Introduction
Staying in Tampines for the past 25 years has given me good insights in regards to how a development will usually perform in regards to its location and nearby amenities as a contributing factor. If you are a Singaporean, I am confident that you are very familiar with regards to Tampines Round Market and Food Centre, the mega lifestyle hub, Tampines Hub, and the three accompanying shopping centers, Tampines Mall, Century Square and Tampines One.
These are all fantastic additions to Tampines as a regional center that is appreciated by all Tampines residents!
Information on nearby amenities is easily found on the internet and we will not be focusing on it. Rather, we will elaborate on other factors that can potentially benefit you as a homeowner or landlord.
The Treasure at Tampines developer is Sim Lian Group Limited, which is by now a household brand in the real estate industry. The developer have a strong base of projects in Tampines such as The Tampines Trilliant and Central 8 at Tampines.
As of the date of writing – 20th May 2020, Treasure at Tampines have well sold over 51% of its total units. That is an impressive total of 1145 units sold to date, which is an impressive feat for a development of this size! The 1 Bedroom and 1 Bedroom + Study units are fully sold too. That being said, let us go in further into review on Treasure at Tampines.
UPDATE: As of 30 August 2020, Treasure at Tampines transactions have totalled to 67.18% of units sold! This means that over the course of 3 months, an additional 356 units have been transacted!
This leaves with 723 Treasure at Tampines balance units still waiting to be sold.
UPDATE: As of 21 July 2021, Treasure at Tampines is 92.69% sold. 1 Bedroom and 2 Bedroom Types are all fully sold, and at the present 3 Bedroom, 4 Bedroom and 5 Bedroom types are currently available.
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What Makes it Attractive?
Good Connectivity
In addition to being situated around Tampines South Flyover, which makes it very well connected to Pan Island Expressway (PIE), Treasure at Tampines location is in close proximity to Tampines West (DT31) and walking distance of 10-15 minutes to Simei (EW3) MRT station. This makes it convenient for career professionals that will have to travel into the heart of Singapore. Taking the PIE will roughly translate to around 20 minutes of travel.
Less Competition and Attractive Rental Pool
This is an area in Tampines that have been long neglected of a new condominium development. Take a closer look at the orange blips, which are condominiums located in Tampines and Simei. The brown blip is Arc at Tampines, an Executive Condominium which will enter into privatization late this year. This cluster will result in strong competition for tenants, but a good tradeoff is that is connected close to Bartley flyover. This is a major road and it runs parallel to PIE.
South-east of the Treasure at Tampines, there are many Simei condominiums and the northeast consists of Changi freehold condominiums. These condominiums are built before 2010 and might not be as appealing for tenants who are looking for a modern offering.
Older condominiums are not often chosen by tenants for rental as housing allowances are usually provided by their companies, and the amount can be rather generous.
UPDATE (21 July 2021): You might be worried about the current rental situation caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. I will like to reassure you that although total rental transactions are at an all-time low since 2012, transacted PSF has been extremely resilient and even higher as compared to 2020.
Since Treasure at Tampines is located away from the cluster of private development located west of Temasek Polytechnic, it will avoid strong rental competition from these other recently developed condominiums. Tampines Avenue 1, which sits beside Temasek Polytechnic, will have heavy traffic congestion during rush hour, as it is connected to Bartley flyover.
What solidifies Treasure at Tampines location as a good spot for rentals is because it sits closely towards the Simei area, and it provides a potential pool of tenants of healthcare workers from Changi General Hospital and professionals from Changi Business Park and Airline Staff form Changi Airport who prefer a more recent development.
This does not imply that its location is not ideal for people working within Tampines, as homeowners/tenants can easily reach Tampines Central in approximately 10 short minutes by car through Tampines Avenue 5.
The condominium cluster close to Temasek Polytechnic already provides good supply of units for foreign students who might be attending the school. Furthermore, their budget might be lower which makes them not an ideal target as tenants.
Tampines is one of Singapore’s first regional centre and has been successful in maintaining an enduring, vibrant community.
