Hedges Park to preview today

As reported in TODAYonline, Hong Leong Group says the 501-unit Hedges Park in Flora Drive, in Changi, will be open for a preview today.

A project by Tripartite Developers, the 99-year leasehold development will have a mix of one- to four-bedroom apartments, with unit sizes ranging from 484 to 1,798sqft. Prices for one-bedroom units start from $466,000.

Hong Leong is a member of the Tripartite joint venture, together with City Developments and TID.

Hong Leong said water is a key element in the project, with a custom-built 50m waterway running through the landscape.

“The project aims to make home not just a place to rest but also a place to rejuvenate by being an enjoyable getaway – literally outside your doorstep,” said Ms Betsy Chng, head of sales and marketing, Hong Leong.

Nearby amenities include a Giant supermarket, IKEA and Tampines Mall, while Temasek Polytechnic and Singapore’s fourth university are also close by.

You can find out more about Hedges Park and get the floor plans by clicking on the link below:
http://www.hedges-park.com.sg/?gclid=CP_Lqaz_nagCFQd66wodO3D4HQ

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NV RESIDENCES (Review)

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District:   18
Location:   Pasir Ris Grove
Developers:   City Development Limited (CDL) & Hong Leong Group
Tenure:   99-years leasehold wef 7 January 2008
Site Area:   328,000sqft
Development Type:   Condominium consisting of 8 blocks of 12 – 15-storey each
No. of Units:   642
No. of Parking Lots:   642 (2 levels of basement carpark)
Expected TOP:   31 December 2014

It has taken the wife and I far too long to complete this review.

Some preliminary facts about NV Residences:
• This is the first project to be released since Aug 30, when measures to cool the property market were announced.

• 250 units were sold within the first week of its preview held about a month ago.

• As of last weekend, 358 out of the 400 units released have been sold.

• The architects responsible for the design of this project, Architect 61, are the same folks that designed projects like Livia and Ardmore II.

The sales gallery/showflats of NV Residence is located at a plot next to the actual site. For those who have visited the showflat of Livia previously, the showflat of NV Residences is at the exact same spot. The wife and I understand that besides Livia and NV Residences, there will be 3 other developments that are slated to be built on surrounding plots within the same piece of land.

The main entrance of NV Residence will be on Pasir Ris Grove (which is also the address for the project) – this is a new road that will be built to connect Pasir Ris Drive 8 with Pasir Ris Street 52.

The unit types available at NV Residences range from 1-bedder all the way up to 4-bedroom penthouses:
• 1-Bedroom (27 units): 506 – 657sqft
• 2-Bedroom (144 units): 743 – 936sqft
• 2+Study (144 units): 872 – 1066sqqft
• 3-Bedroom (104 units): 1087 – 1259sqft
• 3+Study (145 units): 1184 – 1464sqft
• 4-Bedroom (72 units): 1453 – 1658sqft
• 4-Bedroom Penthouses (6 units): 2497sqft

The interior layout of each unit type above the ground floor are quite standard, so you pretty much only need to decide on how many bedrooms you need/want.

The facilities at NV Residences are rather typical of those found in most “full facilities” condo projects these days.

However, two particular features caught our eyes:

• The various “themed” swimming pools are lined almost in the shape of a “T” at the centre of the development.

• The children playground, with its shadow playhouses and lighted tents, will definitely be a big draw with kids.

Tennis enthusiasts will be pleased to learn that there are two tennis courts within the development.

A grand total of 642 parking lots are available within 2 levels (or did we hear it wrong?) of basement parking. So you may have to rethink about buying that second car should you decide to purchase a unit here.

There are three showflat types on display at the sales gallery:
• 1055sqft, 2+Study (ground floor) – Type B2a(p)

• 1356sqft, 3+Study (ground floor) – Type C2a(p1)

• 1658sqft, 4-Bedroom (ground floor) – Type D(p1)

We will focus on the 4-bedroom unit type.

As you enter through the main door, a short walkway will lead you into the living/dining room. The developer has included a built-in shoe cabinet on one side of the wall along the walkway, which is a rather thoughtful touch.

The living and dining area is rectangular and a tad small. It comes with 60cm x 60cm homogenous tiles (no marble here) and 2.9m high ceiling.

