Tags: d11 / hoi hup / The Whitley Residences

New Project Info: The Whitley Residences

- December 11, 2012 No Comments

It was reported in our de facto business newspaper today that Hoi Hup have sold 19 freehold cluster homes at The Whitley Residences at about $5 million each during a preview on Sunday. The average price is about $850psf on strata area - after a 12% discount and absorption of the standard 3% buyer's stamp duty.

All  the buyers were Singaporeans. Non-Singapore citizens need permission from the Land Dealings (Approval) Unit to buy units in the development, as it is a form of landed housing.

The units sold comprise a corner terrace and 18 semi-detached houses. The semi-Ds fetched $4.9 million (for a unit with a strata area of 6,125sqft) to $5.12 million (for a 6,071sqft unit). The 6,620sqft corner terrace sold for $4.85 million.

Cluster housing developments are landed homes that have shared condo-like facilities. At The Whitley Residences, these will include a clubhouse, pool, gym, hot spa and playground.

The District 11 project is near the upcoming Mount Pleasant MRT Station under the Thomson Line. All 61 units in the development span four levels, including a basement and attic, and each has its own lift.

The project comprises 58 semi-Ds and three terrace homes - all with five bedrooms.

Strata areas of the semi-Ds are 5,156sqft to 7,190sft. Following the sale of a corner terrace unit, the remaining corner unit of 6,448sqft (priced at $4.8 million) and a 4,801sqft intermediate terrace house costing $4.3 million are available.

Strata area includes car parking area, private enclosed space lift, void areas and roof terrace.

For its preview, Hoi Hup released 27 semi-Ds and all three terrace units.

 

This is definitely one project that the wife and I are interested to go have a look-see. For the uninitiated, the site that The Whitley Residences sit on is supposedly the largest freehold land site in District 9, 10 and 11 since the 1950s, with grounds exceeding 130,000sqft. The project also has the honor of being the first ever landed housing estate in Singapore to achieve the top-tier Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Platinum Award.

Here are more details about The Whitley Residences for those who are interested:

Name:            The Whitley Residences
Location:       141 Whitley Road
Developer:     Hoi Hup Realty Pte Ltd
Tenure:          Freehold
District:         11
Est. TOP:      31 Dec 2017
Total Units:   58 strata Semi-Detached & 3 Strata Terraces
Car Park:      Basement Parking (private & visitor parking lots)

MRT Stations & Schools: Trains 0.4 km: Mt Pleasant MRT Thomson Line (Due 2021) 0.87 km: Novena MRT 0.99 km: Bukit Brown MRT Circle Line U/C

Schools & Institutions 0.80 km: Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) 0.77 km: Balestier Hill Primary School 0.97 km: CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh) 1.17 km: Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS) 1.17 km: Singapore Chinese Girls' Primary School (SCGPS) 1.65 km: Marymount Convent School 1.74 km: Kheng Cheng School 1.85 km: Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)

Tags: hoi hup / kovan regency

Project Spotlight: Kovan Regency

- November 2, 2012 No Comments

Hoi Hup's Kovan Regency, consisting of 393 mixed condominium and strata-landed housing units, were among the top five best-selling projects in September.

The 99-year leasehold Kovan Regency has a wide range of unit types: one-bedroom (506 to 700sqft), two-bedroom  (624 to 775sqft), three-bedroom (893 to 1,389sqft), four-bedroom (1,281 to 1,507sqft) units, penthouses (689 to 2,260sqft) and strata terraces (3,692sqft to 3,864sqft). During its launch last month, it sold 369 units at a median price of $1,275sqft. In fact, over 90% of the units sold were done in the first weekend of private previews.

2-bedroom (624sqft)

3-bedroom (893sqft)

4-bedroom (1,281sqft)

 

According to Lisa Goh, property development manager of Hoi Hup, Kovan Regency's smaller units sold the fastest. Most of the buyers are locals who already own a landed property in the Simon Road area, observes Goh. She notes that there have been families who purchased several units on the same floor in order to live close to one another. While there have been a few investors, Goh says most of the buyers are getting the units for their own use.

