*This article was written in January 2023 and does not reflect data and market conditions beyond.
Bellewaters has a name that signifies feminine beauty and elegance. This 99-year leasehold Executive Condominium gives residents the impression of relaxing beside a beautiful spring. With the developer’s focus on creating affordable, large, and quality units, Singaporeans looking for a new home will be in for a treat.
This comprehensive review aims to provide a thorough and insightful analysis of the Bellewaters Condominium living experience. From the location, to the price, amenities and design of the units, this review will provide a complete picture of what life at Bellewaters is like. Whether you are considering making a purchase or simply want to understand what this affordable residential development has to offer, this review will be an invaluable resource.
Location Analysis
Anchorvale Crescent (where Bellewaters is located) is part of the Sengkang neighbourhood. This is mainly a residential area with a diverse mix of private and public housing. There are also many different schools, food options, malls and other amenities in such residential heartlands. Bellewaters is 300m away from Farmway LRT station (5 minute walk) and around 1 km away from Sengkang MRT station (15 minute walk).
Bellewaters may be very attractive to younger family units or couples who are looking to start a family. This is not just because of the affordable price and larger space, but also because of the availability of multiple primary schools nearby. Within a 1 km radius, we have Punggol Green Primary, Compassvale Primary, Springdale Primary, and Nan Chiau Primary.
In terms of amenities, we have a Sheng Shiong supermarket just across the street to the west. Sengkang General Hospital, Compass One shopping mall, Sengkang Riverside Park, Punggol West Community Centre, Sengkang Sculpture Park are just a few examples within a 1 km radius. Indeed, this heartland area of Sengkang is in no short supply of what residents need for their day-to-day living.
Bellewaters is also located in close proximity to the Tampines Expressway (TPE). This gives drivers quick access to the expressway. It is only a 20 minute drive to the city centre and Changi Business Park barring bad traffic conditions. Home buyers need to be aware that blocks 29, 27, and 25 are located closer to the expressway and may face some noise level concerns especially if they are the north-facing units.
Site Plan Analysis
Bellewaters is made up of 3-Bedroom to 5-Bedroom unit types with a total of 651 residential units spread across 10 towers between 16 and 17 storeys high. The towers are point blocks each with 4 stacks. This gives residents more privacy, and at the same time having 4 units a floor makes it a more manageable number for the lift to service all residents. Point blocks are a popular option for developers and are commonplace in today’s condominiums.
The towers are organised in three rows, mostly with a north-south orientation (with a mild east tilt). Block 21 and 23 have slightly better north-south facing. Singaporeans and developers alike have grown over the years to adopt this north-south orientation for most developments to avoid the morning and afternoon sun.
The larger units are located in the north-most row of units. Stack 40 in block 29 hosts the outward facing 5 bedroom units, while stack 32 in block 25 holds the inwards facing 5 bedroom units. Both of which have a pool view. It is also worthy to note that the tennis courts are located nearer to block 25. The convenience again will come with the price of some noise pollution from the tennis court.
The 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom options are spread rather evenly throughout the development and will give home buyers plenty of options when it comes to finding the right variation and facing to match their own preferences for their future home. Blocks 11, 13, and 15 are located close to the south exit which provides easy access to the connecting buses towards the LRT and MRT. These blocks have two 4-bedroom premium stacks (9 and 4) which are inward facing for residents who want more living space.
Price Analysis
As with most Executive Condominiums (ECs), homeowners do enjoy a decent level of appreciation after the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP). In 2022, we see an average price of $1,189 psf with a total transaction volume of 141 units. This is approximately 22% of the total number of units available. The total growth from 2014 to 2022 is around 46%. This is around a 5.1% simple annual increase (not accounting for the effects of compounding and leverage).
It is no wonder that many residents, close to a fifth in fact, decide to cash in on those paper gains for their home to upgrade to another home. This trend is not unique to Bellewaters, most ECs follow this pattern of growth. We look at two other ECs nearby, The Vales in Sengkang and Ecopolitan in Punggol, to compare the growth and price level. They show a similar trend (we removed 2014 as The Vales did not have any sales then). The Vales performed better with a 57% growth compared to Bellewaters, probably because The Vales was a year younger and was located closer to Sengkang MRT. Ecopolitan on the other hand recorded a 49% growth in the same time period (2015 to 2022).
