http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...rents-20131012
HOT SPOT
Tenants drawn to West Coast's lower rents
Published on Oct 12, 2013
By Melissa Tan
THE West Coast Park area, largely built on reclaimed land, is mainly occupied by light industry, some recreational areas and older housing projects.
But the estate is undergoing a rejuvenation and remains attractive to renters, consultants say.
There is potential for collective sales, given many older developments on smallish plots in the West Coast Road and Pasir Panjang areas, said Chesterton Singapore research head Elaine Chow.
One recent launch is the NeWest mixed development on the site of the former Hong Leong Garden Shopping Centre.
The 12-storey residential and commercial development went on sale in May and 134 out of its 136 homes have been sold by the end of August, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority data.
Other recent condos in the area are Hundred Trees and Botannia.
The 396-unit Hundred Trees condo in West Coast Drive, completed this year, was built on the former Hong Leong Garden condo site and is next to NeWest.
Homes had an average sale price of $1,401 per sq ft (psf) from April to September this year, property portal STProperty data show.
The median rental at Hundred Trees is $4.44 psf per month, according to Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) data.
At the 493-unit Botannia in West Coast Park, completed in 2009, the average selling price was $1,303 psf from April to September, according to STProperty. Median rent is $3.43 psf a month, SRX data show.
Other projects include the freehold The Parc Condominium in West Coast Walk with 659 units, completed in 2010, and the 616-unit, 99-year leasehold Blue Horizon condo in West Coast Crescent, completed in 2005.
Tenants in the area are mostly expatriates and people who work or study at one-north, Singapore Science Park, the National University of Singapore and Singapore Polytechnic, consultants said.
The presence of Japanese schools in West Coast Road leads to a significant Japanese tenant population, said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail.
Ms Chow said the area is popular among expats working for multinational companies in Jurong and Tuas. It also appeals to those working at HarbourFront and Tanjong Pagar due to the ease of commuting to the Central Business District via the Ayer Rajah Expressway, she said, adding that rents are cheaper in West Coast Park compared with Buona Vista.
One downside to the area is the absence of an MRT line.
[email protected]