Singapore Property Resources and Guides, HDB, Districts and Archived listings

Shoebox units push private home sales to three-year high

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:00:00 Z

With almost 2,500 units sold, April enjoyed the strongest figures in new private home sales in nearly three years. According to analysts, this is due to the rising popularity of smaller and more affordable shoebox apartments, as well as incredibly low mortgage rates.

(The new private homes market is seeing an upsurge in sales numbers, partly due to the rising popularity of shoebox apartments. Image courtesy of Thinkstock.)

Last month, there were 2,487 new homes sold—a 4 per cent jump from March’s figure, and the highest monthly level since July 2009’s 2,772 units sold. Including executive condominiums (ECs), 2,660 homes were moved last month.

Industry observers dubbed April “another exceptional month”, after the first three months of this year saw a healthy average of over 2,200 homes sold per month. In contrast, new homes sales between 2008 and 2011 averaged at 1,300 units a month.

The term ‘shoebox’ was coined in reference to homes with smaller-than-usual square footage, typically under 50 sq m (about 540 sq ft), and a price tag below S$1 million. The presence of these shoebox homes has boosted the market—constituting some 20 per cent of April’s non-EC figure, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) —and made another round of property cooling measures more likely.

The last round of measures was implemented December 2011.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan has already sounded two warnings on the shoebox segment as an untested market. In Parliament this week, he reiterated that the government is closely monitoring the trend, and will consider more regulation if necessary.

Real estate agencies revealed to The Straits Times that there is a strong buyer preference for shoebox units. For instance, ERA Realty said sales were concentrated within the $650,000-850,000 price range, and that Housing Board (HDB) buyers comprised half of these purchases.

Similarly, PropNex echoed that these HDB upgraders were sustaining the market. Chief executive Mohamed Ismail said, “This trend of buying has not been dampened by the latest round of cooling measures, which effectively stamped out short-term speculation in the private property resale market.”

As for the current month, Savills Singapore research head, Alan Cheong, said that May could be another bumper month like its predecessors. But he said that the likelihood of this month’s non-EC figure exceeding April’s depends heavily on whether larger-scale projects like Riversails (920 units) and The Sorrento (131 units) launch before the month closes.

Looking ahead, Chia Siew Chuin, research and advisory director at Colliers International, said that developers of mass-market projects will probably continue pushing out launches, given growing competition and tightened housing policies that could, in future, include the regulation of shoebox units.

Last month, more than three-fifths (1,514) of all new homes sold were found in suburban areas. Yet city-centre and city-fringe homes were not neglected; they also enjoyed hikes in sales figures as the price gap between mass-market and prime projects narrows.106 city-centre homes were sold in April, which is nearly double March’s 57 homes. Their city-fringe counterparts saw a whopping 70 per cent surge in sales to 867 units.

Dr Chua Yang Liang, Jones Lang LaSalle’s South-east Asia research head, told The Straits Times that he expects this “bottom-up support” to continue holding up the higher-end segment. However, he acknowledged that there is still a risk for additional intervention from the government, which will strive to maintain stable market demand.

Katong Regency was among last month’s most popular projects, selling 244 units at a median price of S$1,709 per sq ft (psf). Ripple Bay moved 174 units at $876 psf, while The Hillsta closed 154 units at S$1,054 psf.

District Guide: Simei

Mon, 14 May 2012 16:00:00 Z

It may be a small town, but Simei is rich in housing options as well as history.

(The view along Simei avenue: Image courtesy of Terence Ong)

Simei is part of District 18, and can be found in the eastern part of Singapore. It is connected to the Pan Island Expressway (PIE), Simei Avenue, and Upper Changi Road East.

The is derived from the Mandarin term meaning ‘four beauties’, which referred to the Four Great Beauties in ancient Chinese history. In fact, roads within the estate were given individual names of the four women—Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Diaochan and Yang Guifei. However, the roads were later renamed to streets one to 12, because non-Chinese residents found them difficult to pronounce.

