Background of Project
Built upon a large landmass of ~680,000sqft of land, Normanton Park offers a suburban feel in an affluent enclave that is 16 mins walk away from Kent Ridge MRT, in the Queenstown Planning area. When this modern and thoughtfully designed condo was launched, it was the talk of the town due to its sheer size, the number of units (totaling 1862), and its myriad of facilities available that make your maintenance fee worth every cent.
This is a 99 years leasehold condominium situated in district 5, with 1862 units and 8 commercial shops. The development has anything from 1BR to 5BR to even landed strata houses and the expected TOP date is 2023. We are looking at a mega project of 9 tall blocks with full condominium facilities.
The land is garnered from an En-Bloc or collective sale from the previous owners of the project that is also known as Normanton Park. Kingsford hurray won the close door bid for $830.1 million, and since it’s closed-door, we are unsure of the other bids placed. In addition, Kingsford also paid an estimated $231.1 million to top up the lease to 99 years and also the fee of about $283.4 million to redevelop the site to the maximum permissible gross floor area.
Normanton Park Condominium Fact Sheet
Property Type: Private Condominium
Tenure: 99 years leasehold wef. 22 July 2019
Address: 1 – 88 Normanton Park
TOP: 2023
Site Area: 61,408.31 sqm / 660,999 sqft
Blocks: 9
Units: 1,862 Residential Units and 8 Commercial Units
Floors: 24
Developer: Kingsford Huray Development Pte. Ltd.
Estimated breakeven price and the developer’s bio
Our estimated breakeven psf ppr is $1516. With an estimated modest 15% margin, it will be $1743psf.
The developer, Kingsford, is no stranger to developing mega projects.
Notably, they have developed Kingsford Hillview Peak that have 512 units and also Kingsford Waterbay with 1165 units.
Even though this is not their first mega project, the Controller of Housing issued a no-sale licence for the project on Jan 15 2019, “as the company had failed to meet the requirements for a sale licence”, according to an Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) spokesman.
After investigation, it was found that some building works such as windows, barriers and common storey shelter “had deviated from requirements under the Building Control Act and Regulations”.
However, Kingsford was quick to react to this negative news, and brought in a new construction company, China Jingye, which is a subsidiary of MCC Land, to finish construction for Normanton Park. China Jingye is well known for its sustainability efforts and is well received in Northern China, where it was awarded the 2017 Most Influential Responsible Brand of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. In Singapore, China Jingye has won Gold award in “Project Category” and Platinum in “BCA Green Mark” category. Previous projects completed by China Jingye in Singapore includes Queens Peak, The Alps Residences and The Poiz.
Sale licence was finally awarded to Kingsford for Normanton Park by the Comptroller of Housing on 30th Nov 2020 but under the conditions of the sale licence, all units within the condominium must pass the Quality Mark inspection by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) before being issued the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP).
Growth potential of project
In the vicinity of Normanton Park, there are other 2 residential plots that are subjected to details planning and also multiple smaller plot of commercial lands across the street along Portsdown Road and One North Ave. This means that URA has plans to further develop the area. However, these developments will not take place in the near future as they are not mentioned in the Master Plan 2019.
That said, taller condos might be built in the future and these might block your otherwise unhindered view when you first move into Normanton Park. Be aware of this point.
In the shorter term, Normanton Park investors can seek to tap on the existing tenant pool found within the One North Region with its development and established companies and institutions. White collars from one-North in the life sciences, tech industries, media industry, start up and even NUS academics will form the tenant pool. With the limited supply around the Buona Vista region, we expect potential long term lease lock in with these groups of tenants. We expect good tenant pool mix and healthy rental rates.
In the medium term, spillover effects from Jurong when Jurong Innovation District, with its first phase of development finish in 2022 (expect some delays), will be positive. This is because Jurong is touted as the “2nd CBD of Singapore”, and so Normanton Park, being just 3-4 MRT stops away, might prove to be a hot place to stay/rent for those working in Jurong.
Looking further ahead, the development down south at Greater Southern Waterfront will come alive post 2040. Together with the Waterfront Promenade and Eco Corridor found south of Normanton Park, we predict this will be positively impact Normanton Park, leading to capital gains at the later stage in about 20-25 years’ time.
Unique Selling Points
Normanton Park, being a mega development, has a large landscape swimming pool, and a resort-style feel to it that is quite different from other projects in the vicinity. It also has Kent Ridge Park as its backyard for nature lovers that love to stroll along parks, and is also relatively near to Mount Faber for sight-seeing trips on the weekends.
