Discounts, furniture rebates and even vouchers for a Jaguar. Developers are pulling out all the stops to attract buyers as competition heats up.
Incentives to entice buyers and help defray increased stamp duties
Developers are bracing themselves for the influx of new units and launches this year, with some turning inventive in their offers of various incentives to entice buyers.
Mont Botanik Residence, Condo.
At Mont Botanik Residence, for example, buyers are offered a 3% discount for the apartment units. Before this incentive was offered to buyers, they were giving out $50,000 vouchers for Jaguar cars for every unit sold.
Now, with the 3% discount, prices at the freehold Mont Botanik Residence start from $1.8 million for a 2-bedroom unit. The 108-unit condominium in Hillview was launched in the second half of 2018.
See more: Grange Heights makes third en bloc sale attempt
Kingsford Waterbay, Condo.
These incentives may not be a new occurrence. Last year for example at Kingsford Waterbay in Upper Serangoon View, buyers have also offered buyers a chance at winning a BMW worth more than $100,000. By end September, all units were sold.
Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty a push factor for developers to offload unsold units
Developers may be looking at fiercer competition in the new-launch market segment this year despite unsold inventory diminishing. Some developers may be keen to offload unsold units as their deadlines loom close.
Under the latest Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty rules, developers have to sell all residential properties within 5 years of the acquisition of the site. Failing which, they will be required to pay extension fees.
The recent rush to sell off the remaining units may be the reason for the discounts as the market slows. Analysts say with these incentives, developers can maintain higher selling prices while still attracting buyers.
Properties with higher selling prices are often linked to their prestige and quality.
See more: 16-unit city fringe condo project an attractive en bloc offer
