Having viewed a number of ECs in the last few weeks, it seems that the developments with a fewer number of units (lower-density) generally tend to be older ones.
More recently-built ECs tend to have a larger number of units, which one would assume to mean living in more cramped surroundings.
Happily, I’ve found that with good architecture and urban planning, a higher-density condo can still feel very spacious and not crowded.
Hence, I decided to extend my search from ECs with under 400 units (and duplex units of over 2000 sq ft) to all the ECs with over 400 units that were built before the government restricted the maximum EC unit size to 1722 sq ft.
To aid anyone else who happens to be in the same boat as me, I’ve compiled a quick overview of all 27 such ECs in the table below (the 9 ECs that have duplex or dumbbell-layout units of over 2000 sq ft in size on sale at the time of writing have been highlighted):
27 ECs with over 400 units completed before 2016
EC
Notes
District
Developer
Completion
Units
Forestville
It has big units over 2,000 sq ft in size. Some are single-level units with dumbbell layouts, perfect for families who prefer living on the same floor but want privacy nonetheless.
D25: Admiralty/Woodlands
Hao Yuan Investment Pte Ltd
2016
653
The Topiary
There is 1 single-floor unit over 2,000 sq ft, with a dumbbell layout, on sale.
D28: Seletar/Yio Chu Kang
Peak Living Pte Ltd
2016
700
Twin Fountains
It has large single-floor units with a dumbbell layout that are more than 2,000 sq ft in size.
D25: Admiralty/Woodlands
FCL Admiralty Pte. Ltd
2016
418
Citylife@Tampines (reviewed below)
I believe it has the largest EC unit ever built (a 404 sqm Sky Suite).
D18: Pasir Ris/Tampines
Tampines EC Pte Ltd
2016
514
1 Canberra
D27: Sembawang/Yishun
MCC Land (Singapore) Pte Ltd
2015
665
Twin Waterfalls
The duplex unit appears to have no bedrooms on the upper floor.
D19: Punggol/Hougang/ Sengkang
Fraser Centrepoint
2015
728
The Rainforest
There is a duplex penthouse over 2,000 sq ft for sale but without a room on the upper level.
D23: Dairy Farm/Bukit Panjang/Choa Chu Kang
Camborne Developments Pte
2015
466
The Tampines Trilliant
D18: Pasir Ris/Tampines
Sim Lian (Tampines EC) Pte. Ltd.
2015
670
WaterColours
D18: Pasir Ris/Tampines
HUGE Development Pte Ltd
2014
416
Blossom Residences
D23: Dairy Farm/Bukit Panjang/Choa Chu Kang
Grand Isle Holdings Pte Ltd
2014
602
Arc at Tampines
D18: Pasir Ris/Tampines
Hoi Hup Sunway Tampines Pte Ltd
2014
574
RiverParc Residence
There is a duplex over 2,000 sq ft for sale but with no room on the upper floor. Moreover, the experiences of some homeowners published by the Straits Times make this development a definite no for me.
D19: Punggol/ Hougang/ Seng Kang
Qingjian Realty (Punggol) Pte Ltd
2014
504
Austville Residences
D19: Punggol/Hougang/Sengkang
MaxLee Development Pte Ltd
2014
540
The Canopy
D27: Sembawang/Yishun
MCC Land (Singapore) Pte Ltd
2014
406
Esparina Residences
D19: Punggol/Hougang/Sengkang
Frasers Centerpoint Homes and Lum Chang Group
2013
573
Privé
D19: Punggol/ Hougang/Sengkang
Punggol Field EC Pte Ltd
2013
680
La Casa
D25: Admiralty/Woodlands
Far East Organization
2008
444
The Quintet
If you want to live in an EC in West Singapore and need a ton of living space, this is the EC for you – it has units over 3,000 sq ft in size.
D23: Dairy Farm/Bukit Panjang/Choa Chu Kang
Frasers Centrepoint Homes
2006
459
The Eden
D18: Pasir Ris/Tampines
Tampines Condominium Pte Ltd
2003
430
The Floravale
There is a single-level penthouse of over 2,300 sq ft with a 5m high ceiling on sale.
D22: Boon Lay/Jurong/Tuas
CapitaLand Residential
2000
794
Woodsvale
There is a duplex penthouse of over 2000sf listed
D25: Admiralty/Woodlands
CapitaLand Residential
2000
696
Northoaks
D25: Admiralty/Woodlands
Hong Leong Holdings Ltd
2000
720
The Florida
D19: Punggol/Hougang/Sengkang
City Developments Limited
2000
496
The Rivervale
Only 1 listing for sale! (I associate a low number of units being listed with happy occupants i.e. a good development!)
