Why Emerald Of Katong Sold 99% Of Units In Just 2 Days: We Break Down The Sale Prices

Here’s a little-known way to gauge just how attractive a new condo really is: check how many property agents have signed up to buy it themselves. (Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.) For Emerald of Katong, the buzz was evident early on, with a record-breaking 3,629 cheques collected from both agents and the public. By the time the project opened for public preview, nearly half the units were already snapped up.

As of today, Emerald of Katong is an impressive 99 per cent sold, with just 11 units left out of its 846-unit development.

But with the full pricing details now available, the question remains: is Emerald of Katong as attractively priced as it seems? Here’s what buyers have paid for the various units – and how the numbers stack up:

Current prices we’re seeing, versus indicative prices

For comparison, here are the indicative prices:

In general, actual transactions have been higher than the indicative prices. The larger disparities were among the smaller units, particularly the premium two-bedders, which are close to six per cent higher than starting indicative prices.

Once you get to the larger units though (three-bedder plus study or larger), there wasn’t much departure from the starting indicative prices. In an overall sense, this does make Emerald of Katong more expensive than expected, as smaller units make up the majority here (two and three-bedders make up 33 and 34 per cent of the total unit count respectively). 

This is also reflected in the price per square foot:

It’s quite normal to have a higher price psf for a smaller unit, and vice versa. Emerald of Katong can easily get away with $2,740+ psf pricing for one and two-bedders, as the quantum is still comparable to its nearby competitors (about $1.3 million to $1.5 million). We have a price comparison against nearby options below.

We’d also remind you that Emerald of Katong is a post GFA-harmonisation project, so the square footage isn’t adding in useless spaces like air-con ledges. This does make the price psf seem higher, despite being a more accurate reflection of size. 

How does the pricing change between floors and facing?

The difference per floor is roughly $12,500, which is typical for most launches. We wouldn’t consider it too big a jump. 

For stack 07, you may have noticed a significant price jump between the fifth and sixth floor. This is because you face a gap between Haig Court and Tembusu Grand that is only visible from the sixth floor and above – so this is priced in. 

So far, the most expensive stacks seem to be the ones featuring pool views. This is probably because the surroundings (whilst convenient) don’t provide an exceptional view. It’s mainly just other residential buildings and light commercial. As we’d also expect from this, the cheaper stacks tend to be the ones overlooking the road.

How does it compare to nearby launches?

Despite some unit types being higher than initial indications, Emerald of Katong is still more affordable on average, compared to the trinity of Grand Dunman, Tembusu Grand, and The Continuum. That’s with the exception of its two-bedders, which seem to be pricier than its competitors.

This is a bit uncommon: the latest launch in an area will usually be the priciest, compared to the surroundings. But overall Emerald of Katong is a cheaper development, despite being quite late to the District 15 new launch party.

We’ve also heard it said that Emerald of Katong is cheaper due to its leasehold status; and granted, District 15 has a lot of freehold condos (which includes The Continuum). But we don’t think that’s the main reason, as fellow new launches Tembusu Grand and Grand Dunman are also leasehold. 

(In any case, many of the surrounding freehold condos make for poor points of comparison, as they’re boutique condos without full-suite facilities).

Overall, Emerald of Katong may be a more cost-effective option for those who like the Haig Road/Katong area. This is especially true if you’re going for a family-sized unit, which is increasingly unaffordable in District 15.