Options galore for Bishan-Thomson buyers

Options galore for Bishan-Thomson buyers

Property buyers looking in the Bishan and Thomson vicinity are suddenly spoilt for choice.
Two new residential projects are up for sale this weekend - and plenty of units remain unsold at a nearby project launched last year.

A week ago, brisk buying marked the first day of bookings at UOL Group's 445-unit Thomson Three, with 160 units sold.

About 15 minutes away by car, CapitaLand's 694-unit Sky Vue opens for sale today.
So how do the projects compare? Both - on 99-year leases - are close to popular schools such as Raffles Institution, Catholic High and Ai Tong Primary School.

But that is where their similarities seem to end.

The Sky Vue project in Bishan Street 14 is in the town centre - a stone's throw from Bishan MRT station and Junction 8 mall.

Thomson Three is in a quiet private housing estate, next to a cluster of landed homes.
On transport, she said Sky Vue trumps Thomson Three as residents benefit from developed nodes as soon as they move in.

Thomson Three's nearest MRT station will be ready only in 2020.
Inconvenience from the Thomson Line construction may depress rentals there.
Units at Sky Vue cost $1,380 per sq ft (psf) to $1,550 psf. Thomson Three's are about $1,350 psf.

Although price tags of one-bedders at both projects are similar, bigger units at Thomson Three are costlier. For example, a two-bedder at Sky Vue starts at $852,000, while a similar unit at Thomson Three starts at $945,000. The unit mix is different too.

At Sky Vue, one- and two-bedders - ranging from 484 to 926 sq ft - make up 74 per cent of the project, while such units make up 51 per cent of Thomson Three. Smaller units at Sky Vue are expected to draw rental interest from expatriates relocating to the city fringes, as it is near the MRT.

Buyers looking at the area will also find, next to Sky Vue, 336 unsold units at CapitaLand's other project Sky Habitat. Sales at the 509-unit project have been tepid, with an average of $1,589 psf.

But a 6 per cent discount introduced in July may turn buying attention back to the project, which was launched in April last year. The unsold units include one- to four-bedders and penthouses.

Source: The Straits Times –28 September 2013