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Unit at The Heliconia going for $1.3 mil

EdgeProp Singapore |

March 18, 2019 8:00 AM SGT

A 1,302 sq ft, three-bedroom apartment at The Heliconia, on Jalan Daud in Kembangan within District 14, will be put up for auction on March 27. This is an owner’s sale with a guide price of $1.3 million ($998 psf), according to Edmund Tie & Co (ET&Co), which is handling the auction.

The owner, a local, is selling to diversify his real estate portfolio, says Joy Tan, ET&Co’s head of auction and sales.

Completed in 2003, The Heliconia comprises 103 freehold units spread across 10 storeys. It is an 11-minute walk from Kembangan MRT Station, and is next to the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE). To minimise the noise from the PIE, units are fitted with noise-cancelling glass, says Tan. The unit up for auction does not have balconies or bay windows, she adds.

The Heliconia is located in Kembangan and comprises 103 freehold units (Credit: ET&Co)

Given that the development is 16 years old, the unit is in good condition, notes Tan. “The last tenant took good care of the unit, and it is evident that the owner maintained the unit well, such as painting it in between tenancies,” she says. No major renovation has been done for the unit.

The development is close to shopping malls and amenities such as Bedok Mall and Paya Lebar Central where Paya Lebar Square and SingPost Centre are, as well as Lendlease's Paya Lebar Quarter, which will include a new mall with more than 200 stores, Tan highlights. Maha Bodhi School is an 18-minute walk away. There are also coffee shops and a supermarket located at the Eunos and Kembangan HDB estates nearby.

The unit up for auction was previously tenanted for a monthly rental of $3,000. It is currently vacant. “Overall, rental uptake is healthy within the development, with three-bedroom units averaging $2,800 to $3,100 per month, according to caveats lodged [with URA],” says Tan.

She believes that the indicative price of $998 psf is a “draw” as The Heliconia is a freehold development. Comparatively, units at the 99-year leasehold Euhabitat along Jalan Eunos are transacting at $1,100 to $1,300 psf, she points out. Developed by Far East Organization, EuHabitat is a 748-unit development that was completed in 2015 and fully sold.

Adjacent to EuHabitat is The Navian by Roxy-Pacific Holdings. The 48-unit, freehold boutique development was launched in October 2017 and fully sold. Prices have ranged from about $1,500 to $1,667 psf, according to caveats lodged with URA Realis. The project is expected to be completed next year.

The highest psf price fetched at The Heliconia was for a 1,302 sq ft, three-bedroom unit on the fourth floor. The unit was sold for $1,090 psf, or $1.42 million, in November last year.

So far, there has been interest from potential buyers, who are mostly locals looking to purchase it for their own stay, Tan says.

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