Cuscaden Reserve receives ABSD extension and relaunches prices starting at S$2,900 per sq. ft.
After an initial deadline for selling all unsold units by 2023 was extended until 2024, makers of luxury leasehold condominium Cuscaden Reserve have started to offer discounted prices starting at S$2,900 a square foot.
The average price per square foot of 12 condo units in the Orchard area has been S$3,600 since September 2019, when the Orchard area condominium was launched.
180 units of the 192-unit development, for which a temporary occupation permit was issued in August 2023 has not been sold.
Cuscaden Reserve is one of a number private residential projects that are nearing the deadline for additional buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD). They must sell all units by 2023, or face heavy stamp duty penalties.
The Straits Times reported that a marketing agent from Cuscaden Reserve who refused to be identified said that ABSD has extended the deadline for the project to 2024.
The Cuscaden site was purchased by its developers in May 2018, well before the cooling measures of July 2018.
According to JLL, the penalty for failing to sell all units during the prescribed sales period will likely be 15% of the cost of land acquisition, or approximately S$61.5M.
The ABSD penalty is not clear.
SC Global Developments, which developed the condo in conjunction with Hong Kong’s New World Development and Far East Consortium, declined to comment when asked about the ABSD extension.Due to the increase in ABSD for foreign buyers to 60%, it is more difficult to sell all units within a certain time frame for projects located in prime districts.
A delay in the deadline for the (ABSD), will allow the developer to take a break and focus on the relaunch of the project.
The majority of the 180 remaining units are two-bedders. Bookings begin on March 16. Due to the exclusivity of this project, units can be sold through private placement.
The interested buyer can specify the unit that they would like during the sales booking. After a certain period of time, if there are no other parties interested in the same unit, the buyer will receive the option to purchase the unit. If more than one party is interested in the same unit, a ballot will be conducted.
We do not have the complete price list at this time, nor did we receive it during the previous launch. We are therefore unable to comment if the prices have been reduced by 20%.
Cuscaden Reserve is under pressure to sell its unsold units in order to make room for the new supply.
In 2024, a residential and commercial site in Orchard Boulevard was awarded to UOL and Singapore Land Group, which submitted the highest bid of S$428.3M or S$1,617 psf per plot ratio (ppr).
The highest bidder for the Orchard Boulevard property, which could yield 280 apartments and 500 sq m commercial space, came in at a price 32 per cent lower than the previous record of S$2,377psfppr, set by Cuscaden Reserve on May 2018.
Cuscaden Reserve, a smaller unit, is offered by SC Global’s Petit Collectibles. This allows those who don’t wish to maintain a home to have fewer hassles. SC Global founder Simon Cheong explained this to ST when private viewings began in 2019.
The design of the project by local firm SCDA Architects was inspired by the German Bauhaus movement from the early 20th Century, which promotes a philosophy of less is more.
