Amber Road project set a new benchmark price for the area

THERE is still plenty of life in the property sector, if preview sales at Amber Residences apartments are anything to go by.

The Amber Road project set a new benchmark price for the area, with units going for an average of $1,650 per sq ft (psf) at a weekend preview, where showflat visitors were treated to food, drinks and live music.

Of the 114 units at Amber Residences, 74 were sold at prices ranging from $1.6 million to $3.5 million. Prices at Amber Road have risen significantly with the market this year.

The Sea View, opposite the 21-storey Amber Residences, was released in mid-2005 at just $750 psf. Sub-sales have since been done at up to $1,510 psf.

Savills Residential’s senior associate director, Ms Phylicia Ang, said the Amber Residences preview was for special guests, including the developer’s business associates.

Most of the buyers were from Singapore. They could opt for the deferred payment scheme - which added 3 per cent to the unit price - but less than half did so. Developer Voda Land was given permission to sell with deferred payment before the scheme was withdrawn late last month.

Voda Land bought the freehold Amber Lodge and the Jin Fu Apartments site in a collective sale to form the plot for Amber Residences.

‘For the price that the buyers paid, which is a benchmark for Amber, the condo has to come with quality fittings,’ said Ms Ang.

Amber Residences has two- to four-bedroom units and six penthouses, ranging from 4,133 sq ft to 6,717 sq ft. Some of the best high-floor units went for over $1,800 psf, but the penthouses, which are all still available, will be priced at around $1,900 psf, or between $8 million and $13 million.

Source : Straits Times - 20 Nov 2007