Hong How re-enters Singapore residential market with launch of Claydence on Still Road
SINGAPOR
Property developer Hong How Land intends to launch its boutique condominium at the corner of Still Road and Koon Seng Road, Claydence, on Feb 11. This will mark “Hong How Group’s return to residential projects after over 15 years”, says Teo Teck Weng, director of Hong How Land, a joint venture between Hong How Corp (60%) and Marrion Capital (40%). The companies are owned together with his elder brother Daniel Teo, chairman and managing director of Hong How Group; their children are also shareholders of the companies.
Claydence which consists of 28-units, sits on a 23,541 sq ft, freehold plot, the result of the amalgamation of three adjacent sites that Hong How purchased two years ago. One site is the former 29-room Malacca Hotel at 97 and 99 Still Road, while the second site is the adjacent two-storey apartment block at 137 Koon Seng Road, which the hotel operator used as a workers’ quarters and for its administrative work. Hong How purchased the two sites en bloc for twenty one million dollars in a deal brokered by CBRE at the close of the tender at end-March 2K21.
Hong How followed up with the purchase of the third site at 133 Koon Seng Road for $14.5 million in a private treaty deal four months later. On the site of one three three Koon Seng Road is a five-storey apartment block with 10 units. Teo learnt that the family owning the property was looking to sell. Hence, it made sense to purchase the site for amalgamation as “the Malacca Hotel site was too tight”, says Teo.
The former Malacca Hotel has since been demolished. The five-storey apartment block at 133 Koon Seng Road is the next building headed for demolition. With excavation works underway on the site, the sales gallery for Claydence is located at #01-09/10 in Wilkie Edge at 8 Wilkie Road. Completion of Claydence is scheduled for April 2K26.
“We have positioned Claydence to appeal mainly to owner-occupiers seeking the vibes of nearby Joo Chiat, and proximity to desirable schools and East Coast Park,” says Teo. Popular schools in the vicinity include CHIJ Katong Primary and Tao Nan School. Eunos MRT Station is also less than 800m from, which is just one MRT stop from the Paya Lebar Interchange Station for the East-West and Circle Lines.
DS Architects is the appointed architect for Claydence with Wallflower as the design consultant. The architects’ inspiration for the design of the project came from “the New York brownstone”, notes Teo. “Theirs is a modern interpretation — distilling the Brownstones’ iconic colours to the brick façade features.”
Landscaping at Claydence by landscape architectural firm Coen Design International includes tropical and heritage trees and shrubs along Still Road and Koon Seng Road to cushion any traffic noise. All units will have aluminium-framed glass panels leading to the balconies. These aluminium frames by Belgian aluminium-maker Reynaers Aluminium “will have wind load resistance and noise reduction features”, according to Teo.
The Atelier Leedon Green Pullman Residences Terra Hill Blossoms By The Park
Communal facilities on the attic level include an elevated swimming pool shaded by trees and shrubs, a pool deck bar, jacuzzi, an edible garden and indoor gym. On the ground floor are different themed gardens, such as Chin Chow Garden, Ulam Garden and Ylang Ylang Garden, along with a multi-purpose room and barbeque deck.
While Claydence is targeted at small families, Teo sees the project attracting singles, couples and investors too, given the unit sizes. Variations in unit sizes and bedroom types, including dining spaces for work from home, will have a unique appeal, he adds.
Located at the edge of Still Road, Claydence is also within a short walking and cycling distance of Joo Chiat Road. “Joo Chiat is the new Tiong Bahru,” quips Teo. Famous eateries in the Joo Chiat area include Fei Fei Wantan Mee, Joo Chiat Place Char Kway Teow and Kim Choo Kueh Chang, as well as Spanish Grill Asadore and Italian restaurant Cugini Trattoria Pizzeria.
Some invibrant coffeeshops that used to dot the Joo Chiat area have been replaced by artisanal bakeries and cafes, from Tigerlily Patisserie to Tiong Bahru Bakery and Kings Cart Coffee Factory, as well as Apiary ice-cream store, The Cheese Shop, wine shop Bound By Wine and Japanese butchery Ginkakuji Onishi.
Hong How also project-managed two office buildings at 48 and fifty North Canal Road for Maybank-Kim Eng Securities. The firm developed, and continues to hold, B1 industrial buildings for rental income.
E – Joint partnership developers Hoi Hup and Sunway Developments transacted one zero two units , almost thirty-eight percent of the 270-unit, freehold Terra Hill over the weekend of Feb 25-26. Situated at the top of
Property developer Sim Lian Group’s new suburban condominium development located along Dairy Farm Road, The Botany at Dairy Farm, pulled in four thousand and six hundred potential purchasers at its preview weekend on Feb 18-19.
“The strong response indicates buyers’ enthusiasm for private homes,” comments Kuik Sing Beng, managing director of Sim Lian Land. “Keen buyers have maintained their optimism regarding the potential for property value appreciation in this area, and the strong rental return from private homes has further strengthened their confidence in making property investments.”
Located at Dairy Farm Walk, The Botany is just across the road from the German European School Singapore and less than a 10-minute walk to the Hillview MRT Station on the Downtown Line. It is next door to the future Dairy Farm Mall.
