Pollen Collection New Launch Review – Newest Addition to Seletar Hills Estate Landed Enclave

Lester

June 19, 2023

Table of content

Landed properties, including bungalows, semi-detached houses, and terrace homes, have always been highly sought after in Singapore due to their individuality, spaciousness, and prestige. They offer a unique sense of privacy and exclusivity, providing its owners with a tranquil sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Singapore’s limited land supply, coupled with a growing population and strong demand for prestigious homes, has resulted in a scarcity of landed properties. As a result, new launch developments in this segment often garner high interest and have significant potential for price appreciation over time.   

As the Singapore real estate market continues to evolve, the new launch landed segment presents a captivating opportunity for investors and buyers. And one of those newest additions to the segment is Pollen Collection, a 99-year leasehold landed development comprising semi-detached and terrace houses. 

In this article, we will highlight the best features of the development and some of the floor plans available. If you are in the market for a landed home, Pollen Collection might just be the chance for you to own a luxurious and practical living space in one of Singapore’s most coveted locations.

Location Analysis

Pollen Collection is located along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 off Nim Road, which is found in the Seletar Hills area near Yio Chu Kang and Ang Mo Kio. The Seletar Hills Estate is a matured estate mainly made up of resale 2-3 storey landed homes, and Pollen Collection is the newest addition that will inject a supply of brand new landed homes, adding new lease of life and bringing younger profile of buyers and families into the area. 

One of the key highlights of the development is its location in the heart of Seletar. Residents can enjoy the tranquillity of nature while being in close proximity to amenities such as Seletar Mall, Greenwich V, AMK Hub, and a variety of F&B establishments. 

Pollen Collection is a rather convenient location for car owners, with a short drive to connect to the Central Expressway (CTE) and just a 20-minute drive to the CBD area. Prospective buyers might have some concerns about the noise levels of units in close proximity to the CTE. However, these concerns are alleviated through the design of the house and windows, which help to mitigate noise from outside the unit and give owners a sense of comfort and privacy. 

The area is slightly further away from the main roads and public transportation, which offers tranquillity, privacy and exclusivity that is highly valued by landed homeowners. For residents whose children need to rely on public transportation to get around, the completion of the Cross Island Line (CRL) Phase 1 in 2030 will put Tavistock MRT station roughly within 1.2km of Pollen Collection.

For families with school-going children, the development is also surrounded by many schools within a 2km distance, including Rosyth School, Anderson Primary, Presbyterian High, Mayflower Primary, Fernvale Primary, Serangoon Garden Secondary, Nanyang Polytechnic, ITE College Central, and Anderson-Serangoon JC.

The prestigious landed enclave that Pollen Collection is located in is demarcated by Yio Chu Kang Road, Seletar Road, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, and the CTE. The enclave is divided by Saraca Road, with zoning for 2-storey mixed landed houses to the north and 3-storey mixed landed houses to the south. This unique land zoning by the URA ensures that the area will not be developed into condominiums and that the landed developments within the enclave are limited to a maximum of 3-storeys.

This zoning has several benefits for Pollen Collection’s future residents. Firstly, it guarantees that the surrounding environment will remain peaceful and exclusive, as only low-rise landed houses are permitted. Secondly, Pollen Collection has fully maximised the height in accordance with the URA envelope control guidelines, providing residents with more living space and potentially higher resale value than the 2-storey homes in the area. 

Ultimately, the combination of the exclusive landed enclave and thoughtful land zoning makes Pollen Collection an exceptional choice for those seeking a luxurious, low-rise lifestyle in a well-connected location.

For residents who love green spaces, there is a long strip of greenery south of Pollen Collection. Nim Meadow Park and Ang Mo Kio Linear Park stretches over a kilometre in distance. Luxus Hills Park, which is right beside AMK Linear Park, is also connected to the Park Connector Coast to Coast Trail. The trail eventually leads to Sengkang Riverside Park around 2.7km away, which also connects to Punggol Waterway Park and Coney Island. This means residents are never short of green spaces to get active and fit.

Site Plan Analysis

Pollen Collection’s exclusive set of landed houses promises future residents a high degree of privacy in a thoughtfully designed neighbourhood. The landed houses are arranged in rows along Pollen Crescent, which serves as a dedicated driveway  for the residents of Pollen Collection. This unique design feature not only distinguishes the new development from older landed houses in the enclave but also provides an intimate sense of community for residents. Each home boasts a spacious layout and is surrounded by lush greenery, adding to the overall sense of privacy and exclusivity. 

At the time of writing, only a limited release of 45 landed homes from the project is available for sale. With brand new landed homes being in very limited supply, Pollen Collection presents Singaporeans an opportunity to enter into the landed segment and to own a landed home of their own. 

