Terra Hill achieves 38% sales on launch weekend, with an average price above $2,650 psf

Over the weekend of Feb 25-26, Hoi Hup and Sunway Developments sold a total of 102 units – representing around 38% – of the freehold Terra Hill condo, situated at the top of Yew Siang Road off Pasir Panjang Road. This was the first freehold launch of property in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) in 2023, and the average price achieved across the units sold was over $2,650 psf.

At the launch, the developer saw more than 10,000 visitors at the sales gallery along South Buona Vista Road. The balloting and booking exercise held on Feb 24-25 proved to be an enthusiastic response from the public. The developer’s target from the onset was to sell 100 units – and with the sale of 102 units this target was achieved, setting a new benchmark price.

30 exclusive units made up The Prestige Collection, of which 24 were 1,894 sq ft four-bedroom units priced from $5 million, and six were 5-bedroom duplex penthouses of 3,035 sq ft each. Seven units in The Prestige Collection were sold at an average price above $2,850 psf.

For most of 2020, it was reported that the sales achieved at new project launches were about 70% to 85%. Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty, expects that this trend is unlikely to continued given the 47 new project launches with potential 12,000 units expected this year. This greater suppply, combined with higher interest rates and market uncertainty, might result in most new project launches this year achieving only between 35% to 40% sales on the launch weekend.

Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, agrees – and remarks that the weekend sales achieved at Terra Hill were within expectations. Even despite the Budget announcement of buyer’s stamp duty increase, large crowds at show flats indicated positive buyer sentiment.

Pasir Panjang is one of nine estates outside the Central Area for which the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) requires the average unit size of new non-landed residential projects to be 100 sqm, making Terra Hill’s larger units more attractive in comparison.

Besides Tengah EC The Prestige Collection, the condo space was comprised of two, three and four-bedroom units in the 240-unit Signature Collection. Two-bedders of 624 to 840 sq ft are priced over $1.5 million, three-bedroom units from 904 sq ft to 1,335 sq ft from $2.3 million, and four-bedroom units from 1,302 to 1,862 sq ft priced at $3.4 million ($2,611 psf).

The last new launch of a residential project in the area was the 548-unit Kent Ridge Hill Residences in November 2018. The latest transaction was a sale of a strata-terraced house for $3.266 million ($1,580 psf), with the apartments sold between Jul 1, 2022 to Nov 30, 2022, ranging from $1,644 psf to $2,062 psf, according to caveats lodged with URA Realis. In comparison, the last new launch of a freehold development in the vicinity was the 120-unit Bijou in 2014, directly opposite Pasir Panjang MRT Station – the latest transaction at Bijou was for a 775 sq ft, two-bedroom unit that fetched $1.755 million ($2,265 psf).

Buyers at Terra Hill were predominantly those living in the west, according to Huttons’ Yip. This may be due to the proximity to the future Greater Southern Waterfront that is starting to take shape, as well as being a four-minute walk to the Pasir Panjang MRT Station on the Circle Line set to become a full circle by 2026. Furthermore, the development is near places of employment and higher learning, such as the Science Park and National University of Singapore (NUS), Biopolis and the Media Hub at one-north.

Freehold developments in the neighbourhood, where the most recent is Bijou, represent just 14% of transacted private residential non-landed properties in District 5. This proves the appeal of Terra Hill’s freehold status and its strategic location in the area.