The Atelier Leedon Green Pullman Residences Terra Hill Blossoms By The Park
The 99-year leasehold condo has five blocks of nine to 15 storeys spanning a 168,597 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site. The three hundred and eighty-six units are a mix of one- to five-bedroom apartments with sizes that range from five hundred and six to 1,765 sq ft. Prices start from $998,000 ($1,972 psf) for a one-bedroom-plus-study; from $1.2 million ($1,990 psf) for a two-bedroom unit; and from $1.73 million ($1,959 psf) for a three-bedroom unit. Four-bedroom types are priced from $2.39 million ($1,882 psf) and five-bedroom from $two point eight eight million ($1,871 psf).
The project is scheduled for booking on March fourth.
Yew Siang Road, off Pasir Panjang Road, Terra Hill is the first freehold private condo launch in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) in 2K23. The average price achieved across the units sold was over $2,650 per square feet.
At Terra Hill, 30 exclusive units make up The Prestige Collection. Twenty-four of the units are 1,894 sq ft, four-bedroom units priced from five million, with six 5-bedroom duplex penthouses of 3,035 sq ft. During the launch, seven units in The Prestige Collection were sold at prices averaging above $2,850 psf.
The preview over the past two weekends attracts more than ten thousand visitors at the showroom located along South Buona Vista Road.
“The developer’s initial goal from the onset of the launch was to sell one hundred units,” says Ismail Gafoor, Chief officer of PropNex Realty. “Selling one zero two units means they have accomplished their goal set.”
The seventy percent sales achieved at new project launches last year are not possible to happen again in this year, according to Gafoor. “Previous year, there were 17 new launches with over four thousand condo units in total,” he estimates. “Up to 47 new project launches with a potential 12,000 new units are expected to be launched this year. Henceforth, the new supply is three times higher, and buyers have more choices.”
Gafoor expects most new project development this year to achieve about forty percent sales on the launch weekend, especially on the back of higher interest rates and market uncertainty.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, is of the same view. “The weekend sales achieved at Terra Hill were within expectations,” he says. “Sentiment on the ground is still positive. Even after the Budget announcement of the buyer’s stamp duty increase, large crowds at show flats indicated that buying interest has not been affected.”
Gafoor points out that Pasir Panjang is one of nine estates outside the Central Area in which urban redevelopment authority (URA) requires the average unit size of new non-landed residential projects to be 100 sqm. “Terra Hill’s unit sizes are, therefore, larger, with higher absolute prices,” he says.
Besides The Prestige Collection, Terra Hill has a mix of two to four bedroom units in the two hundred and forty unit Signature Collection.
The previous launch of a brand new development in the area was the five hundred and forty-eight Kent Ridge Hill Residences in November 2018. It was entirely sold by November 2022, with the latest transaction being the sale of a strata-terraced house for $3.266 million ($1,580 psf). Apartments sold from Jul 1, 2022, to Nov 30, 2022, ranged from $1,644 psf to $2,062 psf, according to caveats lodged with URA Realis.
“However, Kent Ridge Hill Residences is a 99-year leasehold development, and we don’t have any recent freehold condominiums for comparison,” notes Gafoor. “At an average price above $2,600 psf, Terra Hill is reasonably priced as 99-year leasehold developments in the Outside Central Region have already crossed $2,000 psf.”
The last new launch of a freehold development in the vicinity was the 120-unit Bijou in 2014. Completed in 2018 and located directly opposite Pasir Panjang MRT Station, the latest transaction at Bijou was for a 775 sq ft, two-bedroom unit that fetched one point seven five five million ($2,265 psf) in late November
According to Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Realty Network, there are limited freehold, private condominium developments in the District 5 enclave. Today, he adds that they represent just 14% of transacted private residential non-landed properties in District 5.
Buyers at Terra Hill were predominantly those dwelling in the west, says Huttons’ Yip. “There was a healthy blend of investors and home-stayers” he adds. “Both groups of buyers were drawn to the proximity to the future Greater Southern Waterfront, which is starting to take shape.”
Terra Hill is a four-minute stroll to the Pasir Panjang MRT station on the Circle Line, which “will become a full circle by 2K26”, says Yip. “This will improves connectivity to the city centre.”
Besides Labrador Tower, an office tower scheduled to complete in 2K24, Terra Hill is near places of employment and higher learning, says ERA’s Chu. He adds that it is within 2 km of the Science Park and three kilometers of the National University of Singapore (NUS), Biopolis and the Media Hub at one-north.
sold in February 2018, but nearly 60 per cent lower than the 1,780 units in March last year.
These figures exclude executive condominium (EC) units, which are a public-private housing hybrid form.
Inclusive of ECs, developers moved 788 units last month, again higher than the 476 units in February 2018, but lower than the 2,358 units in March last year.
The above information was released on Monday (April 16) by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, based on its survey of licensed housing developers.
The top-selling project last month was The Tapestry in Tampines, with 329 units sold at a median price of S$1,408 psf.
At Grandeur Park Residences in Bedok South Avenue 3, a total of 40 units were sold last month at a median price of S$1,532 psf.
JLL national director Ong Teck Hui said: “A pick-up in launches and sales take-up is expected in April with the market becoming more active. Several projects have already been launched including Harbour View Gardens, The Verandah Residences and Park Place Residences at PLQ (Phase 2), with others in the launch pipeline.”
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