Crown Group bucks Covid-19 trend with strong sales
The coronavirus pandemic has played mischief with most firms, slowing down business for some and shuttering others. But Crown Group appears to have been spared: the Australian property developer reaped its strongest sales from February to April, raking in A$63 million ($60.7 million) over the period.
The group’s strong performance took even its CEO, Iwan Sunito, by surprise. “In fact, February and March have seen the highest sales we have had in the last 1½ years,” Sunito, who is based in Sydney, tells over a phone interview. The buyers in the February– April period were predominantly from mainland China; they snapped up properties across four of Crown Group’s developments in Sydney.
Most of them settled on Waterfall by Crown Group. The development, in the heart of Sydney’s Waterloo district, comprises one, twoand three-bedroom apartments, as well as duplex penthouses that boast roof terraces. The highlight of its architecture is a seven-storey waterfall that cascades down one of its four buildings. Other attributes inspired by nature include a bamboo-covered walkway and lagoon-like water features. But it was not just the amenities that drew investors to acquire homes in the development.
Beyond just amenities
Over the months of February to April, demand for apartments at Waterfall by Crown Group stemmed largely from Chinese parents purchasing homes for their children who were studying in Australia. “Many of them did not return to their country in February and March, and because of that they have had time to look at properties,” remarks Sunito. “We have been fortunate in a way that we had some units that were ready for them to move into.”
Another pull was the weak Australian dollar, which fell to a 17-year low of US$0.55 to a dollar. “A lot of buyers capitalised on that,” says Sunito, “especially our investors who are holding US dollars from the US or around the world; this is almost like a bargain.” He reveals that some of them were “significant buyers making A$3 million to A$4 million purchases for their stay while they were in Sydney. And their transactions are in cash; they’re not borrowing”.
Notable transactions over the three-month window included three penthouses that were sold at Arc by Crown Group, Mastery by Crown Group, as well as Waterfall by Crown Group. Arc rises over Sydney’s CBD in two 25-storey steel towers, with cathedral-like curved arch