Property Hunt: Caribbean@Keppel Bay

16 Jan 2009

Property prices have indeed taken a hit over the past year, affecting most condominiums including those considered as prime areas.

With much doom and gloom in the property sector, can the waterfront condominium, Caribbean@Keppel Bay, sustain its pricing? But first, we find out more about the Caribbean.

Located in District 4, Keppel Bay Drive, the Caribbean at Keppel Bay was completed in 2004 by none other than Keppel Bay Pte Ltd, with a 99-year tenure. It consists of 969 units, spread over 2-, 3-, 4-bedroom apartments and penthouses.

Considering that it was completed in 2004, this makes it five years old. Condominiums that are within 10 years of age are considered young and this is a factor when trying to get a loan from a bank, as it is easier to get loans for younger property.

For being below 10 years old, Caribbean earns itself its first tick.

The condominium is equipped with jogging tracks, a few swimming pools, including a lap pool, gym, steam rooms, tennis courts and of course, barbeque pits. It is situated 680 metres away from Harbourfront MRT station. For being less than a 1km walk, it gets a tick for convenience to commute. Harbourfront Centre and VivoCity are also within 1km away.

Should you buy an apartment at the Caribbean for investment reasons, the rental yield you would get is 6.35%, based on Q3 2008. For renting out a 3-bedroom apartment, the market average is at S$5,000 and to purchase it, would involve some S$1.8 m. The conservancy charges for a 3-bedroom apartment S$300 per month. This falls below the mid-mark of S$500, hence a tick.

Some examples of unique facilities in a condominium are the rock climbing wall, spa aqua gym pool, aqua treadmill, aqua lounge chairs and even an aqua bed – all these can be found in a higher-end condo like The Sail.

Caveats
This is the crux or shall I say highlight of this week's Property Hunt article of Caribbean@Keppel Bay – the caveats. Over the past 12 months, units in that condominium saw some drastic changes in terms of pricing psf.

In January, the average pricing per sq ft (psf) was S$1,600, but already in February it experienced a dip to S$1,350 psf and it stayed the same for March. In April, it went down by another S$50, but it managed to gain ground once more in May at S$1,350 psf. June's average was S$1,400 and that month itself was when the highest amount of S$1,757 was being recorded.

In July, it went down again to S$1,350 and in September, it fell to S$1,200 psf. In November, there was only one transaction recorded at S$1,410 and another one in December at S$937. There weren't any transactions recorded for August and October.

You can see the price fluctuations over the past months that the average pricing range for the Caribbean is S$1,300 to S$1,400 psf. This condominium is now into its fifth year and its pricing has certainly managed to 'hold' its ground with the variation fluctuating not too far off the average pricing range.

As always, please see your licensed financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

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