Homebuyers looking for condominiums with good amenities, accessibility and proximity to popular schools and priced under $800,000 are finding them at Regentville, on Hougang Street 92. The 580-unit 99- year leasehold development also fronts the junction of Hougang Avenue 9 and Yio Chu Kang Road.
Developed by Far East Organization, Regentville comprises five 15-storey towers of two-bedroom units sized 980 to 1,163 sq ft and three-bedroom units sized 1,076 to 2,077 sq ft. Completed in 1999, it was launched just months before the start of the Asian financial crisis at $500 to $600 psf.
The lowest price set there was in 2003, when a 15th-floor, 1,744 sq ft unit changed hands in the resale market for $495,000 ($284 psf). The same unit was sold in early 2007 for $287 psf, or $500,000. Since August this year, prices have been hitting $600 psf, with a historical high of $695 psf achieved in September, when a 12th-floor, 980 sq ft unit was sold for $681,000.
Regentville’s attraction is the possibility of buying a unit within a project that’s just over 10 years old for under $800,000. This probably makes Regentville “one of the most affordable in the Serangoon and Hougang areas”, notes property agent Ruth Ho, a senior associate director at C&H Group.
In the Nov 16 to 23 period, three units changed hands in the secondary market at $626 to $684 psf. On Nov 22, a first-floor, 1,163 sq ft unit was sold for $728,000 ($626 psf), representing a 35.2% gain for the seller, who bought it from the developer for $538,000 ($463 psf) in February 1998 amid the Asian financial crisis.
On the 10th floor of another block, a seller made a 17% gain when he sold his 980 sq ft unit for $670,000 ($684 psf) on Nov 19. He bought the unit for $571,857 ($584 psf) from the developer during its launch in June 1997.
Meanwhile, a 1,152 sq ft unit on the 11th floor changed hands for the third time for $746,000 ($648 psf). The seller bought the unit for $588,000 ($511 psf) on the resale market in July 2007. Prior to that, the unit was transacted at $580,000 ($504 psf) in early 2002. The first owner bought the unit for $721,580 ($627 psf) from the developer in September 1997.
In Hougang, near Upper Serangoon Road, is another 99-year leasehold development — the 394-unit Evergreen Park, on Hougang Avenue 7. Completed in 1999 around the same time as Regentville, Evergreen Park features three- and four-bedroom apartments sized 1,012 to 1,367 sq ft.
There were at least four transactions at Evergreen Park in November, according to caveats lodged with URA. Most recently, on Nov 22, a 13th-floor, 1,367 sq ft apartment changed hands at $835,000 ($611 psf). The month also saw the highest price set for the project, when a 1,076 sq ft apartment was sold for $780,000 ($725 psf), according to a Nov 15 caveat. The other two sales, at $710,000, were for a 1,023 sq ft unit ($694 psf) and a 1,044 sq ft unit ($680 psf).
Also located along Hougang Avenue 7 is the 496- unit executive condo The Florida, which was completed in 2000 and can now be traded like a regular 99-year leasehold private condo. The City Developments project was launched during the Asian financial crisis, in June 1998, and yet was completely sold out within a few days at $400 to $450 psf.
In the resale market, prices have reached $586 to $656 psf in the last two months. In October, a 10thfloor, 1,227 sq ft unit changed hands for $805,000 ($656 psf), the highest price to date. In the most recent transaction in November, a 14th-floor, 1,292 sq ft unit was sold for $830,000 ($643 psf).
Next door to The Florida is the 716-unit Rio Vista condo, along Upper Serangoon Road, which was completed in 2004. According to the most recent URA caveats, units there traded at $682 to $711 psf in October. Most recently, a 2,465 sq ft, 17th-floor apartment changed hands for $1.68 million ($682 psf) in October. The highest price set at Rio Vista was $890,000 ($719 psf) in June for a 1,238 sq ft, 15th-floor unit. The second highest was $717 psf, or $895,000, for an eighth-floor, 1,249 sq ft unit.
The suburban neighbourhoods of Ang Mo Kio, Buangkok, Hougang, Upper Serangoon and Yio Chu Kang Road are seeing the greatest number of new developments, comprising executive and private condos, as more government land sites are released for sale. There’s also increased connectivity, with more MRT stations opening up, and amenities like shopping and eateries.
For instance, Regentville is located next to Central Place and Hougang Point shopping mall. Within a 10-minute drive is nex mall, which is considered Singapore’s largest suburban shopping mall and is connected underground to the Serangoon Central MRT station and interchange, and integrated with the bus interchange.
Regentville is also within 1km of a top primary school — Rosyth Primary School — while a feeder bus provides a link to the Serangoon Central, Hougang and Kovan MRT stations. “Buyers continue to like Regentville due to its easy accessibility to the major expressways, such as the Central Expressway, Seletar Expressway and Tampines Expressway,” says Ho.
The latest monthly asking rents at Regentville are $2,500 to $2,800 for two-bedroom units and up to $3,200 for three-bedroom apartments, estimates Ho. This offers rental yields of 4.5% to 5.3%.
Source : The Edge – 12 Dec 2010