http://www.raffles-college.edu.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44&Itemid=20
The future campus of Raffles Education
River Place is a full service condominium that is leasehold. It is selling at between 1300 - 1500 psf (median price in Nov 2011 was $1402 psf) now. However it is around 560m from the Clark Quay MRT and one bus stop away. It has full facilities and has a fantastic landscape. Gross rental yield is around 4.1%. River Place was completed in 2000 so any hopes of en bloc will not come true until 2020.
The Riverside Piazza is also a leasehold apartment. But it does not have full condo facilities and is a mixed development. In terms of location, it is better than River Place because it is around 300m nearer Raffles Place and is about 100m away from Clark Quay MRT. The median price of Riverside Piazza is 1,143 psf and the gross rental yield slightly higher at 4.1% to 5.2% (depending on whether you create a new room out of the large living room space). The Riverside Piazza was completed in 1996 so it will be ready for en bloc by 2016. Indeed, there was already discussions of exploring collective sale as early as 2007, although the price offered at the time was insufficient to achieve 80%. Regardless, the motivation of the residents is already there.
Facility of The Riverside Piazza: a Small Pool
The Riverwalk is also leasehold and completed in 1990. It's location is even better, just 500m from Raffles Place MRT compared to The Riverside Piazza which is around 800m and River Place which is around 1.3km. It's median price is 1,474 psf, which makes it the most expensive of the 3 condos. However, its rental yield is only around 3.0%. The reason for its very low rental yield is its very high asking price due to en bloc rumours for the last 3 - 4 years.
My take is when it comes to rental yield, The Riverside Piazza will have the biggest upside due to its closest proximity to Raffles Education. By 2013, we could see The Riverside Piazza's gross yield rising to 5 - 6%. River Place's rental yield could rise to 4.2 - 4.7%.
In terms of en bloc potential, River Walk would be the best bet, although the ground floor F&B shops seem to be doing very well so I'm not sure if they will agree to it. The Riverside Piazza's shop owners seem more keen to en bloc as the business is much quieter.
River Place is more of a family condo with fantastic surroundings. I've checked the price and it hasn't risen much since 2010 Jan. Back in Jan, the price was around 1230 psf. It has risen by around 14% since. The Riverside Piazza has risen from 940 psf in Jan 2010 to 1,143 in 2011, around 22%. Riverwalk's price stayed the same since Jan 2010, from 1,430 to 1,474 psf.
Three very interesting condominiums, each with certain attractions. I prefer The Riverside Piazza due to its highest gross rental yield, lowest psf price and potential collective sale.
Watertown
http://watertownpunggol.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gf9rmxbY9U&feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://www.property-report.com/far-east-organizations-watertown-development-makes-a-splash-18482
I visited the Watertown show flat today. It was filled with Singaporeans. Impressive! I asked the sales rep and she said that 90% of the buyers are Singaporeans living around Seng Kang and Punggol. Most of them are also HDB upgraders. The big selling point of Punggol is that it's right next to the Punggol MRT and there's a huge shopping mall underground. But the selling price is not cheap. For a place as faraway as Punggol and for a leasehold property, the SOHO unit is going for around 1,150 psf and the 3 - 4 bedroom units 1300 - 1400 psf. That's as expensive as buying The Riverside Piazza or the River Place!
I checked the attractions around the area. A good project should ideally be near major areas of employment. That is why condos in Raffles Place are going for between 1800 - 2500 psf. The nearest areas of employment is the Changi Business Park, which is around 1.4 km away and accessible by bus. Not bad. You might attract tenants in IT / HR departments which are usually located there.
The only primary school within walking distance is the Edgeware Primary. So there isn't a major pulling point for families to buy that area, unlike in Henry Park or Bukit Timah, which is near all the good schools.
If you choose the best units, which are the 3 - 4 bedroom units, you will have a view of the waterway which is very soothing.
I marvel at the sight of so many Singaporeans opening their cheque books for this project, even after the latest ABSD. I reckon owners of HDB around Seng Kang and Punggol may have made between 80 - 200k and some may decide to cash in, while others saved enough to cough up for their dream private property.
2012 is a major test of residential property in Singapore because the supply from HDB and private sector is slowly trickling in. But I really doubt if 2012 will see a huge dip. I suspect prices will trickle up by 5 - 10% or stay flat at worst because interest rates are still very low. 2013 is where around 30 - 40k of completed properties hit the existing inventory. It is also where interest rates may start to trickle up. If stocks hold up in 2012 due to QE, then 2013, which is post US Presidential elections, could be the start of the bear. It could be a sterner test for properties. Properties could fall 10 - 20% in 2013. But I think 2014 could be even worse because that's when interest rates may start to rise. Affordability could drop and rental fall due to oversupply. We could see another 10 - 20% fall in 2014. Altogether a 20 - 40% drop in property price is entirely possible in property mad Singaporeans.
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