The main attraction among buyers is Kovan Regency's proximity to the Kovan MRT Station. It's also located within walking distance to Heartland Mall and Kovan Hougang Market and Food Centre. Schools such as Paya Lebar Methodist Girls, XinminPrimary School, and Yuying Secondary Schoolare also nearby. The development will be completed in 2016.

 

The units still available at Kovan Regencyare five 4-bedroom penthouses (1,744 to 2,142sqft), one corner strata-titled terraced house (3,875sqft) and 11 other intermediate strata-titled terraced units (3,703sqft). There are a total of 15 strata terraced houses in the development, and they are all provided with a home lift. Goh believes that the terraces will appeal to foreign buyers. This is because URA has announced in April that it will no longer grant condominium status to developments containing a mix of strata-landed homes and apartments within the same development. This move was designed to close the loophole that has enabled foreigners to buy strata landed homes in such projects without gaining approval from the Land Dealings Approval Unit. Kovan Regency is one of the last few condos with strata-landed homes that foreigners are eligible to buy as it was one of the last few to secure planning permission before the new measure was introduced.

Kovan Regency is Hoi Hup's second launch this year. It launched the 99-year leasehold, 376-unit Sea Esta in Pasir Ris earlier this year. The development consists of one- to four-bedroom units and penthouses and is located close to White Sands shopping centre, Loyang Point and E!Hub Downtown East. According to Goh, there are 16 units left for sale at Sea Esta.

Source: THEEDGE SINGAPORE

 

 

Tags: city / condo / d4 / freehold / hoi hup / the foresta

Foresta @Mount Faber: Review (Part 2)

- May 18, 2011 1 Comment

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The other showflat in the sales gallery of Foresta is a 926sqft, 2-bedroom ground-floor unit (Type C2G).

For those who are not interested in ground floor units (read: large PES), the typical Type C2 unit is 786sqft.

The kitchen is on your left as you enter the unit. And unlike the 1-bedroom apartment, the kitchen is distinctly separated from the living/dining room. It comes equipped with similar furnishing and kitchen appliances as the 1-bedder. However, you get homogenous tiles for the kitchen floor, which we reckon is more appropriate than marble. The wife and I also like the “pull out” storage cabinet between the integrated fridge and washing machine (see photo).

The living/dining room is rectangular-shaped and is spacious enough for a small sofa set plus a 4-seater dining table. It comes with similar 90cm x 90cm large marble-slab floor and 4.2m high ceiling (3.2m for 2^nd floor and above). 

The common bathroom is almost square-shaped and of decent size. It comes with homogenous-tile walls and floors as well as “Keramag” toilet and “Grohe” bathroom fittings. The wife and I were slightly disappointed with the standing shower stall, which has a rather “plasticky” look to it.

The common bedroom is small - the photo we took is actually quite flattering compared to the actual size. Maybe this is the reason why there is no bay window for this project? (else the bedrooms will be even smaller!)

The master bedroom seems surprisingly smaller than the one in the 1-bedder showflat. And instead of separate “His” and “Hers” set of wardrobe, you get the standard “2-panel” wardrobe here.

The master bathroom is quite good size, with similar look and feel as the common bathroom. This is with the exception of the shower stall, which looked more appealing than the one in the common bathroom. However, those expecting a bath tub or maybe “rain shower” (as a consolation) will be disappointed.

Price wise, this is what you can expect to pay for a 2-bedder unit in Foresta:
• #02-28 (721sqft, inward-facing): $1,369,900 nett or $1,900psf
• #02-01 (667sqft, inward-facing): $1,267,000 nett or $1,900psf

What we like:
• Foresta is about 450m away from the upcoming Telok Blangah MRT station and 980m away from Harbourfront MRT station - not exactly at your doorsteps but still within reasonable walking distances. Vivocity is also supposedly a 10-minutes walk away, which may appeal to those working in Harbourfront or thereabouts.

