A tale of 2 cities – City Gate Vs Duo Residences (21 Mar 2015)
As the only 2 new private residential developments along the Beach Road stretch, Duo Residences and City Gate make a very compelling case study. Both are 99 yrs mixed developments and boast of a link to an MRT station. Both were launched after all the major cooling measures were implemented. Launched earlier in Nov 2013, Duo Residences, a partnership between the Singapore and Malaysian government is almost sold out to date, reaching 94%. An all-time high of S$ 2,663 PSF was recorded in Mar 2014 for a 420-sqft residential unit.
8 months later, just 450 m away, City Gate was launched. Next to the low rise, low density conservation area of Kampong Glam, it has sold 54% to date. To differentiate itself from Duo Residences, it created loft spaces in every unit except for the penthouse units. Mindful of the strong demand for city rental, the majority of its units come with a separate dual key room. To maximize the unblocked views around it, the developer created two open decks on the 6th and 24th storeys.
6th Floor Deck
24th Floor Deck
View From City Gate
As a result of these considerations and the inherent site location advantages, City Gate managed to record an all time high of S$ 2,226 PSF in Sep 2014 for a 484-sqft residential unit though this high mark was still 16.4% shy of its closest rival, Duo Residences.
Realistically, City Gate cannot hope to sell every unit at its record PSF prices. To date, the median price of City Gate’s sold residential units is $1,817 psf vs $2,010 for Duo Residences. To clear its remaining inventory, it will have to price its remaining units competitively. Thankfully for City Gate’s developer, Duo Residences is almost fully sold and their existing unit owners have no incentives to sell lower than City Gate’s prices. Neither will they want to be penalized and pay seller stamp duties for selling within a 4 years window.
To ensure price competitiveness and product differentiation, City Gate deliberately created additional loft spaces in almost every unit to give the owner an option to place an additional queen size bed atop. The majority of the units are 1, 2 and 3 bedroomers and the top floor is carved out into small and large penthouses ranging from 484 to 1,819 sq ft.
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