Simei was previously a seaside kampong with a great sea view. However, after land reclamation projects took place in the area, the sea is no longer visible from Simei.

The estate is now a modern collective of Housing Board (HDB) flats, private condominiums, and landed homes.

Live

In Simei, you can find a handful of parks and some are fitted with children’s playgrounds, such as Meragi Road Park, Simei Park, and Sunbird Circle Playground.

Fitness enthusiasts can head to the gym at Changi-Simei Community Club.

Because of its small size, there are not many schools in Simei. Schools situated in the vicinity include Changkat Primary School, Changkat Changi Secondary School, Metta School, and ITE College East.

Notably, a number of healthcare facilities can be found in the area, including Changi General Hospital, Simei Care Centre, and St. Andrew’s Community Hospital.

Eat

Unlike in other estates, there are a handful of food haunts worth exploring at Simei’s Eastpoint Mall. Istanbul Gourmet Café is a tiny Turkish eatery offering kebabs, chicken rolls, and an interesting take on Laksa. Canton Kitchen, meanwhile, serves up delectable dim sum on the cheap. Those with a sweet tooth can check out durian and fruit ‘Flo’s at New Zealand Natural Ice Cream.

You can also find the usual array of fast food outlets, cafés and hawker centres around Simei.

Drink

Simei is the wrong place to be if you’re looking for alcohol. To satisfy your hankerings, head to neighbouring estate Tampines, where bars such as Harry’s (Tampines Grande) and Lenas (Tampines One) can be found.

Shop

Eastpoint Mall is the only shopping centre in Simei. Located right beside Simei MRT Station, the mall has a ‘learning hub’ on the uppermost floor that is dedicated entirely to tenants providing education and enrichment. Eastpoint also houses a wide range of outlets that cater to fashion, wellness, entertainment, beauty, and household needs.

Transport

The town is serviced by its namesake MRT, the Simei MRT Station, which is part of the East-West (green) line. The area falling within the 400m radius of the station, including the station itself, is wheelchair-friendly.

Bus services from the two major bus operators in Singapore can be found in Simei.

For a resident's view of living in Simei, click here.

For expert analysis of the Simei property market, click here.

Resident’s View: Simei

Tue, 08 May 2012 16:00:00 Z

Simei is a small but well-developed residential area in the east of Singapore, parallel to the Pan Island Expressway. Logistics coordinator Nur Ahmad does not currently own his Simei Street 1 HDB home, but explains why he’d happily buy a home there when the time is right.

(Simei MRT station. Picture by Calvin Teo, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

iProperty: Do you think you will live in this area when you decide to buy your own place?

Nur Ahmad: Yes I wouldn’t mind buying a unit in this area. It’s a pretty quiet place at night, there are lots of friendly people and it is really convenient if you would want to go shopping or travel to other parts of the island.

iP: What are the pros of living in this area?

NA: If you have your own private transport this place is strategically located in the middle of three main expressways—the ECP, PIE as well as TPE. For public transport, there aren’t really many busses going through Simei but there is an MRT station in the centre.

Another plus are the shops and fast food outlets, such as KFC, Long John Silver, Banquet as well as a few kopitiams, all located near the MRT station and Eastpoint Mall. Not far from here are also Simpang Bedok, Bedok Corner and East Coast; all great for meals whether alone or with your family and friends.

Tampines Mall is also nearby so you could access even more entertainment. Changi General Hospital is also close.

iP: What is your favourite place for dinner in the area, and why?

NA: I’d have to say Simpang, Bedok. It’s not too far away from where I live and there’s plenty of good food. It’s great for dinner out with friends or family.

iP: Do you have a local bar or pub, and what’s good about it?

NA: No, there’s none of that kind of thing here.

iP: Where do you do your shopping, and why?