In 2022, the average psf of Bellewaters was $1,189 psf, The Vales was $1,224 psf and Ecopolitan was $1,157 psf. Their prices in 2015 were $786 psf (Bellewaters), $781 psf (The Vales), and $776 psf (Ecopolitan). It was interesting to see The Vales having a lower psf in 2015 compared to Bellewaters despite the “better” location and younger age. This shows how disparities can exist in the market and savvy investors and home buyers can really reap value if they can identify these gaps and execute their real estate journey around them.
However, in 2022, we see that the price of these ECs are at a fairer market value relative to each other. The key appeal for Bellewaters currently is its affordability in terms of quantum and psf. New launches in 2022 averaged around $2,100 psf. This is almost double the psf of some resale options such as Bellewaters. With $1M to $1.5M, a family can get a decent sized home around 1,000 to 1,300 square feet approximately. This option would be attractive to the multi-generational families and also larger families with more children.
MOAT Analysis
For a comprehensive evaluation of Bellewaters, we conduct a MOAT Analysis, taking a well-rounded and objective view of the property. As Bellewaters is an EC, we compare it with 3 nearby ECs, based on recency and similarity. Our MOAT Analysis assesses Bellewaters on 10 different dimensions, offering a fair and holistic view of the property. To delve deeper into our MOAT Analysis, refer to this informative article.
We compare Bellewaters with Ecopolitan and The Vales, which we have brought up earlier. We add Treasure Crest into the mix. All of these properties are 99-year leasehold ECs. They were all completed between 2016 and 2018. They are also located around the same area north of Sengkang, and southwest of Punggol. You can see from their MOAT profiles above that there are slight variations in their distance to the MRT, with most of the other factors looking more or less the same. The final MOAT scores are as follows: Bellewaters 60%, Ecopolitan 64%, The Vales 66%, Treasure Crest 64%.
Taking a closer look at the MOAT profile of Bellewaters, we see that the reason why it does not do as well as other ECs in the same area is due to the further distance from the MRT. While it might have a slightly lower psf than other ECs closer to the MRT, most families who take public transport often might be willing to shell out the additional amount to pay for options closer to the MRT.
Apart from this concern, the top 3 areas which it does well on the MOAT Analysis are Volume, Exit Audience, and Parents Attraction Effect. The high volume score is due to the recent MOP, around a fifth of homeowners have let go of their property to lock in the appreciation gains and/or to upgrade to another property. Exit Audience also has a high score due to the location being a diverse mix of public and private housing. HDB upgraders might look to these ECs as the next stage in their property journey. Finally, the Parents’ Attraction Effect is high because of the primary schools within a 1 km radius: Punggol Green Primary, Compassvale Primary, Springdale Primary, and Nan Chiau Primary.
Overall analysis, based on our MOAT analysis the key hurdle for property buyers would be the distance to the MRT. Car owners may find Bellewaters attractive because of its close proximity to the TPE, but families who use public transportation might find it less attractive than other ECs in the area. Other than that, Bellewaters is attractively priced and sized compared to newer launches and condos. However, other ECs in the same area are rather competitively priced as well. Home buyers would need to take a closer look between the different options here before making a decision.
Unit Distribution
The Unit Distribution for the stacks is as follows. The supposed “innovation” in Bellewaters is its CoSpace concept, which gives residents (first-time owners) the option to customise some parts of the living space in the EC Bellewaters Cospace Unit. While not exactly radical or groundbreaking in itself, subsequent homeowners of Bellewaters can just use it as reference on how they would like to renovate and remake the space in their homes.
The good thing about the unit distribution in Bellewaters is its variety in the sizes among 3, 4, and 5 bedroom units. This means that some 3-bedroom units have variations (CS3) that are larger in size than the basic 4-bedroom variation (D1). Bellewaters has a good distribution towards larger sized units. They are also distributed well across different towers, which gives home buyers more options in terms of the facing and orientation.
Most of the units are geared towards a mix of different 3 bedroom units, keeping them at an affordable quantum for the mass market. The remaining bulk of the units (almost half of them) have a much larger size and are at a reasonable psf for families looking for larger homes on the private real estate market.
