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New projects liven up Sengkang district

More buzz, but Fernvale prices won't rise right away: Experts

Published on Feb 15, 2014

By Melissa Tan


A SURGE of new launches this month has brought Sengkang's quiet Fernvale district into the limelight.

The area - on the west side of Sengkang, near Seletar - is dominated by fairly young families living in new public flats, but the mix is changing fast.

Consultants said the upcoming completion of several private projects is expected to bring more buzz, and will appeal to people buying homes for their own use.

But the newness of the area and the large supply of homes coming onstream will mean that prices in Fernvale could take some time to rise, they said.

Two new major condominium projects will battle it out for buyers this month. The 555-unit Riverbank @ Fernvale began sales yesterday, while the 495-unit Rivertrees Residences will hit the market next weekend. They sit alongside the Sungei Punggol Reservoir waterway, and are close to the Layar LRT station and the upcoming The Seletar Mall.

The Lush Acres executive condominium (EC) and the H2O Residences condominium, which are under construction, are nearby. Both projects are being developed by City Developments.

Lush Acres launched in July last year and had sold all but three of its 380 units by the end of December at an average selling price of about $790 per sq ft (psf).

The 521-unit H2O Residences launched in March 2011 had moved 509 homes as at the end of last year. The project sold two units in December last year at around $1,020 psf, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data.

The abundance of new projects in Fernvale means that prices may rise only in the long term, consultants said.

"The locality is still best suited for owner occupation rather than for investments. Leasing competition will be fairly stiff," said R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng.

However, some expatriates with limited budgets might rent in Fernvale, he added.

Still, owner-occupiers will likely benefit from the area's development. Owners who can hang on for a longer period could potentially see "notable" price increases upon resale, Mr Ong said.

There are very few completed projects in the area. One of them is Seletar Springs Condominium on Gerald Drive, which lies south of the Fernvale private residential enclave next to Sungei Punggol.

It was completed in 2000. The median resale price has risen over the past three years, from $546 psf in the first quarter of 2010 to $829 psf in the fourth quarter of last year, according to caveats lodged with the URA.

Projects under construction in the vicinity of Fernvale include the Topiary EC and Seletar Park Residence.

The 700-unit Topiary EC on Fernvale Lane, jointly developed by Kheng Leong and Qingjian, launched in December 2012 and is fully sold.

Buyer demand was so strong that all 16 penthouse units were snapped up on the first morning of bookings at prices of between $1.3 million and $1.5 million.

The 276-unit Seletar Park Residence on Seletar Road was launched in March 2012 at an average price of $1,200 psf, and had sold 263 units by the end of last year.

The project, developed by Tuan Sing, is near the Greenwich V shopping mall built by Far East Organization.

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