During a year where New Launches are few, an Integrated Development in a fresh new town would unsurprisingly be one of the most anticipated developments by Investors and Residents alike. Since being awarded the Government Land Site last year in August 2021, Guoccoland took a fair amount of time to finally launch the development for sale.
Offering a fresh level of convenience to a new town and a matured region, launch PSF prices managed to remain slightly below and around the $2,000 PSF region, with earlier expectations to far exceed this range. Presenting the opportunity to eager parents who are planning a couple of years ahead to be within the radius of several reputable primary schools.
In this article, we will highlight the development’s best features and our best picks for each type of unit available. So, if you are considering a unit in Lentor Modern from their available 1-Bedroom to 4-Bedroom units, read on to find out more.
MOAT Analysis
Taking a quick look at our MOAT Analysis of the current landscape around Lentor MRT. Wholistically, the Rental Demand for all the projects around Lentor MRT has a MOAT Score of 5. With most of the developments having larger format unit types, this is synonymous with the demand in the current market. Far Horizon scored the highest MOAT Score at 74%, edging out the other developments with Landsize Density Effect, District Disparity Effect, and Exit Audience (HDB Upgraders). It would be worthy to note that Far Horizon Garden is the oldest development with a 99 year leasehold tenure which started in 1982, falling below 60 years of balance lease left. While Thomson Grove and The Calrose, being the two Freehold developments in the area, scored a full MOAT Score of 5 on the Bala’s Curve Effect.
With Lentor Modern in the mix, all the neighbouring projects would benefit from the increased convenience and array of amenities that the Integrated Development would be offering. Considering the strong Rental Demand in the current landscape, it would be easy to assume that Lentor Modern would be expecting the same demand and likely be able to command a premium. Perhaps, that may be the reason why 84% of the development was sold on launch day with the 1-Bedroom and 2-Bedroom units being fully sold.
Location Analysis
The Lentor area of District 26 is a rather well established residential cluster with a mix of residential landed and non-landed private properties. With the volume of residents in the area, it is actually more surprising that a well established mall was not planned in the earlier years. One of the drawing factors for the New Launch development is also the proximity to several well established schools. Names such as Anderson Primary and CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School are relatively popular amongst parents planning for their children’s Primary education.
Access to the major expressways in the vicinity like SLE and CTE are well at ease via Lentor Ave and Yio Chu Kang Road respectively. Currently, only 1 bus service serves the internal Lentor cluster at Lentor Drive and Lentor Loop. Along Yio Chu Kang Road, there are an additional 4 services available. Although it is not aplenty, the new Thomson-East Coast line has definitely helped with increasing the convenience and access to other areas via public transport.
Site Plan Analysis
On paper, the developers have annotated that there are 58 facility offerings available. However, 10 of the facilities are repetitive on the Sky Club on Level 14 of each tower. One of the attractive features of Integrated developments is that the unsightly structures such as the Substation and Bin Centre are located at the basement level of the building. Unlike the standard condominium where there is the possibility of units facing these needed facilities. Facility offerings are well sufficient but not much to shout about. As we can imagine that most would be interested in the development for the convenience, which is an intangible facility that cannot be replicated by non-integrated developments.
All units in Lentor Modern would enjoy a panoramic unblocked view. In the longer term, units facing Lentor Drive would be overlooking the landed enclave at Florissa Park. But due to the orientation of the towers, these units will also have the west sun angling into the unit. On the flip side, Lentor Central facing units towards the South-East would be enjoying a greenery view in the shorter term. However, with the Lentor Central GLS plot being sold earlier this year in September as well as other GLS sites sold prior, we would expect the Lentor Central facing units to have unblock pocket views in the longer term. While that may seem slightly detrimental to these units, the enthusiastic development along with increasing land cost could still solidify Lentor Modern as a worthwhile investment.
