This time around we’re going to share with you, in exact detail, what we considered a good property.
Here’s how we look at different aspects of a property when it comes to buying for own stay, or investment.
For today’s example, let’s have a look at this development called “Oasis Garden”. A three-bedroom for sale is asking about $1.6 odd million.
We’re going to share, in detail, why we think that this property is a very good and key choice if you love District 19, and a little towards the city fringe vicinity.
Location
Let’s have a look at its location. And, I think, the best way to show you how we actually analyze the development, to see its potential, is by really going into the map itself, to analyze the locality.
If you were to blow up the map right here, you will see that Oasis Garden is actually located in the District 19 vicinity. But, it’s at the borderline of District 19. It is close to the city fringe area of the Potong Pasir vicinity and Paya Lebar vicinity. So, what happens is that this project is very unique, and it caught our eyes several years back. And it is one of the very rare freehold developments that is near to an MRT station’s about an 8 to 10 minutes walk.
Features of the Development
The unique feature is that this is not a boutique development. It is a mid-sized development of 134 units. But, the surprising thing is that it is high-rise and it gives you full facilities. So, things like a full-size lap pool, function rooms, basement carpark, 24 hours security, tennis court, you have a very good size gym, kids playground, and there are a lot of lawn areas for your family to walk around downstairs as well. It is a very unique development, which gives you a high-rise, yet having the full facilities, it’s freehold, and near to the Bartley MRT Station, of the Circle Line. This is one of the first things that really caught our eye, because it’s not easy to find a high-rise freehold development that is near to MRT station. Furthermore, it’s only 10 plus years old, so it’s not too old.
The next thing that we noticed is that, in terms of locality, it has a lot of things that really checks the check boxes of what we call a good location, and a good development. Firstly, there is, in terms of, the future demand pool, there is this school there, called the Maris Stella High School. The primary school and secondary school are there. Maris Stella is one of the well-known boys’ schools in this vicinity. And, a lot of families are staying around this school here, mainly because their kids go to the primary, and the secondary school. Which means that their children will typically go through six years of primary school, followed by another four years of secondary, a good 10 years.
That is one of the key reasons why the prices in the Bartley vicinity are holding well, because most of the parents that have bought into this area, have good holding power. They buy there to stay, and they don’t easily exit or are in a hurry to do so. In terms of the price benchmark holding power, it is quite there.
Future Developments
Furthermore, Bartley is also just right beside the upcoming Bidadari plots of BTO and developments. With the recent development of the Bidadari segment, in terms of the new launches, as well as the HDB flats, there’s going to be two things that are going to come up. Firstly, the HDB flats are future $1 million HDB flats when they reach their MOP.
And the new launches that have already happened at Woodleigh Residences, which is going at about $1800 to $2000 plus PSF. Park Colonial is about $1800-1900 PSF. So, the new launches have set a new benchmark for the vicinity already.
Let’s say if you pull back the map and look at the Bartley region, you’ll notice that, in terms of choices for high-rise projects which are relatively new, you only have another three to compare with. The Bartley Residences, 99 years, Botanique at Bartley, which has recently TOPed, 99 years, and Bartley Ridge, 99 years. So, these 3 projects are fantastic projects. They’re all below 10 years old. During the launch, until now, the three bedrooms there are all going at about $1.5-1.6 odd million, in that kind of range.
Price Quantum Comparisons
If you were to compare by quantum, with Oasis Garden, Oasis Garden being a freehold, although it takes a slightly longer walk to the MRT station, it has quite a fair bit of room for matching up to that kind of benchmark. Why would we say that? Because the three bedrooms here are 1227 to 1238 square feet. But, they’re all in the region of about $1.6 million, plus, minus.
In terms of per square foot, it’s about $1300 per square foot, compared to the launches, there’s a good $600+ PSF gap. Compared to the cheapest launches in Singapore now, which is at about $1200+, $1300 per square foot in suburban areas are about the same price as this freehold development. So, in terms of comparison of pricing, we think that there is definitely room to grow.
Of course, if you look at the location, back again, this MRT station is just one stop from Serangoon MRT station. It’s also just three stops towards the Paya Lebar business hub. So, location-wise, in terms of travelling by public transport, is fantastic.
Conclusion
Firstly, we talked about the project itself being distinct, high-rise, freehold, near to MRT station, it’s only 10 years old, and has full project facilities. Secondly, we talked about the school, being one of the factors that allow the price to be holding well, because a lot of parents are staying there for, at least, a good 10 years. Thirdly, is the location, in terms of comparison with the launches with the HDB flats, pricing and of course, with the rest of the 99 years full-size condo development. We think that there’s definitely still some room to grow. And, of course, it’s near to the MRT station, and the last part is definitely because of the location, where the MRT can sprout to the city centres very, very quickly.
By comparing, what are some of the key factors that we always look at. The above factors are some of the things that we usually will bring up, and that runs through our minds on how we actually select a development, and we deem it as being checked off on our checklist on selecting a good development.
We hope that this article helps you understand more about the thought process in selecting a good development, and hope that you can learn something from today’s session.
Hope to see you soon. Cheers.
