Back in December 2017, Allgreen Properties purchased three sites in the Bukit Timah area. These three sites are being developed into Fourth Avenue Residences, Juniper Hill and Royalgreen. Fourth Avenue Residences was one of the first new project launches for 2019 and I did a review of it previously. Here is the review:

Juniper Hill was launched in July 2019 and Royalgreen was launched in the first half of October 2019.

Details about the developments

Royalgreen is a freehold development by Allgreen Properties. It will be built on the site of the former Royalville. Allgreen Properties acquired the freehold site through a collective sale tender and paid SGD$477.94 million. There were a total of nine bids from local and foreign developers for the former Royalville with most of the bids coming well above the asking price of SGD$368 million. This works out to a land rate of about SGD$1,960 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). Royalville was completed in the mid-1980s and comprised of 55 apartments, 38 maisonettes and 11 shops sitting on a land area of 16,181.5 square meters or 174,176 square feet with a gross plot ratio of 1.4. Each apartment owner received between SGD$3.09 million and SGD$3.76 million. The maisonette owners each received between SGD$5.42 million and SGD$6.64 million. The shop owners received between SGD$5.67 to SGD$10.38 million each. In place of Royalville, Royalgreen will comprise of 8 blocks of 5-storey residential flats with a total of 285 units. The development is expected to be completed in December 2022. Here are the unit types:

2 bedroom, 635 to 721 square feet
2 bedroom premium, 667 to 721 square feet
2 bedroom + study, 721 to 829 square feet
2 bedroom + guest, 807 square feet
3 bedroom, 980 to 990 square feet
3 bedroom + study, 1066 to 1076 square feet
4 bedroom + study, 1259 square feet
4 bedroom premium, 1432 to 1475 square feet

Juniper Hill is a freehold development by the same developer. It will be built on the site of the former Crystal Towers. Allgreen Properties acquired the freehold site through a collective sale at around the same time as Royalville. They paid SGD$180.65 million which was the highest out of a total of twelve bids from other developers. This works out to a land rate of about SGD$1,840 psf ppr. Built in the 1970s, Crystal Towers consisted of 28-units on a site of 5,619 square meters or 60,482 square feet. Each apartment owner was paid between SGD$6 million to SGD$6.6 million and the penthouse owner was paid SGD$12.3 million. In place of Crystal Towers, Juniper Hill will be a single block of residential flats over 12 storeys consisting of 115 units. The development is expected to be completed in March 2022. Here are the unit types:

2 bedroom, 581 to 635 square feet
2 bedroom premium, 657 to 721 square feet
3 bedroom, 915 and 958 square feet
3 bedroom + study, 1044 and 1109 square feet
4 bedroom, 1819 and 1884 square feet
4 bedroom + study, 1970 square feet
5 bedroom 2217 square feet

Where are the developments located?

Royalgreen Location Map

Royalgreen is located along the main Bukit Timah Road and its entrance is along Anamalai Avenue. It is located just a short walk away from Sixth Avenue MRT Station. According to Google Maps, the walk to Sixth Avenue MRT Station will take 5 minutes and the distance covered will be 350 meters.

The walk to Sixth Avenue MRT Station from Royalgreen

I had previously gone through the time taken to travel via MRT from Sixth Avenue MRT Station to Raffles Place MRT Station and Orchard Road MRT Station as well as the drive from this area to Raffles Place and Orchard Road in my review of Fourth Avenue Residences. You can view the travelling times here:

My review of Fourth Avenue Residences

Juniper Hill Location Map

Juniper Hill is located along Ewe Boon Road. You can get to Juniper Hill by turning into Keng Chin Road just off the main Bukit Timah Road. According to Google Maps, the walk to Stevens MRT Station will take 10 minutes and the distance covered will be about 800 meters. The walk is relatively unsheltered as you will have to walk along Keng Chin Road and along the pathway parallel to Bukit Timah Road to get to Stevens MRT Station.

The walk to Stevens MRT Station from Juniper Hill

Stevens MRT Station is located along the Downtown Line is easily connected to the city centre. A good point to note would be that Stevens MRT Station will be a future interchange between the existing Downtown Line and the future Thomson-East Coast MRT Line. The Stevens Station along the Thomson-East Coast MRT Line will open under stage 3 in 2021.

If you are travelling to Raffles Place MRT Station, it will take you 10 minutes. You will have to switch train lines to get to the North-South or East-West Line and it will cost you SGD$1.13. I do think that the more direct route would be to travel along the Downtown Line and make a switch to the East-West Line at Bugis MRT Station. The search result on the LTA Transport App threw out this result.

Stevens MRT Station to Raffles Place MRT Station

If you are travelling to Orchard MRT Station, it will take you about 4 minutes over two stations. You will need to take one station down to Newton MRT Station to get onto the North-South Line and take another station down to Orchard MRT Station. It will cost you SGD$0.83. In future, you can travel along the Thomson-East Coast Line to get to Orchard MRT Station as it will be on the same Thomson-East Coast Line as Stevens MRT Station. The MRT Station should be ready before Juniper Hill is completed.

Stevens MRT Station to Orchard MRT Station

If you are driving to Raffles Place, it will take you about 14 minutes and the distance covered will be about 6.8 kilometres. Do note that my Google Maps query was done late at night when traffic conditions were optimal. Do factor in additional time when travelling during the usual peak hour traffic.