The private enclosed space (PES) is rectangular area that takes up about 200sqft of space – we know this for a fact because the 4-bedder on the higher floors is only 1453sqft and does not come with a balcony. But if you fancy outdoor dinning with guests or maybe a private Jacuzzi within the boundaries of your own home (though in plain sight of others), then this ground floor unit is definitely for you.

The kitchen is fairly good size and the developer uses short strip ceramic-tile on the floor, which actually come across as rather appealing. The kitchen comes equipped with “Ariston” hob/hood/oven and the cabinets provided have anti-slam mechanism. The wife and I particularly liked the “top half glass/bottom half concrete” wall partition between the kitchen and the living area, which adds a touch of class to the whole apartment and also provides more natural lighting to the kitchen area.

There is a small squarish yard area behind the kitchen – separate washer/dryer will have to be stacked one on top of the other. The yard also contains a utility (aka maid’s) room that has enough room for a bed but nothing much else, as well as a small bathroom.

The common bathroom is rather spacious and comes furnished with “Hansgrohe” bathroom fittings and the standard standing shower stall.

The 2 common bedrooms are decent size and come with bay windows. A unique feature here is that the developer has incorporated a patented “storage solution” in one of the common bedroom. Storage compartments are built flush with the floor or bay window, which allows you to maximize the space in your apartment given the added storage. The wife and I were quite impressed with the idea and thought process that was put into the design.

The junior suite is again decent size – you can comfortably fit a Queen bed in here and still have ample space. But we were not impressed with the laminate flooring. The attached bathroom is again good size and comes with similar fittings/furnishings as the common bathroom.

The master bedroom is surprisingly huge – the developer has installed a King bed in here and the room still feels very spacious. Bay windows lined across two of the walls forming an L-shape, so you are assured of ample natural lighting. One rather strange thing about the master bedroom is this odd-looking round pillar that stood at the corner of the room, right about where the two rows of bay windows meet. We can only assume that the pillar is for structural purpose, since it does come across as rather ugly aesthetically.

The master bathroom is… huge! How else can you have a bath tub and standing shower stall opposite of each other, with the wash basin and WC area separating the two? It is probably one of the bigger (if not biggest) bathroom we have come across in awhile. However, you only get tiles for the walls/floors and not the marble version in many other new projects.

Price wise, the 3+Study on the 11th floor (1184sqft) was going at about $877psf, while the 4-bedder on the same floor (1453sqft) was selling at $848psf. However, these prices are more than 2 weeks old.

What we like:
• The design of the unit is well thought-out and functionality seems to be the key. This is evident from the built-in shoe cabinet along the walkway and the “storage solution” found in the common bedroom. Sometimes it is these subtle touches that make a difference, especially if the apartment is small.

• All the rooms are regular shaped with no odd corners, which allow for easier maximization of living space.

• No balcony for all the “non ground floor” units – the upper floor units only have planter boxes. The wife and I generally find balcony a waste of good liveable space, especially with small apartments.

• Two co-ed primary schools within 1-km of NV Residences – Elias and Coral Primary. We reckon many buyers of this mass market development will be families with primary school-going kids. So it is one less headache for those parents who need to put their kids into primary school come 2015.

What we dislike:
• While the showflat at NV Residences score highly for its design and functionality, the quality of furnishing can certainly be better. Remember the homogenous floor tiles in the living/dining room and laminate flooring in the bedrooms?

• Depending on whom you asked, NV Residences is anywhere between 5 to 15-minutes’ walk to Pasir Ris MRT Station and White Sands mall. And the development is also supposedly minutes away from nearby malls such as IKEA, Giant and Courts. However, we feel that NV Residences (together with Livia and the other 3 projects that are slated to be developed) are actually rather isolated. Most of the amenities mentioned are not easily accessible without transport. This is especially if you intend to bring home groceries and shopping. So for those of you who are looking forward to amenities within walking distance from the condo, you may have to contend with the neighbourhood HDB shops across the road.

• With Livia and 3 other projects slated to be developed on the same piece of land where NV Residences is sited, one can conservatively say that there will be at least 2500 new apartments next-door to each other once all 5 projects are up and occupied. Granted that it is quite a big piece of land that we are talking about, so one may not get the “sandwiched” feeling despite living so “intimately” amongst 2499 other families. But drivers may need a lot of patience navigating out of the Pasir Ris Grove/Pasir Ris Drive 1/Pasir Ris Drive 8 area especially during the morning rush hour.

