Hi guys,
Any review of Merawoods, Hilltop Grove, Meralodge?
Looking for a good buy there.
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Hi guys,
Any review of Merawoods, Hilltop Grove, Meralodge?
Looking for a good buy there.
its not in any listing yet ,,, but there is a very well renovated 3 bedder ... must see to 'WOW' ...Quote:
Originally Posted by edtv75
if keen to view leave a note i link you to the agent who will be listing it soon
which project is this unit located?
Just my personal opinion from someone who has stayed there and moved out. Condos in the hillview area is not good. The cons speak for themselves if you ask around. Congestion in the morning, lack of facilities, too many condos, rental yield is poor. When you want to sell next time, some older ones will not be able to compete with all the new condos springing up now. Some condos are very densely built, if you had visited them and compared them with the newer ones, you would realise they are poor buys.
Depending on where you work, what you are looking for, and the particular unit you are eyeing, still can find gems in Hillview.
I think can find a lot of units cheaper than HDB, but come with beautiful swimming pool, nice landscaping, greenery, and Bukit Batok is near enough to get food and groceries from, but not so near that you hear the screech and groans of MRT trains.
Can't be densely built when plot ratio is only 1.4 or 1.9 with stringent height restrictions. Some of the condos are sitting on close to 600,000 of GFA with only 400 units or so. You don't get that with the new launches anymore. In fact, people are saying 50,000sq ft as "large land area" nowadays :) Not many new condos springing up there (not sure which one you're referring to) other than Hillvista. Even Hillvista was sitting on a small plot with no tennis courts while many of the "old" condos that you so despise have full facilities, including large pool, putting green, tennis courts, badminton courts etc. Oh yeah - need a car until the MRT comes on board. Traffic has greatly improved and considered good (relative to other worse areas e.g. CTE etc) in the morning but evening time could be a little jam at certain times. But have never heard of a place (other than West Coast) when traffic is good during morning peak hours :) Rental yield exceed city areas due to the lower upfront cost.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zzrevolution
Glad to see more contributions to this thread. I'm just saying from personal experience, the roads there are quite narrow and traffic is bad, plus the lack of amenities, that's one of the reasons why I moved. The other big reason is that there are many new condos all over the island now, so in my humble opinion, older condos in hillview area have less room for appreciation (taking into account that the prices have gone up so much, could be because owners who bought in the peak of 1996, 1997 trying to offload at an even higher price than their purchase price), just like used cars, you see?
As for densely built or not, I'm no agent, but if you have stepped inside condos such as Hillview heights, you will understand what I mean by densely built, the buildings are spaced quite closely together, and the pool is rather small too. The state of the facilities and appearance of the buildings are also not as good as new ones.
In terms of rental yield, it can't be high, just need to do a bit maths. It might have been good when price was depressed last year, but now prices have gone up a lot and based on current asking price, rental yield is only around 3%. Remember you still have to pay for condo management fees, property tax and mortgage repayment, so it's hardly a good investment. If you want to ride on the property wave, i.e. a quick flip, better go to D9, D10 or D15 and look out for new launches.
Anyway, all these are based on personal observations and opinions, no offense to anyone. Please feel free to PM me to discuss.
That is why the condos along Hume Ave (D21) is a far better buy with greater potential than Hillview, BB or D23 condos. Take for example Parc Palais, a 10 yr old FH condo with very large and beautiful facilities and landscaping in >55,000 sqm of land housing only 517 units (very low density) and well spaced out. Rental yields that are better than Hillview condos as they are also very popular with western expats. Better location on a hill too.
Sure new condos are nice to have and who doesn't like new? But at today's prices for new launches, better to go look for gems in older condos in matured estates where you can get value-buys. Only thing is that it takes much more effort and time to look for suitable buys in older developments compared to visiting lavish showflats to buy new. Some find joy in the house hunting process while some prefer convenience and comfort.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zzrevolution
I forgot to say that when I was trying to move out of Hillview area, a lot of agents marketing my house said the future MRT will increase the future prices of the condos in the area, but my feeling is that future MRT has already been priced into the current asking price（look at the asking prices of older hillview condos). Plus, the new owners or whichever expats staying there will have to live with construction, noise and dust for the next few years (think Paya Lebar). Anyway, there will be many more MRT stations all over Singapore, so MRT cannot be the sole factor for price appreciation.
Greenhorn is right - not everyone can buy new launches, so people buy older condos and they may still be good, but i think older Hillview condos are a risk to take (especially for people who want to sell it next time）- depending on the state of the condo. For example, Hillington Green, is still quite good and spacious inside, but those built in 1996, 1997 etc are a bit too old (in terms of resale value) and inside very dense.
If you have more than one car, dun buy Hillington Green. At a AGM, decison made to allow only one car park lot per unit. Got one owner with 4 cars buay song go and block entry and exit point one night until police called in.Quote:
Originally Posted by zzrevolution
Usually in condo, each unit is entitled to 1 car park lot, while penthouse may be 2. Owners are allowed to park 2nd car but subject to availability &/or need to pay (just like parking in public car park). 3 cars or more, those owners better buy more units (because it is their choice right?)
However, most importantly, never ever buy condos with number of car parks < number of units! You never know how many cars there will be in your condo estate (this number will change over time too). Preferred is number of car parks >= 110% of number of units (and I think only the older condos, those launched at or before 2006, have such luxury now). :banghead:
Quote:
Originally Posted by sfwoo
If u find the old condos cramped, the new ones are worse. And in the same area, there r good n bad developments. Sometimes, the new developments r overrated with hardly any landscape. But most Singaporeans still prefer to chase the new glass boxes design. Followers mentality :)
By the way, which are the condos around Hillview that allows more than one car?Quote:
Originally Posted by teddybear
I know Merawoods and Hillview Green can park 2 cars, any others?
Most can park a few cars, except Hillington Green (but still not sure for Hillington Green is cannot park 2 cars or second car got to park further away at visitors lot?). I'm not sure about the smallish ones like Hillview Apartments though. I recall some of the condos there have 2 basement carparks - plenty of space.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sfwoo