The wife received a text message today informing her about prices of unit still available at The Scala.
So for those who are still interested in the project:
Happy hunting!
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The wife and I have given you the scoop fresh from the 9.30pm news last night. Here is the full story as published in the BT today:
Developers’ sales of private homes surged 82% month on month to 1,544 units in July from the low of 847 units in June, according to the latest official figures. This reflects a resumption in home buying, which had taken a breather during the school holidays and World Cup.
However, sales are expected to slip to around 800 – 1,000 units again in August, on the back of slower launches during the Hungry Ghost Months, say some property agents. After this ends on September 7, both launches and sales will pick up again, they reckon.
In the first seven months of this year, developers have sold 9,957 private homes (excluding executive condos), after last year’s strong sales of 14,688 units.
CB Richard Ellis expects the full-year figure will be about 14,000 units. Jones Lang LaSalle’s estimate is 13,000 – 14,000 while DTZ’s SE Asia Research head Chua Chor Hoon puts the number at 13,000 – 15,000 units.
“The outlook still remains positive against the backdrop of Singapore’s economic growth and the low interest rate environment but buyers will be more selective given that so many Government Land Sale sites are being sold; this will translate to greater choice of new projects.”
“Prices have also been on the rise, so potential buyers will be more discerning in picking properties that have better potential for rental income or capital appreciation,” Ms Chua added. DTZ’s data shows that secondary market prices of completed private homes appreciated about 6 – 8% in the first half of this year; her full-year forecast is an 8 – 13% increase.
CB Richard Ellis executive director (residential) Joseph Tan reckons that developers are unlikely to test new price benchmarks when they resume launches next month. But prices are unlikely to fall below current levels either, as land prices remain high, he adds.
On the other hand, signs of buyer price resistance continue to prevail. Colliers International’s analysis of official developer monthly sales data released by URA shows that the proportion of private homes sold by developers priced at $1,500psf and below was at its highest level in 10 months in July, at 88%.
The Outside Central Region, where mass-market properties are typically located, accounted for 42.8% of the total 1,544 units sold by developers in July, while the Core Central Region, where the most expensive homes in Singapore are found, had a 17.9% share. The most expensive apartment/condominium unit (in terms of $ psf) sold by a developer in July was a unit at Boulevard Vue which fetched $4,600psf. Far East sold the high-floor unit of 4,456sqft for $20.5 million.
URA’s data shows that other high-end deals last month included a unit at The Orchard Residences which sold at $4,099psf and another at Skyline @Orchard Boulevard at $3,719psf.
The least expensive non-landed home was a unit at The Minton in Hougang which was transacted at $612psf.
July’s surge in primary market sales came on the back of three major launches – 368 Thomson, Terrene at Bukit Timah and The Scala at Serangoon Avenue 3. Together, they made up 46.6% of the total 1,544 units developers sold in July.
The top-selling project was The Scala, with 400 units transacted at a median price of $1,173psf.
Also helping to boost last month’s sales were sell-out launches for three projects that comprised mostly one-bedders – the 51-unit Centra Suites at Lorong 25 Geylang, 99-unit Haig 162 and Leicester Suites (46 of the 47 units were sold last month).
Developers launched 1,335 private homes in July, up from 1,010 units in June.
Projects expected to be released after the Hungry Ghost Month includes NV Residences in Pasir Ris, Twin Peaks on the Grangeford site, Cityscape in Mergui Road and Killiney 18.
Two executive condo projects – the 573-unit Esparina Residences at Compassvale Bow in Sengkang and the Chinese developer MCC Land’s 406-unit The Canopy in Yishun – are slated for release in October, says market watchers.
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As reported in the ST today:
THE GREENWICH
Another 94 units of this 319-unit project were sold following the start of a private preview on Aug 2, when it moved 80 units. It has sold 174 homes in total, with the average price achieved rising to $1,025psf from $980psf last Monday.
Nearly half of the units sold have been one-bedroom units of 603sqft to 721sqft, priced from $657,000 to $850,000.
Far East said it was on course to launch the project early next month.
TERRENE @BUKIT TIMAH
The 172-unit TERRENE sold its remaining unit last Saturday.
(* After our visit to the sales gallery late last month, the wife and I did say that this project is likely to be sold out within 1 – 2 months. This has actually happened sooner than we have envisaged)
THE SCALA
Hong Leong Holdings said it sold 35 units of its 468-unit THE SCALA over the long weekend, leaving fewer than 15 units left.
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The ST today reported that 90% of the 468 units at THE SCALA is sold.
Average price for the transacted units is $1,150psf.