• NV Residences is located far too close to the expressway (TPE) for our comfort. So double-glazed windows may be a good idea especially for folks living in Block 93.

In summary, the wife and I feel that NV Residences will be popular with three main categories of buyers:
• Upgraders currently living in Tampines/Pasir Ris/Changi/Sengkang

• Those who may have missed out on Livia

• Investors (?!)… although we wonder how many of these still exist given the new government measures. Having said that, most of the units sold so far are the smaller 1- and 2-bedders, so the jury is still out.

However, a quick check on the caveats lodged with URA indicate that Livia was still being transacted at the $700 – 850psf price range in Aug/Sep, while Oasis @Elias have been sold at the $650 – $700 range. So NV Residences do come across as slightly pricy comparatively.

What the wife and I are really looking forward to is the development slated to be built on the current site where the NV Residences sale gallery now stands – this is the best located of the 5 developments (in our humble opinion) and definitely the nearest to the MRT/White Sands by foot.

You can see more showflat photos of NV Residences here:
http://sgproptalk.blogspot.com/2010/09/nv-residences-showflat-photos.html
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NV RESIDENCES (Showflat Photos)

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Here are photos that the wife and I had taken at the showflat of NV Residences.

This is a 1658sqft, 4-bedroom ground floor unit (Type Dp1).

The review will follow shortly (fingers crossed).

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NV RESIDENCES: 160 of the 200 units released sold during preview!

Both the ST and BT today reported that developers sold 160 of the 200 units released at the preview of NV RESIDENCES by 6pm yesterday. The average price was $830psf.

NV RESIDENCES is a 642-unit, 99-year leasehold project in Pasir Ris, developed jointly by City Developments and Hong Leong Group. It is next to Livia, which was re-launched at $620psf early last year.

The preview was widely watched as this is the first project to be released since Aug 30, when measures to cool the property market were announced. That’s why observers are keenly studying NV RESIDENCES for signs of impact.

Although the number of units sold at the NV RESIDENCES’ preview is not deemed a bad outcome, market watchers could not help comparing the result with the 300 units sold on the first day of preview of the Tree House condo in Chestnut Avenue in April. That 99-year leasehold project was priced at about $800psf on average and is also jointly developed by CDL and Hong Leong.

Market watchers say NV RESIDENCES had been pre-marketed, ahead of yesterday’s preview, for about a month. The average pricing indication given earlier was in the mid-$800psf range, according to some sources, although one agent said he had seen emails pitching the project at an even higher average price of $875psf.

About 75% of the NV RESIDENCES’ buyers were Singaporeans, with foreigners (including permanent residents) making up the rest.

CDL said the 200 units released yesterday were priced between $557,000 for a 506sqft one-bedder on the second floor (working out to $1,100psf) to $1.9 million ($761psf) for a 2497sqft penthouse.

More units will be released over the rest of this week.
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OASIS @ELIAS (Review)

District: 18
Location: Pasir Ris
Address: 60 – 72 Elias Road
Developer: CEL Development Pte Ltd (subsidiary of Chip Eng Seng Corp. Ltd)
Tenure: 99-year from 17th March 2008

Given the “crazy” prices seen at new property launches these days, you might think the wife and I have gone bonkers if we say that you can actually buy a 2,000+sqft penthouse in a brand new project for less than $1.65million. Well, at OASIS@ELIAS you can.

OASIS@ELIAS is a 388-unit leasehold condo project comprising of 6 tower blocks of 18-storey each and a carpark podium. It sits on a 152,000sqft plot along Elias Road, next to Elias Mall. The current expected TOP is Dec 2012.

The sales gallery is located off-site – at the junction of Elias Road and Pasir Ris Drive 3 – as construction work for OASIS@ELIAS is already in full swing. The wife and I were at the sales gallery last weekend to check out the project and showflat. We were told by the marketing agent from Knight Frank that they are currently marketing Phase 2 of this project, after selling out all units in Phase 1.

