Nov 26, 2006
Posh Punggol v 'Ulu' Sengkang
Punggol home owners enjoy higher demand and prices for their flats than their counterparts in nearby Sengkang, which suffers from a poor image
By Sarah Ng
SEPARATED ONLY by the Tampines Expressway, Punggol has fewer amenities like coffee shops, malls, bus services and schools compared to Sengkang, but its better image translates into higher resale value for its flat. -- WANG HUI FEN
In the same year, teacher Marlina Ahmad bought her five-room flat in neighbouring Punggol.
Little did they know that their fates would turn out so differently even though their flats are separated by just the Tampines Expressway (TPE).
Both newly married and first-time home owners, Ms Ong paid $390,000 for her Sengkang executive flat while Ms Marlina's Punggol five-roomer cost $218,000.
Earlier this year, Ms Ong sold her flat for $327,000 - $63,000 less than what she had paid for it. Ms Marlina made $77,000 after selling her flat for $295,000.
A rueful Ms Ong, 32, said: 'I think I'm one of those rare few in Singapore history to lose so much money from buying a new flat from HDB.'
Going by resale prices and interviews with 15 housing agents, flats in Punggol have acquired a cache which their Sengkang cousins lack.
This is despite the fact that Sengkang has more amenities such as coffee shops, shopping malls, bus services and schools.
They say that in real estate, it is all about location. But in this case, it is all about image, said residents and housing agents.
Walk around Punggol and one would be forgiven for mistaking the estate for a condominium. The flats are painted in colour-coordinated shades of sand, mustard or grey. The blocks boast 'lobbies'' with granite cladding and colourful mosaic murals.
Bright flowering plants such as heliconia and canna bloom in the lush, landscaped gardens.
Look up and you see 'condominium' features such as bay windows in the living rooms of the flats. Inside, residents like the 'condo layout', meaning the bedrooms are grouped in a corner away from the living room, providing more privacy.
Even the street names, such as Edgefield Plains and Edgedale Plains, sound posh.
Housewife Mabel Kiew, 34, was so smitten by the 'condo look' of the estate that she waited two extra years for a Punggol flat to be built rather than move into Sengkang. She got her keys to her four-room flat in April.
Others, such as newlyweds Susan Goh and Eric Lim, both 28, like the estate because it 'feels young and new'.
But the 'exclusive' ambience of a private estate does not extend across the TPE. In Sengkang, some blocks are dressed in garish colour combinations - maroon and pink, blue and white, and peach and orange. Only a few blocks have bay windows or the 'condo layout' that Punggol flat owners boast about.
It does not help that there are 1,200 vacant flats in Sengkang - compared to 70 in Punggol. This gives Sengkang the stigma of being an 'ulu' town where nobody wants to live in.
Aircraft engineer Desmond Wong and his wife moved into Block 306B, Anchorvale Link in January, only to find that their block was half empty. Apart from one other neighbour, they were the only ones on the eighth floor.
'We try to be home by about 11pm. And if my wife comes home late, I'll pick her up so she won't have to walk home alone,' said Mr Wong, 28.
The negative perception of Sengkang has certainly driven down the resale value of flats there.
According to HDB's resale transaction records, half of the 12 four-room flats sold in Punggol last month fetched at least $250,000. In Sengkang, only 18 per cent of the 51 flats were sold at $250,000 and above.
MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Charles Chong said this could be because residents had bought the Punggol flats at higher HDB selling prices.
'Punggol is a newer estate and, most likely, it has better finishes and more expensive materials. So maybe that's why the flats are priced higher,' he said.
Sengkang's relative maturity is a double-edged sword. With more flats reaching the five-year minimum occupation period, more are being put on the market for sale.
A check in the past month's Saturday classified ads in The Straits Times shows an average of 360 units for sale in Sengkang. In Choa Chu Kang, another young estate with a similar number of flats, there were 295 flats on sale. Ang Mo Kio, also equivalent in size, had just 99 flats advertised.
A big supply of flats and lukewarm demand mean that Sengkang flats generally take a longer time to sell - about six months, with some flats remaining unsold even after a year, said agents interviewed.
Realtor ERA's division director S. Abdullah Al Hamid said Sengkang flats, by far, are the most difficult to sell, especially the larger units.
He said: 'I can sell a flat in Woodlands, Tampines and Jurong in a month, sometimes even weeks. But in Sengkang, even after six months, there's no guarantee your flat can be sold.'
Some owners had such a hard time finding buyers that they gave up.
Technician K. H. Goh, 34, has been trying to sell his five-roomer for the past year but still had no luck.
'I've changed agents twice and even tried marketing the flat on my own. I really regret buying a flat in Sengkang,' he said.
In Punggol, the small number of flats eligible for resale means they are snapped up fairly quickly - within one to three months, depending on whether they are near amenities such as the LRT station, said the marketing director of ERA Realty Network, Mr Derek Cheng.
But for fitness trainer Tsoi Man Wah, 32, his Sengkang executive flat is a haven, never mind the lack of neighbours.
'My wife and I love the quiet and peace here, and the flat is spacious and nice,' he said.
ngsls@sph.com.sg
ndianah@sph.com.sg
'I can sell a flat in Woodlands, Tampines and Jurong in a month, sometimes even weeks. But in Sengkang, even after six months, there's no guarantee your flat can be sold.'
MR S. ABDULLAH AL HAMID, division director of realtor ERA
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