Pollen Collection’s landed houses are predominantly designed with a north-south orientation, with a slight tilt towards the west. This orientation is ideal for minimising the impact of harsh morning and evening sun rays, while still allowing for ample natural light from the east in the mornings. The clever design not only enhances the livability of the properties but also reduces the energy consumption of the homes by minimising the need for artificial lighting and cooling during the daytime. Overall, the north-south orientation of Pollen Collection’s landed houses is a smart and practical design feature that contributes to their light-filled and airy interior.

Price Analysis

For this section on price analysis, we will focus on the trends of terrace houses and semi-detached houses in District 28 (Seletar, Yio Chu Kang) compared to the rest of the OCR (Outside Central Region) market. Specifically, we will compare the pricing trends of 99-year leasehold terrace houses and semi-detached houses in District 28 with those in other OCR areas. By examining these trends, we can gain insights into the current and future values of these properties, as well as identify the attractiveness of Pollen Collection.

*The growth rate is derived by taking the difference between average $PSF price of all transactions (new sale, subsale, and resale)  in Q1 2023 and 2014 and expressed as a percentage. 

In the big picture, we see that the average $PSF price of all transactions of 99-year leasehold terraces and semi-Ds in D28 has appreciated greatly (112% since 2014) compared to the rest of OCR (18%).

Interestingly, this shows that prices of leasehold landed homes did appreciate significantly in the Seletar area relative to other areas in the OCR. It is also important to note that D28 leasehold terraces and semi-Ds have a higher average $PSF than its counterparts based on just the Q1 2023 data.

This inversion in prices (D28 higher than the rest of OCR) may be due to the newly launched landed houses in the area, such as Nim Collection in 2018 and Pollen Collection in 2022, which fetched a premium when compared to the prices of resale landed across the rest of OCR. The average $PSF for 99-year leasehold terraces and semi-Ds in D28 in Q1 2023 is $2,211. In comparison, the average $PSF of comparables in the rest of OCR is $1,027. The price disparity of 115% observed here is largely due to newer launches in D28 compared to older landed homes in the rest of OCR. Injection of new landed homes supply brings new lease of life and new demand from younger families to the area which supports prices.

A newly developed landed home saves you the trouble of coordinating the reconstruction of a landed home yourself. It also puts your mind at ease in terms of the condition of the home and the structural integrity of the building. For some investors and prospective buyers, this peace of mind when it comes to purchasing a landed home is well worth the additional premium. Furthermore, newly developed landed homes like Pollen Collection offer customer care services within 12 months from key collection. This gives buyers a peace of mind as there will still be customer support from the developers after the handing over of the property, a feature that is not available in the resale landed market.

*The growth rate is derived by taking the difference between average $PSF  price of available transactions in 2023 and 2018 and expressed as a percentage. 

Looking at the performance of the nearby Nim Collection, which is a similar 99-year leasehold landed development, average prices have grown by 40% since the developers launched it in 2018. Zooming into specific case studies, we found that most of the units bought directly from the developers have appreciated between 20-30% in a span of 4-5 years. 

For example, an Intermediate Terrace at Nim Terrace standing at 1,615 sqft was purchased from the developers at $2.808 million ($1,739 PSF) in May 2019. It was resold earlier this year in February 2023 for $3.488 million ($2,160 PSF), translating to a 24% growth in slightly less than 4 years. Another Intermediate Terrace at Nim Rise standing at a slightly larger 1,905 sqft was purchased from the developers at $2.762 million ($1,450 PSF) in April 2018. It was resold in October 2022 for $3.56 million ($1,860 PSF), which translates to a 28% growth in slightly under 5 years. 

Floor Plan Analysis

In this section, we will cover the different floor plans available in Pollen Collection. We will be covering the Intermediate Terrace and Corner Terrace layouts. Do note that more variants are available and we are selecting a representative few. The rest of the floor plans and more detailed information can be found here.

We highlight a few key common features when it comes to the landed homes in Pollen Collection. First, the car porch on the first floor serves as a private area to park your car, meaning that you no longer need to worry about the issue of insufficient roadside parking like in some landed estates. Furthermore, the roads are now made wider by about 0.8 to 1.4 metres under the new LTA guidelines. The private car porch is able to fit two cars minimally and features isolators for the installation of EV chargers. This ensures the car porch is future-ready, aligning with the Singapore Green Plan 2030, which includes a robust initiative to transform our vehicle population to electric models. Next, the landed developments in Pollen Collection feature a mezzanine floor and an attic, which effectively makes it a “5-storey home” despite it being officially a 3-storey home. Finally, a private lift is available, which abates mobility concerns of multi-generational families moving from floor to floor.

