SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) – Redhill is a popular residential enclave due to its close proximity to the CBD and Orchard Road. However, its central location in District 3 leads many potential buyers to assume that home prices in Redhill are out of their reach. In this article, we will highlight some residential developments that are more affordable than their neighbours in this sought-after area.

Introducing Redhill

Redhill is a subzone within the Bukit Merah Planning Area. It is bounded by Alexandra Road to the north, Jalan Bukit Merah to the south, and Lengkok Bahru to the west (see Map 1). Gan Eng Seng Primary School, Redhill MRT Station, and Redhill Market and Food Centre are located within the subzone.

During September last year, HDB announced that Bukit Merah will be revamped as part of the Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) programme. The Bukit Merah Town Centre and six existing neighbourhood centres will be refreshed with more community spaces, seating areas, and landscaping. More elderly-friendly features will be added to cater to the rising number of elderly residents. New pedestrian and cycling paths will be added to Redhill Close for easier and safer travel between Redhill MRT Station and Bukit Merah Town Centre. Keppel and Cantonment MRT Stations on the Circle Line are expected to be operational in 2026.

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The Redhill subzone has a total of 54 HDB blocks with 4,013 flats located along Redhill Close, Redhill Lane, and Redhill Road. There are 620 HDB blocks with 52,377 flats in the Bukit Merah Planning Area. As such, the flats in Redhill represent approximately 7.7% of the HDB inventory in Bukit Merah.

There are only five condos featuring 2,092 units in the subzone and 46 condos with 13,916 units in the Bukit Merah Planning Area. Therefore, the condos in Redhill represent approximately 15% of the stock for condo units in Bukit Merah. The five condos in Redhill are Alex Residences, Artra, Ascentia Sky, Echelon, and The Metropolitan Condominium. Prominent condo developments in Bukit Merah include Reflections at Keppel Bay and The Interlace.  All five condos Redhill and all HDB flats have tenures of 99 years.

Popularity of Bukit Merah

The resilient resale volumes for 99-year leasehold condos and HDB flats in Bukit Merah are a testament to the neighbourhood’s continued popularity among homebuyers. In 2021, resale volumes for HDB and condos reached a high of 1,173 flats and 571 units, respectively. Resale volumes for HDB flats in Bukit Merah have eased to approximately 900 for 2022 and 2023. In contrast, resale volumes for condos in Bukit Merah fell to 421 units in 2022 and 344 units last year (see Chart 1).

Despite having fewer transactions, the resale volume for condos in Bukit Merah actually represents an average of 6.8% of total resale transactions for 99-year leasehold condos in Singapore since 2014. In contrast, the resale volume for HDB flats in Bukit Merah represents an average of 3.8% of the total resale volume over the same timeframe.

The number of resale transactions for HDB flats in Bukit Merah has consistently represented approximately 3.5% to 4% of the total annual resale volume for HDB flats in Singapore. In contrast, the percentage for 99-year leasehold condos in Bukit Merah has slipped below 6% since 2022.

Weaker price growth for HDB flats

The average resale price for HDB flats in Bukit Merah ($769 psf) has consistently trended above their counterparts in the Central Region ($723 psf) and islandwide ($591 psf). However, the average price growth is the weakest for Bukit Merah, increasing by 29% since 2014. In comparison, HDB flats in the Central Region and islandwide rose by 32.2% and 34%, respectively (see Chart 2).

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The weaker price growth for Bukit Merah has not stopped homebuyers from snapping up HDB flats at eye-watering prices. The number of million-dollar transactions for HDB flats in Bukit Merah rose from 11 transactions in 2018 to a record high of 62 transactions last year. At the time of writing, 58 million-dollar transactions have been recorded for the planning area (see Chart 3). This indicates that homebuyers are willing to pay hefty sums for an HDB flat in this popular neighbourhood.

Despite the rising number of million-dollar transactions in Bukit Merah, they represent a smaller percentage of the total number of such transactions islandwide. The million-dollar transactions in Bukit Merah represented 13.4% of the total number of such transactions in Singapore in 2022, but declined to 12.7% last year and 12.2% this year.

At the time of writing, four million-dollar transactions for HDB flats in Bukit Merah took place this month. Of these four transactions, only two are for flats in the Redhill subzone. Both flats are located near Redhill MRT Station and are within a short walk of each other (see Map 2).

