Canning Hill Piers, the most talked about new condominium launch in Singapore is creating a buzz in the Singapore property market. CDL and CapitaLand’s marketing blitz hopes to create a new niche property segment, the young ‘wannabes’. 
Young buyers may be enticed by the eye popping common facilities in a lively location. Close to 75% of the 696 units are less than 800 square feet, the majority of these under 500 plus square feet. For the upwardly mobile singles and young couples a home at Canning Hill Piers is their passport to the lifestyle they aspire. But when  their priorities change can these small units become a family home?
Despite the developer’s brilliant and intensive marketing campaign there are challenges. About 25% of the units are larger units that will require buyers of a different profile. The most naive buyer, if any, will be the person who forks out $50m for a penthouse where several hundred units are sold below $2m. One can understand why a buyer would pay $75m for a penthouse at Les Maison Nassim where there are only 14 units and entry price is over $30m. For this select group exclusivity and privacy are their primary considerations. It will also not appeal to buyers of premium four and five bedroom units who have to fork out $5m or more. Buyers in this segment will prefer the exclusivity of a Boulevard 88 or Gramercy Park to the buzz of Canning Hill Piers with common facilities that are shared with many residents. The vibes at the common areas will be totally different when shared with numerous other residents. At the high per square foot price any unit will be hard to justify minus the common areas.
The young couples will enjoy living at Canning Hill Piers but when they start a family will their apartments be too small? Can they offload at a profit if they buy at this price or rent out their unit in future at a decent rental yield?

With it’s attractive amenities and location one can confidently say that Canning Hill Piers will remain attractive to foreigners and professionals. As for capital gain the developer is already factoring in forward pricing. Whether it goes up even higher depends on the market movements. I am generally quite pessimistic on mass market condos as it has already moved up quite a bit. Canning Hill Piers is in the  Core Central Region which has not moved up as much and could  still offer an upside potential.