Let me first start out by saying that at the point of me writing this property review, Kopar at Newton had already been launched and Singapore is in the early stages of our 4-week circuit breaker to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The global economy is in a very fragile situation and many economists are predicting a severe global recession. In my earlier article titled “Why the world may be headed for a massive recession”, I did discuss my thoughts and why I do agree with the view that the downturn will be long and arduous for Singapore. That being said, the Singapore economy, as well as the Singapore property market, will have to soldier on. Developers have committed to plots of land in the preceding years and these developments will have to be put on the market to be sold.
Details about the development
Kopar at Newton is a 99-year leasehold development developed by CEL Development. CEL Development is the development arm of Singapore listed construction and property developer Chip Eng Seng Corp. In January 2019, Chip Eng Send submitted the winning bid for the 125,326 square foot plot of land at Kampong Java Road which will be developed into Kopar at Newton. There were seven bids and CEL Development’s winning bid of SGD$418.8 million translates to SGD$1,192 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). The second highest bid of SGD$417.24 million (SGD$1,189.97 psf ppr) was submitted by Guocoland. This Kampong Java site was the first private residential land that was launched from the confirmed list of the government land sale (GLS) since the minimum average unit size guidelines were announced in October. The winning bid was below analysts’ expectations which portrayed a cautious sentiment among developers.
Kopar at Newton will have a total gross floor area (GFA) of 32,601 square meters (sqm) or 350,917 square feet (sqft). The 99-year lease will start from 22nd of April 2019 and will comprise of 2 towers of 23-storey residential apartments with a total of 378 units.
Here is the unit mix:
1 bedroom, 517 sqft, 66 units
2 bedroom classic, 614 sqft, 42 units
2 bedroom deluxe, 689 sqft, 86 units
3 bedroom classic 915 to 958 sqft, 44 units
3 bedroom deluxe 1055 to 1098 sqft, 66 units
4 bedroom deluxe 1518 to 1604 sqft, 45 units
5 bedroom luxury, 1819 sqft, 21 units
3 bedroom deluxe penthouse, 1593 to 1636 sqft, 4 units
4 bedroom deluxe penthouse, 1991 sqft, 1 unit
Premier penthouse, 2960 to 3305 sqft, 3 units
Where is the development located?
Kopar at Newton is located at 6 and 8 Makeway Avenue just off Newton Circus. It is a street away from the famous Newton Food Centre and opposite Newton MRT Station.
Kopar at Newton Location Map
The closest MRT station is invariably Newton MRT Station. Newton MRT Station is an interchange between the North-South MRT Line and the Downtown MRT Line. According to Google Maps, the walk from Kopar at Newton to Newton MRT Station will take approximately 9 minutes and cover a distance of about 700 metres. The walk to the station is relatively unsheltered and I do believe that in future there should be an access for residents along Bukit Timah Road which should cut the walking distance significantly as compared to what is shown on Google Maps.
The walk from Kopar at Newton to Newton MRT Station
If you are travelling to Orchard MRT Station from Newton MRT Station, it is one station away and will take you about 3 minutes and cost you $0.92.
Newton MRT Station to Orchard MRT Station
If you are travelling to Raffles Place MRT Station, it will take approximately 9 minutes and cost $1.12. The LTA transport app’s suggestion is to make changes to other lines. However, Raffles Place MRT Station is also on the North-South MRT Line. Thus you can remain on the North-South MRT Line to get to Raffles Place MRT Station instead.
Newton MRT Station to Raffles Place MRT Station
The drive to Orchard Road (The area around Orchard MRT Station), is about 2.4 kilometres and will take about 6 minutes.
The drive to Orchard Road
The drive to Raffles Place will take 12 minutes and the distance travelled will be about 4.9 kilometres. Do note that the current situation is very optimal due to the imposed circuit breaker and almost the whole of Singapore is staying at home. In normal circumstances, the drive should take longer and during peak hours, expect to add additional travel time to this 12 minutes.
The drive to Raffles Place
The selling points of the development
The development is located right in the city fringe. It is located within very close proximity to Newton MRT Station and very close to Singapore’s main shopping belt. In today’s environment where prices of developments outside core central region launches are reaching levels close to developments located in the core central region, I think it would be good to revisit city living. I have always been a proponent of purchasing properties in as good a location as possible and Kopar at Newton does tick this item on my property buying checklist. No matter how the Singapore government tries to decentralise the central business district, Singapore’s main shopping belt and central business district will remain as Orchard Road and Raffles Place and the Marina Bay Financial Centre respectively. Thus large multi-national corporations will still have their main offices located in the heart of the city even as some move backend and support operations to other parts of Singapore.
The proximity of Kopar at Newton to Newton MRT station is a massive plus. Newton MRT Station is an interchange of two existing lines. One station down, Orchard MRT Station, will be the future interchange of the existing North-South MRT Line as well as the upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line. Connectivity to various parts of Singapore will be very high for residents at Kopar at Newton.