NA: There’s Eastpoint Mall which is located near the MRT. You can shop for quite a few different things there, from IT equipment to clothing and groceries.

iP: Are there any negatives about living in this area?

NA: So far there isn’t much I can say negatively about this area.

iP: If there was one thing that would improve this area, what would you like to see?

NA: There is nothing left to do except to improve the bus service here in Simei.

iP: Would you advise people to move to this area?

NA: Yes I would advise people to move here if they like to have accessibility and they enjoy living in a quiet place.

For our District Guide, featuring Simei living, eating and drinking, click here.

For professional analysis of the Simei property market, click here.

Price of new homes plummets as square footage shrinks

Mon, 07 May 2012 16:00:00 Z

A sharp rise in the number of cheap shoebox homes has pushed down property prices overall, which is good news for buyers’ finances but bad news for those seeking livable space.

(Housing prices plummet as buyers snap up shoebox units. Image courtesy of Thinkstock.)

Property firm CBRE said that the proliferation of small homes with cheap price tags—typically 500 sq ft or less—has dragged down average prices among new condominiums by 22 per cent.

And although buyers appear to be snapping up the smaller apartments, it remains to be seen whether the trend for less space is sustainable.

Shrinking spaces

To highlight the extent to which new condos have been shrinking, figures show that the median size of new units has dropped from 1,249 sq ft in the third quarter of 2009 to 721 sq ft in the first quarter of this year.

There is further evidence of this new wave of small apartments in the number of caveats lodged in the last year. The 13,611 lodged for new homes amounted to $16.6 billion last year—a drop from the $21.2 billion in 2010, even though the number of caveats that year was only a little higher at 13,933.

This trend doesn’t look set to slow as developers rush to cash in on the compact apartment boom; recent property statistics show that more than one in four new home sales in the first quarter of the year was a shoebox unit.

Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data also showed that the stock of small units will surge from about 2,400 at the end of last year to 8,200 units, or more, by the end of 2015 - a figure that could prove to be higher. Some upcoming projects featuring these flats include Punggol's Watertown and Parc Rosewood in Woodlands.

However, despite proving popular with developers, and buyers who seem willing to trade in less space for a smaller price tag, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said, in an interview with the Straits Times, that the Government is keeping an eye on the rise of shoebox units and will ‘step in’ if necessary.

Government could step in with restrictions

Also speaking to the Straits Times, R'ST Research director, Ong Kah Seng, has suggested restricting these units in some condos, particularly those that attract people upgrading from HDB or those in popular neighbourhoods with good schools.

Until recently, small units were mostly found in city-fringe locations, but they have since proliferated widely.

Cramped areas such as Telok Kurau and Joo Chiat have already imposed such schemes to protect the size of residential properties with a minimum plot size of 1,000 square metres.

Changing trends

Lower price is one obvious factor drawing buyers to small apartments but another theory is Singapore’s changing living habits. For instance, to a growing number of couples looking for their own homes, small and well-priced flats are certainly appealing.

There is also no denying that high property prices have forced low- to middle-income buyers to accept less space.

However, it’s not yet known if this is a long-term trend. The Straits Times spoke to Credo Real Estate executive director, Ong Teck Hui, who said: “It remains to be seen if there is really widespread demand from tenants or owner-occupation […] if it doesn't pan out, it'll be an economic waste.”

Expert Eye – River Valley

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:00:00 Z

River Valley is found in District 9, which is also home to Orchard Road.

(River Valley Road. Image courtesy of Terence Ong.)

And as one can expect, the killer combination of its close proximity to the Central Business District, innumerable wine-and-dine as well and entertainment choices, breathtaking views and a sense of tranquility uncommon to Singapore means the prices of centrally located Housing Board (HDB) flats have remained sky-high despite multiple rounds of property cooling measures.

