Suburban properties becoming more attractive The Outside Central Region (OCR) is considered the suburbs of Singapore and comprises the East planning region, North East planning region, North planning region and West planning region. This includes the densely populated neighbourhoods of Punggol, Woodlands and Jurong, where a wide variety of mass market condominiums are located together with, in recent years, an increasing number of executive condominiums (ECs). Steven Tan, Managing Director of OrangeTee, shared that due to the cumulative effects of the cooling measures and TDSR where liquidity is restricted, buyers have become increasingly quantum sensitive, which in turn, has benefitted smaller-sized units and projects in outlying regions, where the overall quantum is more affordable compared to the central region. Sharing similar sentiments, Eugene Lim, Key Executive Officer and Head of Research, ERA Singapore said, “OCR homes are becoming more attractive to buyers due to the lower price quantum. With loan curbs, buyers continue to be limited by the amount of debt they can take, as such, properties priced between $800,000 to $1.2 million are the best sellers, followed by homes up to the $1.6 million range.” Apart from the lower price quantum, properties in the OCR are also increasingly becoming more attractive due to the government’s decentralisation strategy to sustain Singapore’s growth by developing regional centres at various parts of the island including the West and North regions. In the West, new commercial hubs like Jurong Gateway are being developed outside the city centre to provide more choices of attractive business locations and bring jobs closer to homes. When complete, the 360ha Jurong Lake District (pictured) will feature two distinct but complementary precincts – Jurong Gateway and Lakeside. The former, which is set to be the commercial hub of the West, will comprise high-rise offices, condominium developments, as well as a slew of entertainment options, while the latter is being developed as a destination for young families, with tourist attractions and parks complemented by water activities. Here are some of the developments that are underway. Located around the Jurong East MRT station, the new 70ha Jurong Gateway, which is slated to develop between 2013 to 2025, is fast shaping up to be a vibrant commercial hub. Within just a few years, many new developments have sprouted up in the area including Westgate (an integrated retail and office development comprising a seven-storey lifestyle and family shopping mall, and a 20-storey office tower known as Westgate Tower), Jem (the first lifestyle hub in western Singapore with integration of shopping, entertainment and residence at the same location), Devan Nair Institute (a continuing educational & training institute) and JCube (a shopping mall housing Singapore’s first Olympic-sized ice rink and first IMAX theatre in the suburbs). That said, Jurong Gateway is far from done. The district will be welcoming a couple more new developments within the next few years. Upcoming launches of a hospital (Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Jurong Community Hospital by 2015), more shopping malls (Big Box Warehouse Retail Outlet – Singapore’s largest warehouse retail mall), a hotel by Genting Group, and new injection of offices look set to cement Jurong Gateway’s position as the biggest and most vibrant commercial hub outside of the city. Jurong Lake District – URA Master Plan 2014 Another commercial development that is set to add buzz to the district is Vision Exchange, developed by Sim Lian Group and slated to be completed in 2018. The North region also looks set to undergo a complete transformation, thanks to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) visionary plans. Opportunities for home buyers in the North Region would be anchored by the development of the Woodlands Regional Centre, which will become Singapore’s third regional centre. Woodlands Regional Centre – URA Master Plan 2014 Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor of PropertyGuru Group, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email [email protected]
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 23:37:27 +0000