• The high ceiling (4.2m/3.2m), which is especially welcomed given the (small) size of the units.

• The quality of furnishing provided – we like the well-designed kitchen, the good quality marble floors and the appealing wardrobes.

• Two primary schools are within 1-km of Foresta – Radin Mas & Blangah Rise Primary.

What we dislike:
• Location – We were unimpressed with the “sights” around Foresta. The surrounding buildings looked rather dated and poorly maintained, which gives the whole area a rather “sad” look. Granted that all these may change by the time Foresta is completed in 4 years’ time, so one can always hope!


• We suspect the stretch of roads outside Foresta (i.e. Morse Road & Wishart Road) will be rather congested during the weekends, as you probably find cars belonging to church-goers (there are at least 4 churches along that short stretch of roads) parking on both sides of the narrow roads.

• Many marketing agents for Foresta will tell you that the project faces Keppel Club and Reflections at Keppel Bay. But in reality, there is not much in terms of view for “outward facing” units in Foresta given the height of the project (5-storey) – you either face the row of old shophouses/the flyover along Telok Blangah Road (for front-facing units) or Pender Road along the foot of Mount Faber (for back-facing units). So the “best facing” units are probably the inward (pool-facing) ones.

• Speaking of inward-facing units - the distance between Blocks 100/102 and Blocks 106/108 is a mere 15 metres. This is a tad too close for our comfort but good news for curtain/window-blind makers.

• The amount of PES/balcony space is disproportionately large compared to the overall size of the unit. Do you really need two balconies (one in the living room and one in the master bedroom) for a 700sqft, 2-bedroom unit? This is especially when you are paying full price for the balcony space!

Our Verdict: The wife and I feel that Foresta is hardly value for money by any stretch of our imaginations. The project is average at best in terms of location (at the wrong “foot” of Mount Faber), mediocre in terms of its facility offerings and not quite “high end” enough in terms of interior quality (some furnishing in the showflat we really like but not enough to pay the kind of money the developer is asking). At $1,900psf or above, one can still have quite a few options for freehold projects even at current market prices. However, given the rate at which units in Foresta have been snapped up so far, maybe the buyers knew something that we don’t…?!

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Tags: city / condo / d4 / freehold / hoi hup / the foresta

Foresta @Mount Faber: Review (Part 1)

- May 16, 2011 3 Comments

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Project Name:   The Foresta @ Mount Faber
Tenure:   Freehold
Location:   100 - 108 Wishart Road
District:   4
Site Area:   65,480sqft
TOP (estimated):   31 June 2015
Total Units:   141
No. of Blocks/Storey:   4 Blocks of 5-Storey each
Car Park Lots:   Basement Parking 144 lots (including 3 handicap lots)
Developer:   Hoi Hup Realty Pte Ltd
Facing:   North-South Orientation

The wife and I went to check out Foresta @Mount Faber last week. This is the latest freehold project by Hoi Hup Realty located at the foot of Mount Faber.

As some of you may recall, Hoi Hup bough the site (where Pender Court is currently located) for $95 million in June 2010. The land price worked out to around $1,007psf ppr.
 

The Foresta's sales gallery is located off-site (since Pender Court is currently occupied) on an open ground at the end of Wishart Road. One actually will pass by the actual site (Pender Court) before arriving at the sales gallery.

The Foresta consists of 4 blocks, each of 5-Storey high. Preview for this project officially started last Wednesday and to date, 50% of the 141 units are already sold.

The freehold project offers a mix of 1 to 3-bedder apartment units, as well as 1+Study to 4-bedroom penthouses:

• 1 Bedroom (43 units):   431 - 506sqft
• 1+Study (11 units):   538 - 624sqft
• 2 Bedrooms (54 units):   667 - 947sqft
• 3 Bedrooms (4 units):   1076/1109/1,238sqft
• 1+Study Penthouse (11 units):   775sqft
• 2 Bedrooms Penthouse (3 units):   958sqft
• 2+Study Penthouse (4 units):   1195sqft
• 3+Utility Penthouse (10 units):   1356/1378/1453sqft
• 4 Bedrooms Penthouse (1 unit):   1755sqft

All ground-floor units come with 4.2m high ceiling, while the ceiling height of 2nd – 5th floor apartments are 3.2m.