OASIS@ELIAS is developed by Chip Eng Seng, a contractor turned developer that is responsible for projects like Bishan Loft Executive Condo (Bishan), One Fort (Tanjong Rhu), the “almost TOP” Parc Condominium (West Coast Road) and Grange Infinite (Grange Road).

Despite being a mid-size project, the type of units available (four) is comparatively fewer than other similar sized projects that were launched recently. There are no 1-bedder units at OASIS@ELIAS, and buckling the trend of new projects with mostly smaller units, OASIS@ELIAS has more than twice the number of 3-bedders compared to 2-bedders.

• 2-Bedrooms (95 units): 947 – 1206sqft
• 3-Bedrooms (211 units): 1195 – 1539sqft
• 4-Bedrooms (73 units): 1410 – 1496sqft
• Penthouses (9 units): 2217 – 2659sqft

For those seeking a sea view, the wife and I understand that the “outward-facing”, higher-floor units (9th floor and above) in Blocks 66, 68, 70 and probably 72 will overlook the Straits of Johor.

OASIS@ELIAS is a “full facilities” condo that centres on its 40-metre lap pool and the 5-senses gardens. It also comes with a tennis court (located on the rooftop of the carpark podium) and even an elderly fitness corner.

There are a total of 399 parking spaces (inclusive of 4 handicapped & 7 visitor’s lot – which effectively means only 1 lot per unit) spread over one basement carpark level (2/3 of the total spaces) and a 4-storey carpark podium block (1/3 of the total spaces).

There is only one showflat in the sales gallery – a 1496sqft, 4-Bedroom unit (Type C2). You walk through a rather long corridor as you entered the front door and into the rectangular-shaped living/dining area. The wife and I were surprised at how tiny the living/dining area is – you probably need to push the dining table out to the balcony (like they did in the showflat) if you intend to have a proper “living room” with a decent-size sofa and TV cabinet. Either that or you have to sacrifice the bedroom adjacent to the living/dining area to create more space. The living/dining area comes with 60cm x 60cm homogenous tiles (not marble, sorry) and 2.75m ceiling.

The rectangular balcony is huge and very functional– we reckoned almost 200sqft – which explained why you can fit a 6-seater long dining table here quite comfortably. The only problem we have with the balcony is the ugly railings, which looked like something you will find in a HDB flat (no offence).

Just before you enter into the wet kitchen area, there is a strip of what the wife and I can only term as a pathetic excuse for a dry kitchen – what the developer calls a dry kitchen, we call it a short table-top with cabinets below. The wet kitchen is a long rectangular strip, and comes with 90cm x 30cm homogenous tiles and “EF” brand hob/hood/oven. Unfortunately, we cannot identify the brand of sink/faucets that is provided. Overall, the wife and I are not impressed by the look and quality of the kitchen appliances, while the L-shaped top and bottom-tier kitchen cabinets and solid surfaced worktop also looked distinctly ordinary.

The bomb shelter aka Utility aka maid’s room is located within the wet kitchen itself opposite to the cooking area – a layout that we really dislike – and it has little/no ventilation. The small strip of a yard is at the end of the wet kitchen – you will have to use one of those “2 in 1” washer/dryer or pile one on top of the other if you have separate washer and dryer. And because the yard is just an extension of the wet kitchen, your hanging laundry will probably smell like the meal you cook. A toilet is found in the yard area.

The common bathroom is rather good size. The wife and I both loved the 60cm x 30cm black textured homogenous floor tiles, which looked very nice for a change. The other thing that we liked about the bathroom is the white & green mosaic “featured wall” in the standing shower stall, but disappointed with the fact that the shower stall has no rain shower. You get “Hansa”/”Roca” bathroom and toilet fittings, as well as a toilet cover that will go ‘ka bong” every time you forget to put it down gently.

The 2 common bedrooms are regular-shaped and of acceptable size. You can probably fit a “Queen” bed in here but you will be left with little space for anything else. You get timber-strip floors and the wardrobe space is as per what you normally expect with new projects these days (read: hardly sufficient). We find the quality of flooring and wardrobe extremely “so-so”.

The junior suite is not much bigger than the common bedroom, while the attached bathroom is almost an exact copy of the common bathroom.

The master bedroom is good size though, and comes with a planter area that is accessible via a set of sliding glass doors. The wardrobe space is bigger than what you get in the other bedrooms, but not by very much. The master bathroom is also good-sized and comes with 60cm x 30cm grey textured homogenous floor tiles, which we also liked. You get a bath tub with an adjacent standing shower stall, but again no rain shower.

