Singapore, 13 March 2020 – Developers in Singapore’s private housing market have upped the ante on creativity by offering more at sales galleries, reported The Business Times on 27 January 2020. Potential buyers are now welcomed into elegant hotel-style lounges with coffee bars with virtual walk-throughs and more smart home features designed to impress.

In the upscale District 9, the showflat for the recently launched The Avenir has three private rooms for potential buyers to talk to sales agents.

Hong Leong Holdings Head of Sales and Marketing Ms Betsy Chng said that the feature was introduced for The Avenir to ensure privacy for ultra-high net-worth clients and provide a sense of exclusivity.

The sales gallery for the 376-unit luxury freehold project also centres around a central courtyard with landscaping, while the corridor of the sales gallery displays artefacts and paintings akin to an art gallery.

As at 18 February 2020, 25 units of The Avenir have been sold at a median price of $3,245 psf.

Over at East Coast, the showflat for the 592-unit Amber Park is one of the largest in Singapore at 18,000 square feet. It also features a rotating architectural model, which is said to be a first. The property launched in May 2019, and has sold 202 units as at 23 February 2020.

At Sengkang Grand Residences, the sales gallery was injected with an element of fun and creativity for visitors with a colourful Instagram wall. Located right in the heart of Sengkang Central, Sengkang Grand Residences is part of an iconic first-of-its-kind integrated development, and was officially launched on 2 November 2019. As at 23 February 2020, the development sold 237 out of 680 units.

The Instagram wall was decorated with lifestyle props such as real bags and shoes and larger-than-life food decals to highlight various amenities within the development, such as the retail mall and community plaza; and visitors are encouraged to ‘snap & share’ their photos on social media.

Edmund Tie & Company Senior Director for Research and Consulting Ms Alice Tan noted that developers have been stepping up marketing strategies at showflats. She told The Business Times that an appealing showflat remains a key visual and physical strategy to provide differentiate, catalyse talking points, and enables the project to stand out favourably among the rest.

Other trends emerging at sales galleries include hotel-lounge styling, children’s playrooms, smart home features, and multi-media visual presentations to showcase a virtual walk-through or panoramic views from the development.