Developers get creative to sell units

Artist’s impression of Kingsford Hillview Peak in Upper Bukit Timah. To entice home buyers amidst the challenging housing market, developers are resorting to new marketing gimmicks, like holding games where everyone wins a prize, organising trips to Singapore, and launching their projects in other countries, reported The Straits Times.
For instance, Kingsford Development held a ‘Property Tycoon Challenge’ for buyers of Kingsford Hillview Peak in Upper Bukit Timah over the weekend.
Styled after Singapore’s Mandarin version of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’, the top prize at stake is a $250,000 cash rebate. But every contestant will be leaving with at least $5,000 in cash rebates, which will increase if they give the correct answers to the questions in the game. Buyers also have a chance to win an electric scooter and two hoverboards in a separate contest.
Meanwhile, Guangzhou-based Country Garden has teamed up with travel agencies to host Singapore tours for Chinese tourists, in the hope they will purchase units in Forest City, a mega project sited on man-made islands near the Tuas Second Link.
According to its spokesperson, the three-day trip, which includes a drive into Johor Bahru, is mainly for shopping and sightseeing, with expenses to be borne by the visitors.
The developer is also dangling discounts of up to 20 percent for those who purchase early, and pay in cash. “Promotions vary by property type, payment formality and time period,” said the spokesman.
In addition, some developers are launching their new projects in emerging economies to woo affluent buyers there.
For instance, City Developments Limited (CDL) held a property showcase in Jakarta over the weekend for its Gramercy Park project, to be followed next weekend in Surabaya, wherein one tower with 87 units is being offered in the range of $2,800 psf.
The 174-unit project will be unveiled in Singapore soon, and there are also plans to hold similar events in Hong Kong and mainland China, noted a company spokeswoman.
CDL’s move follows CapitaLand’s successful launch of Cairnhill Nine in Indonesia. It rolled out the development in Jakarta in late February before launching it here last month.
The project has found buyers for 193 of its 268 units, with foreign buyers, mostly Indonesians, contributing 50 percent of the sales, added a CapitaLand spokesman.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg

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