http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...homes-20140802

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Toa Payoh to get image change with new homes

BTO units in the centrally located town oversubscribed last week

Published on Aug 2, 2014 12:56 AM

By Cheryl Ong


TOA PAYOH'S image as one of Singapore's oldest housing estates is set to change with more land earmarked for new homes.

Although Housing Board flats in the township are among the priciest here, its Build-to-Order (BTO) units were overwhelmingly subscribed on Friday last week.

There were 9.1 applicants for each four-room unit and 3.9 applicants for each three-room flat.

"In general, Toa Payoh is in a central location and properties will usually benefit from being located there," said Mr Mohamed Ismail, chief executive of PropNex Realty. The city-fringe town is the nearest HDB estate to the Orchard Road shopping district by MRT - and home to two stations on the North-South Line.

The Caldecott station, also within the estate, will serve as an interchange for the Circle Line and Thomson Line. Vacant land near the station has been set aside by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for new homes to be part of Toa Payoh.

Earlier this year, a parcel in Toa Payoh Lorong 6 was placed on the reserve list of the Government Land Sales Programme, which could yield 535 units if triggered for sale.

Consultants said the mature estate is predominantly public flats, with no new condos for at least three years.

R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng said the number of private homes changing hands in the district fell after tough home loan curbs last year. There were about 25 transactions per quarter before 2013, but just 15 resale units are sold per quarter now.

But the three private condos in Toa Payoh have still seen strong capital value and rental yield growth, consultants said.

The 590-unit 99-year leasehold Trevista is the newest, finished in 2011. Resale prices averaged $1,460 per sq ft (psf) in the past year. Average monthly rents were $4.10 psf, caveats lodged with the URA show.

The older freehold Trellis Towers was completed in 2000. Its 384 units have averaged resale prices of $1,345 psf and rents of $4 psf in the past year.

Oleander Towers, completed in 2007, is the oldest private development in Toa Payoh. The 99-year leasehold project has 318 units which recorded average resale prices of $1,121 psf and average rents of $3.60 psf a month.

Rental yields at all three projects were between 3.5 per cent and 3.9 per cent, data from Squarefoot Research showed.

While residents of Toa Payoh are mostly served by shops within the HDB estates, Mr Ong noted that the site of Toa Payoh Secondary School could be rezoned for some retail facilities after the school moves out. It will merge with Bartley Secondary School in 2016 as part of the Ministry of Education's plans for schools to have a critical mass of students.

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