(Source: Streetsine Analytics)

Even the hard-hitting cooling measures do not appear to be a match for the excellent locations of such HDB apartments, who have come out from the trials unscathed at about $600 per sq ft (psf) at December last year. In fact there does not seem to be much difference in the gap between the average price of Central Area HDB units and the average price of all HDB units in Singapore at the start and the end of the year.

It is, however, interesting to note that prices are on the decline between October and December 2011. Keeping in mind that what analysts call the harshest round of cooling measures only occurred early December, we can safely say that this downward trend is likely to continue come this month.

Similarly, the median resale price of an average 4-room flat in the Central Area is also significantly higher than that of the average 4-room HDB unit across the country.

It should be noted that the average median resale prices have been on a very gradual incline, the same cannot be said for Central HDBs. Prices of the latter are rising at an even quicker rate than the rest of the island.

However, this trend can be expected to change because of the domino effect that the cooling measures have on the resale market. With more buyers finding homes in the new sale market and fewer engaging in price competitions in the resale market in the near future, prices look set to fall in the coming months. This is further escalated by the anticipated global economic downturn, which is causing buyer sentiment to wane and sellers to start holding back their offers.

The following table shows more transaction information for HDBs in Central Area for the month of December 2011.

Resident's View - River Valley

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:00:00 Z

Beauty and serenity perfectly describe Robertson Quay. However, as account manager Danny Gilchrist tells us, high prices do not necessarily equate good quality.

(Residents in Robertson Quay enjoy taking a quiet stroll along the river. Image courtesy of Bryanmackinnon.)

iProperty: Do you think you will live in this area when you decide to buy your own place, and why or why not?
Danny Gilchrist: Yes, I think I may decide to stay here mainly because of convenience. My place is in close proximity to food shops, Orchard Road, the Central Business District and more. I also like living here because my partner and I get to enjoy walks along the river in the evenings.

iP: What are the pros of living in this area?
DG: It is a pretty area in terms of cleanliness and architecture. I like that it is close to the nightlife destinations but still retains some peace and quiet, particularly because the condominium I am living in has a small number of units. The buses are relatively good too, and there is a good Japanese supermarket nearby.

iP: Are there any negatives about living in this area?
DG: There is no direct MRT station nearby as it is very much an expat family location—the closest is Somerset MRT.

iP: If there was one thing that would improve this area, what would you like to see?
DG: I would like to see a Robertson Quay MRT station, perhaps closer to the other end of Robertson and not so near Clarke Quay. It would also be great to have some cheaper eating options. Most of the eateries here are quite expensive yet not all of them are good quality. Ideally I’d like to have a bit more variety here, but generally it is great!

iP: Would you advise people to move to this area and why?
DG: It depends on your key criteria. If you want somewhere central and to be in or around an expat community, then this area should suit your needs. If you are looking for a place with more of a local feel, then this may not be the best place.

iP: What is your favourite place for dinner in the area and why?
DG: It has to be either Wine Connection or The Foundry. Wine Connection is great as the food is good and they have great wine, both of which are not too pricey. At The Foundry you can choose among Thai, Indian and Western food, again at relatively cheap prices.

iP: Do you have a local bar or pub and what’s good about it?
DG: I actually prefer a bar near work (Club Street) or by the Marina as they are more convenient when the mood strikes. I think they are better as well. However, Roberston Quay has good cafés. My favourite is Kith Café, which has a great breakfast menu. As all good restaurants do it also has a staple of dishes they do really well, as opposed to having too many less-than-average ones.

iP: Where do you do your shopping and why?
DG: We go to Cold Storage purely because it is close by. However I would prefer to go to FairPrice because the prices are quite literally much fairer than Cold Storage when it comes to branded goods.

 iP: Are there any special finds in the area?
DG: As Robertson Quay is a well known and popular place to go, there isn’t really a ‘special find’ I can name. But one place I like is the Book Shop Café, which as its name suggests is a good place to find a new read.

District Guide - River Valley

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:00:00 Z

If you want (and can afford) to live the high life, look no further than River Valley for your dream home. Part of District 9, River Valley houses Singapore’s richer half with its innumerable private and public homes.