Looks like Hong Leong has hit the jackpot with this one…
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District: 19
Location: Serangoon Avenue 3
Developer: Hong Leong Holdings
Tenure: 99-year Leasehold
Estimated site area: 149,000sqft
Expected TOP: January 2014
Description: 5 blocks of 17-storey each
Total number of units: 468
Total number of carpark lots: 520 (basement parking)
More than 75% of the units sold on the first day of public launch – that was enough motivation for the wife and me to check out THE SCALA on Sunday to find out what all the hype is about.
The sales gallery is located on the actual site, along Serangoon Ave 3 right next door to Chuan Park. The place was pretty crowded as expected, so much so that even the brochures for the project had run out. 
The site that THE SCALA sits on is a rather odd-shaped plot and the blocks are built in a semi-circular manner that wraps around the main entrance/lap pool/clubhouse. And the biggest selling point of this project is the fact that Lorong Chuan MRT Station (part of the Circle Line) is situated right at the doorsteps of THE SCALA. This is linked by a sheltered passage from within the condo all the way to a side-gate where the MRT station entrance is located. 
THE SCALA offers quite an extensive range of unit types
• 1-Bedroom: 474sqft – 484sqft
• 2-Bedroom: 828sqft – 839sqft
• 2+Study: 876sqft – 972sqft
• 3-Bedroom: 1014sqft – 1120sqft
• 3+Study: 1258sqft
• 4-Bedroom: 1236sqft – 1370sqft
• 2-Bedroom Penthouse: 1489sqft – 1521sqft
• 3-Bedroom Penthouse: 1489sqft – 1764sqft
• 4-Bedroom Penthouse: 2101sqft – 2142sqft
Facility wise, THE SCALA is definitely a “full facility” condo. These are found on both the 1st and 3rd storey (“Roof Garden”) levels. Of special mention are:
Ground Level
• 50m lap pool and 30m swimming pool
• Jacuzzi
• Tennis court
• Half basketball court
• Pizza oven pavilion
3rd Floor “Roof Garden”
• BBQ pavilion
• “Salad” pavilion with Teppanyaki grill
• Jogging Track
(* We realised that the site plan is rather hard on the eyes but this is the best that we can manage at the moment. We will try to get you a better/bigger picture once we get our hands on a copy of the marketing brochure)
There are also a grand total of 520 parking lots, which is quite generous by current new project standards.
There are 3 showflat types on display at the sales gallery
• 474sqft, 1-Bedroom unit
• 850sqft, 2-Bedroom unit
• 1044sqft, 3-Bedroom unit (Type 3a)
And since both the 1 and 2-bedders are fully sold, we shall concentrate on the 3-bedroom unit.
As you enter the main door, you arrive at the rectangular-shaped living/dining room. The wife and I found this area too small for our liking, as you probably have little space left after fitting in a sofa and dining table set. The area comes with 60cm x 60cm compressed marble floors and 2.85m ceiling height.
The rectangular balcony is huge compared to the unit size – we reckon this to be at least 100sqft, which is effectively 10% of the total unit area.
The kitchen is a narrow strip of an area with an L-shaped, solid-surfaced kitchen worktop. The developer has thrown in a host of kitchen appliances with the unit – other than the “Electrolux” hood/hob/oven, you also get a fridge as well as separate washer and dryer. One thing we liked about the kitchen design is that the washing machine area comes “boxed up” so that the washer/dryer are hidden from view. The amount of kitchen cabinets provided is also very generous and comes with “anti-slam” drawers too.
There is no much of yard space to speak of – this is a small squarish area that you can hardly do anything with. The home shelter aka maid’s room is rather narrow and will probably fit a customized bed but nothing much else. A small bathroom completes the whole yard setup.
The common bathroom is quite good size and comes with a nice colour combination of ceramic floor/wall tiles. The bathroom furnishing (marble vanity top, storage cabinet beneath the wash basin and even storage behind the mirror) are both highly functional and pleasing to the eyes. The shower stall is installed with a marble “feature wall” but with the usual wall-mounted shower. One thing that the wife noticed is that the door to the shower stall will need to be opened inward given the layout of the bathroom. So it may be quite a squeeze getting in and out of the shower stall.
The two common rooms are square-shaped and… you guessed it… small. A “single” bed will take up most of the space within, as illustrated in the photo that we have taken.
The master bedroom is a tad small as well, so you can forget about having a king-sized bed in here.
The amount of wardrobe space will probably be enough to house either the wife’s or my clothes but definitely not both. 
The master bathroom is quite spacious and just as aesthetically pleasing as the common bathroom. It comes with marble floors/walls but with the same shower stall as the common bathroom. There is no bath tub here but at least the shower stall is fitted with “rain shower” overhead. 
What we like:
• The quality of furnishing at THE SCALA is probably one of the best for a mass market project that we have seen over the past few months. The wife and I particularly liked the marble floors and the overall “feel” of the bathrooms in the showflat.
• THE SCALA is also one project that is truly next to a MRT station. Marketing agents at some of the other projects will brag about how close the MRT station is from their developments, but this is one whereby the MRT station is right at your doorstep literally. And you even get a sheltered passage all the way to the station entrance… talk about convenience!
