including value of development rights
Aurea, a luxurious residential project located in the Core Central Region (CCR), was launched for sale on March 8. It is one of the first of its kind in the CCR to be launched in the first quarter of 2025. The joint developers of the project, Far East Organization and Perennial Holdings, have sold 23 units at an average price of $3,005 per square foot (psf).
Phase one of the project, developed by DP Architects with its innovative “hanging garden concept”, comprises of 78 units ranging from two- to four-bedroom apartments on levels 4 to 16. The sales rate for these units, therefore, translates to 30% based on the 78 units released in phase one. The project has a total of 188 units spread across 45 storeys.
Aurea stands out as the first private condominium connected to a mixed-use development that was sold en bloc and conserved. It is now known collectively as Golden Mile Singapore. Out of the buyers, 83% are Singaporeans and the remaining 17% are permanent residents (PRs) from Malaysia. Based on the total of 188 units, the sales translate to about 12.2%. According to Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, CCR projects usually sell between 10% to 30% of their units during the launch weekend, as they lack the large pool of HDB upgraders that suburban projects attract.
PropNex CEO Ismail Gafoor considers Aurea’s sales “encouraging” in light of the “mostly lacklustre sales” of CCR projects since the tightening of the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) measure in April 2023. “The doubling of the ABSD rate for foreigners to 60% has significantly cooled interest for CCR homes,” he says. “In fact, developers sold the fewest new CCR private homes on record in 2024, at just 378 units – down by 74% from 1,454 units in 2023.”
However, Gafoor believes that the take-up in the CCR segment will improve gradually. “We have observed that CCR projects tend to transact units steadily over many months rather than achieve blockbuster sales over the launch weekend, unlike some Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) projects,” he says. “CCR homes being more high-end and targeted at a niche market, where buyers seek a luxury home and enjoy the finer things in life.”
Aurea’s joint developers stated that the two- and three-bedroom apartments in the Prestige Collection accounted for 74% of the sales. These apartments offer a balance of well-designed spaces, functionality and investment potential, which is what drew buyers to them. The four-bedroom units from the Signature Collection attracted buyers mainly for their “expansive balconies that open out to sweeping views of both the Marina Bay and Kallang Basin”, comments the joint venture.
Units in the Sky Villa Collection comprise only 18 five-bedroom apartments of up to 3,251 sq ft and two exclusive six-bedroom penthouses of up to 8,816 sq ft. “Such large-format homes in the downtown area are rare to find,” says Shaw Lay See, COO of Far East Organization’s sales & leasing group.
“In recent years, we have seen a significant narrowing of the price gap between private residential properties in the CCR and the RCR,” says Ken Low, managing partner of SRI. “Historically, the difference averaged around 40% in the last 10 years, but it has now closed to about 20% across all properties regardless of tenure.”
Units come with expansive balconies and views of Marina Bay and Kallang Basin (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
According to Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore, CCR price growth has lagged behind RCR and OCR in recent years due to comparatively fewer new home launches. “In 2025, we expect to see some nine CCR launches, and we can expect the market dynamics to drive a notable rise in CCR home prices this year, driven by increased luxury project launches,” he says.
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“Savvy investors may shift their focus back to CCR once again, since the non-landed new homes price gap between CCR and RCR narrowed from 50% in 2018 to 10% in 2024. We expect this gap to widen again as more new luxury homes debut,” adds Chu.
According to SRI’s Low, Aurea is in a prime location to benefit from Singapore’s ongoing urban renewal efforts, with major infrastructural and lifestyle upgrades in the surrounding precincts. The revitalisation of Beach Road and the Ophir-Road Corridor, the Kallang Alive master plan and the completion of the North-South Corridor are set to enhance accessibility, connectivity, and vibrancy in this key city district.
“Aurea is situated at the doorstep of probably the largest transformation in Singapore,” notes Huttons’ Yip. He sees Aurea benefitting from the 120-km Southern coastline redevelopment, which stretches from the Greater Southern Waterfront, Marina Bay, Kallang Basin to the future Long Island project.