THE property
speculator has been sighted again, but industry experts say his
re-appearance is likely to be short-lived.
After lying low for
about seven years, he has been seen buzzing during the launch of Far
East Organisation's Icon at Tanjong Pagar, where the units are
selling at an average of $650 per sq ft.
Subsequently, more
than 20 advertisements have appeared in The Straits Times
classifieds reselling the 99-year Icon units, which cost between
$350,000 and about $460,000.
Since their release
on May 10, more than 500 of the 556 units have been sold, including
all the studio and one-bedroom units.
The new owners are
hoping to offload their buys for a profit of at least $20,000.
One property agent
who jumped onto the bandwagon is Mr Wilfred Chua. He bought a studio
loft for $447,321 the day the property went on the market.
On top of that, the
30-year-old director of WJ Lloyds Properties has handled 19
transactions on the project so far, including selling one studio
unit at a $25,000 profit for his client.
Said Mr Chua:
'There's a niche group buying this because it's near the city, with
no competitors around. The buyers are hoping to make a profit of
maybe $20,000 to $100,000 for their investments.'
Another property
agent who placed advertisements for Icon homes is Mr Aimus Yim of
Dennis Wee Realty. The 35-year-old has seven units for sale.
'Everybody is
putting Icon units up for sale, so higher prices tend to lose out,'
he said.
Property analysts
believe the speculative behavior is peculiar to the project, because
its price allows speculators to continue financing their mortgages
even if they cannot make a quick profit.
Said Dr Amy Khor,
Knight Frank's executive director of investment sales: 'The
speculators are not back in the numbers seen previously in 1996.
These are really risk takers and I don't think there's an upward
trend, because it's a very project-specific.'