Price wise, we were told that OASIS @ELIAS has one of the lowest psf among all the newly launched projects:  a 1475sqft, 4-Bedroom unit (Block 70, #09-17 – sea facing) is priced at $1.12 million or $759psf

And now for the sweetest deal:  a 2217sqft, 4-Bedroom, 2-level penthouse (Block 66, #17/18-09 – sea facing) will only cost you $1.636 million after a 10% discount, or $738psf

The maintenance fee for the 4-bedder is a low $210/month, while for the penthouse is only $230/month. We also understand that for the initial 2-year period after TOP, there will be a shuttle-bus service that operates from the condo to Pasir Ris MRT Station, which is about a couple of bus stops away.

What we like:
• The price – $1.12 million for a 1475sqft 4-bedder and better yet, less than $1.65 million for a 2200+sqft penthouse? And both units actually come with sea view too?? Such prices for newly launched projects are almost unheard of these days.

• The floors tiles in the bathrooms as well as the “mosaic wall” in the standing shower stall of the common and junior suite bathroom, which are probably the only two sets of furnishing we liked.

• Two co-ed primary schools within 1-km of OASIS @ELIAS – Elias and Parkview Primary. These should give parents with primary school-going kids one fewer headaches, especially if they are not overly particular about the pedigree of the school their children go to.

What we dislike:
• Other than the toilet floor tiles and “mosaic wall” that we have heaped praises about, the wife and I are rather disappointed with the quality of furnishing and fittings in the showflat. Remember the ugly railings we talked about earlier? That’s just one of several examples we can cite.

• The unit layout also leaves a lot to be desired – the long corridor from the main door to the living/dining area is a very inefficient use of space (although you can technically build storage on one side of the wall, as the walkway is wide enough), while more space could certainly be allocated to the pathetically small living/dining area. And to have the bomb shelter in the kitchen right opposite the cooking area, what was the architect thinking?

• The plot of land that OASIS @ELIAS sits on is actually quite small. For comparison, Green Lodge (the condo in Toh Tuck that was recently a subject of much en-bloc discussions) also resides on 150,00sqft of land but only has 80 apartments! So the wife and I cannot help but wonder if the 6 tower blocks will be too close for comfort to each other and thus somewhat claustrophobic.

• Speaking of claustrophobia, OASIA @ELIAS is surrounded by HDB blocks on all sides except for those units facing the sea. But the sea-facing units also overlook Elias Mall. We passed by this small neighbourhood mall along the way to the showflat and frankly, we find it to be a rather ugly building especially from a bird’s eye view.

• Although the marketing brochure claimed that OASIS @ELIAS is close to nearby malls such as IKEA, Giant, Courts and White sands, none of these amenities is accessible with reasonable ease without a vehicle. So for those of you who are looking forward to amenities within walking distance from the condo, you may have to contend with Elias Mall and the neighbourhood HDB shops.
• The marketing brochure also claimed that the CBD is accessible within minutes through the comprehensive network of ECP, TPE, PIE CTE & SLE. But the wife and I reckon that it will take between 25 minutes (normal traffic) to almost an hour’s drive (rush hours) to get to the city.

On first pass, OASIS @ELIAS definitely looked like a good buy as you can purchase a bigger apartment at a relatively lower price compared to other new projects. However, if you take into consideration its actual location, accessibility, quality of the project (as demonstrated in the showflat) and distance from amenities, the “good buy” statement may need requalification. As a comparison, the wife and I actually prefer Livia down the road – it has a much bigger land site, is mostly unblocked and best of all, is freehold. And if our memories serve us right, the psf price of OASIS @ELIAS and Livia are almost similar. But we reckon that OASIS @ELIAS will still be popular amongst first-time buyers and upgraders that are comfortable with living in the Tampines/Pasir Ris/Changi area. Those who have missed the opportunity to buy units at Livia (which we understand is 100% sold) may also be interested in this project. The good take-up rate for the 2-bedders and the sea-facing 3- and 4-bedders seen at OASIS @ELIAS thus far seemed to support that notion.

Click here to view slide show and floor plans
http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649