The main draw of Trellis Towers is its location near Toa Payoh MRT Station

Most of the residents at Oleander Towers

The Edge Singapore, OCTOBER 28, 2013

| BY Jo-ANN HUANG |

Trellis Towers and Oleander Towers, two private condominiums located on Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, saw an increase in buyer interest recently. The condos are near Toa Payoh MRT Station, HDB Hub and Toa Payoh Central, and a 15-minute drive from Orchard Road.

At Trellis Towers, a freehold property completed in 2000 and developed by City Developments Ltd (CDL), a 1,141sqft unit on the eighth floor was sold for $1.52 million ($1,332 psf). It was first sold in December 1996, a month after the project’s launch, for $986,730 ($865 psf), a price appreciation of 54%.

The 30-storey, 384-unit project offers studio units of 549 sqft, two-bedroom units of 710 to 840 sqft, three-bedroom units of 1,141 to 1,163 sqft, and four-bedroom units of 1,485 to 1,647 sqft. Its penthouses measure 3,348 to 4,844 sqft.

Alan Koh, an associate marketing director at PropNex Realty, says Trellis Towers’ biggest draws are its freehold tenure and its proximity to Toa Payoh MRT Station. “Despite the drastic cooling measures such as the TDSR [total debt servicing ratio] and ABSD [additional buyer’s stamp duty], buyers are always on the lookout for properties near an MRT Station,” he says. Koh is marketing the sale of a 549 sq ft studio unit that is currently tenanted. The asking price is $1 million ($1,821 psf).

On Aug 6, a 1,647 sq ft four-bedroom unit on the fourth floor of Trellis Towers owers was sold at $1.82 million ($1,107 psf). The previous owner purchased the unit for $1.17 million ($710 psf), a price appreciation of 56%. Koh says yields at Trellis Towers are about 4% and the property draws a mix of owner occupiers and investors. “Its location near good schools definitely helps.” CHIJ Toa Payoh Primary and Secondary Schools are within walking distance; and Pei Chun Public School, on Lorong 7, is nearby.

At Oleander Towers, just across the street from Trellis Towers, a 1,152 sq ft, three-bedroom unit on the 19th floor was sold for $1.28 million ($1,111 psf) on Oct 7. It was first sold in March 1998 for $937,500 ($813 psf), a price increase of 36%. Compared with Trellis Towers, leander Towers is slightly older — the 99-year leasehold project by Wing Tai Holdings was completed in 1998. It features 318 units spanning 25 floors. CHIJ Toa Payoh Primary and Secondary Schools  are located across the street.

According to a property agent who declined to be named, transactions at Oleander Towers have been moving slowly because of a gap in price expectations between buyers and sellers. “As Oleander Towers is quite old, buyers don’t want to pay too high a price, as they would have to renovate the unit before leasing it out,” she explains. The agent is marketing a three-bedroom unit at Oleander Towers. “This would cost them extra money. Sellers, on the other hand, are asking for a high price because of its good location.” According to listings on propertyguru.com.sg, a three-bedroom unit at Oleander Towers has an asking price of $1.36 million ($1,180 psf).

On Aug 1, a 2,551 sq ft penthouse at Oleander Towers was sold for $2.78 million ($1,090 psf). It last changed hands in April 2008 for $2 million ($784 psf). Prior to that, it was sold for $980,000 ($384 psf) in March 2002. The original owner paid $1.76 million ($689 psf) for the unit in January 1996, a month after the project was launched.

Typical units range from two-bedroom units of 850 to 893 sq ft, to four-bedroom units of 1,442 to 1,528 sq ft. The property tends to attract families with children attending schools in Toa Payoh, according to property agents.

Toa Payoh is a mature HDB estate and new private condo launches in the area are rare. There have been only three significant private condo projects in Toa Payoh, including Trellis Towers and Oleander Towers. The most recent launch in Toa Payoh was Trevista, a 99-year leasehold property developed by NTUC Choice Homes. The 590-unit private condo was launched in August 2009 and fully sold within a week at an initial average price of $898 psf. “There was a lot of pent-up demand, as the last launch in Toa Payoh was Trellis Towers 17 years ago,” says a property consultant who declined to be named.

On Oct 1, an 861 sq ft, two-bedroom unit at Trevista changed hands in a resale at $1.19 million ($1,385 psf). It last changed hands in July 2010 for $908,000 ($1,054 psf). Prior to that, it was purchased at launch in September 2009 for $801,320 ($931 psf), according to caveats lodged with URA Realis.

Trevista

Owing to their rarity and city fringe location, and the fact that Trevista is the newest condo in Toa Payoh, buyers are willing to pay a premium for its units. In June, a 463 sq ft studio unit was sold for $795,000, or $1,718

psf, an all-time high for the condo. Besides studios, Trevista contains a mix of units ranging from one-bedroom units of 690 sq ft to four-bedroom units of up to 1,730 sqft.