Floor Plan Analysis
3-Bedroom Layouts
For 3-bedroom units, we highlight the C1 and C1p, C1A, C1PH layouts. This is the most efficient one despite having the lowest overall size. The layout for other larger 3 bedroom units gets increasingly more narrow as the additional space gets allocated to the corridor connecting all the bedrooms. For smaller families into efficient and compact space, these layouts might be of interest. The C4 variants have a larger kitchen area for families cooking often, and the CS3 variants have a larger living space (including a gourmet kitchen) for homeowners who love to host guests. We also sold a 3-bedroom unit on the ground floor.
4-Bedroom Layouts
The 4-bedroom options have a decent variation that gives homeowners the choice of customising a larger home space based on their lifestyle. D1 variants have a larger connected living and dining space with a smaller kitchen area. On the other hand, D2, D3, D4 are variations with more kitchen area. For most of the 4 bedroom variations, we have 3 bedrooms facing outwards from the stack and 1 bedroom facing inwards. The 4-bedroom layouts are narrow in the sense that a large part of the space is allocated to a corridor connecting the functional spaces. This connecting space in itself is not part of the living area, making it less functional and efficient.
5-Bedroom Layouts
The 5 bedroom layouts are luxe options when compared to the other units in Bellewaters. The living space is attractively sized with a gourmet kitchen. The kitchen and yard area is also decent. 4 of the 5 bedrooms have an external facing while we have 1 bedroom facing towards the stack itself. The unit itself is rather elongated and narrow. The connecting corridor is much longer than the other units due to the additional bedroom space. Homeowners will need to get creative with this horizontal narrow walkway and make it functional if they wish to have a more efficient use of space. If not, a lot of the psf of the unit is locked up in the form of this narrow walkway. This issue aside, the elongated space can also create more distance and privacy for the master bedroom, which is located at the opposite end of where the living room is.
Future Growth Potential
When buying a home in Singapore, most buyers want to know the growth potential of the asset. Even for buyers looking for a forever home, asset value is still an important factor as a legacy asset eventually. As an affordable option in the OCR, Bellewaters is suitable for people who want a larger private home at a reasonable price. As the property market gets increasingly heated, such affordability will become an important factor in the decision process.
As Bellewaters approaches its 10th year from its TOP date in 2027, the development will become fully privatised, offering a prime investment opportunity for foreign buyers. Despite the 25% ABSD for foreign investors purchasing ECs in the OCR, the lifting of eligibility criteria and restrictions is expected to drive up the property’s appreciation potential. 2027 will mark a significant milestone for Bellewaters, making it an attractive option for foreign owners in the market for a new home or investment property.
As the Punggol Digital District prepares to open its doors, the northeastern region of Singapore will see the arrival of a major employment hub. This new development is expected to drive rental demand, with Punggol at the forefront. Bellewaters is located closer to the TPE and the north when compared to the other Sengkang condos located slightly more to the south. This might give Bellewaters an edge albeit a marginal one. It will generally be advantageous to residential projects in the northeast region.
The Verdict
Bellewaters is situated in the heart of Anchorvale Crescent, a residential area that is part of the bustling neighbourhood of Sengkang. This diverse community is home to a mix of private and public housing, as well as an array of amenities such as schools, dining options, shopping malls, and more. With its close proximity to Farmway LRT station (just a 5-minute walk away) and Sengkang MRT station (a 15-minute walk away), Bellewaters offers the ideal blend of convenience and comfort, making it the great place to call home.
The unique selling point of Bellewaters is its varied offering of larger units in the heartlands. The close proximity to the TPE compared to other condos in the area may make this EC attractive to car owners. The large cospace 3-bedroom options might be attractive for smaller families that still want a larger and more spacious place to call home. HDB Upgraders and First time property buyers who have exceeded the HDB income cap might find ECs an attractive option in their property journey. Bellewaters affordability and reasonable pricing will be a point of attraction for these prospective buyers.
If you are interested to know more about Bellewaters or are a homeowner looking to sell, check out our video on how we sold a ground level 3-bedroom unit. We also have another high-floor 3-bedroom unit on the books. Check out the video here.
