“We saw a lot of interest from purchasers given the huge demand for viewings during the initial weekend of the preview at Clavon condo. All the appointment slots were full on Saturday, and to accommodate the increasing demand for slots, we had to extend the operating hours of the Clavon showflat by 2 hours on Sunday,” says UOL’s chief investment and asset officer, Miss Jesline Goh.

Clavon Clementi is situated along Avenue 1, next to The Clement Canopy condo, which coincidentally was also jointly developed by UIC and UOL. The 99-year leasehold condo, consisting of 505-units, was fully sold and completed in 2019.

On the heels of a successful condominium launch for The Clement Canopy, UOL and UIC together bidded for and won the 178,064 square feet land site next door for $491.3 million in July 2019. This is the Clavon location.

The land site is close to tertiary institutions and schools in the Kent Ridge zone, for example the National University of Singapore (NUS), NUS High School of Mathematics and Science, Yale-NUS College Campus, , and Nan Hua Secondary School.

“This land site in Clementi is within a very sought-after location, because of its proximity to the educational hub surrounding Kent Ridge. From the good sales results at The Clement Canopy and other housing developments in the region, we know that this zone is currently viewed as an established residential locale,” says Liam Wee Sin, the UOL Group chief executive.

The conceptual design for Clavon Clementi was inspired by UOL’s other recent developments, such as the Principal Garden located in Alexandra and The Tre Ver in Potong Pasir, which was fully sold just over 2 years after its preview.

“The land shape here gave us the opportunity to come up with a design that is unique,” comments Liam. “The sloping terrain is almost identical to what we seen at The Tre Ver, which slants down towards the river. Concurrently, we also borrowed inspiration from Principal Garden, which takes advantage of the relatively big compound against a smaller building footprint to fashion a resort-like feel.”

These characteristics are distinctly visible at Clavon, which highlights two 37-storey residential towers built in a north-south orientation. “We believe excellent buildings add not only value to the real estate but also to the quality of life. In each and every UOL development, we target to deliver an excellent product through ecologically driven landscaping, good design, sustainability and emphasis on community,” mentions Liam.

Designed for remote working

The Clavon condominium comprises a mix of 1- to 5-bedroom units ranging from 527 square feet to 1,690 square feet. 1- and 2-bedroom units make up 56% of the total number of units, at 356 apartments. Sizes range from 527 square feet to 764 square feet.

“From the experience with the Covid-19 pandemic, we be of the opinion that more purchasers will be seeking homes that gives them a little bit more living space as compared to pre-pandemic times,” mentions Liam. He reckons the additional space will be useful for residents working from home.

1-bedroom apartments feature a study niche, while 2-bedroom units have a slightly wider dining room that can double up as a home office. 3-bedroom units have a flexi-use space that can serve as a study room. Liam foresees the flexible use of space to become increasingly appealing to residential property purchasers today.

Clavon condo will also showcase co-working spaces and a gym within its clubhouse, children’s play areas further away from the twin towers, and a 50m infinity pool on the ground floor.

“There is a lot of ideas put in on how we, as property developers, can fully utilise spaces, and how we can assimilate flexi spaces into efficient layouts, therefore developing useful spaces where work and home can co-exist,” he comments.

Keeping sales momentum going

The Clavon price list has units starting from $1,475 psf. According to Miss Jesline Goh, UOL’s chief asset and investment officer, the launch of Clavon condo arrives as the company’s other residential projects in the country are almost fully sold.

These include projects such as Amber 45 along Amber Road, where only 5 of the 139 units remain unsold, and The Tre Ver, which is completely sold. At the Avenue South Residence condo along Silat Avenue, about 600 of the 1,074 units have been transacted.

In spite of a more spacious layout for the units and the addition of flexible spaces, maintaining absolute rates attractive is a priority, mentions Liam. Around half of the apartments in the 640-unit project are priced lower than $1.5 million. 1-bedroom units begin at $800,000, 2-bedroom units from $1 million, while 3-bedroom units are starting from $1.45 million. 4-bedroom units have prices that begin from $1.9 million, and 5-bedroom units go from $2.5 million up.

Besides the proximity to the educational enclave, Clavon is also close to the one-north science hub and the Jurong Lake District, the upcoming second central business district.

With the many travel restrictions still in place worldwide, many of the residential property demand in Singapore is probably coming from local purchasers and given the Clavon location, they will be mainly from HDB upgraders, says Liam.

“Given the current additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) regime, HDB flat owners will need to pay an additional 12% tax within 14 days of exercising the sale and purchase agreement to commit to a private property, if they have not sold off their current home. This is a upfront cash payment that is substantial,” notes Liam.

He urges the Singapore authorities to consider extending similar ABSD remission periods for executive condominium (EC) purchasers to those buying private residences too. As of now, HDB upgraders who are married have to dispose their flats within 6 months of buying a private residential property in order to be entitled to the ABSD remission. For those purchasing ECs, they are provided six months time to dispose their HDB flats from the point they collect the keys to their new EC. Therefore, UOL’s Liam is recommending that HDB upgraders be accorded the same 6-month period to dispose their HDB flat from the point they collect the keys to their new private residence.

This isn’t the first time a suggestion such as this has been voiced by a leader from this industry this year. In September, president of the Real Estate Developers’ Association (Redas), Mr Chia Ngiang Hong, also urged the Singapore government to consider permitting first-time HDB upgraders purchasing a private residential property to be allowed to defer payment of the ABSD.

In accordance to Liam, such a gesture would be “logical in many aspects”. He says: “On top of easing cash flow issues, this also addresses other considerations that purchasers have to contend with, like the logistics of seeking an interim accommodation while pending their new private property to be finished.”

If put into effect, this change in the ABSD policy would align it with what is already in position for EC purchasers, and would assist genuine HDB upgraders simplify the transition into private residential property ownership, comments Liam.

Source: https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/uol-group-unveils-next-gen-homes-clavon