BUILDER City Developments is joining hands with the National Parks Board to promote the greening of homes.

It is hosting talks by NParks on how to cultivate high-rise gardens, and is conducting a mini-fair for homeowners to pick up the correct soil, fertiliser and equipment.

Although this is perceived as a business move, CityDev believes the time is ripe 'to develop a sense of social responsibility to the environment', said the general manager of its projects division, Mr Eddie Wong.

'Singaporeans have reached a stage of affluence where they can afford more than just a home with concrete and glass,' he added.

The lunchtime talks, on June 17 to 26 at its Robinson Road office, also targets buyers of homes in CityDev's Savannah CondoPark in Simei.

The development, with 648 units, boasts a solar-powered clubhouse, recycled floorboards and energy-saving air-conditioning units.

More than 140 of its 153 units launched so far have been sold.

Eco-friendly condominiums, however, are slow to take off. Two years ago, Hong Lai Huat Realty, now owned by PDC Corp, launched D'Ecosia in Marine Parade and it was touted as the first with eco-friendly apartments.

It has an underground tank that recycles rainwater for flushing toilets and watering plants, as well as special glass to cut down on heat transfer.

Mr Walter Kee, PDC Corp's chief executive for its property division, was candid about the company's motivation.

'It was a case of market positioning, we wanted it to stand out against the competition,' he said.

It paid off as only five of the 73 units remain unsold.

But few builders have taken this 'green' path, preferring to just stick to landscaping. Going beyond requires a more conscious appraisal of a project's design and materials.

It calls for things such as clever circuitry so that alternating lamps in common corridors can be turned off without blacking out entire sections of a building.

At times, it also calls for a higher budget. The solar panels for Savannah's clubhouse, for example, cost up to $250,000.

Such features are especially low on the priority list when projects are in prime districts, where space is expensive.

Far East Organization's Icon tower in Tanjong Pagar, for example, boasts a seventh-floor landscaped island and a sky garden on the 31st floor but has no area for drying clothes in its flats.

Its dwellers are expected to use drying machines tucked away in the laundry cupboard, increasing energy consumption.

Still, of the 556 units launched, 487 have been sold.

Such buyers dominate the market here. 'When buying, it still boils down to location and pricing. They are paramount on a buyer's mind,' said Mr Melvin Poh, executive director of property agency Credo Real Estate.