Arena at Geylang

[Wimsey]

If you are one of those property buyers who only look for freehold property, the good news is that there are quite a number of new freehold launches coming up. The not-so-good news is that most of them are in the District 9 / 10 / 11 areas, and as almost everyone knows, freehold property there goes for stratospheric pricing. Like above $3,000 PSF. Or even close to $4,000 PSF.

If you don't happen to have that kind of money lining your pockets, there are still good alternatives. A few of them are being launched in the city fringe locations. These are still close to the city centre (think 10 to 15 minutes drive in), and some of them are even within a short walk of an MRT station. Like Arena Residences near Geylang, or Jui Residences at Boon Keng.

Arena Residences is the more convenient one, as it is within 6 minutes walk from Mountbatten MRT station on the Circle Line. Its main drawback is that it is one the fringe of Geylang, which tends to be shunned by some. Which is why it offers good value for money. You can get a freehold condo here, close to the city centre and near to the Mountbatten / Kallang Stadium area, for very little more than what you would have to pay for a leasehold property in an area further out.

Not only that, there is always the potential of capital appreciation here, when in the years ahead, this whole district is cleaned up. The Arena Residences itself is being built on the land formerly occupied by some landed houses, so this is very much a residential neighbourhood.

We are looking at a possible starting date of around October 2018 for the Arena Residences showflat Preview. If you are keen to explore this project, just head over to the website and drop us a line. We will be glad to send you the relevant details.

[Wimsey]

Arena Residences is finally about to launch. Tentatively scheduled to start from Saturday 27 October. The floor plans are now available too. Looking good. Quite functional layouts, and pretty good use of space too. The developer has managed to squeeze in pretty usable rooms into small floor plates.

Hopefully this means lower quantum prices, to make it more affordable for investors. Especially since the Guillemard / Geylang area is known to have among the highest rental yields around.

[Wimsey]

The Arena Residence showflat is located at Kallang Leisure Park, near Stadium MRT station. No indicative pricing yet, but some analysts are guessing around $1,750 to $1,800 PSF. Below is an artist's impression of the project itself. From the sky terrace at the top, will get pretty good views to Kallang Basin and the city skyline. Also a spectacular ringside seat to the fireworks displays on National Day.

Only 98 units here, so should sell out quite quickly. No one bedders, the smallest unit type is a 51 sq m 2 bedder. Though the floor area is not big, Roxy Pacific still managed to fit 2 decent sized bedrooms in, able to take a queen sized bed even in the common bedroom. The only drawback to it is the kitchenette, which is located along the corridor leading to the bedrooms, of all places. Guess they are not expecting residents here to cook much. Especially since there're so many good eating places around this area.

The other unit types are 3 bedroom standard, and 3 bedroom dual key. It certainly looks like Arena Residence is targeting investors more, which makes sense since this area is attractive to tenants.