your opinions please! condo decision

[hungryjack]

hi, wonder if anybody has opinions on which to buy. picture this scenario where you have a $1.4m budget.

Which would you rather get:

1) Viz Holland (not yet TOP) address is Queensway but district 10. 3 + 1 bedroom with 2 big PES. Built in area is 1259 sf. Total area with PES is 1927 sf. Will be around 10 mins walk to Farrer MRT. Mid floor so isn't very high considering building also not very tall.

2) The Regalia (14 years old, just had major renovation that looks quite good) address is River Valley Close district 9. Short 5 min walk to Orchard Rd thru Killiney Rd in one direction and 5 min walk to Singapore River (around Rivergate) in another direction. 3 bedrooms + maid's room, small balcony. Built in area 1249 sf. Low to mid floor. No enbloc potential based on current plot ratio. Height still has some to go.

can't decide. Should i go for location, or for brand new condo?

[location]

I was about to suggest 2RVG but realised what you're looking for is a 3 bedder at least. And 2RVG is kinda tiny, about 900 sq ft for 2 bedrooms. Or was it 800 sq ft.

To be honest, $1.4 m for a 3 bedder in a fantastic location such as Killiney Road is quite an ok price. But since it is 14 years old, maybe you ought to do some research first. Caveats for The Regalia have been around $800 psf to $900 psf but that was in 12/2006 so the latest ones haven't been displayed yet. Same for Viz Holland, as we don't get the latest transaction prices right away.

If $1.4m is the market price for both, then I think I will choose the one in Orchard as the location can't be faulted and interior design and reno isn't very expensive. Regalia it is, for me.

[cadenza]

location + Freehold.

[No sales]

Published April 13, 2007

'Hotspot' auction nets no sale

By KALPANA RASHIWALA


NOT a single property sold yesterday at a highly touted auction for owner-sales of apartments in the hot spots of Marina Bay/CBD and Sentosa Cove.

Twenty-one properties were offered. And in most cases the opening prices sought by the auctioneers were not even met. In a few cases there were some bids, but these were below the owners' reserve prices.

However, CKS Property Consultants, which conducted the auction, is unfazed by the result and confident of selling the properties post-auction through private treaty deals.

CKS spokeswoman Valerie Ho attributed the poor response at yesterday's auction to bidder shyness. 'Bidders were predominantly local and they may still not be used to the idea of buying a home at an auction,' she said. 'And this is the first attempt to have an auction featuring solely properties put up for sale by owners.

'There has been a lot of interest after the auction. We expect a lot of negotiations and transactions over the weekend for this batch of properties. We also have a few potential buyers from Indonesia who are coming to our office next week for discussions.'

Ms Ho reckons the asking prices set by owners are reasonable.

A long-time market watcher who attended yesterday's auction generally agreed, pointing for instance to the $1.3 million or $1,050 psf opening price sought for a 40th floor two-bedroom unit with a study/loft at Icon at Tanjong Pagar, and the $2.5 million ($1,408 psf) opening asking price for a three-bedroom, 12th floor unit at The Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove. 'The thing to remember is that these are all sub-sale properties and usually their asking prices are lower than what is being charged by developers for newer project launches in the location,' the market watcher said.

'But the problem right now is that there are so many sub-sale units in these so called hot-spot locations that, frankly, you can easily pick one up from the classifieds. No need to come to an auction looking for such units - unless the pricing or facing is very attractive.'

Also, from a potential buyer's perspective there is a disincentive in buying in the sub-sale market as developers will not extend deferred payment schemes they may have given to initial buyers to sub-sale buyers, the market watcher added.

Properties on offer yesterday included the entire 57th floor, comprising seven apartments, at The Sail @ Marina Bay Tower 2.

The auctioneer's opening asking price was $10 million but there were no takers.

Three units at One Shenton were also offered.

[Unregistered]

This one no need to think. Location is tops. Inside is old never mind, can renovate, doesn't cost much. Location cannot renovate, either you have or dun have.

Viz is district 10 so what? Address is Queensway leh! Have you seen the actual site? Right next to HDB leh! $1.4 million siao! So big balcony for what? So that you can sit there and listen to the rumbling traffic on Queensway?

hi, wonder if anybody has opinions on which to buy. picture this scenario where you have a $1.4m budget.

Which would you rather get:

1) Viz Holland (not yet TOP) address is Queensway but district 10. 3 + 1 bedroom with 2 big PES. Built in area is 1259 sf. Total area with PES is 1927 sf. Will be around 10 mins walk to Farrer MRT. Mid floor so isn't very high considering building also not very tall.

2) The Regalia (14 years old, just had major renovation that looks quite good) address is River Valley Close district 9. Short 5 min walk to Orchard Rd thru Killiney Rd in one direction and 5 min walk to Singapore River (around Rivergate) in another direction. 3 bedrooms + maid's room, small balcony. Built in area 1249 sf. Low to mid floor. No enbloc potential based on current plot ratio. Height still has some to go.

can't decide. Should i go for location, or for brand new condo?