(Situated in and around River Valley are bars and pubs. Image courtesy of Terence Ong.)

The area is surrounded by a few stretches of big roads—namely Hoot Kiam Road, Grange Road, Devonshire Road, Oxley Rise, River Valley Road, Kim Yan Road, and Mohamed Sultan Road—and underscored by a section of the Singapore River.

The name ‘River Valley’ pays homage to the Singapore River, which cuts across River Valley at its Southern end. Back in the 1840s, there used to be two River Valley roads running on either side of the Singapore River. One retained the name, while the other was eventually renamed Havelock Road.

The vicinity has seen a myriad of different occupants. It was first home to wealthy Europeans and Chinese merchants who wanted to get away from the bustle of the town centre. Later, River Valley gained popularity with the Straits Chinese.

Although villas gave ways to high-rise apartments and condominiums over time, the residential area still remains characterised by its wealthy residents.

Live
There are not many recreational destinations in the River Valley area. Sports buffs can get their fix watching soccer or cricket at sports bars around, or take their mind off things with a scenic walk around the Singapore River. Party animals will adore the proximity to Zouk, arguably Singapore’s most popular clubbing venue.

Supermarkets (there is a Cold Storage branch in both Great World City and Valley Point) as well as pre- and primary schools (JHS Montessori Kindergarten, River Valley Primary School) add convenience to easy living.

Head out to nearby Fort Canning Park for a fun weekend gig or just to kick back and while the day away.

Eat
Besides the pretty private homes, another reason for River Valley’s appeal is the growing food culture. It is home to an array of dining options from the pricey—Dozo at Valley Point has garnered a following for its Japanese-European fusion fare—to the fuss-free—Jian Jian Curry Rice at the Zion Riverside Food Centre is a hidden treasure.

Drink
Essentially an R&R destination, pubs and bars dot River Valley and its neighbours. Standouts include La Maison Du Whiskey (The Pier@Robertson) and Bar Bar Black Sheep (Robertson Quay).

Shop
Valley Point Shopping Centre seems to cater more to relaxation than retail therapy. It is filled with dining joints and wellness centres. Great World City, on the other hand, has retail outlets including fashion, kids wear, books and stationery, and gifts. Notable tenants include Zara, Sephora and Harris Bookstore.

Transport
Despite its massive size, there are no MRT stations within River Valley. The closest of which are Somerset and Dhoby Ghaut MRT. However, the roads in the area are well connected. The presence of landmarks like Great World City, Zouk and numerous hotels means taxis are not hard to come by.

Through the Keyhole with Alvin Tan

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:00:00 Z

You’d be forgiven for thinking Alvin Tan’s third-storey walk-up belonged in a bohemian New York City district. But it is in Tanjong Katong the acclaimed designer managed, after months of renovation and a few dashes of serendipity, to conjure a loft that’s every bit as capacious and sophisticated as you would imagine one in the Big Apple to be.

Alvin co-founded :phunk, a contemporary art and design collective that has seen its work grace museum walls, magazine pages and, more recently, the face of an OCBC credit card. The four-member collective is consistently one of the top-rated design studios in Singapore, picking up a President’s Design Award in 2007 to prove it. Alvin’s new home, where he moved in five months ago, should be mentioned in the same breath.

The 1,050-square-foot pad is exquisitely reconditioned. Alvin and his girlfriend Lucinda Law, with whom he shares the home, knocked down a false ceiling and several walls to reveal a mezzanine and spaciousness uncharacteristic of Singaporean apartments—and it all came together by chance.

"We had bought the space thinking we’d just buy furniture and move in without renovating,” the bespectacled designer explains. “But after spending two to three weeks in the original space, we took a peek at our neighbour’s place—and they had a mezzanine. It was awesome and we said to ourselves, ‘I think we need to do one, too!’”

