Trust that most of you who are ready to dive into the property market during this coronavirus period, are aware of the latest executive condominium (EC) launch which is Parc Canberra.

Over the last weekend, there is a large turn out at the show flat to do their e-application to secure a booking spot on the booking day on 15th February 2020. (*Update: Due to the coronavirus outbreak, finally the developer had some sense to do their balloting and unit selection via online platform instead. Honestly, when I saw the huge turnout and no one was taking any precautions at the show flat, I was very concerned)

So before the price is released officially on the 12th, previously was 13th February, we take a look at how this project measure up against other existing executive condominiums around the same area.

Administration matters

Applicants will now have to collect their ballot tickets and computerized e-applications from the show flat and drop them in at the show flat. What happens is that you will be given an appointment timing at the show flat to book your choice unit, just like how when you buy a Build-To-Order flat works. For example, developer sales representative will do a ballot draw on all the balloting tickets dropped in, on 14th February ‘live’ on Facebook (you can watch it here) at 10 am. Which in my opinion once again, is an extremely bad idea, because there are so many other non-official Facebook pages created by agents to bait potential buyers. Just do a search on Facebook page and you will know what I mean. There are many other ‘live’ streaming applications out there that can generate a unique URL for all buyers, just like how we run our webinars.

All balloting tickets drawn will be given a time slot according to the sequence of ballot tickets picked, for a timing to be at the show flat to book their unit on 15th February. So it will be on a sequential and strictly appointment basis.

Location

Canberra is a relatively remote area of Singapore, to be honest. Prior to this launch, there was no MRT station nearby as well. Canberra is a new MRT station that is in between Sembawang and Yishun.

The fare for one adult to journey from Canberra to Yishun is $0.92 which is only one stop away. Yishun being the integrated hub with a bus interchange and MRT station, together with a shopping mall, will be naturally your go-to place for dining and shopping.

It will cost you $1.90 using an adult stored value card to get to Raffles Place from Canberra MRT station. The journey will take about 36 minutes on average. Multiply it by two will be your daily commute time taken which is going to be 1 hour and 12 minutes excluding walking and waiting time. If I add in the miscellaneous time used, it will be a staggering one and a half-hour daily spent just on commuting to and fro work alone.

It will take you 43 minutes and cost $1.93 to get to Bayfront station, in between you will have to make a switch of MRT at Newton station.

To get to Orchard will take you 29 minutes and $1.80.

Developer

Jointly developed by Hoi Hup and Sunway. Sunway is an experienced developer from Malaysia with a wealth of portfolio in properties and hotels and resorts. Hoi Hup is a frequent developer in the area of executive condominiums and the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) public housing. Which will mean that the design of the project will be well thought out and functional.

Pricing

The last EC to be completed in that area is Visionaire which is a development by Qingjian Realty. The land bid by Hoi Hup and Sunway is about $205 per square feet per plot ratio (psf ppr) higher than Visionaire which was only $353. So you can expect that this cost will be directly translated in the pricing for Parc Canberra at launch. But with so many ECs already obtained their TOP in a matter of such a short span of time, I am personally not too optimistic about the capital appreciation that buyers are hoping to get down the road in a short span of time after 5 years.

Conclusion

I am personally more optimistic about the growth in the Punggol region as compared to the Sembawang/Canberra area. The government has already announced a lot more developments that will be happening to the entire Punggol region coupled with commercial areas being developed in Punggol. I strongly cautioned against buyers going into committing on an EC just to take a gamble and hope for a massive price hike in an area like Canberra.