Foresta is marketed as a full-facility condominium project, MINUS the tennis court. But given the small site area, the facility offerings are rather basic for supposedly a “high-end” project.

There are only sufficient parking lots in the basement for 1 car per household, unless one wishes to be demonised for parking your second car in the 3 handicapped lots.

There are 2 showflat types on display at the sales gallery:

• A 484sqft, 1-bedroom ground-floor unit (Type A1G)
• A 926sqft, 2-bedroom ground-floor unit (Type C2G)

For the first part of our review on Foresta, we shall concentrate on the Type A1G unit.

For those of you who are not interested in ground-floor units, you be pleased to know that the typical Type A units (i.e. 2nd – 4th floor, balcony instead of PES) is 431sqft and have the exact same interior layout as Type A1G.



As you enter the unit, the small kitchenette is immediately on your left. We called this a “kitchenette” (rather than a kitchen) because it is not really designed for “heavy” cooking - the induction hob is a dead giveaway.The wife and I were rather impressed with the quality of furnishing, which include

• Kitchen cabinets that come with “anti-slam” mechanism
• Doors of top-hung cabinets that open upwards i/o outwards
• Sauce rack provided inside the bottom cabinet
• Excellent quality solid-surfaced kitchen top

The developer is also very generous on kitchen appliances. You get “Teka” hob/hood, fridge, oven and washing machine. The integrated oven, fridge and washing machine keep the kitchenette area clutter-free and frees up much needed “manoeuvring” space.

We also love the 90cm x 90cm large marble-slab floors in the kitchen & living/dining areas.



The living/dining room is TINY and has barely enough space for a two-seater dining table and a small sofa (see photo). The wife and I actually felt a little claustrophobic with just the 3 of us (i.e. ourselves and the sales agent) standing inside the living room.
  

The master bedroom is surprising spacious compared to the living/dining room. It comes with large timber-strip floors and very appealing set of "His" and "Hers" wardrobes. 

There is only one bathroom in the whole unit and this is located inside the master bedroom. The bathroom is decent-sized and comes with branded "Keramag" toilet and "Grohe" bathroom fittings. But given the size of the unit, you only get a standing shower stall (no bath tub). The wife and I were somewhat disappointed with the developer for not "marbling up" the bathroom, especially given the kind of money that one is expected to pay.
 



Price-wise, a 431sqft, 1-bedroom unit on the 4th floor (#04-04, facing Wishart Road) will cost you $859,900 after discount. This translates to $1,995psf!.

We will continue our review on the 2-bedroom unit (Type C2) and our likes/dislikes of Foresta in our next post.


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Tags: city / condo / d4 / freehold / hoi hup / the foresta

New Project Launching: The Foresta @Mount Faber

- April 28, 2011 3 Comments

For those who are seeking a freehold (albeit smallish) property near Mount Faber.


Project Name : The Foresta @ Mount Faber

Developer : Hoi Hup Realty Pte Ltd

Description : Proposed Condominium Housing Development Comprising 5 Storey Residential Flats (total 141 units) with an Attic, a Basement Car Park and Provision for a Swimming Pool 

Tenure : Freehold

Location : 100 - 108 Wishart Road 

District : 4

Site Area : 65,480.64 sqft

TOP (Est) : 31 June 2015 

Total Units : 141 

Car Park Lots : Basement Parking 144 lots (including 3 handicap lots)

Facing : North-South Orientation

Site Plan:


