How to read a new launch price list

This is a briefing note, not advice for a particular project. Prices, incentives, and payment schemes move. Confirm the sheet in front of you, and the date on it.

Start with quantum, not only psf

Price per square foot is how projects are compared in a headline. The cheque is the quantum: the price of that stack, on that floor, facing that way. Two units with a similar psf can differ by more than a renovation budget once floor and facing are priced in.

What the columns are actually saying

• Stack and facing: the same floor can hide a very different day-to-day, and a very different price.
• Floor: higher is not automatically better once the premium is written out against the view you will actually get.
• Size: compare like with like. A larger one-bed and a compact two-bed are different products.
• What is included: hold the incentive against the price, not beside it as a gift.

Payment is part of the price

A progressive payment scheme and a deferred scheme do not cost the same thing at the same time. Ask what is due on booking, on exercise, and through construction. Buyer’s stamp duty is computed on the higher of the purchase price or market value, on top of the booking cheque.

Then put the unit next to a resale home you would actually live in. If the new launch only wins inside the showflat, it has not won yet.