, as well as its proximity to Greenwich V shopping mall and the upcoming The Seletar Mall, slated for completion in 2014.

The Topiary has 700 units with a mix of two-, three- and four-bedders, as well as dual-key apartments. The smallest unit is 753 sq ft and the cheapest is a $580,000 two-bedder.

Kheng Leong said in a statement yesterday that 225 units were sold in four hours.

It told The Straits Times earlier this week that just over 600 applications had been received during the five-day application period, which closed on Tuesday.

Penthouses, skysuites and other luxe features have become increasingly common at EC projects, as developers pull out all the stops to attract buyers.

For instance, the 514-unit CityLife @ Tampines, which boasts a controversial 4,349 sq ft "presidential penthouse", was more than three times subscribed with over 1,700 applications received by the deadline on Wednesday.

The next EC project expected to be pushed out before the end of the year is Forestville in Woodlands.

melissat@sph.com.sg

it's interesting - i was actually analysing my sister's case this week (they are also gunning for an EC), and asking me for advice.

rather surprised at how little thoughts they consider into the housing loan as well. they were showing me the one they were considering from a certain local bank, where the first three years were teaser rates and the subsequent were tied to the bank's benchmark rates.

i made a spreadsheet for them, allowing them to input the rates and seeing the effect on the TOTAL repayment amount - on a face of 1mio SGD, if rates are to raise by 5%, the total repayment amount will be >2mio SGD. they were also surprised when i showed them the historical charts of the SIBOR (the few termsheets they showed me all had rates starting from 2002 ONLY as illustration - so they had no idea rates were >8% before)

i have no data on the correlation between the bank's benchmark rates vs SIBOR, so could not comment much on it.

to be honest i am rather worried for them (despite all the calculations i have no doubt they will proceed - their main comment on the interest rate risk was that they will "refinance"). i have no doubt the property prices will continue to march up, but all parties have to come to an end someday and the commoners will be the ones holding the baby.

Do you know that with the right connections (i.e. Grassroot member etc), one can buy EC even though the combined household income is more that $12,000?

I have personally heard from a friend who claimed that his friend managed to do that with household income more than $20,0000.
All it takes is an appeal and and interview with HDB personnel and using Grassroot connections to get approval...

Obviously, the connections must be quite high up lah...

Anyway, with such revelations, I am no longer surprised that EC costing more than $1million will be sold out...

(08-12-2012, 08:16 AM)Musicwhiz Wrote: OK now this article really takes the cake - my mouth was hanging open in disbelief and shock when I read this line - " The 16 penthouse units at The Topiary were sold within the first 90 minutes". And also the line which said the family with 3 kids "needs" to upgrade. I mean yeah I can understand that you want to upgrade - but a 2,000 sqft apartment costing $1.36 million on a <$12,000 a month salary? The mathematics is mind-boggling to me and I wonder if the other 15 who bought also have the same profile?

Maybe they believe that their salaries will rise in the intervening years above $12,000 and the property itself will rise in value above $1.36 million?

They probably also think that paying approximately $680 psf is value for money in the current market.

No one really think about:
- the cost of money
- whether things will continue to go up

(08-12-2012, 09:19 AM)Zelphon Wrote: Do you know that with the right connections (i.e. Grassroot member etc), one can buy EC even though the combined household income is more that $12,000?

I have personally heard from a friend who claimed that his friend managed to do that with household income more than $20,0000.
All it takes is an appeal and and interview with HDB personnel and using Grassroot connections to get approval...

Obviously, the connections must be quite high up lah...

Anyway, with such revelations, I am no longer surprised that EC costing more than $1million will be sold out...

U sure about this? this sounds not right.... :O wait become another CPIB case...

(08-12-2012, 09:19 AM)Zelphon Wrote: Do you know that with the right connections (i.e. Grassroot member etc), one can buy EC even though the combined household income is more that $12,000?

I have personally heard from a friend who claimed that his friend managed to do that with household income more than $20,0000.
All it takes is an appeal and and interview with HDB personnel and using Grassroot connections to get approval...