Both transactions are for five-room flats that measure 1,237 sq ft. Both flats also fetched just under $930 psf for their sellers (see Table 1).

Rising condo prices 

The average resale price for 99-year leasehold condos in Bukit Merah ($1,932 psf) slipped below that of leasehold condos in the Central Region ($1,973 psf) for the first time in 2019 and has since trended lower. However, the average prices for both areas are consistently above that for condos islandwide ($1,627 psf) (see Chart 4).

Leasehold condos in Bukit Merah have shown the weakest price growth of 30.9% since 2014, compared to 38.4% for their counterparts in the Central Region. Leasehold condos islandwide had the strongest price growth of 52.9% despite having the lowest average price.

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Only one PLH development in Redhill

At the time of writing, there were no uncompleted condos in Redhill, but there was an HDB project under construction. Alexandra Vale was launched as part of the Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise in August 2022. Due to its location adjacent to Redhill MRT Station and central location, the project was launched under the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model. Alexandra Vale is also located across the road from the two aforementioned flats that fetched more than $1 million for their sellers this month. The project is expected to be completed in 2028.

Alexandra Vale features 182 three-room and 600 four-room flats. The three-room flats measure 678 sq ft and were launched at prices ranging from $385,000 to $477,000. The larger four-room flats measure 926 sq ft and were available for $547,000 to $705,000.

HDB announced the number of applicants for Alexandra Vale and the nearby Havelock Hillside together. Both projects are PLH and were part of the August 2022 BTO exercise. Combined, both projects achieved subscription rates of 2.7 for three-room flats and 6.1 for four-room flats.

HDB flats along Redhill Close are the most affordable

The three-room flats in Bukit Merah ($684 psf) not only have the lowest average resale price but also the weakest price growth compared to their four-room ($843 psf) and five-room ($779 psf) counterparts (see Chart 5). Since 2014, three-room flats achieved price growth of 22.6%, compared to 29.3% for four-room flats and 30.9% for five-room flats.

An examination of the sales transactions for HDB flats in Redhill indicates that the flats along Redhill Close tend to be the cheapest. In the past 12 months, there were 17 transactions for three-room to five-room HDB flats along Redhill Close.

Of the 17 transactions, all six transactions for three-room flats fetched prices that were below their corresponding average prices, likely due to the age of the 99-year leasehold flats, which were completed in the 1970s (see Table 2). Despite having a remaining tenure of less than 50 years, these flats could be ideal for older couples who wish to live in a central location while also bolstering their retirement funds by downsizing.

Prices for The Metropolitan Condominium and Ascentia Sky are below overall average

There are only five condos in the Redhill subzone. Based on all sale transactions for these condos in the past 12 months, the overall average price is $2,084 psf. Only The Metropolitan Condominium ($1,789 psf) and Ascentia Sky ($1,824 psf) have average prices below the overall average (see Chart 6).

The Metropolitan Condominium and Ascentia Sky are 99-year leasehold developments located adjacent to each other and a short walk away from Redhill MRT Station (see Map 3). Both developments also have a similar number of units, with The Metropolitan Condominium featuring 382 units and Ascentia Sky having 373 units. However, The Metropolitan Condominium is older, having obtained its temporary occupation permit (TOP) in 2009, compared to Ascentia Sky, which obtained its TOP in 2013.

It is notable that the average resale prices for both condos have trended below the average price for their counterparts in Bukit Merah since 2018 (see Chart 7). Furthermore, The Metropolitan Condominium (27.3%) and Ascentia Sky (26.5%) have achieved stronger price growth compared to leasehold condos in Bukit Merah (20.4%) since 2018.

Of the two condos, The Metropolitan Condominium seems to be a better buy because it has a lower average price than Ascentia Sky while achieving stronger price growth. Furthermore, a smaller percentage of its transactions failed to generate a profit for its sellers (see Table 3).

A check of our sale listings indicates that there are eight listings for The Metropolitan Condominium and 13 listings for Ascentia Sky at the time of writing. The listings for The Metropolitan Condominium have asking prices ranging from $1,726 psf to $2,144 psf, while asking prices for Ascentia Sky range from $1,864 psf to $2,182 psf.

Check out the latest listings for The Metropolitan Condominium, Ascentia Sky, HDB properties

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