Type A Intermediate Terrace

The Type A Intermediate Terrace boasts a land area of 150 sqm (approx. 1615 sqft) and a generous estimated floor area of 381 sqm (approx. 4101 sqft). Recent transactions of this size in the development were recorded at $3,538,000 in December 2022 ($2,191 psf) and $3,650,000 in February 2023 ($2,261 psf). 

The first floor of this stunning terrace home is primarily designed for communal living, with a spacious, light-filled and airy living dining area featuring 6-metre high ceilings that leads to both dry and wet kitchens. The Type A Intermediate Terrace has most of its common living space on the first floor, making it an excellent space for hosting guests as the private living spaces are segregated to the upper floors. The back of the first floor features an open terrace, offering a back yard space for the family to do some gardening. Additionally, a powder room and lift are located in the common area for added convenience. The first mezzanine floor features a junior master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom and an open terrace, perfect for enjoying natural light and fresh air. 

The second floor of the Type A Intermediate Terrace houses the master bedroom and bedroom 1, both of which are ensuite bedrooms. The master bedroom features a luxurious bathtub, perfect for relaxing after a long day. There is an open terrace that allows ample natural light to enter the floor. On the third floor, there are two additional ensuite bedrooms. The attic boasts an open roof terrace, providing an exclusive space for family and friends to enjoy the panoramic views of the surrounding area. There are also solar panels provided at the roof to help residents reduce their electricity bills.

Type A2 Corner Terrace

The Type A2 Corner Terrace variant has an additional 146 sqm of land size (1571 sqft) as compared to the Type A Intermediate Terrace, which includes a swimming pool, turfing, and open terraces on the first storey. In terms of floor area, the corner terrace has an additional floor area of 40 sqm (430 sqft). Given the larger land size, homebuyers with certain lifestyle choices may appreciate and enjoy the additional facilities such as the swimming pool as well as additional spaces to set up a BBQ area, a lawn, or a garden. 

Since landed homes with large land sizes are scarce in Singapore, they typically command a price premium. Investors and homebuyers working with more budget may consider this option if they like the specific spot in the development or the additional outdoor space that comes with it.

Closing Thoughts

Pollen Collection is a landed home designed with future-proofing considerations in mind to enable buyers the ease and flexibility to add more built-up areas internally in future (if required) without having to do major construction works. If you are currently residing in an HDB flat or private condominium and intend to future-proof your housing plans by moving into a larger home comprising 5 ensuite bedrooms with 4,100 sqft of space in the next 2 years, Pollen Collection offers a unique opportunity for large families to live together in a luxurious and intimate setting. 

In today’s market, it is no longer possible to find the kind of space offered at Pollen Collection (4,100 sqft of estimated floor area) in other property types within the similar price range. The space includes spacious living and dining areas, dry and wet kitchens, 5 ensuite bedrooms and seamless connection to outdoor terraces that can comfortably accommodate about 7-10 family members, making Pollen Collection one of the best options in the market for extended families looking for an abundance of space to live together. Furthermore, there is already a lift to all levels built in, which is hard to come by in other resale houses. This is another future-proofing feature offered by Pollen Collection, providing convenience to family members of all ages.

With its spacious and thoughtfully designed layouts, residents can enjoy ample living space, privacy, and flexibility to adapt to their evolving needs. The exclusive landed development is conveniently located in a serene and peaceful enclave, yet still close to key amenities and transportation routes. The attention to detail in the design and construction of the homes ensures that each residence is both functional and aesthetically pleasing, offering residents a truly elevated living experience. Pollen Collection is a great choice for people looking to fulfil their aspirations of owning their first brand new landed home.

We hope this article has given you a better understanding of the luxurious homes available at Pollen Collection. We recently concluded our live and exclusive PLB x BSEL seminar, where PropertyLimBrothers CEO Melvin Lim did a deep dive into Singapore’s landed property landscape and shared insightful analyses regarding the growth potential of the segment. For more information on Pollen Collection, speak to our consultants or sign up here for a showflat visit.

If you’re interested in learning more about the latest developments in the Singapore property market, we encourage you to check out our educational YouTube channel, NOTG, and special webinar series, where we share insights and expert analysis on various aspects of the real estate industry. Do also join us at our upcoming in-person seminar where we will be sharing more insights and opportunities in Singapore’s landed property market.

For those looking for personalised advisory services, our team of experienced real estate consultants is always available to provide professional guidance and advice tailored to your specific needs. Feel free to get in touch with us and let us help you with your property decisions. Thank you for reading, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

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