At The Myst, the 408-unit private condo at Upper Bukit Timah Road, 110 units (27%) were sold at the close of the first weekend of launch on July 9. The average price of units sold was $2,057 psf, according to listed property developer City Developments (CDL).
Around 99% of the buyers are Singaporeans, says CDL, while permanent residents from China make up the remaining 1%.
"The encouraging take-up for The Myst by local homebuyers reflects a resilient demand for suburban homes," says Sherman Kwek, CDL group CEO.
While all unit types were well-received, CDL said that the one and two-bedroom types were the most popular.
Close to 63% of the 48 one-bedroom-plus-study units of 517 sq ft were taken up. About 38% of the 145 two- and two-bedroom units with 678 to 732 sq ft sizes were sold. The 143 three-bedroom types, with sizes from 850 to 1,163 sq ft, saw more than 15% purchased.
"The one- and two-bedrooms were sought-after due to the attractive quantum prices," says Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia. "The project also attracted owner-occupiers who like the area for its proximity to nature, good primary schools and Cashew MRT station."
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The Myst is just a five-minute walk from the Cashew MRT station on the Downtown Line. The project is within a four- to seven-minute drive to several nature parks, such as the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Chestnut Nature Park, Dairy Farm Nature Park and Bukit Batok Nature Park.
"District 23 is a desirable location for its serene environment and proximity to nature, coupled with good connectivity to amenities and future developments in the area, such as the Jurong Lake District and Tengah Town," says CDL's Kwek. "We are confident that The Myst, with its attractive pricing, will continue to be an excellent choice for those seeking the best of both worlds – a luxurious resort-style sanctuary with strong locational attributes."
Over the past four months, there were two other projects in the vicinity of Upper Bukit Timah and Hillview: the 386-unit The Botany at Dairy Farm Walk in March and the 732-unit The Reserve Residences at Jalan Anak Bukit in May.
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The Reserve Residences, located in the city fringe or Rest of Central Region (RCR) of District 21, is over 81% sold (594 units) at an average price of $2,474 psf. At The Botany in the Dairy Farm area of District 23, 208 units (54%) have been sold at an average price of $2,060 psf.
"These two projects – The Botany and The Reserve Residences - have already absorbed over 800 units in demand from people interested in the locale over the last few months," says Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex.
URA data showed a 1.2% q-o-q uptick in 2Q2023 for non-landed private home prices in the OCR, easing from the 1.9% q-o-q increase in the previous quarter.
However, PropNex attributes the easing to the dearth of new project launches in the OCR in 2Q2023 and the limited unsold stock of new homes. "Given the dearth of new launches, the best-selling OCR project in 2Q2023 was The Botany at Dairy Farm," according to PropNex in a July 3 media statement on the release of the URA 2Q2023 flash estimates.
Hence, Gafoor is confident that buying momentum at The Myst will pick up in the coming months, given the project's "attractive pricing" and "positive demand for projects in the OCR".
According to Huttons' Yip, sales of launches in 2023 have been strong, with all the significant non-landed project launches seeing sales of at least 100 units on launch day.
"Take-up rate depends on the number of units in the project and the catchment area," he says. "It will vary from project to project; thus, it should not be used to compare across projects in different parts of the island.
