SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Executive condominiums (ECs) are a hybrid of private and public housing. They resemble private condominiums because they are built and sold by private developers. Additionally, they feature common facilities typically found in private condos, such as swimming pools, gyms, and clubhouses. However, ECs are often priced lower than 99-year leasehold condos, which are their closest competitors.

The current average resale prices for ECs and 99-year leasehold condos are $1,298 psf and $1,646 psf, respectively (see Chart 1). The lower price point of ECs offers buyers a more affordable entry into the private residential property market. However, the price gap between the two property types is narrowing, from $388 psf in 2020 to $348 psf this year. This may be due to the faster growth in the average resale price of ECs (50.9%) compared to that of leasehold condos (31.9%) since 2020.

Similar to HDB flats, ECs are subject to eligibility conditions, with nationality being a key criterion. Only Singaporean households are allowed to purchase new ECs, and a minimum occupation period (MOP) of five years applies. Owners are not permitted to sell their EC units to foreigners if the development obtained its temporary occupation permit (TOP) less than 10 years ago. Once an EC has had its TOP for 10 years or more, the development is deemed privatised, allowing owners to sell their units to anyone, regardless of nationality, thereby widening the pool of potential buyers.

Explore comprehensive data about all ECs, including the average profit at 5 and 10 years

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In this article, we examine four ECs that reached their 10-year mark in the first half of 2024 to determine if there has been a noticeable price hike.

These four ECs were completed 10 years ago

Four ECs obtained their TOP in the first half of 2014, thus reaching their 10-year milestone in the first half of this year. The four ECs are The Canopy (TOP in January 2014), Austville Residences (TOP in April 2014), Belysa (TOP in May 2014), and RiverParc Residence (TOP in June 2014) (see Table 1). Austville Residences and RiverParc Residence are located in the northeast region, while Belysa and The Canopy are located in the east and north regions, respectively.

Among the four ECs, The Canopy was the only development launched in 2010. It also had the lowest launch price at $610 psf, while Austville Residences had the highest launch price at $702 psf. Since launch, The Canopy has experienced the weakest price growth, while RiverParc Residence has seen the strongest. This may explain why The Canopy ($1,108 psf) still has the lowest average price, whereas RiverParc Residence ($1,405 psf) has the highest.

While Austville Residences no longer has the highest average price, it has the most profitable transactions (284 transactions) among the four ECs. In contrast, Belysa has the fewest profitable transactions, with 126 transactions. There have been no unprofitable transactions for any of the four ECs, likely due to their strong price growth since launch.

#1: The Canopy

The Canopy is located along Yishun Avenue 11, which is within District 27 and the Yishun Planning Area. The EC is within walking distance of Yishun Park Hawker Centre and Yishun Park. There are three primary schools within a 1km radius, namely Huamin Primary School, North View Primary School, and Northland Primary School. The main drawback is the lack of a nearby MRT station, with Yishun MRT Station being the closest, though it is more than 1.5km away.

There are three other ECs within a 1km radius of The Canopy, namely Lilydale, Signature at Yishun, and The Criterion (see Map 1). Lilydale is adjacent to The Canopy, while Signature at Yishun and The Criterion are adjacent to each other, but located approximately 1km away from The Canopy.

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Having obtained its TOP in 2003, Lilydale is the oldest among the four ECs and is 11 years older than The Canopy (see Table 2). Signature at Yishun and The Criterion are closer in age to The Canopy, having obtained their TOP in 2017 and 2018, respectively. However, this also means that owners of units in Signature at Yishun and The Criterion cannot sell their units to foreigners, as the developments obtained their TOP less than 10 years ago. As such, owners of The Canopy might gain better insights from the price performance of Lilydale.

Lilydale obtained its TOP in 2003, reaching its five-year and 10-year milestones in 2008 and 2013, respectively. Its average price was $461 psf in 2008, representing a 30.6% increase from its launch price of $353 psf in 2001. By 2013, Lilydale’s average price had risen to $741 psf, a 109.9% increase from its launch price. The average price has continued to rise, reaching the current $919 psf, a 24% increase since 2013. Lilydale's price trend followed the expected pattern, ramping up upon reaching the five and 10-year milestones before slowing down.

The Canopy was launched in 2010, achieving an average price of $650 psf that year (see Chart 2). Its average price increased to $826 psf in 2019 (five years after obtaining TOP), representing a 27.1% increase from the launch price. This year, the average price for The Canopy is $1,108 psf (10 years after obtaining TOP), reflecting a 70.5% increase from the launch price and a 34.1% increase from its 2019 price.

Comparing the price growth of both ECs indicates that both developments experienced a similar pace of growth upon reaching their respective five-year milestones, but Lilydale saw stronger price growth than The Canopy at their respective 10-year milestones. This could be due to the different years in which the developments reached these milestones.