“Tampines (spilling over to Changi Business Park) – strength is due to the good town positioning of Tampines area, and suburban offices and business parks. It took decades for Tampines to establish and affirm its positioning and this has to a certain extent lifted the commercial vibes of the place to draw new demand for suburban homes.”
- Ong Kah Seng, Director of R’ST Research
128 Private Condominium Facilities
Treasure at Tampines boasts a huge number of facilities within the compound, where the next condominium with a similar quantity is The Florence Residences, in Hougang Avenue 2. The sheer number of facilities leads us to our next point which no doubt impresses me further. This makes it a very attractive choice for tenants who can enjoy this huge selection.
Low Maintenance Fees
At an estimated $150/month for 1 Bedroom to $240/month for 5 Bedroom, Treasure at Tampines maintenance fees are very low considering the size of the development. This is even lower as compared to some smaller new launches, where maintenance fees can easily start from $200/month upwards for 1 Bedroom.
Drawback
Noise Pollution
The Treasure at Tampines site plan shows that it is located close to Tampines South Flyover, and this might contribute to some noise. However, the traffic usually is not heavy enough in that area to be of great annoyance. I will recommend that you choose a unit that is closer to Tampines Street 11 as it is a small, one-lane street with little traffic.
Internal Rental Competition
With a huge development size of over 2200 units, there will be steep internal competition from Treasure at Tampines itself. If you are looking towards buying this development as an investment property, I strongly suggest that you opt for good family-sized units like the 4 Bedroom. Having a bigger sized rental property aims to provide more lease stability as your tenants will stay in there for longer periods of time as compared to the 1 Bedroom and 2 Bedroom types. Usually, I will recommend the 3 Bedroom type as an investment property, however, this type comprises of almost 35% of the total number of units, and will most likely have steep competition.
In the event that you are unable to source for a tenancy, you and your family can move in as it is a good-sized unit meant for long term occupation by families.
Treasure at Tampines Price?
This will always be a disadvantage for new launches, but it is important to adopt the right mindset in regards to what contributes to the price quantum/PSF.
I feel that Treasure at Tampines is priced competitively, and taking into consideration the numerous benefits, its intrinsic value far exceeds its price. The long term costs are also low as the maintenance fees are very manageable.
Considering that the land was purchased at $676 PSF by Sim Lian Group which ~35% is included for their profits and, coupled with an estimated $400 PSF for construction costs as Treasure at Tampines is a huge development, it all adds up to be $1313 PSF, which is close to the average asking price of $1346 PSF.
Mortgage Repayment Numbers
This price on a 4 Bedroom (1238 sqft) is at $1,534,000. In the view that this will most likely be purchased by investors who have an existing property count, we will be adding in 12% ABSD, which is the tax for this purchase being the second count for Singaporeans. Legal Fees of $2,000 will be the rough average.
The bank loan interest rate is currently based on fixed loan rates given at this point and is subjected to changes.
Take note that these numbers are only for illustration and are not finalized.
The following progressive schedule payments provide you with a rough estimate on when the payments will be made. Take note that these numbers are only for illustration and are not finalized.
Summary
Staying in Treasure at Tampines is a fantastic choice for both homeowners and landlords.
For homeowners, Treasure at Tampines can be a rather reachable goal for HDB flat upgraders as the price for a Treasure at Tampines unit is not as high as compared to new developments located closer to the city center.
Treasure at Tampines still offers great connectivity across the island with Tampines South Flyover nearby, linking to PIE and easily accessible MRT stations within walking distance.
For landlords, you should not discredit this property because of its leasehold status as its location is well poised to bring about an excellent tenant pool and strategic location as it is not within the highly competitive condominium cluster located along Tampines Avenue 1.
Treasure at Tampines condominium facilities can surely contribute as a draw factor for potential tenants and its low maintenance fees are surprising in comparison to the size of the project. This is an advantage for homeowners/landlords too as its low maintenance fees help to provide good cashflow by reducing liabilities.
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