“And I think we made the right decision.”

INDUSTRIAL CHIC
The renovation process might have been “organic”, as Lucinda puts it, but the couple still had a firm vision of what they wished for their home.

“We wanted something pretty raw with an open concept,” Alvin says. “I wouldn’t say ‘industrial’ but something that isn’t too modern, something which has character. We wanted blacks, browns and grays.”

As such, the floor is bare concrete, the walls iPod-white—“It’s hard to find the right painting to hang up,” Alvin admits—and refurbished planks of heritage wood tracing the mezzanine give the space a deep mahogany finish. Completing the designer palette are slabs of jet black from a desk, staircase, lampshades and rafters.

The pared-down look even extends to the kitchen. Cabinets, drawers and the stove hood are laminated in a faux stone veneer, which were a result of another happy accident. “At first we had wanted to keep the original dark brown laminate, but then our contractor brought a book of new samples, and this one literally fell out of it, and we chose it immediately” a delighted Alvin says.

LET THERE BE LIGHT
Its colours may be stark or even clinical, but the loft manages to retain a warm sense of homeliness thanks to the abundant amount of sunlight that floods in. A skylight on the mezzanine floor just above the bed and long windows on the lower level ensure wedges of light seep in and illuminate the apartment.

“I love how the light that comes in is slanted and gradually moves across the floor as the day progresses,” Lucinda quips. “So you can literally see the time passing.”

Even the bathroom, a typically enclosed and coldly lit area, looks fresh: a back door is left open to capture as much natural light as possible. And it gets better: the view from the door opens up to Marina Bay Sands’ triple towers to give the home that sought-after urban tenor without being too close to the bustle of the CBD. “The fringe of the city,” as Alvin describes the location.

Once through the back door and up an exterior spiral staircase, a rooftop with the same glorious view suggests barbecue parties and quiet drinks with friends. The couple hasn’t completed that space yet, but given the rest of the loft, it is bound to be a swanky affair.

INTELLIGENT DESIGN
Evidence of Alvin’s creative profession and habits litters the entire apartment. Some work from :phunk livens up a counter top with the studio’s hallmark vivid colours and Asian-inspired graphics; vinyl sleeves—from Coltrane to Pink Floyd—are prominently displayed; and even his work table is built from scratch, embracing every designer’s do-it-yourself ethic.

Lucinda, too, has a keen eye for design. She picked up a gilded geometric lampshade in London that hangs in the mezzanine, along with a matching candleholder, that lends even more minimalist credence to the apartment. “This was as forward-thinking as we got!” she laughs.

Back downstairs, the luscious brown couch that dominates the living room (interestingly, a projector hooked up to an Apple TV replaces a television) is also a product of Lucinda’s design savvy—and also of a stroke of luck.

“We were just exploring the neighbourhood when we came across one of those tacky furniture shops in Geylang Serai,” Lucinda explains. “Not expecting anything, we went in, passed the garish items and then found a gem like this, which we ended up ordering.”

Somehow, Alvin and Lucinda’s curious spirit and eclectic sensibilities managed to coalesce beautifully in their home. The process might have been a right jumble of coincidences and circumstances, but it is one design Alvin will be more than happy to work on for a long time.

“I think the joy of doing up a house is that it’s always in transition and it’s always a process,” he remarks. “I’ve a friend who says, ‘If your house is completed then it’s time to move.’”

District Guide: Holland Village

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 16:00:00 Z

Overview
Once a sleepy enclave for some quiet shopping and a coffee or two, Holland Village has become ever-more popular with tourists and locals alike as a social zone and nightlife area.

(A busy hub of international food and locals and expats alike, Holland Village is one of the most sought after areas for many people. Image courtesy of STB.)

