On Feb. 23, UOL Group and CapitaLand Development (CLD) jointly announced that the launch weekend of ParkTown Residence in Tampines North resulted in the sale of 1,041 units, which accounted for more than 87% of the total 1,193 units in the development. According to Anson Lim, UOL’s general manager of residential marketing, the average price achieved at the launch was $2,360 psf. The majority of buyers were Singaporean homebuyers or investors. The most popular unit types at ParkTown Residence were the two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments, which made up 994 units (83%) of the project and were the first to be snapped up, with a take-up rate of 92% during the weekend.
A spokesperson for UOL and CLD stated that buyers were attracted to the unique features of ParkTown Residence, which is a fully integrated residential and lifestyle development connected to a retail mall, the future Tampines North MRT station, a bus interchange, a green boulevard, a community club, and a hawker centre.
Before the launch weekend, 2,367 cheques had been collected for ParkTown Residence, resulting in a sales conversion rate of 44%. This is above the average rate of 30% to 35% for most new project launches in recent years. Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, notes that no mega project has sold more than 1,000 units in its launch weekend since the launch of the 1,399-unit High Park Residences in July 2015, which sold 1,100 units over three days. With its successful launch, ParkTown Residence at Tampines 62 has become the most sought-after development to have sold the most units in a launch weekend since the 846-unit Emerald of Katong, which sold 835 units (99%) last November.
Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex, adds that the take-up rate at ParkTown Residence has also exceeded that of previous integrated developments. The most recent integrated project launch was the 732-unit The Reserve Residences, which was launched in May 2023 and recorded a 71% take-up rate during its launch weekend. The project is currently 98.2% sold at an average price of $2,484 psf, based on caveats lodged as of February 23.
Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore, explains that mixed-use developments connected to transport hubs are popular with both homebuyers and investors due to their potential for capital appreciation and high demand for rental properties.
The last two fully integrated developments to be completed were the 920-unit North Park Residences in Yishun (launched in 2015) and the 680-unit Sengkang Grand (launched in 2019) at Buangkok. The average price of North Park Residence is $1,809 psf, which is 65% higher than the average resale prices of residential units in District 27. Meanwhile, Sengkang Grand commands an average price of $2,029 psf, which is 25% higher than the average resale price in District 19.
Located at Tampines Street 62, Tampines is the third-largest HDB town after Hougang and Woodlands. Huttons’ Yip notes that many of the buyers at ParkTown Residence were HDB upgraders who wanted to live in Tampines. The development is expected to be completed by 2030, which coincides with the scheduled opening of the Tampines North MRT Station on the Cross Island Line (CRL), a major arterial line running from East to West of Singapore. In addition, the neighbouring Paya Lebar Airbase is set to be relocated by 2030, freeing up an estimated 800ha of land for future developments.
Under the URA Master Plan, three more government land sales (GLS) sites will be connected to the upcoming Tampines North MRT Station. Ken Low, managing partner of SRI, predicts that these new projects could be launched at higher prices than ParkTown Residence, as per the recent trend.
Tampines will also benefit from new infrastructure developments by 2027, including a cycling bridge, an underpass, and another 7.7km of cycling paths, bringing the total to 40km. There will also be a new pedestrian route between Tampines MRT Station and the malls in the regional center. These additions were announced on February 22 as a part of the Tampines Town Council’s five-year masterplan for 2025 to 2030.
According to SRI’s Low, all these developments will enhance the overall liveability of Tampines, which already has strong attributes.