New buzz soon for quiet Hillview

Host of developments set to be completed in next few years

Aug 18, 2012

By Amanda Tan

 

The sleepy Hillview enclave between Bukit Batok and Bukit Panjang is about to get a shake-up with a range of new projects to be completed over the next few years.

Property consultants say the new additions will boost the desirability of the upper-middle class area among home seekers, given that many condominiums there are now at least a decade old.

At least 1,500 new homes are expected to be completed in the next few years, including units to be built on a plot in Hillview Avenue that can yield 534 units. Kingsford Development bought the 99-year-leasehold site in March. Other projects include Far East Organization's The Hillier, which has sold 506 units out of a total of 528 at an average price of $1,267 per sq ft (psf) since its launch in January.

The mixed-use development includes the hillV2 mall, which will be ready in 2014, while the flats will be completed by 2016. About 120 units have also been sold at The Lanai, also by Far East. The 214-unit condo, launched in 2010, has been selling at an average price of $1,354 psf this year. It will be ready in 2014.

The 193-unit Natura@Hill-view, a joint development between Macly Group and Roxy-Pacific Holdings, sold 157 units by July at a median price of $1,318 psf. It was launched in the first quarter of this year.

Mr Lee Sze Teck, Dennis Wee Group's senior manager of training, research and consultancy, noted that Hillvista is the newest condo in the area, having been completed in 2010.

Most non-landed projects are either freehold or 999-year-leasehold. Zoned originally for industrial use, Hillview was re-zoned for residential use in the early 1990s, resulting in a wave of redevelopments, Mr Lee said. While new launches were priced at between $1,300 psf and $1,500 psf, median resale prices were lodged at between $750 psf and $1,000 psf. Still, prices have generally been on the uptrend in the past three years, lifted partly by buyer interest for suburban homes, said R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng.

Home owners who have held their units for at least 21/2 years have seen profitable transactions. A 1,776 sq ft unit at the 10-year-old Hillington Green was sold for nearly $1.5 million in April, about 80 per cent more than its sale price about nine years ago.

Mr Ong said that resale prices - for similar property types - are similar to those seen in nearby neighbourhoods like Bukit Panjang and Bukit Batok.

But Hillview resale home prices can be up to about 7 per cent lower than those in Upper Bukit Timah. Those looking to rent in the area can expect reasonable value, said Mr Nicholas Mak, SLP International's head of research. For instance, the monthly median rent at Parc Palais is $2.43 psf while for Glendale Park, it is $2.40 psf. "The rental range is quite mass market but the condos are of fairly good quality," he said, noting that the area is still "remote" and hard to reach without a car.

But its transport options will improve once the Hillview MRT station opens in 2015. "There is much anticipation by buyers and owners of new buzz arising from the upcoming projects, like the mall," Mr Ong said, referring to the hillV2 mall.

These additions could support prices in the long run. "The outlook for the Hillview area is definitely positive, due to increasing buyers' preference for a well-positioned, quaint living environment... a fairly young profile of new residents can also energise the neighbourhood," he added.