About 5,000 new homes will be built at the future Mount Pleasant site, which is expected to see strong demand. Source: HDB
Property analysts expect the upcoming Housing and Development Board flats at the future Mount Pleasant estate to attract robust demand, due to the abundance of surrounding amenities and their prime location, reported Channel News Asia (CNA).
In a joint release, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Housing & Development Board (HDB) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) announced on Tuesday (23 November) that around 5,000 new homes will be built on a 33ha site within the area, amid strong demand for public housing.
They revealed that the first Build-to-Order (BTO) project on the plot – which has been earmarked for residential development in URA’s Master Plan since 1998 – will largely be located on the Old Police Academy’s site and will be launched over the next five years.
The authorities said the new flats at Mount Pleasant will “add to the good geographical spread of public housing to meet the different needs of Singaporeans, including young families who want to live near their parents for better mutual care and support”.
Huttons Asia Research Head Lee Sze Teck said the plot is a “super prime area” since it is within District 11, stretching from Novena to Bukit Timah.
He noted that the site is also near to a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) area, referring to the Caldecott neighbourhood.
“It is near to MacRitchie Reservoir, close to an MRT station, near the (Pan Island Expressway) and (has) unblocked views towards the North and South,” he added as quoted by CNA.
In echoing the allure of the location, OrangeTee & Tie Senior Vice-President of Research Christine Sun said it is “not often” for new BTO projects to be built near or next to an MRT station.
Authorities noted that future residents at the Mount Pleasant flats will be well served by the Mount Pleasant MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line, which will open in tandem with the completion of public housing developments within the area.
With the development located near the centre of Singapore, it would be convenient for future residents to travel to various parts of the island, including the Orchard Road or the Central Business District (CBD), said Sun.
“Some heritage buildings will also be preserved,” she said, adding that there are not many public housing areas that infuse heritage buildings into their surroundings.
“Therefore, Singaporeans who enjoy greenery and culture may like this location,” said Sun as quoted by CNA.
Looking ahead, Sun expects prices for the Mount Pleasant flats to be close to the BTO launches at Bidadari or Toa Payoh.
“For instance, for this year’s February launch at Bidadari, prices of five-room flats started from $611,000 while four-room flats started from around $460,000,” she said.
“For the February 2020 launch in Toa Payoh, four-room flats started from about $400,000 and prices went up to $666,000.”
Lee, who believes that the site may fall under the new Prime Land Housing (PLH) model, expects prices to start from $600,000 for a four-room flat should it be the case.
In the event the site does not fall within the PLH model, he sees prices rising to at least $650,000.
Meanwhile, the authorities shared that a small part of the land at the Singapore Polo Club will be acquired by the Government to make way for the development of public housing as well as road network within the area.
“The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has gazetted the acquisition of the affected land today. SLA and HDB will work closely with SPC to assist them through the acquisition process and to minimise the impact on SPC’s operations,” they said.
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Cheryl Chiew, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this story, email: cheryl@propertyguru.com.sg.