Obviously, the connections must be quite high up lah...

Anyway, with such revelations, I am no longer surprised that EC costing more than $1million will be sold out...

Ok i tried that before, even ask an MP to write appeal letter but failed. HDB say those slightly above 12k maybe can but 20k ... unlikely. Also depend on whether you have an existing hdb or not.

(08-12-2012, 11:12 AM)WolfT Wrote:

(08-12-2012, 09:19 AM)Zelphon Wrote: Do you know that with the right connections (i.e. Grassroot member etc), one can buy EC even though the combined household income is more that $12,000?

I have personally heard from a friend who claimed that his friend managed to do that with household income more than $20,0000.
All it takes is an appeal and and interview with HDB personnel and using Grassroot connections to get approval...

Obviously, the connections must be quite high up lah...

Anyway, with such revelations, I am no longer surprised that EC costing more than $1million will be sold out...

Ok i tried that before, even ask an MP to write appeal letter but failed. HDB say those slightly above 12k maybe can but 20k ... unlikely. Also depend on whether you have an existing hdb or not.

As i said, u need to be related to someone high up in the grassroot hierarchy..
U will be surprised how dirty SG is..

(08-12-2012, 11:18 AM)Zelphon Wrote:

(08-12-2012, 11:12 AM)WolfT Wrote:

(08-12-2012, 09:19 AM)Zelphon Wrote: Do you know that with the right connections (i.e. Grassroot member etc), one can buy EC even though the combined household income is more that $12,000?

I have personally heard from a friend who claimed that his friend managed to do that with household income more than $20,0000.
All it takes is an appeal and and interview with HDB personnel and using Grassroot connections to get approval...

Obviously, the connections must be quite high up lah...

Anyway, with such revelations, I am no longer surprised that EC costing more than $1million will be sold out...

Ok i tried that before, even ask an MP to write appeal letter but failed. HDB say those slightly above 12k maybe can but 20k ... unlikely. Also depend on whether you have an existing hdb or not.

As i said, u need to be related to someone high up in the grassroot hierarchy..
U will be surprised how dirty SG is..

I will definitely be surprised if it is true.

It may turn out to be another "heard from a friend" hearsay.

(08-12-2012, 11:18 AM)Zelphon Wrote:

(08-12-2012, 11:12 AM)WolfT Wrote:

(08-12-2012, 09:19 AM)Zelphon Wrote: Do you know that with the right connections (i.e. Grassroot member etc), one can buy EC even though the combined household income is more that $12,000?

I have personally heard from a friend who claimed that his friend managed to do that with household income more than $20,0000.
All it takes is an appeal and and interview with HDB personnel and using Grassroot connections to get approval...

Obviously, the connections must be quite high up lah...

Anyway, with such revelations, I am no longer surprised that EC costing more than $1million will be sold out...

Ok i tried that before, even ask an MP to write appeal letter but failed. HDB say those slightly above 12k maybe can but 20k ... unlikely. Also depend on whether you have an existing hdb or not.

As i said, u need to be related to someone high up in the grassroot hierarchy..
U will be surprised how dirty SG is..

Trust me bro. I have connections but sadly they don't work like that!
My MP friend told me to go fcuk spider when i ask him to help...ha!

(08-12-2012, 08:57 AM)AlphaQuant Wrote: ...
to be honest i am rather worried for them (despite all the calculations i have no doubt they will proceed - their main comment on the interest rate risk was that they will "refinance"). i have no doubt the property prices will continue to march up, but all parties have to come to an end someday and the commoners will be the ones holding the baby.

Totally agree, i have a relative who bought a condo recently. I advised
them that interest rate may rise but interest rate is their last concern.

They tell me that if interest rate goes up, or if cant finance the house for any reaason, just sell the condo lor, sure make profits, worse come to worse, break even, tell me dont have to worry about interest rate.

Then they start telling me stories of how successful their friends are. Eventually i smiled and said, okay, if anything bad happens, dont come and borrow money from me, but if you dont have money for food, can still come to my place, i will share my food with them