And the name? Don’t be fooled by the towering windmill that tops the Holland V Shopping Mall: it doesn’t have anything to do with Holland, the country. Rather it’s named after Hugh Holland, an architect and actor who resided in Singapore in the early 1900’s. Nearby residents or regular visitors call the area anything from ‘Holland V.’ to ‘HV’ to ‘Holl Vill’.

Live
Increasing popularity as a lifestyle area by both locals and expats, as well as the brand-new Holland Village MRT station, means that nearby property prices are on the rise. While there are HDB’s and condominiums in the area, be prepared for hefty rents.

Eat
Frankly, this is a great place to be hungry: you’ll be spoiled for choice for international cuisine. Cross the street from Holland Village Shopping Centre and you can enjoy the finest Italian cuisine at Da Paolo (44 Jalan Merah Saga). Or, head to the bustling bar street near Häagen-Dasz for Mexican burritos at El Patio (34 Lorong Mambong), hearty Middle Eastern fare, Vietnamese noodles and more.

Drink
Wala Wala (31 Lorong Mambong) is practically an institution here, with a dedicated band of customers who have been enjoying their Happy Hour for years. They’ve got a great selection of beers, which adds to the boisterous mood of revellers almost every night.

Shop
In today’s Singapore where the supermall is king, the great thing about Holland Village Shopping Centre (3 Lorong Liput) is its cosy atmosphere and friendly, down-to-earth shop owners. Visit more than once and you’re likely to be recognised by a staff member, who will indulge in a spot of banter as they ring up your purchases. Whether you want a tailor-made suit, second-hand book, regional arts and crafts or a manicure, you can find it here – and at reasonable prices, too.

Transport
A big part of Holland Village’s transformation has been the recent opening of its very own Circle Line MRT stop, which connects to the East-West line just a stop away at Buona Vista Station. There are also regular bus services along Holland Road, so you can hop on a 7 or 77 and be in Orchard Road within fifteen minutes.

Expert Eye: Choa Chu Kang

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:00:00 Z

Housing prices of District 23’s Choa Chu Kang has long been affected by its sheer distance from Central Singapore, where the business and shopping districts can be found.

(Lot 1 shopping centre represents one of the focal hubs of Choa Chu Kang. Image courtesy of mailer_diablo.)

As such, hardly anyone will find it surprising that the average price per square foot (psf) of HDBs found in this Western Region estate has remained consistently and remarkably lower than that of all the national average.

(Source: Streetsine Analytics)

The above graph shows that despite the steady rising of the Choa Chu Kang’s average psf over the past year, it hardly even manages to come close to the national average, cementing the Choa Chu Kang estate’s reputation as being one of the cheapest places to live in Singapore.

More interestingly, as HDB prices reach a plateau nearing the end of 2011, Choa Chu Kang saw a mild fluctuation in its psf prices. One possible explanation for the two dips in August and October 2011 is buyer sentiment: as prices of HDBs in other more sought after HDBs come closer to a standstill, buyers are likely to want to pay a bit more to secure the good locations, resulting in a drop in demand.

Similarly, the median resale price of 4-Room flats in Choa Chu Kang have also consistently records a significantly lower values than that of the average HDB.

Zooming in to the month of October 2011, and we can see that after a good performance in September 2011, there has been a dip in prices. This could be a sign of the effects of the smaller homes trend that an increasing number of homebuyers are embracing, which upon further understanding, would reveal that buyers are prioritising shorter travelling times over bigger houses.

Overall, the massive distance from town (and the consequent long travelling times) that plagues Choa Chu Kang, coupled by the fact that the large estate only has basic amenities (and residents would be required to travel out of the area to meet their needs), makes Choa Chu Kang a relatively unpopular area to stay as we can observe from the table below.

Probably the only two advantages the area’s has that can counter said disadvantages are the significantly lower HDB prices as well as its excellent public transport network.

However, with some parts of the estates currently undergoing upgrading works—possibly in a bid to keep up with the newer suburbs’ fanciful facilities—there is a chance that the older estate might become more popular among home seekers in the near future.