Tag Archives: HDB News

Singapore Property : Resort-style design for waterfront flats

Posted on 14 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on Singapore Property : Resort-style design for waterfront flats

Punggol housing project to feature flats with roof gardens and sky terraces
International architectural firm Group8asia and local firm Aedas’ winning design for the waterfront flats is inspired by Asia’s rice fields and dense rainforests. — PHOTO: HDB

SINGAPORE’S first waterfront public housing project in Punggol will offer 1,200 flats featuring sky terraces, roof gardens and panoramic views of the Punggol Waterway.

The Housing Board (HDB) yesterday unveiled the winning design for the first batch of flats that will line the 4.2km waterway. They will be launched for sale by the middle of next year.

The 4.9ha project’s unique design will feature blocks of flats that will ’step down’ towards the water like terraces, and have solar panels on their rooftops to supply power to common areas.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said the winning design ‘offers a new lifestyle option for Punggol residents’.

‘Its distinctive sky terrace concept will create quality public spaces along the waterway for the community, keeping the kampung spirit alive,’ said Mr Mah, who announced the winning team behind the design at the HDB’s annual awards held at HDB Hub yesterday.

International architectural firm Group8asia and local firm Aedas clinched the top prize for their refreshing, resort-style design, which was inspired by Asia’s rice fields and dense rainforests, said Group8asia’s principal architect, Mr Manuel Der Hagopian.

‘Singapore has a close relationship with water and we wanted to design something that reflected that,’ said Mr Hagopian, who is Swiss and has 10 years of industry experience.

The project’s design enables a high percentage of flats to have views of the waterway, and allows for many green, open spaces such as open courtyards and sky gardens – all leading to the water.

Mr Hagopian incorporated high Swiss standards of sustainability in the project, maximising natural light and ventilation. The project will aim to achieve the highest green building award, he said.

The naming of the winning design brings to a close the Punggol Waterfront Housing Design Competition that the HDB launched in December last year.

The two-stage design competition, which attracted 108 entries with a good mix of local and foreign firms, had a theme of Green Living By The Waters.

Surbana International Consultants, B4FS Arquitectos and RSP Architects received merit awards for their designs.

HDB deputy director (physical planning) Chong Fook Loong said the board wanted to seek innovative ideas on how to get the best value out of the waterway.

The new housing project and the upcoming Punggol Waterway and Promenade are part of the ‘Punggol 21-plus’ vision unveiled by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech in 2007.

By 2011, there will be 23,000 completed homes in Punggol, said HDB.

The Government aims to build an extra 21,000 homes along the waterway – 60 per cent HDB flats and 40 per cent private ones.

HDB hopes to offer the first batch of waterfront flats for sale next year, and residents are expected to get their flats by 2014 or 2015.

Mr Mah also presented 12 awards to seven winners in the categories of construction safety, quality and design.

He recognised the contribution by industry partners towards Singapore’s successful public housing programme.

‘But, success brings with it a new set of challenges, one of which is meeting the rising expectations of Singaporeans for quality public housing,’ he said.

This is why HDB and its partners should continue to keep abreast of technological improvements and innovation to make HDB flats and estates even better, said Mr Mah.

Among the winners were China Construction and Surbana International, which won multiple awards.

HDB award winners

Construction Safety Award

China Construction (South Pacific) Development (Building)

Thong Huat Brothers (Main upgrading)

Design Award

Surbana International Consultants (Three awards for new housing, two for main upgrading)

Quality Award

China Construction (South Pacific) Development

Kian Hiap Construction

Kienta Engineering Construction

Sim Lian Construction

United Premas

Source : Straits Times – 12 Nov 2009

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Singapore Property : Record $653k for 4-room HDB flat

Posted on 14 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on Singapore Property : Record $653k for 4-room HDB flat

Industry players caution high price for unit in Queenstown is a one-off
The four-year-old 969sqft unit at Forfar Heights, Strathmore Avenue, is just five minutes walk from Queenstown MRT station, and on the top, 40th floor of the block. The price paid by the Indonesian buyer is about 2.5 times the $262,000 the seller and his wife paid a few years ago. — ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM

A FOUR-ROOM Queenstown HDB flat has sold for $653,000, setting a new record for price per sq ft (psf), amid continuing red-hot demand for resale flats.

The buyers, a male Indonesian permanent resident and a Singaporean woman, could have bought a condominium unit in an outlying area for the price.

But they were won over by the location, just five minutes walk from Queenstown MRT station, and on the top, 40th floor of the block, with unblocked views of greenery from all windows.

The four-year-old 969sqft unit at Forfar Heights, Strathmore Avenue, sold for $68,000 above valuation – a level determined by an independent valuer.

This works out to $674 psf, smashing the previous record of $609 psf, achieved in January last year, by about 10 per cent.

This may be an unusually high price but resale prices have been moving up.

Recent Housing Board data shows resale flat prices surged 3.8 per cent in the first nine months of the year, reaching a historic level – surpassing even that of the 1997 property peak.

The deal was brokered by Mr Chris Neo, 32, and Kelvin Lim, 28, marketing directors of ERA Realty. Mr Neo told The Straits Times yesterday that the price was good for the prime location.

‘Although at that price you could buy a private property somewhere else, at this location, you wouldn’t be able to get private property for less than $900 psf,’ said Mr Neo, who has three years’ experience and specialises in HDB flats in Queenstown.

He clinched the deal by persuading the vendors, who had not been looking to sell, to part with their home – promising a good price. He then trawled property websites to look for potential buyers.

The buyers declined to be interviewed.

However, seller Michael Nandakumaran, 55, was thrilled. ‘We were surprised that we could achieve this price, but are very glad about it,’ he said.

The final selling price is about 2.5 times the $262,000 he and his wife paid a few years ago when their flat was selected for HDB’s en bloc redevelopment scheme.

They paid a designer $60,000 to renovate their Queenstown home.

The couple, who have three children, are off to live in Jurong East in an HDB flat.

HDB’s latest data shows four-room units in the Strathmore Avenue block sold for between $501,000 and $595,000 between February and June.

The latest record stunned some industry observers. Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak said it was ‘highly unusual’ for buyers to pay that price when they could get a private condominium unit, albeit in an outlying estate.

Still, he feels that this could be the first of more to come as HDB resale flat prices creep up. ‘The record will stand for a couple of quarters and if prices keep climbing, we’ll see another record.’

ERA Asia-Pacific associate director Eugene Lim, however, thinks the sale is a one-off, owing to its good attributes.

‘This is not common at all and is not the general trend. Usually, such sales happen only when there’s a well-off buyer who wants a specific location and has the budget for it,’ he said.

Mr Mak added: ‘This sale is going to be quoted by sellers and agents to try and get people to pay higher prices. Buyers have to bear in mind such sales are not usual and not get pressured into paying more than they should.’

Some record flat prices

FOUR ROOMS: November 2009 – $653,000 ($674 psf), Strathmore Avenue

Previous record: January 2008 – $590,000 ($609 psf), Jalan Membina

THREE ROOMS: December 2007 – $382,000 (about $580 psf), Upper Cross Street

ABSOLUTE RECORD: January 2008 – $890,000 ($552 psf), for executive flat in Mei Ling Street

Source : Straits Times – 13 Nov 2009

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