The average resale price for ECs peaked in 2013 at $741 psf (see Chart 3), which boosted Lilydale’s average resale price. Year 2013 was also when Lilydale reached its 10-year milestone. Thereafter, the average resale price for ECs began to decline, bottoming out in 2017 at $710 psf. Since then, prices have gradually climbed, reaching $1,298 psf this year. As a result, The Canopy is expected to benefit from this upward trend in EC prices, though it is unlikely to experience the extraordinary growth that Lilydale enjoyed.

#2: Austville Residences

Austville Residences is located within walking distance of Rivervale Plaza and Punggol Park. There are no MRT stations within walking distance, but Kangkar LRT Station, which is connected to Sengkang MRT Station, is a short walk away. Parents are spoiled for choice, as there are five primary schools within a 1km radius, namely CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity, North Spring Primary School, North Vista Primary School, Punggol Primary School, and Seng Kang Primary School.

Read also: EC site at Jln Loyang Besar in Pasir Ris expected to see keen developer interest

There are four ECs located within a 1km radius of Austville Residences, namely Heron Bay, Park Green, The Florida, and The Rivervale (see Map 2). Park Green is sandwiched between Austville Residences and The Rivervale. The Florida and Heron Bay are located approximately 1km away, across Punggol Park.

Park Green and The Rivervale are Austville Residences’ immediate neighbours, but they are at least 10 years older (see Table 3). Heron Bay is younger than Austville Residences by only one year, meaning it will reach its 10-year mark next year. Owners planning to sell their units in Heron Bay may want to take cues from the sales performance of Austville Residences.

Among the three ECs that have obtained their TOP for 10 years or more, Park Green is the closest in age to Austville Residences. Park Green obtained its TOP in 2004, while The Florida and The Rivervale obtained theirs in 2000. Additionally, Park Green is located adjacent to Austville Residences.

The average price for Park Green was $369 psf when it was first launched in 2002. Its average resale price was $524 psf in 2009 and $810 psf in 2014, five and 10 years after the EC obtained TOP. This represents price growths of 42% and 119.5% from the launch price. The average resale price for Park Green has continued to rise, reaching $1,044 psf this year.

Austville Residences was first launched in 2011 at an average price of $702 psf. Its average price has since increased by 25.9% to $884 psf in 2019 (five years after obtaining TOP) and by 84.9% to $1,298 psf this year (10 years after obtaining TOP) (see Chart 4).

It is interesting to note that Austville Residences ($702 psf) and Park Green ($705 psf) had very similar average prices in 2011 when Austville Residences was first launched. However, the price gap between the two ECs has since widened, which can be attributed to the age of Park Green as well as the stronger price growth of the younger Austville Residences. Since 2020, the average price for Austville Residences has grown by 45%, while that for Park Green has increased by 37.5%.

Nonetheless, the price growth for both ECs shares similar traits, with a modest increase upon reaching the five-year mark followed by a significant surge upon reaching the 10-year mark. This may be because the five-year milestones for Park Green and Austville Residences fall in 2009 and 2019, respectively, which were years when resale price growth for ECs was weak.

In 2009, the average resale price for ECs was $492 psf, representing a 4% y-o-y increase. In contrast, the average resale price grew by 22% y-o-y to $600 psf in 2010. Likewise, price growth for ECs was weak in 2019 and 2020 before rallying in 2021. The average resale price for ECs rose by 4.3% y-o-y to $847 psf in 2019 and by 1.5% y-o-y to $860 psf in 2020, before increasing by 9.4% y-o-y to $941 psf in 2021. Resale volume also rebounded in 2021, reaching a record high of 2,291 units, compared to 783 units in 2019 and 1,248 units in 2020 (see Chart 5).

#3: Belysa

Belysa is located along Pasir Ris Drive 1 and is within walking distance of Elias Mall. Pasir Ris MRT Station is the nearest station, but it is almost 1km away. The upcoming Tampines North MRT Station on the Cross Island Line (CRL) is closer, at approximately 600m, but it is expected to be completed only in 2030.

There are three primary schools within a 1km radius, namely Elias Park Primary School, Meridian Primary School, and Park View Primary School. Whitewater is the only completed EC located within a 1km radius of Belysa. Tenet is also within the same distance but is still under construction (see Map 3). When Tenet was launched in December 2022, 72.3% of its 618 units were sold over the launch weekend at an average price of $1,360 psf. The project has since been fully sold.

Whitewater is approximately nine years older than Belysa, having obtained its TOP in 2005 (see Table 4). Similar to Belysa, Whitewater does not have an operating MRT station nearby but will have one approximately 500m away when the upcoming Elias MRT Station on the CRL is completed in 2032. Whitewater is also located adjacent to Pasir Ris West Plaza and is within a 1km radius of Meridian Primary School and Park View Primary School.

