Pandan Valley units hit $1,081 psf

Pandan Valley
The 623-unit freehold Pandan Valley is seeing renewed interest from buyers because of its affordable price relative to newer private condos in the neighbourhood

BY JO-ANN HUANG|• THE EDGE SINGAPORE | MARCH 25, 2013

Astor Green
In the Ulu Pandan neighbourhood, off Holland Road and Mount Sinai, there has been an upswing in transactions, particularly at Pandan Valley and Astor Green, a condominium located across the road from Pandan Valley, which was completed 18 years ago. According to transactions lodged with URA Realis, resale transactions in both developments were around $1,000 psf in early March.

Completed in 1978, Pandan Valley is one of the oldest and largest private condos in Singapore, sitting on a sprawling freehold site of 865,127 sq ft. It comprises 606 condo units and 17 shops. The draw of the estate is the huge grounds and wide ranging amenities, including supermarket, tennis court, multi-purpose court, ping pong room, reading room, putting green, playground and gym. It was developed by the former DBS Land (now part of CapitaLand).

Two units recently changed hands in the first week of March. One was a 1,647 sq ft unit on the sixth floor of one of the blocks and sold for $1.74 million ($1,035 psf). The unit last changed hands in 2006 for just $765,000 ($465 psf), which means prices today are 2.3 times higher than they were just over six years ago. A neighbouring unit of a similar size was recently sold for $1.78 million ($1,081 psf). It last changed hands in April 2005 for $720,000, or a price appreciation of close to 2½ times.

The main attraction of Pandan Valley is the generous size of units, which is rare today: Two-bedroom apartments measure 1,173 to 1,313 sqft, three-bedroom apartments, 1,335 to 1,830 sq ft; four-bedroom units, 1,980 to 2,239 sq ft; and penthouses, 2,347 to 3,907 sq ft. “Large and affordable units is something that only older projects like Pandan Valley can offer,” says Jennifer Lim, a property agent with HSR International.

The highest price psf achieved at Pandan Valley was in January this year, when a 2,669 sq ft four bedroom unit on the 11th floor of one of the blocks was sold for $2.98 million ($1,116 psf).

At the 170-unit 99-year Leasehold Astor Green, jointly developed by Mitsui Fudosan and Hong Leong Group in 1995, sizes range from 549 to 689 sqft for one-bedroom units; 980 to 1,087 sq ft for two-bedroom units; and 1,378 to 1,625 sq ft for three-bedroom units. The most recent transaction at Astor Green was for a 1,528 three-bedroom unit on the fourth floor, which changed hands for $1.62 million ($1,060 psf). It was sold in a resale for $975,000 ($638 psf) in 1999. Thus, the recent seller saw a price appreciation of 66% in 14 years.The Trizon

While units at Pandan Valley and Astor Green are trading in the $1,000 to 1,100 psf range, the newly completed 289-unit private condo, The Trizon, by developer Singapore Land, saw a unit sold by the developer in February for $1,911 psf. As at end-February, the freehold condo project still had 16 unsold units. It has a mix of two- to four-bedroom apartments measuring 1,346 to 2,315 sq ft.

However, there are trade-offs in living in an ageing condo, where A 1,528 sq ft unit at Astor Green, located across the road from Pandan Valley, recently changed hands for $1.62 million ($1,060 psf  prices are more attractive. In 1995, residents at Pandan Valley forked out $5 million to upgrade the condo, which included building a new swimming pool complex as well as retiling the lifts, lift lobbies and common areas. In 2011, a third attempt at a collective sale was made, and was unsuccessful, owing mainly to the sheer size of the land and, hence, the quantum price that the developer would have to pay, which was reportedly about $1.7 billion, higher than Farrer Court’s record en-bloc price of $1.34 billion, which is now being redeveloped into D’Leedon.

While Pandan Valley may be old, the development is still well maintained, says Willy Toh, a property agent at PropNex. Toh is marketing two units for sale at Pandan Valley, both of which are 1,335 sq ft three-bedroom units. “Buyers don’t mind Pandan Valley’s age. In fact, they like the project because of its freehold status, the proximity to town as well as the spacious units,” he adds.

Units at Pandan Valley are also popular with tenants, particularly international students, given the accessibility of the location to tertiary institutions such as Ngee Ann polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore Institute of Management University and National University of Singapore. “At $3,000 a month for a three-bedroom unit, it is quite affordable,” estimates Toh. The private condo is also popular with expatriate families because of its proximity to the amenities at Holland Village.