Kent Ridge Park
However, Normanton Park is not school-going friendly. As there is no primary school to be found within 1km radius. There are only 2 primary schools within 2km, namely Fairfield Methodist Primary School and New Town Primary School. Fairfield being a good school is hard to get in even in the 1km radius, so do not place high hopes on getting into the school if you live in Normanton Park.
Comparison vis-à-vis new launch in the vicinity
In just less than 8 months of sales since launch, Normanton Park has sold 60% of units till date. The main competitor in the vicinity is Kent Ridge Hill Residences which launched about 2.5 years ago. 1 Bedder at Normanton Park (from 517 to 700sqft) starts from $951k and till date, 51.2% are sold. There is no comparison with Kent Ridge Hill Residences as there is no 1 bedder to be found, making Normanton Park the sole option for those who wish to invest in a 1 bedder in this region.
For 2bedroom, Normanton Park has units from 657-980 sqft, starting from $1.356 mil. Units are selling like hotcakes, with 90.7% of sold till date. Kent Ridge Hill has 2BR for sale from 743 to 797 sqft, starting from $1.465mil, with 95.7% sold.
For 3 bedrooms, 904 to 1249 sqft, starting from $1.561 million and has 34% unit sold. In comparison,
Kent Ridge Hill has 3BR, 883 to 1076sqft, starting from $1.746mil, with 67% sold.
Lastly, for 4 bedrooms, Normanton Park has units 1195 to 1453sqf starting from $2.111 million with 25% sold, while Kent Ridge Hill has 4BR penthouse units 1518 to 1927sqf starting from $2.748mil with 66% units sold.
Comparison vis-à-vis resale condo in the vicinity
Down at nearby Depot Rd, we have The Interlace (TOP 2013) as a resale comparison with Normanton Park.
Pulling figures from online portals, it is found that:
Exit Strategy
Once one-North is fully developed and Jurong Business District becomes operational, expect positive spillover effects from these urban areas to reinforce Normanton Park’s price by then. Judging from the historical trend of The Interlace and if history repeats itself, then mid-term exit investors can look to gain from the sales of Normanton Park, just like in the case of The Interlace.
For longer-term exit investors, For the long-term exit investors, bank on the Greater Southern Waterfront to positively impact Normanton Park’s prices. Also, one can hope that government will release the land and developers will bid for the nearby undeveloped residential plots in the future at higher price, thus leading to increase in price for Normanton Park due to the higher valuation of surrounding nearby land from future land sales. This could prove to be healthy capital gains for longer-term investors.
Analysis
For buyers that are looking to own a new project in the Buona Vista/one-North/Kent Ridge vicinity, either as an investment or own stay that will be ready in the recent future, one can consider getting a unit in Normanton Park, at cheaper psf and absolute price than that of Kent Ridge Hill Residences, or the resale unit in The Interlace, due to The Interlace’s bigger unit size.
If you can wait and are also willing to take the risk of a potentially higher price but for a project that is nearer to the Buona Vista MRT station, there are two land plots upcoming along Slim Barrack Rise just opposite of One-North Eden.
Conclusion
In short, looking at the demand especially for 1BR and 2BR, our subjective view is that Normanton Park can serve as a good investment for growth in the medium term due to the lower absolute price as compared to the new and even resale units in the region. Rental turnover should be healthy given the proximity to the one-North region but you will have much competition from other landlords in Normanton Park for tenants, come TOP.
For longer term own stay buyer, Normanton Park will be comfortable to stay due to numerous facilities found. And if you like very high floor units, comparing the other condo in the region, only Normanton park have tower blocks that goes up to 24th storey
For the short-term investor looking to flip, we here at Home Quarters advocate and believe that you should at least be able to hold on to an investment unit for the medium term but if market condition is good to sell off in the short-term, you can choose to do so. Looking at short term, we anticipate heightened competition among investor sellers that want to exit quickly considering there are 1150 units of 1 and 2 bedroom in Normanton Park!
Contact us
The above is the analysis for Normanton Park, a mega project in district 5. For more information and advice, just contact Home Quarters by going over to www.homequarters.com.sg or send us an email at homequarterssg@gmail.com or visit our social media on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram or call K.C. Ng at 88092889. Remember, for all your real estate needs, call home quarters and start packing!