Unit Distribution
3 Towers, spanning 25 Floors each offering 605 units in total. 3-bedroom types form the highest percentage offering at 40% with 248 units available. The Residential level starts from level 4, with units at this level being demarcated with a ‘G’ suffix. Units at the Ground level of the residential space, do not come with an extended patio space, which may be a plus or minus depending on your preference as a ground floor lover. The commercial component is contained within the Basement and 1st Level of the development. Considering that it would still be professionally managed by Guocoland, residents would not have much to worry about the Tenant Mix.
Residents at all Towers would be able to enjoy their individual Sky Club facility on Level 14, which is an added bonus for the lower level units to enjoy the views. A rather minor observation for those who have a preference for auspicious beliefs, Tower 3 may be the popular choice, given its postal code, S788888, with replicative numbers of ‘8’. Generally, the distribution of the units is fairly even, with the exception of the 1-Bedroom and 4-Bedroom types which are not available at all the towers. However, investors and own-stayers alike would have sufficient justification for any of the stacks chosen.
1-Bedroom
There seems to be an ongoing trend where developers are swaying away from overbuilding 1-Bedroom units in the recent New Launch developments. Likely due to the oversupply of these types of units which would translate into difficulty in clearing out the inventory for developers. There is only 1 type of 1-Bedroom offered within Lentor Modern. Relatively well sized with sufficient space in the Master Bedroom. Floor plans indicate that there will be sufficient space to fit a Study and Night table alongside a queen-sized bed. We also like that there is a dedicated dining space instead of a Flip & Swivel table which is offered in other developments.
2-Bedroom
With the second largest number of units, there are 2 types of 2-Bedrooms offered by the developers. What we immediately noticed is the synonymous dumbbell layout offered in both the 678 sqft and 732 sqft types. We ranked Type B2 to be the best because of the slightly more efficient entrance foyer which opens directly to the kitchen instead of the extended walkway offered in the Type B1. However, other than this small differential, both units are still favourable and viable options for those interested.
3-Bedroom
Given the locale, it is no surprise that the main target demographic for Lentor Modern is the small family profile types. With the highest number of units available and 6 different layouts to choose from, those interested in the 3-Bedroom units will have plenty to choose from. We particularly favour the Type C4 units not only because of the more efficient and favourable floor plan. But also because it has the highest number of units available across all 3-Bedroom types. In terms of planning for an exit, these 2 factors together would inevitably aid the ease of exit given the likely volume of transactions relating to this unit type. Stack 09 which overlooks the landed enclave is also preferred over those facing towards Lentor Central even though it is North-West orientated. The benefit of the yard over the more compact units would provide the additional space and flexibility for storage and laundry needs.
4-Bedroom
The most premium unit offering available in Lentor Modern collectively faces the Florissa Park landed enclave. This would be indicative of which facing the developers have prioritised. In this case, having the perpetually unblocked view over the landed enclave was an easy decision over the upcoming development of the plots of land in front of Lentor Central. The size of the additional Junior Master was also not compromised. Floor plans indicate a similar layout, leaving the option to potential Multi-Generational families to decide if the room should be used for accompanying parents or as an escape from night owl kids. The Balcony that spans across the Living and Dining area would provide an amazing vantage overlooking the unblocked views over dinner. Overall, we favoured Stack 02, merely because it is located furthest away from the main road where heavier traffic can be expected in the future.
Closing Comments
The proximity to the Mature Estate of Ang Mo Kio would already provide sufficient amenities for the residents in this New Launch development. The addition of the Integrated Convenience would further unlock a fresh level of convenience for residents in this area of District 26. Not forgetting that the much anticipated completion of the Thomson-East Coast line will span across the Northern and Eastern areas while cutting through the more central locations.
Lentor Modern which currently trends around $18xx – $25xx PSF is the first project to be launched in a new town. Following the launch of other developments such as Picadilly Grand and AMO which have also seen overwhelming pent up demand, would the other future projects perform equally well against Lentor Modern? Or would being an Integrated Development be the only reason for the project’s high performance? If you are anticipating the other new projects around Lentor Modern or would like a second opinion on this Integrated Development, feel free to reach out to us. Or drop our Inside Sales Team members a direct message on their socials.
