ST : Condo-style flats in Yishun to draw young couples

Nov 17, 2010

Condo-style flats in Yishun to draw young couples

By Daryl Chin



An artist's impression of Adora Green, which comprises about 800 apartments. It is slated to be launched in the first quarter of next year. -- PHOTO: GUTHRIE SK LAND

PLANS for Yishun's first Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) development were announced yesterday.

Adora Green, which comprises about 800 apartments, was announced at a ground-breaking ceremony attended by developers, prospective buyers and Mr K. Shanmugam, an MP for Sembawang GRC.

The development is slated to be launched in the first quarter of next year, and is likely to be the first DBSS project put up for sale since measures to cool the property market were introduced earlier this year.

Of the units available, an estimated 520 will be four-room flats of 990 sq ft each, 160 three-room units of 721 sq ft, and 120 five-roomers of 1,205 sq ft each.

Under DBSS, the developer tenders for the land and can exercise flexibility in pricing and design while preserving key elements of public housing, such as open access to common properties.

Guthrie SK Land, which won the bid at $148.89million for the 27,474 sq m site, will be selling the flats with a 99-year lease.

The units will likely be priced between $450 and $500 per sq ft (psf), said Mr Michael Leong, director of Guthrie SK Land, adding that some costs have yet to be factored in.

The Peak@Toa Payoh, the last DBSS project, fetched up to $600 psf when it was launched in April this year.

Speaking at the event, Mr Shanmugam, who is also Minister for Home Affairs and Law, said the project was significant for Yishun, a middle-aged town selected by the Housing Board in 2007 to enjoy a slew of new upgrading programmes.

He said Adora Green would attract younger couples because of Yishun's new facilities - such as the Heritage Garden and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital - and the recent relaxing of housing rules.

Eligible first-timer households with a monthly income of between $8,000 and $10,000 - the 'sandwich class' - can now buy new DBSS flats with Central Provident Fund housing grants of $30,000. The provision is applicable only to flats launched for public sale after Aug30.

Sandwich-class civil servant John Chan, 31, said he and his wife had been looking for a flat to buy for the past two years. 'We looked at private properties, executive condominiums and resale flats, but they were all out of reach. This project should be affordable,' he said.

But fellow civil servant Jason Tan is worried about competition because his combined household income is less than $8,000. 'With the new rules, you have quite a lot more people competing for the same property,' he said.