D19: Punggol/ Hougang/ Seng Kang
St Rivervale Pte Ltd (Singapore Technologies Properties Pte Ltd)
2000
671
Summerdale
D22: Boon Lay/Jurong/Tuas
Boon Lay Executive Condominiums Pte Ltd
2000
432
Yew Mei Green
D23: Dairy Farm/Bukit Panjang/Choa Chu Kang
NTUC Choice Homes Co-operative Ltd
2000
712
Simei Green
D18: Pasir Ris/Tampines
NTUC Choice Homes Co-operative Ltd
1999
602
My Citylife @ Tampines review
I decided to view Citylife @ Tampines first as it’s infamous for large units & the long house hunt has made my Mom and I realise that 1 of our top priorities for our new home is more space. (An older friend once told me that the more units you view, the better you’ll understand your living requirements, and I’ve found this to be very true – each viewing has helped me refine my idea of my ideal flat just that little bit more.)
To be honest, I wasn’t overly optimistic about this EC at first. A life-long West-side-living Singaporean, I’d been toying with the idea of trying something new and moving East till I visited The Esparis.
I found the drive there a pain and the developments very closely built together. (I spoke to a friend who works in logistics and was told that Pasir Ris is always jammed due to the cargo trucks on their way to the airport, so the congestion I experienced wasn’t a one-off!)
Thankfully, I didn’t have any such issues with Citylife @ Tampines. The drive was pleasant and the area around the development was surprisingly open. There is the 9.6 hectare Sun Plaza Park next to Citylife@Tampines, as well as green fields, the Trilliant (another EC), and the ubiquitous (in Singapore, at least) construction site. (I understand from the agent that the government is building some BTO flats nearby.)<img alt="" data-caption="Look at how uncluttered that drive-in is!
PHOTO: Stackedhomes” data-entity-type=”file” data-entity-uuid=”cf9f0a8e-d463-426d-80e4-87ac781589d4″ src=”/sites/default/files/inline-images/citylife%20_%20tampines%20driveway.jpg”/>If you’ve been following my house hunting series, you’ll realize that I’ve viewed a couple of ECs now and Citylife @ Tampines is by far the “poshest” of the lot. (For one, I had no problems with the turn-in, the car park, or the lift, unlike when I viewed The Pearl @ Mount Faber and Windermere !)<img alt="" data-caption="Parking is a breeze when the car park lanes are so wide
PHOTO: Stackedhomes” data-entity-type=”file” data-entity-uuid=”d7074116-af38-4889-8921-5e2495955c0c” src=”/sites/default/files/inline-images/citylife%20_%20tampines%20car%20park.jpg”/>So I wasn’t surprised to read that it was billed as a “luxury hotel-style” development, with over 90 per cent of the units selling out within two days from launch (the developers apparently received over 1800 applications for the 514 units). I’d say they definitely delivered on their promises!
If you’re wondering why Citylife was so popular at its launch, Tampines traditionally has more HDB estates than condos. Moreover, most of the condos in Tampines are closer to Bedok Reservoir, etc, and there is quite a limited selection of condos within the vicinity of the town centre and MRT. There also aren’t many residential plots of land left in this area, according to the URA Masterplan.
Do note that The Trilliant, another EC which MOP-ed about 1 year before Citylife @ Tampines, is right next door, so you may want to compare the prices of both developments if you’re looking at things from an investment perspective. In my opinion, the facilities and landscaping at Citylife @ Tampines are much nicer!<img alt="" data-caption="This building wasn’t signposted so I assume it’s the generator or something of that sort- when so much thought is put into beautifying random spaces, the whole development feels much more luxurious.
PHOTO: Stackedhomes” data-entity-type=”file” data-entity-uuid=”11dde4e6-341d-4de0-81f0-0ee990de60f9″ src=”/sites/default/files/inline-images/citylife%20_%20tampines%20generator.jpg”/>Of the 514 units at Citylife @ Tampines, 16 are penthouses: some are duplex units with bedrooms on both floor, whilst others are duplex units with a dumbbell layout on the first floor and pure open terrace on the upper. (I viewed one of each type.
There are also dual-key units that some multi-generational families may prefer but I didn’t view these as the extra kitchen would be a waste of space for us (my Mom has yet to master the art of anything more than boiling water and making coffee!)
( FYI there’s usually a price premium for dual-key units as well .) Both offer multi-generational families the privacy they require for harmonious living: in fact, I watched an old news feature on YouTube in which the developer said that they specifically built super large units to allow for 3 generations to stay under one roof.
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Despite being one of the condos with the largest number of units that I’ve viewed to date, Citylife @ Tampines didn’t feel densely populated at all. I took a tour of the entire development and there weren’t many people using the facilities or walking around the grounds, despite it being a weekend.
Fun fact: (according to the agent who showed me around) developments in East Singapore are mandated to be under 15 stories due to the planes flying overhead – this helps mitigate the effects of high-density developments as you won’t be sharing your lift with so many people.
