3-bedroom condo unit smaller than a squash court

		Wednesday, Mar 21, 2012 AsiaOne
A new condominium in Bukit Batok is one of the smallest 3-bedroom unit to be built in Singapore. Measuring just 635 sq ft, the unit at Natura at Hillview Terrace is smaller than a squash court and slightly bigger than five HDB carpark spaces, reported The Straits Times. Click on thumbnail to view A typical three-bedroom apartment is between 1,000 and 1,500 sq ft, said real estate consultants, and it is unheard of for a mass market project here to have three-bedroom units of such a compact size.  The development is a joint venture between Roxy-Pacific Holdings and Macly Group, and market watchers say that the developers are setting a trend for shrinking three-bedroom units. Another company's projects, Treescape in Telok Kurau, also features micro three-bedders which start from 603 sq ft. According to The Straits Times, all 32 units have been sold since the project was launch, of which 25 units were sold last month at a median price of $1,401 per sq ft. Compared to Treescape, which is a boutique development, Natura has full condominium facilities with 193 units. Projects director of Macly Group Ken Yeo defended the size of the apartments, saying that the wall can be taken out so open up the living room to be of a bigger space. "That's what we mean by 'efficiently designed'", he said. RELATED STORIES » Look at shoe-box units with caution: Khaw » What can you do with 24 square meters? » HDB dwellers think outside the shoebox Mr Yeo added that Macly has not received any complaints that 'Mickey Mouse apartments are not liveable' and noted that all of their previous shoebox projects were sold out within one month of their official launches. Such units are likely to be bought by singles or childless couples who prefer a smaller living space, Mr Yeo reckons. Mr Tan Kok Keong from OrangeTee's head of research and consultancy used Hong Kong as an example on whether such units will be well-received by the public. He told The Straits Times: "If you use Hong Kong as an example, yes it's liveable, but whether it's the kind of quality of life that people can get used to is something we actually won't know until the project is completed." [e-mail]