5 Reasons Why Parktown Residence Sold A Record 1,041 Units During Launch

Parktown Residence is set to change Tampines North, and it has two qualities Singaporeans love: it’s a mega-development, and it’s integrated. But while it was always going to be popular, most people wouldn’t have predicted the mad rush during its launch weekend, when the developer managed to move around 87 per cent of its units (1,041 of 1,193 units). Here’s why it happened:

The first mega-integrated development in Tampines

For the full review of Parktown Residence, see here. This integrated development will likely constitute the hub of Tampines North once built; right now the area mostly consists of new flats, and the cluster of IKEA, Courts, and Giant. Once Parktown Residence is up, it will connect to the Tampines North MRT Station (CRL), bring in a bus interchange, and a mall component with around 120 shops. 

1. First-mover advantage, and a mega-integrated project

Parktown has a trifecta of key qualities. First, it’s a mega-development. These have grown in popularity, since the rise of projects like Parc Clematis, Normanton Park, Treasure at Tampines, etc. (we have some details on mega-developments’ successes here). The combination of lower maintenance costs, coupled with stronger price support from transaction volume, makes 1,000+ unit projects a bigger draw today.

Then there’s the allure of integrated developments, which have also shown to be major crowd-pullers. Here’s a quick snapshot of some of the previous integrated developments, and how well they fared during launch weekend:

Finally, Parktown Residence is a first mover. Tampines North is a new township: there’s little in the area at the moment, barring the IKEA/Giant/Courts cluster nearby. Parktown Residence is a major upgrade to the area, and its mall, food court, shops, etc. will be the hub of a new town. We could liken it to projects such as Watertown (Waterway Point) and North Park Residences (Northpoint City). Both of these successful integrated projects were also the first major amenities in their neighbourhood, and have good track records. 

It’s not every day that you find a new launch which meets all three qualities at once, and the market seems to recognise this. 

2. It’s easy to find another unit on a similar floor

Parktown Residence isn’t particularly tall, with residential blocks ranging from eight to 13 storeys. 

This makes a big difference compared to having all the units stacked in one tall tower. 

For example, say all the units were stacked in a single tower that’s 30 or more floors: if you miss out on a unit on one floor, your only replacement may be on a much higher floor, and thus incur a much higher quantum. 

But Parktown Residence is dispersed among the 12 blocks. Even if you miss a 10th-floor unit in one block, you may be able to find a 10th-floor unit (or close to it) in another block. This ends up being a big advantage for the development, as there’s a bigger pool of buyers who can still find what they want (which ended up with a higher conversion rate for the developer). 

3. The current lack of options in the resale market

We’ve covered this in an earlier article: there are relatively few resale options right now, as the cost of a replacement property is high. This could drive more buyers into the new launch market. 

It also helps that Parktown Residence’s quantum often hits the “sweet spot.” The 2+1 bedder units, which can almost be enough for small families, often have a quantum of around $1.8 million. Being below $2 million is eye-catching in the new launch market right now, and is within the affordability range of HDB upgraders. 

Those who missed previous opportunities in Tampines have probably learned – and accepted – that prices here have a strong upward trend. This could have incentivised them to seize a unit at below $2 million, before prices climb even higher. 

4. The nearby ECs didn’t have the expected deterrent effect 

A common worry about Parktown Residence is the presence of two ECs nearby: Aurelle of Tampines and Tenet (you can see some details here). In theory, these could provide serious competition at the point of resale.

Aurelle of Tampines, for instance, is selling at an average of $1,651 psf. If someone buys Parktown at $2,360 psf, or a peak-price unit at $2,700+ psf, how is it then going to compare to Aurelle? The asking price needed to see a decent gain at Parktown Residence will be significantly higher than the nearby ECs. If anything, the price point of Parktown Residence would be more advantageous for buyers of Aurelle in the future.

There is an enclave of new flats nearby (e.g., Tampines Greenglade, which was launched in 2020 and recently completed). This should provide a pool of potential upgraders – but when confronted with the price difference between Aurelle, Tenet, and Parktown Residence, it’s more predictable that the price point of Parktown Residence will bring up the prices of Aurelle and Tenet instead.

But this doesn’t seem to have deterred buyers as expected. This could reflect the current trend in the market: buyers are now overwhelmingly owner-occupiers, focused on lifestyle needs rather than absolute future gains. 

5. The developers opted not to raise prices partway

A credit to Parktown’s developers is that, despite the strong showing, we didn’t see significant price hikes. 

Parktown Residence’s launch used a placement system, where ballot numbers are used to determine who gets priority. One reason for using this system is to create a sense of FOMO or urgency: as people see desired units sell out, they become more determined to buy, or to buy the closest replacements if they miss out. Some developers use this opportunity to raise prices, as availability runs out. 

This didn’t happen at Parktown Residence’s launch, even though the show flat was packed. It is plausible that some buyers here may have expected a Pasir Ris 8 scenario, and when that price increase didn’t happen they were more inclined to buy. Perhaps it was wise to play it safe though, and keep prices at a level the buyers clearly found palatable. Had they raised prices, perhaps the momentum wouldn’t have returned after that. 

Parktown Residence’s launch was still a surprise

While interest was expected, most of the realtors and market watchers we spoke to were caught off-guard. Expectations were around 60 to 65 per cent units sold, rather than a near sell-out. 

It does seem like many of us underestimated the demand for a Tampines location, even if it’s not in Tampines Central itself; and the sales teams of Aurelle and Tenet are probably feeling even more confident now.