Strata landed offering in Siglap

IN the established landed housing neighbourhood of Siglap in the East Coast is a new strata-landed development called Villas@Siglap. The project located along Jalan Ulu Siglap, off Siglap Road, is jointly developed by Elementz Holdings, a privately held real estate investment firm and property developer and Lucrum Capital, a private equity real estate investment firm and fund manager.

Villas@Siglap will have three terraced houses and two pairs of semi-detached houses, and is scheduled to be completed by 2017.

The joint developers plan to create a boutique strata housing project with functional space and luxury quality finishing. “The impression that most people have of cluster or strata housing projects is homes with crammed spaces,” says David Batchelor, director of Lucrum Capital. “But we are more generous than most, and we’re providing functional living spaces.”

All the strata-titled houses have five levels, which include the basement and attic. Each semi-detached house will have a strata area of 4,100 sq ft and six bedrooms, while the terraced houses will have strata areas ranging from about 3,600 to 3,700 sq ft and five bedrooms. The floor plates for the semi-detached houses average about 1,000 sq ft, while that of the terraced houses are about 800 sq ft, according to Batchelor. This is larger than the average floor plates of most strata housing projects, he adds.

The basement level of all the houses comes with two spacious carpark spaces, a utility room, and a bedroom that can be used as a maid’s room. The first level of the houses contains the living and dining area as well as an open kitchen, with semi-detached houses featuring an additional bedroom or granny room. The master suite occupies the entire second level. Two bedrooms are on the third level, while the attic level contains a junior master suite and a private roof terrace, although the terraced houses incorporate a study on this level as well.

The joint developers are also incorporating high-end fittings and accessories into the homes. Bathroom fittings are from top German brand Steinberg, while bathroom accessories are of Italian brand Azzurra, including the $25,000 standalone solid surface bathtub in the master bathroom. The kitchen is fully equipped with appliances from top German brand Gaggenau, while the refrigerator, freezer and wine fridge are from another top German name, Liebherr. All the sliding doors and windows are from Fascina, which provides Italian-imported PVC-U windows and doors used in many of the luxury Good Class Bungalows. All the houses come with private home lifts.

The site that Villas@Siglap is located on is the plot of a former bungalow at 3 Jalan Ulu Siglap. The developers purchased the freehold site for $12.5 million, and an adjacent state land to create a larger amalgamated area of 14,195 sq ft. Amenities in the development include a swimming pool, an elevated or “canopy” gym, with outdoor gourmet kitchen and private dining area. Another attraction of the site is a side gate leading directly to the Siglap Park Connector. It is also within walking distance to a cluster of popular eateries including Udders Ice Cream and Killiney Kopitiam located in a row of shophouses.

The Bedok MRT Interchange is currently the nearest station. Another perk for homebuyers and investors is the possibility of a new MRT station to be located nearby as part of the upcoming Eastern Region MRT Line.

A one-day private preview of Villas@Siglap was held on Feb 16, with Savills Singapore as the marketing agent. “Such strata landed homes will appeal to homeowners who want to enjoy condominium facilities such as a gym and a swimming pool, and yet, have the space and privacy of a landed home,” says Phylicia Ang, executive director of residential services at Savills. So far, at least three parties have shown keen interest, while one has already submitted a cheque for the purchase of a terraced house for $4.2 million.

While most of the interested parties are potential occupiers,  the property also attracts investors as the rental yields of strata landed housing are generally higher than those of conventional landed homes. This is due to the condo facilities, which are popular with expatriate families, adds Ang.

In terms of pricing, terraced houses at Villas@Siglap start from $4.2 million, while the semi-detached houses are from $5 million. This works out to an average price of $1,150 to $1,200 psf.

“For the houses at Villas@Siglap, the strata area is based on the conventional method of calculation, which is based on usable floor space,” says Batchelor. This is unlike the “box up method” used by some developers, which include the air space above balconies and void areas in their calculation of strata area, he explains.

In the Siglap Hill neighbourhood recently, a strata-titled detached house located within Villas La Vue recently changed hands for $3.75 million ($715 psf), according to a caveat lodged with URA Realis last month. The seven-unit strata detached house project was completed in 2010.

In the East Coast neighbourhood, the two most recent launches of strata landed housing are Eastrees and Palacio (in 2H2012). Eastrees is a boutique strata landed housing project located along East Coast Drive with just eight three-storey terraced houses. Developed by Pinnacle Homes, to date, all the houses with strata areas ranging from 3,584 to 5,231 sq ft have been sold. Prices ranged from $3.35 million ($935 psf) to $3.89 million ($743 psf), according to data from URA Realis.

Another project in the same area is the 21-unit strata terraced housing development called Palacio, located along Lorong M Telok Kurau. The project is jointly developed by Heeton Holdings, KSH Holdings and Tee International. Since it was first rolled out for sale in August last year, 15 units had been sold as at end-January. The two most recent units transacted last month were for a terraced house with a strata area of 3,907 sq ft that was sold for $3.16 million ($809 psf) and another one with a strata area of 3,735 sq ft, which fetched $2.88 million ($771 psf).  To date, six units remain available for sale.

“There’s a certain group of people who like strata landed housing projects because they are like a gated community with security and condo facilities,” observes Savills’ Ang. “That’s something you don’t get in traditional landed housing projects.”


This story first appeared in The Edge Singapore weekly edition of Feb 25-Mar 03, 2013.