News by Tan Chee Yuen

THE freehold 338-unit Scotts Square, located on Scotts Road, saw several units change hands in the week of April 4 to 11. One of the transactions was the sale of a 947 sq ft, two-bedroom unit on the 21st floor that fetched S$2.76 million (S$2,914 psf), according to a caveat lodged on April 7. The seller had purchased the unit from the dev­eloper for S$3.65 million (S$3,849 psf) in August 2007, when the project was launched.

At Le Nouvel Ardmore, Wing Tai Holdings’ 43-unit ultra-luxury condominium project, a unit was recently sold for S$15.17 million (S$4,005 psf) (RM12,687), according to a caveat lodged on March 14. The 3,789 sq ft, four-bedroom unit is on the 23rd floor of the 33-storey tower designed by renowned French architect and Pritzker Prize winner Jean Nouvel.

Developer KOP Properties recently sold two adjacent three-bedroom units on the 10th floor of the 36-storey Ritz-Carlton Residences. The 2,831 sq ft units were sold for S$9.41 million (RM29.8 million) (S$3,325 psf) each, according to caveats lodged on March 3. The buyer is believed to be a foreigner who plans to amalgamate the two units for his own use.

The acquisition is in line with its strategic plan to grow its portfolio of high-quality commercial assets in China’s tier-one cities, according to Ascendas-Singbridge.

Developers sold 977 private homes in February, more than double from 382 in January.

EL Development sold 43 units at Parc Riviera between Feb 14 and 21, ­making the 752-unit development on West Coast Vale the top-selling condominium in the week. The sale of an adja­cent site on Feb 15 to China Construction (South Pacific) Development could have spurred sales in the project. The site fetched S$592 (RM1,861) psf per plot ­ratio, 7% higher than the S$551 psf ppr that EL Development paid for its Parc ­Riviera site in August 2015. As a result, buyers could be betting on the potential upside of the project.

Government officials, policymakers, economists, bankers and experts gathered here for the Second Annual Asean Consumer and Household Debt Conference on Feb 22 and 23. The two-day event aimed to provide insight into the implications of household debt and the challenges faced by the policymakers.