{"id":4755,"date":"2016-03-04T07:44:07","date_gmt":"2016-03-03T23:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/blog\/singapore\/?p=4755"},"modified":"2022-07-01T04:00:32","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T20:00:32","slug":"why-some-developers-remain-confident-about-ecs-and-so-should-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/why-some-developers-remain-confident-about-ecs-and-so-should-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are Executive Condos still popular amongst home buyers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Executive
Executive condos continue to be popular, despite sluggish sales<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hoi Hup Realty has won the bid for an Executive Condo (EC) site in Hougang, at a high price of $331.02 per square foot. This was around 6 percent higher than the next bid, which was around $312 psf. This comes at a surprise to some, given that the sale of\u00a0<\/span>executive condos\u00a0<\/b>have been slow in the past year. But it raised few eyebrows at <\/span>99.co<\/span><\/a>, given what we know about executive condos. Here\u2019s what the high bid says about this unique class of housing:<\/span><\/p>\n

Why the confident bid?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The EC site is a 1.8-hectare plot of land, along Yio Chu Kang Road. The end development will have 560 units, about 70 per cent of which will be three bedroom apartments. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the given bid price, the EC will have to sell for about $700 psf to break even; a seemingly tough call in the middle of a property market slump. But historically, most EC prices have ranged between $750 and $800 psf.<\/span><\/p>\n

The general consensus is that Hoi Hup Realty made such a high bid for location-specific reasons. It is in the middle of a mature estate, and there have been no EC launches in the area of late. Also, it is close to Rosyth school, which is one of the more desirable educational institutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many developers and analysts assert that it is the location only, and not confidence in the EC market, that drove such bids; but this is an unnecessarily pessimistic view.<\/span><\/p>\n

Has the market for\u00a0<\/b>executive condos\u00a0<\/b>been sluggish?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The EC market has been plagued by worries of oversupply. Seven ECs were launched in 2015, and take-up rates only range from 10 per cent to 48 per cent. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, we feel this can be attributed to a general slowdown in the property market as a whole: a combination of loan curbs via the TDSR, and lower prices in mass market condominiums, are a more likely culprit. There is also the shock of coming from a high base: in 2013, the number of applications for EC units could be as high as double the available units. But while those days are over, it does not signify a fundamental change in the fact that ECs are amongst the soundest property investments a buyer can make. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why executive condos are and remain a phenomenon<\/b><\/h3>\n

There are plenty of advantages an EC offers that you will not find in other types of property. This may be one of the few housing classes <\/span>in the world <\/span><\/i>that combines the best of private and public housing policies:<\/span><\/p>\n