Unit Type:
• 1 Bedroom : 431sqft - 506sqft (43 units)
• 1+Study : 538sqft - 624 sqft (11 units)
• 2 Bedrooms : 667sqft - 947sqft (54 units)
• 3 Bedrooms : 1,076/1109/1,238sqft (4 units)
• 1+Study Penthouse : 775 sqft (11 units)
• 2 Bedrooms Penthouse : 958sqft (3 units)
• 2+Study Penthouse : 1,195sqft (4 units)
• 3+Utility Penthouse : 1,356/1,378/1,453sqft (10 units)
• 4 Bedrooms Penthouse : 1,755sqft (1 unit)

The wife and I understand that registration for VVIP Preview (sometime in May) has already begun. And in order to register, the following documents are COMPULSORY:
1) Particular of Purchaser form
2) Letter of Authorization
3) Photocopy of buyers’ NRIC
4) Signed cheque with payee to developer's project account

So... we are reverting back to the good 'o days of cheque collection. Deja vue  indeed!

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Tags: condo / d14 / east_coast / freehold / hoi hup / others / vacanza

Vacanza @East: Showflat photos

- November 1, 2010 1 Comment

The wife and I were at the sales gallery of Vacanza @East over the weekend.

We were surprised to learn that this project is still in its "previewing" stage despite being marketed since end-September.

Here are some of the photos we have taken of the sales gallery and showflat - a 1,399sqft, 4-bedroom ground-floor unit (Type D2-G).















We will post our review...soon.

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Tags: condo / d14 / east_coast / freehold / hoi hup / others / vacanza

VACANZA @EAST: Close to 90 units sold!

- September 30, 2010 2 Comments

Hoi Hup and Sunway sold nearly 90 units at their Vacanza @East condo by the end of Tuesday, when the project previewed to those who had registered interest with the appointed marketing agents DTZ and Huttons. This is according to a BT report today.

A VVIP preview was held on Monday for staff/directors of Hoi Hup and Sunway as well as their special guests.

The average price for the 12-storey freehold project is about $1,090psf.

Buyers were mostly Singaporeans and the most popular units were two- and three-bedroom units.

In absolute price terms, units sold range from nearly $550,000 for a 484sqft one-bedder to slightly above $2 million for a three-bedder penthouse of over 1,900sqft.

Initially two blocks comprising 141 units were released but as potential buyers started requesting for apartments in other stacks in the 473-unit project, the developers began releasing more units.

Vacanza comprises one- to four-bedroom units as well as penthouses. It will have a clubhouse, gymnasium, a tennis court, a lap pool, fitness station and lawn.

Market watchers point out that the project, located at Lengkong Tujoh, is next to the Pan Island Expressway, near Singatronics Building and Bedok Industrial Estate. It is about a kilometre away from Kembangan MRT Station.

Hoi Hup and Sunway are developing Vacanza on a 207,000sqft site which they bought in October last year for $158 million, or about $445 per square foot of potential gross floor area, including an estimated development charge of about $36 million at the time.

The site, which was vacant at the time, was sold by Lee Tat Development. The residential site has a 2.1 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area) and a 12-storey maximum height under Master Plan 2008.

Vacanza’s appeal is supposedly due to it being a freehold project in a quiet estate amidst a landed housing enclave. However, the wife and I wonder how much of the “PIE noise effect” will Vacanza be subjected to, especially when the site is located along this busy expressway…

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Tags: condo / d14 / east_coast / freehold / hoi hup / others / vacanza

VACANZA @EAST: Preview starts today!

- September 28, 2010 No Comments

The BT today has reported that Vacanza @East, a freehold condo in the Kembangan area, is previewing from today.


This is a joint-venture project between Hoi Hup Realty and Malaysia's Sunway group.

The average price is expected to be slightly over $1,000psf for the 141 units being released in two blocks of the 12-storey project. Vacanza @East will have a total 473 units in seven blocks.

The project comprises one to four-bedroom units as well as penthouses.

About 39% of uinits have either two bedrooms or two bedrooms with a study. Another 30% are three-bedders.

View our previous post about this project here:
http://sgproptalk.blogspot.com/2010/09/new-project-details-vacanza-east.html

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