| 1. A HUGE bathroom, with the requisite his and hers | | | | its lifestyle-marketing tack. All 3 developments are a |
| sinks and standalone bathtubs(i love the claw-footed | | | | calculated move towards projecting a luxurious, |
| ones but the modern egg-shaped ones like those in | | | | prestigious brand image. The 3 projects are: The |
| Hills and Grange Residences are pretty swank too). | | | | Ladyhill, selling at $1,800psf when it was first |
| 2. More than 3000sqft of space- brand new. Older | | | | launched, The BLVD, on Orchard Boulevard and the |
| apartments make the 3000sqft mark easily, with | | | | hip sister in the luxurious troika-the Lincoln Modern, |
| newer developments typically characterized by teeny | | | | the latter which I have covered on my segment |
| flats, and selling at more than $1000psf. So the cold | | | | under 'hip developments'. |
| rationality behind it all is- if you can beat developer's | | | | Most of these apartments rent for about the same |
| expectations and pay the same psf amount for a | | | | amount as a comparable semi-d with the same top |
| 3000sqft apartment, then THAT's luxury. | | | | finishes and quality design. Usually it is a toss-up |
| 3. A brand new,lowrise development- with four | | | | between the grounds and privacy that living in a |
| carpark lots. (It exists!) What this translates into is | | | | house affords and the convenience and security of |
| exorbitant maintenance costs- the costs of | | | | living in an apartment. There are hidden costs of living |
| maintaining a swimming pool, carpark, security guard, | | | | in a house, such as pool and garden maintenance. |
| etc, is divided between that much fewer residents. | | | | Maintenance costs for apartment living is shared by |
| And an allocation for four carpark lots is way too | | | | the residents and has been included in the rental. Yet, |
| decadent in landscarce Singapore. As is the | | | | there is also the exclusivity of having your own pool |
| assumption that residents would drive four cars in a | | | | and garden for the children and dogs to run around. |
| city characterised by sky-high COEs. | | | | Security factors like having the condominium security, |
| 4. A private concierge service. All the developments | | | | the card access system, etc, might also sway you to |
| in my favourite, luxurious troika has access to a | | | | choose living in a condominium as opposed to a |
| concierge service. | | | | house although of course, some exclusive |
| "Luxurious apartments | | | | townhouses do provide security as well- giving you |
| As the condominium market become more | | | | the best of both worlds. Ultimately, people who |
| competitive and high-rise living becomes a conscious | | | | choose condominium living need the ease of a |
| choice, developers have been coming up with | | | | fuss-free lifestyle, especially if they expect to be |
| developments promoting lifestyle statements. | | | | travelling a lot. There are some penthouses with a |
| Developments such as the Pier, Icon, the Arris, | | | | private pool, which offers part of the exclusivity of |
| amongst others, are targeted at a rarefied segment | | | | landed housing in not having to share amenities. Yet |
| of society-in this case the urban young single/couple | | | | again, this leads to the inevitable costs of pool |
| intent on living the good life. | | | | maintenance which high-rise living is supposed to do |
| SCGlobal , not a mega developer in the sense of | | | | away with in the first place. " |
| having lots of projects under its portfolio, having | | | | 5. A private pool. |
| come up with all of 3 projects so far, is succeeding in | | | | |