The price growth for Whitewater was front-loaded, unlike that of Belysa. Having obtained its TOP in 2005, Whitewater reached its five-year and 10-year milestones in 2010 and 2015, respectively, while Belysa reached its five-year milestone in 2019 and its 10-year milestone this year.

From 2005 to 2010, the average resale price for Whitewater grew by 44%, but it increased by a significantly weaker 5.5% from 2011 to 2015. In contrast, the average resale price for Belysa rose by 11.1% from 2014 to 2019 but surged by 49.8% from 2020 to this year. The current average resale prices for Belysa and Whitewater are $1,314 psf and $1,076 psf, respectively (see Chart 6).

Whitewater’s stronger resale price growth from 2005 to 2010 could be attributed to the limited supply of new ECs from 2007 to 2009, when the new sale volume of ECs was below 100 units per year (see Chart 7). In contrast, 571 and 2,693 new EC units were sold in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Furthermore, no ECs obtained their TOP from 2009 to 2012. The lack of new ECs meant that keen buyers had to turn to the resale market, which boosted resale prices.

Belysa enjoyed strong price growth in the last five years, benefiting from the overall stronger price growth for ECs. Since 2019, the average resale price for ECs has grown by 53.2% to $1,298 psf (see Chart 5), which aligns with the 49.8% price growth achieved by Belysa during the same timeframe.

#4: RiverParc Residence

RiverParc Residence is a short walk from Kadaloor LRT Station, which is connected to Punggol MRT Station. Currently, there are no operational MRT stations within walking distance, but residents will enjoy being within walking distance of Riviera MRT Station on the CRL when it opens in 2032.

Primary schools within a 1km radius include Greendale Primary School, Horizon Primary School, and Waterway Primary School. There are also three ECs within the same distance, namely The Amore, The Terrace, and Waterwoods (see Map 4).

The Terrace is the nearest to RiverParc Residence, but it is arguably in a better location because it is closer to Kadaloor LRT Station and overlooks My Waterway @ Punggol. Parents might prefer The Amore because it is located adjacent to Horizon Primary School and is across the road from Greendale Primary School and Greendale Secondary School.

Waterwoods is located the furthest from RiverParc Residence but is the closest in age, having obtained its TOP a year after RiverParc Residence. The Amore and The Terrace are even younger, having obtained their TOP in 2016 and 2017, respectively (see Table 5). This means that all three neighbouring ECs are under 10 years old. Owners of units in these three ECs should watch the resale prices of RiverParc Residence, especially the unit owners of Waterwoods.

Waterwoods is within walking distance of Coral Edge LRT Station and Punggol Plaza. It is also located adjacent to Global Indian International School (Punggol Campus) and is a short drive to the Tampines Expressway. There are also four primary schools within a 1km radius: Greendale Primary School, Horizon Primary School, Mee Toh School, and Rivervale Primary School.

It appears that reaching the 10-year milestone does give a boost to resale prices for ECs. The average resale price for RiverParc Residence increased by 11.2% y-o-y this year, outpacing the price growth of 5.7% y-o-y for Waterwoods and 6.4% y-o-y for ECs in District 19. Notably, the average resale price for RiverParc Residence ($1,405 psf) is higher than that for ECs in the same district ($1,356 psf) and Waterwoods ($1,325 psf) this year (see Chart 8). The average resale price for Waterwoods can be expected to receive a similar boost when it reaches its 10-year milestone next year.

Conclusion

The expected trend of a spike in average resale prices when an EC reaches its five-year and 10-year milestones holds true. However, the size of the increase depends significantly on the prevailing market conditions. Lilydale benefited from hitting those milestones when the resale market for ECs was on an upswing. Likewise, Belysa enjoyed strong price growth during the last five years due to the current positive resale market for ECs. A rising tide lifts all boats.

It is also notable that some older ECs experienced significantly higher price growth due to a lack of new ECs from 2007 to 2009 when new sale volumes dropped to below 100 units per year. Additionally, no ECs obtained their TOP from 2009 to 2012. As such, buyers had to turn to the resale market if they wished to purchase an EC unit, resulting in a boost in resale prices for ECs.

The size of price growth also depends on competition which could put downward pressure on prices. The price growth for the aforementioned four ECs is smaller than that of their older neighbours. This could be because there are four ECs reaching their 10-year milestone in the first half of 2024 and another three ECs (Arc at Tampines, Blossom Residences, and WaterColours) that will hit the same milestone in the second half of 2024. Additionally, The Tampines Trilliant, The Rainforest, Twin Waterfalls, 1 Canberra, Heron Bay, and Waterwoods will reach their 10-year milestones next year.

Check out the latest listings for The Canopy, Austville Residences, Belysa, Riverparc Residence properties

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