(I had the lift all to myself on all my journeys.) Moreover, although Citylife @ Tampines borders other high-rise developments (the Trilliant, for one), the developer has thoughtfully planted bamboo trees along the fence and paths, providing more privacy as well as a beautiful and shady place to walk along during the day.<img alt="" data-caption="I only saw one other person walking around the grounds!
PHOTO: Stackedhomes” data-entity-type=”file” data-entity-uuid=”d5f25742-ec1e-41ad-9483-56bc3afde04e” src=”/sites/default/files/inline-images/citylife%20_%20tampines%20grounds.jpg”/>Nonetheless, my house hunt has not come to an end as the dumbbell unit that I viewed had too much space devoted to the roof terrace (50 per cent – I like a large balcony only when I have enough interior living space!) and the owner of the duplex unit only allowed me to view half the flat! I’m not sure about you, but I need to see the entire place before handing over millions of hard-earned $$!
I’m wondering if some people don’t though as this isn’t an isolated viewing incident: previously, I’d viewed a unit only to find out after the viewing that what you see isn’t what you get. Apparently, the owner had made some illegal (i.e. non-MCST approved) changes to the flat that she was planning to take down before handing over the flat to the buyer.
However, you don’t actually get to see the final version of the flat till after you’ve bought the flat. (And I wasn’t even told about this till I asked a question and the topic came up! I won’t bore you with the long list of my weird viewing experiences but, to me, such seller behaviour is symptomatic of how hot the Singaporean property market is at the moment!)
I’ll keep an eye out for new listings at Citylife @ Tampines but, in the meantime, have scheduled several more EC viewings which I’ll share with you next week!
What I liked:
Beautiful grounds and facilities: it has a 100m infinity pool!
Some external facing units have totally unblocked views (but do check the masterplan to see if anything’s going to be built there in the near future !)
Close to schools, ranging from primary to tertiary, both local and international (UWC) (proximity to schools provides me with a reassurance that it wouldn’t be too difficult to sell or rent out the unit in future, if needs be), but the educational institutions are not so close that you can look right into them
One of the few Tampines condos that is close the MRT and temporary bus interchange (7-8 minutes walk)
The MCST is quite hardworking: they’ve installed sanitiser dispensers in the lift lobbies (They’ve also equipped security with on-body cameras, which I understand some people dislike.)
The MCST is also very generous when it comes to penthouse units: some MCSTs make you fight tooth-and-nail to build anything on your roof terrace, but I saw several penthouse units with almost the entire upper terrace enclosed! (This might be a negative if you’re not a penthouse owner though, as the penthouses would be getting “cheap” living space since outdoor space is traditionally discounted by 50per cent during valuation- i.e. the penthouse owner gets an extra room at 50per cent of the price by building a a cover over their roof terrace)
The units I saw had 2 doors, so it would be possible to build your own dual-key (without paying the premium developers traditionally charge for dual-key units)
Bright units
What’s not so good:
Surrounded by roads and see-through balconies, the ground floor units have 0 privacy (and probably suffer from quite a bit of road pollution as well)- quite a few of the ground floor units had their blinds completely down when I walked around the development in the afternoon. (In comparison, the ground floor units at Trilliant are elevated by 5 steps and have a solid half-wall for the ground floor balconies.)<img alt="" data-caption="The green hedge is the border of the Citylife @ Tampines so you’d be able to see (and hear) the construction site from your ground floor patio if this is your facing- I also counted several heavy trucks passing by in 10 minutes, so there would probably be some pollution as well.
PHOTO: Stackedhomes” data-entity-type=”file” data-entity-uuid=”bdced367-e2ca-446c-a8ed-5d766860f623″ src=”/sites/default/files/inline-images/citylife%20_%20tampines%20green%20hedge.jpg”/><img alt="" data-caption="Note how all the ground floor units have their blinds fully drawn- ground floor units are dark enough as it is, I can’t imagine what they would be like with all the blinds down!
PHOTO: Stackedhomes” data-entity-type=”file” data-entity-uuid=”ca648eea-a4e7-4a5c-a251-0d6186217e52″ src=”/sites/default/files/inline-images/citylife%20_%20tampines%20ground%20floor%20unit.jpg”/>The balconies on the lower floor of the penthouse units have open roofs, so it may be tricky installing invisible grille on them (you’d need to consult an expert, which I am not!)
Playground seems a little small for 514 units (I only saw one on my tour). On the plus side, it’s the only condo playground that I’ve seen with a sand pit, and it wasn’t overly crowded on my visit.
Next to a plot of land earmarked for Healthcare purposes (part of the government’s plan to decentralise medical care)
See you again next week as I continue on my elusive house hunt!
This article was first published in Stackedhomes.
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