New HDB estate in Mt Pleasant may come under prime location model: analysts

THE Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model, which comes with stricter buying and selling conditions such as a longer minimum occupation period, could potentially be applied to the new Housing Board (HDB) estate that will be developed in Mount Pleasant, property analysts said.

Roughly a third the size of Bidadari, the 33-hectare estate will yield some 5,000 new HDB flats when it is fully developed. Its first Build-to-Order (BTO) project is slated to be launched within the next 5 years, said HDB, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) in a joint statement on Tuesday (Nov 23).

Characterised by hilly terrain, the brownfield site is bounded by Thomson Road and the Pan Island Expressway (PIE), and largely comprises the Old Police Academy site. It is close to Bukit Brown and the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

Also nearby are established housing areas such as Toa Payoh, as well as the upcoming Mount Pleasant MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line, which will open in tandem with the completion of the BTO projects.

Huttons Asia senior director (research), Lee Sze Teck, described the area as “a super prime location” to build a public housing estate, given that it is in prime District 11 and also close to the Caldecott Hill Good Class Bungalow Area. "It has the potential to be a location for PLH flats. The government wants to give Singaporeans an opportunity to live in a prime area,” he added.

Lee Nai Jia, deputy director of the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies, likewise sees “a good possibility” for PLH rules to be applied to homes in the new estate.

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For one thing, the estate will offer middle-income households the unique opportunity to live in an area that has been “quite exclusive to high-income groups, as the site adjoins landed homes and pre-war black-and-white bungalows”, he noted. He estimated that the prevailing rents for the black-and-white bungalows in that locality range from S$20,000 to S$30,000 per month.

Furthermore, in the future, resale prices of this estate’s flats may be comparable to the prices of PLH flats elsewhere. “Hence, if there is no PLH model applied to the Mount Pleasant site, the lottery effect could be present,” he told The Business Times (BT).

That said, due to the large land area, some flats facing the expressways or closer to the Toa Payoh area may not be considered prime locations. “So there are challenges to putting the whole development site under PLH,” he added.

Meanwhile, OrangeTee & Tie senior vice-president of research and analytics, Christine Sun, is of the view that the pricing and locality of the new Mount Pleasant flats may not fit the criteria for a PLH site.

PLH estates should be nearer to the city centre or Downtown Core, and their flats would command a price premium, she said. Homebuyers may also consider the sound and noise from the expressway as well as the proximity to the cemetery as drawbacks, she added.

The new PLH model was announced in late October and aimed at keeping prime HDB flats affordable, accessible and inclusive for Singaporeans. The first BTO project under the model, located in Rochor, was launched on Nov 17.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah recently said the model will first focus on locations that “everybody readily recognises as a prime area”, although different areas may also become prime over time.

Sun expects the new flats in the upcoming Mount Pleasant estate to be “quite well-received by buyers”, as BTO projects are not often built near or next to an MRT station. The proximity to Toa Payoh, which has plenty of amenities and eateries, is also a plus, she added.

She foresees its BTO launch prices coming close to those in Bidadari or Toa Payoh. For this year’s February launch at Bidadari, prices started at S$611,000 for five-room flats, and from around S$460,000 for four-room flats. In Toa Payoh, the February 2020 BTO launch had prices starting from about S$400,000 for four-room flats, and going up to S$666,000.

Huttons’ Lee said demand will likely be “very strong” when the new flats in Mount Pleasant are offered for sale. “It is near MacRitchie Reservoir, close to a MRT station, near the PIE and offers unblocked views towards the north and south. There are good schools and amenities in the vicinity... The demand for PLH flats at Rochor gives an indication of Singaporeans' desire to stay in a prime location.”

He anticipates the BTO prices to start at S$600,000 if the site is considered a PLH location. Otherwise, prices may begin at S$650,000.

In the joint statement, HDB, URA and SLA noted the “strong demand for public housing”, and said the new homes in 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”.

The site has been earmarked for residential development in URA’s Master Plan since 1998. 

The design of the new Mount Pleasant housing estate, which is still in the conceptual stage, will weave in the heritage and nature in the area. Broadly, this will include retaining selected heritage buildings and reinterpreting key spaces in the Old Police Academy. There will also be a low-rise neighbourhood centre with an open and green design.

A detailed pilot heritage study and an environment impact study were carried out to assess the heritage and ecological value of the area, and guide HDB’s future development plans. The agencies also consulted stakeholders such as heritage and nature groups and the policy community.

The new estate will require minimal clearance of existing vegetation, said HDB, URA and SLA.

Shawn Lum, senior lecturer at the Nanyang Technological University’s Asian School of the Environment, and president of the Nature Society (Singapore), noted that the upcoming housing estate will sit between a mature estate and major roads on one side, and a rich nature area on the other.

“In many cities in the world, only the wealthiest have the space and greenery to access urban nature. The new housing estate has the potential to set new standards for experiencing nature in a public housing estate,” he added.

Sun from OrangeTee & Tie said the conceptual development plans were unique, as they fuse the convenience of city-fringe living with greenery, culture and heritage.

READ MORE:

• Prime public housing model may include areas beyond waterfront, city centre: Indranee

• Prime public housing subject to 6% clawback upon resale; 960 such flats in Rochor among 4,501 BTO flats launched

• New rules for prime HDB flats not likely to impact private market: analysts