• Location – THE SCALA is situated close to numerous schools and tertiary institutions. The Australian International School and Stamford American International School are also just down the road. This may translates to good rental yield. However, we wonder if expat families (particularly Caucasians) will be comfortable with the small unit sizes available for rent in this project. The wife and I were told that NEX mall, the upcoming mega shopping mall, is just 10 minutes walk or 1-MRT stop away.
• Primary school wise, there is a choice of either St. Gabriel (boys) or Yang Zheng Primary (co-ed) that is within 1-km from THE SCALA.
What we dislike:
• 1120sqft for the biggest 3-bedder and 1370sqft for the largest 4-bedroom unit at THE SCALA… waaaaay too small for our liking.
• The wife and I were told that the living/dining area for the 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom units are around the same size. So you probably will have to do your entertaining in the clubhouse or one of the outdoor pavilions.
• Given the relatively small size of the units at THE SCALA, we find the big balcony (which again comes standard for all 2- to 4-bedrooms) a luxury that the units can ill afford. We will much prefer a small balcony and bigger living/dining room.
• The stretch of Serangoon Road that THE SCALA is located already houses several condominiums – Chuan Park (452 units), The Springbloom (372 units), Chiltern Park (500units) and a couple of other small developments down the road. So buyers one can expect quite a bit of peak-hour traffic along this stretch of road.
• Last but not least, the main expressway connecting THE SCALA to the City is the CTE. And if you have been following our blog, you will know how much of a fan both the wife and I are of this particular expressway.
Price-wise, we were told that all the 1-bedders were picked up after the first day of public launch at prices of $1400 – $1500psf! Here are sample of prices for units that are still available as of Sunday:
• #14-12, 3-Bedroom (1044sqft): $1,217,500 or $1166psf
(* This unit faces the City/Marina Bay area)
• #14-04, 2+Study (904sqft): $1,074,800 or $1189psf
(* This unit faces Serangoon Garden/landed homes in Mei Hwan Heights)
The monthly maintenance for the 2-bedders is about $250 while that for the 3-bedders is about $300.
It was also reported in the papers today Lian Beng Group has been appointed the main contractor for this project. Work is to commence in October and should complete by end 2013. We were told by the marketing agent that after the first 20% down, the next trench of payment (10%) is not expected till 2011.
After visiting THE SCALA, the wife and I can appreciate the reason for such good take-up rate seen at this project. Given the affordable (by current market standards) price quantum amount versus the quality you get with this project, it does seem like a good buy (again, going by current market standards). But the wife and I still have qualms over the small unit sizes and try as we might, cannot come to terms with paying almost $1200psf for a 99-year leasehold project in District 19… even if the MRT is at our doorstep.
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The wife and I were at the sales gallery of THE SCALA yesterday.
Here is a sample of the photos that we have taken at the showflats. We will post our review tomorrow (fingers crossed).
But just so you know, the 1-bedder, 1+1, 2- and 4-bedroom units are all sold out.
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The ST today reported that more than 75% of the total units at THE SCALA, a leasehold project developed by Hong Leong Holdings, were sold on the first day of its public launch yesterday.
Demand for this 99-year leasehold project near Lorong Chuan MRT station was so strong that balloting was needed to sort out who get to enter the showflat first. By late morning yesterday, more than 800 property agents and potential buyers who had submitted blank cheques had packed the balloting tent at the condo site in Serangoon Avenue 3. This is the biggest turnout at a mass market public launch since Trevista in Toa Payoh and Hundred Trees in the West Coast area were launched late last year.
A private preview was held on Tuesday for Hong Leong staff and buyers who had registered their interests with the developer. About 150 units were sold then.
This means more than 350 of the 468 units in the project were already sold, of which about 200 went yesterday.
Units at THE SCALA, in five residential towers, are between 474 and 2,142sqft each and range from one- to four-bedroom apartments. They were sold at an average of $1,150psf.
In terms of total price, the smallest units were priced from $600,000 while the four-bedders were from $1.5million.
Hong Leong said the buyers, mainly locals, comprised a good mix of HDB flat upgraders and investors.
Most buyers listed as key selling points the projects close proximity to the newly opened Lorong Chuan MRT station and the range of amenities such as the NEX mega mall due to be completed next year. Some buyers also cited nearby schools such as the Australian International School and the Stamford American International School. They said this could mean high rental yields.
THE SCALA is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014.
$1,150psf for a 99-year project in District 19? The wife and I really hope that the Government is right, i.e. there is no property bubble yet…
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As reported in The Sunday Times today:
June
July
Other possible launches in July or beyond
And according to one of our readers, marketing agents are already seen at The Terrene site doing “carpark sale”.
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SG PropTalk 