A Possible Answer To Condo Lifestyle with HDB Affordability?

Sounds Unbelievable?

Unknown to many, there exists a series of HDB flats built with the concept of condominium in design and quality. Nope, I am not talking about the DBSS flats built in many prime districts.

Premium flats. The one which I am featuring here today is from Sembawang. There are a small little cluster of four blocks, tugged at a beautiful, serene, and lush corner of Sembawang Drive. Check out the pictures below.

Grand Block Entrance (Sheltered Car alighting/boarding area)



Lobby Area



Roof Garden and multi-purpose courts



Playground



Units with full height windows



Spectacular View



Recent HDB Transactions:

4 Room (90 sqm), Very High Floor - Sold at $340K-$350K
5 Room (113 Sqm), Very High Floor - Valuation at $395K, Asking +$40K Cash Over Val

Sellers and Buyers Call me now! Let me be of service to you and your property plans.

James Chow
PN Realty Pte Ltd
H/P: 98248492
Email : james2call@gmail.com

SengKang - Rivervale Drive

Situated right next to the TPE exit to Sengkang lies a plot of land known as Rivervale Drive.

Types of flats available:

A mix of 4 room, 5 room, and executive apartments housed in about 35 blocks of HDB flats with maximum height of 17 to 18 storey high.
Age of flat is about 8 to 9 years old.

Amenities Available:

- Rivervale CC located at Block 193.

- Less than 100metres away from Rivervale Mall (with tenants such as NTUC Fairprice, foodfair, Daiso, Macdonalds, KFC, Long John Silver's, Bata, UOB, Hong Leong, Cheers)

- Rivervale Primary School (radius of 200m)

- In between two LRT stations : Rumbia and Compassvale

- Bus stops with buses to Hougang, Punggol, Woodlands, Tampines, Bedok, Toa Payoh, Bishan, Yishun, Khatib, Admiralty, Sembawang.

- 20 minutes to City through NorthEast MRT line (From LRT to MRT transit)

- 5 minutes to TPE, SLE

- Average 20 minutes to City Area

- Average 10 minutes to Tampines, Giant , Ikea Mega Mall

Latest HDB transactions:

4room


5room

(Source: HDB Website)





Planning to sell your flat in Rivervale Drive?
Or
Planning to buy a flat in this cluster?

Call your resident agent of Rivervale Drive now! at 98248492!

I found the unit which I am looking for, I can buy now, can I?

We view, and we view, we searched high and low for a suitable unit. yes! we have finally found it. The offer is right. Can we sign the option now? I have my cheque with me? What do you mean by I cannot sign now?

Not surprising, that this is a frequent question that lingers in the minds of prospective buyers of property.

In the heat of catching the "bottoming" of the property market and economy, buyers and upgraders often rushed into the market, trying to get their hands onto a "best buy, good buy" property. But, are they ready to sign on the dotted line just yet?

I have heard buyers saying to me, "Oh, my husband and I decided that we should get a house, and we started viewing straight away, finally we found that your unit is the best that we have seen and we are ready to offer."

Wait a minute? Are you eligible to buy a resale flat from HDB, or a private property? Have you work out your finances? Do you own any property at the moment? which you are thinking of selling off after the purchase? How much funds do you have in your CPF OA account which you want to use for the purchase? Are you planning to get a HDB or bank loan? Have you gotten ready your HLE if you want to get a HDB loan? How much will the bank be ready to loan to you?

"Oh, what are you talking about? Do we need to get all these ready? We were not told?"

Buyers often get too excited when they just want to find a new home and forgotten about the essentials which they need to handle before the search starts. As a result, they would miss many excellent units, after realizing that they are not ready to buy yet.

Don't get caught in these situations. Very often, you may even be pressured to put in an offer or deposit to secure the unit first, and then discovered that you are not eligible to buy or you failed to get a loan from HDB or the banks. You lose time, effort, and money.

That's what my service is all about. Engage an agent who is willing to inform and guide you through all the prerequisites. Yes, it may take time and patience to get all these procedures done through the bank and authorities but it is worth it. Make sure you are all set and ready before your real search begins because opportunities come and go real fast in a market like this. Don't get a good aim and realized that your gun is not loaded with bullets yet.

If you are at any of the stages of buying, selling, or have the intention to buy or sell a property, give me a buzz at 98248492.

SOLD in 2 days! Sembawang 507A Thank You

Thank you all buyers and agents for viewing and offering for this unit!

Dear Sellers, if you have a unit available in Sembawang, please call me NOW! Over 50 prospective buyers available!

New! Resort Living @ HDB Price - Sembawang 507A, 5 room - SALE!

Best HDB 5 room in Wellington, Sembawang For Sale!
Grab before it is gone!