The drive to Raffles Place from Juniper Hill

If you are driving to Orchard Road, it will take about 7 minutes and the distance travelled will be about 7 minutes. Once again, do factor in additional time for peak hour traffic.

The drive to Orchard Road from Juniper Hill

The selling points of the developments

The main selling point for Royalgreen is the fact that it is a freehold condominium located very close to Sixth Avenue MRT Station. The closest development to Sixth Avenue MRT Station is Fourth Avenue Residences but then that is a 99-year leasehold development. For those who are looking for a new project launch that is close to an MRT Station along Bukit Timah Road, then Royalgreen should be one of their main considerations.

The main selling point for Juniper Hill is also the fact that it the fact that Stevens MRT Station will be an interchange in the future. Juniper Hill is also a freehold development but then there are also many other freehold developments around Juniper Hill. Some closer to Stevens MRT Station.

Another selling point for Juniper Hill will be that it is located within a 1-kilometre radius of 2 very prestigious primary schools, Singapore Chinese Girls Primary School and Anglo-Chinese School (Primary). This will allow priority for children living in Juniper Hill to gain entry into these schools.

A selling point for both properties, similar to what I mentioned in my review of Fourth Avenue Residences, is that the Downtown Line intersects the Circle Line, the North-South Line, the North-East Line and the East-West Line. It provides extremely easy access to just about every corner of Singapore. Moreover, the Downtown Line leads commuters directly into the central business district. In time to come, there will also be an interchange between the Downtown Line and the upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line at Stevens MRT Station. This will further improve connectivity.

My thoughts about the developments

Fourth Avenue Residences, Juniper Hill and Royalgreen are all part of Allgreen’s Bukit Timah collection. These three plots of land were acquired about the same period of time. December 2017 was perhaps close to the peak of the last property cycle and developers were extremely bullish when it came to bidding for land. The prices which they paid for these plots of land clearly reflected the bullish nature of the market. I do think that if I had to pick one out of the three, I would still go for Fourth Avenue Residences with Royalgreen coming in a close second. I still believe that land right next to an MRT station is limited. That being said, these developments priced at a premium. A 3 bedroom unit at Royalgreen starts from just under SGD$2.7 million and a 3 bedroom unit at Juniper Hill starts from about SGD$2.37 mill.

Royalgreen

Royalgreen

Pricing 2.5/5

Once again, this new launch is setting a new benchmark for prices in the area. Prices are in the range of about SGD$2,700 psf and beyond. In May 2019, a 1,346 square foot unit at Fifth Avenue Condominium was transacted for SGD$2.45 million. This translates to SGD$1,821 psf. Given that Fifth Avenue Condominium is a 20-year old condominium, Royalgreen is priced at about SGD$1,000 psf higher or a premium of about 55 per cent when it comes to comparing them in terms of per square foot pricing. Of course, when it comes to the resale market, buyers may not be able to select their desired facing and there will be vastly limited units available for purchase. My take is that buyers should always be aware of the units available on the resale market to make a more informed comparison. This is why I have always emphasised that selecting the right unit at a new project launch is very important if you decide to go for a new project launch.

URA Transaction Data for Fifth Avenue Condominium

Location 4/5

I do think that this is a well-located property. It is a mere 350 meter or 5-minute walk to Sixth Avenue MRT Station which is a very central and well connected MRT station. Getting to Singapore’s Central Business District and Orchard Road is very fast and easy.

Quality 4/5

Allgreen Properties is a very experienced developer headed by property tycoon Robert Kuok. Its past projects include Amber Point, Binjai Crest, One Devonshire, Yong An Park, Suites at Orchard and Viva among many others. In the Bukit Timah region, Royalgreen will be their fifth development after The Cascadia, Bukit Regency, Fourth Avenue Residences and Juniper Hill.

Juniper Hill

Juniper Hill

Pricing 2/5

Most developers were rather bullish in their bids and this is the reason why we are faced with such high prices in the primary market. There is a deluge of properties around Juniper Hill. The closest property to Stevens MRT Station is The Equatorial and in May 2019, a 1,722 square foot unit was transacted for SGD$2.96 million or SGD$1,719 psf. Units at Juniper Hill hover at around SGD$2,700 psf thereabouts. A 3 bedroom unit of about 915 square feet starts from just under SGD$2.4 million.

URA Transaction Data for The Equatorial

Location 3.5/5

Points were won for proximity to reputable primary schools. It is very rare to be this close to two reputable primary schools with affiliation to very good secondary schools. Points were then subsequently lost for the 800 meter or 10 minute walk to Stevens MRT Station. This is the reason why I would pick Fourth Avenue Residences and Royalgreen over Juniper Hill.

Quality 4/5

Do refer to my comments previously.

Yours Sincerely,

Daryl Lum

p.s. Disclaimer: I am a licensed real estate salesperson at the point of writing this review. My real estate agency is the marketing agency for Royalgreen and Juniper Hill. Buyers can approach me to purchase Royalgreen and Juniper Hill and I will earn a commission from the developer. My reason for writing this review is to share my personal view about the developments not as a real estate salesperson but in the neutral context of a buyer and hopefully share some insight to help buyers make a more informed buying decision.

You can access more information, floor plans and price lists, about Royalgreen and other new project launches here. (coming soon)

You can access more information, floor plans and price lists, about Juniper Hill and other new project launches here. (coming soon)