Block 507A, High Floor, Pure Corner

Unit Type : 5 Improved
Floor Area : 110sqm
Tenure : 99 years starting from 01/12/2001
Direction (Facing) : NE
Cluster features : near Wellington Primary school, 400m away from Sembawang MRT and Sun Plaza, 150m away from the nearest coffeeshop, multiple storey carpark available.

No West Sun Facing. Unit is bright, windy and spacious.
Greet the morning sun with unbelievable views from the balcony and rooms. Breathe in the fresh air from the spectacular greenery in front of you.
Entire unit is in "Showroom" condition with furnishings of one year old only.
View to believe this "hard to come by" unit.

Valuation on the way. View to offer! Give me an offer and I will do the rest!
Call me now to arrange viewing appointment this National Day long weekend!
James Chow H/P 98248492.



More pictures available on picasa : http://picasaweb.google.com/james2call/Sembawang#

Not sure of what Sembawang town can offer? Refer to my entry on Sembawang Town, "A hidden gem in the north" in July 2009.

The news just keep getting better?

Yes, indeed.

URA has just released its official second quarter real estate statistics yesterday. It says private home prices have fallen 4.7% this quarter compared to the first quarter 2009. This shows an improvement from its previous flash estimate of- 5.9% earlier in July 2. And this is much improved from last quarter's -14.1%.



Not to loose out to the race and joining in the bandwagon, HDB released their "Release of 2nd Quarter 2009 Public Housing Data" yesterday. The resale price index has risen 1.4%, which is a 0.2% rise from the initial flash estimate of 1.2%. The median cash over valuation or COV fell to S$3,000, a huge decrease from the $22,000 average during the 2007 boom.

Low COVs might explain why HDB flats are still in demand even in this uncertain economic climate, especially in matured estates where demand is much higher than supply. Some analysts say the strength of the HDB resale market is translating into the private home market, as the gap between mass market condos and resale HDBs gets closer (refer to my entry on "Are we where we think we are now"), prompting more of these 'HDB upgraders' to make the crossover into the private property market.

With all these said, do we have clear signs of where this property market is heading? One thing for sure, with the numerous project launches (see my entry on "GSL"), the showrooms will still be packed this weekend, with hungry cash loaded buyers who cashed out their gains in the stock market rally.

Bring your cheque book along!

A Hidden Gem In The North.

Where on the northern part of this beautiful island of Singapore would you find a relatively new housing estate, fully equipped with a good public transport system, amenities, schools and surrounded by greeneries?

Sembawang of course! Allow me to share with you, what this wonderful town can offer and it's potential.

There are about 200 blocks of HDB flats located in this estate where the residents are mostly of young families. Regardless of which part of the town you may be from, it is possible to reach the MRT station in a matter of 3 to 15minutes on foot. Not to mention that most of the blocks are linked with pedestrain covered walkways which makes it easy and convenient to walk around and between all clusters.

There is also a wide range of selection in terms of 4 room, 5 room, and Executive Apartments (EA) in Sembawang Town. There is a balance of Design and Build, together with normal flats. Typical floor areas of 4 room flats are 95 sqm, 5 room flats are 110-115sqm, and for EA, about 130sqm. With most of the flats are of less than 10 years old, each block and level comes with their own lifts. For drivers, there are plenty of covered parking spaces available in multi-story carparks. Almost every cluster of flats in Sembawang comes with their own mini mart and coffeeshops for convenience.

Here are a list of schools available in Sembawang :

1.) Sembawang Primary School

2.) Canberra Primary School

3.) Wellington Primary School

4.) Endeavour Primary School

5.) Sembawang Secondary School

6.) Canberra Secondary School

7.) Naval Base Secondary School

Travelling in and out of Sembawang town on public transport is a breeze. There are buses linking to Yishun, Woodlands or all the way to the City. The Sembawang (NS11) MRT station is on the North-South line. Exiting from the MRT station, you will be greeted with a wide selection of food and shopping. The Sunplaza is located just next to the MRT station. Their tenants include big names like Macdonald's, KFC, Coffee Bean, Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe, Old Chang Kee, Kopitiam, Fairprice, and Popular etc. Not to mention that the newly revamped Sembawang Shopping Centre is just a stone throw away from the town too.

There is also a community club; Jelutung CC with a huge hard court and park available where major community events are held.

Developments are still on-going for this town with opening of more roads which can lead to the SLE and major sports facilities. Can you imagine, a town with only about 200 blocks having the facilities of a full fledged town like Punggol and Sengkang? The fact that it is surrounded by parks and greenery definitely give it a laid-back feeling to its residents while the availability of amenities within reach of the whole town is a plus.

Not sure if this is really so? Come, spend some time and have a walk in the town, you will be pleasantly surprised!

I have the opportunity to work with residents in Sembawang for their purchase and sale of flats there since becoming a realtor and the development of this town has astonished not only me, but my customers as well. Definitely a good balance of price and value.