Kopar at Newton is also within a 1-kilometre radius of three reputable primary school. My search on elite.com.sg, a portal to calculate whether schools are within a 1 and 2-kilometre radius of a particular property, showed that 8 Makeway Avenue is within a 1-kilometre radius of Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), St. Joseph’s Institution Junior and Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) whereas 6 Makeway Avenue is within a 1-kilometre radius of only Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) and St. Joseph’s Institution Junior. Both blocks are also within a 2-kilometre radius of Farrer Park Primary School, St. Margaret’s Primary School and Singapore Chinese Girls’ Primary School. Having a reputable primary school near a property in Singapore is an added plus. Families do consider such factors as it increases their child’s chances of entering a particular primary school which good be good for you as a seller or landlord down the road.
This area has many offices, institutes of learning, medical centres and hospitals. Notable ones include UOB Kay Hian, Prudential, The Ministry of Environment, Lasalle College of Arts, KK Women’s & Children’s Hospital, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Novena Medical and Specialist Centre and Tan Tock Seng Hospital. There is a catchment area for potential tenants from these establishments.
Potential bad points about the development
The development is situated just at the foot of Newton Flyover which can be a rather busy road. There may be potential road noise for some units in the development. It would be wise for buyers to select units wisely.
Another potential downside would be that there is no notable shopping mall with amenities nearby. The closest and most convenient would be to take a drive or one MRT Station down to Novena to get to Cold Storage or FairPrice. Alternatively, you may also travel down to Orchard Road which is very close by and is also one MRT station away. There are many supermarkets and amenities there. I do not see this as a major disadvantage though. Just a possible concern for some residents when accessing the amenities in the area.
This development is a 99-year leasehold development whereas there are many freehold options in the vicinity.
My thoughts about the development
This was a development that stoked my interest and I had been looking forward to its launch since CEL Development acquired this plot of land. If we were to make a comparison of recent launches in the vicinity, the nearby Fourth Avenue Residences, which was a plot of land which Allgreen Properties also acquired through a government land sale exercise, was purchased for a higher price ($1,540 psf ppr) and this translated to launch prices of just over $2,000 psf for the 99-year leasehold development. Kopar at Newton is also priced at around the same price as Fourth Avenue Residences with prices starting from about $2,100 psf. If it were not for the current weak economic situation, I would think that launch prices could be higher than what they are.
Here is the past 1 year URA transaction records of developments in the vicinity. I have included Trilight, Gilstead Two, Newton Edge and Newton One. The lowest psf achieved was $1,378 psf and the highest was $2,064 psf. The median psf is $1,781 psf. Kopar at Newton is about 20 per cent higher than the median price of these four developments. With the weaker market sentiment, we are starting to see the price gap between the resale and new project launches narrow and this trend is evident in Kopar at Newton.
URA Past Transaction Records for Trilight Gilstead Two Newton Edge and Newton One
Once again the debate of whether freehold or leasehold matters moving forward comes to play. I’ve made my stand clear in my previous reviews and you can read a short snippet of my thoughts in my review of The Avenir. That being said, I do think that this development is one of the better ones to be launched in 2020, albeit at a not too optimum time.
Kopar at Newton
Kopar at Newton Perspective
Pricing 3.5/5
If not for the current economic predicament, this would be higher. I do think that Kopar at Newton is priced at a decent premium over the resale market in the vicinity. The developer did acquire this land for a reasonable price and their pricing does seem to reflect this.
Location 4.5/5
This was a development which I had been anticipating. At times of market weakness, it is perhaps time to revisit properties with extremely prime locational qualities. When the rental market is weak, developments which are not close to the core city centre should be affected negatively. As tenants’ budgets fall, so will rents but low rent is better than no rent. As the downturn intensifies, we will start to see that it pays to purchase properties which are closer to the city centre and close to a train station. Newton MRT Station is also an interchange between the North-South MRT Line as well as the Downtown Line. Both these lines take commuters to various parts of the city centre.
Quality 4/5
CEL development is an experienced developer with a good track record. Notable past projects include My Manhattan, Junction Nine and Nine Residences, Grandeur Park Residences and Fulcrum. They are also the developer for Parc Komo and are also part of a consortium that is developing Park Colonial.
Yours Sincerely,
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 Kopar at Newton. Buyers can approach me to purchase Kopar at Newton 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.
My other Singapore Property Reviews
My review of Normanton Park by Kingsford Development
My review of Penrose by CDL and Hong Leong Holdings
My review of Forett at Bukit Timah by Qingjian Realty
My review of Clavon by UOL Group
My review of The Avenir by Hong Leong Holdings and GuocoLand
My review of One Holland Village Residences by Far East Organisation
My review of Neu at Novena and Fyve Derbyshire by Roxy Pacific Holdings
My review of Midwood by Hong Leong Holdings
My review of Royalgreen and Juniper Hill by Allgreen Properties
My review of Sky Everton by Sustained Land
My review of Sengkang Grand Residences by Capitaland and City Developments Limited
My review of One Pearl Bank by Capitaland
My review of The Antares by FSKH Development
My review of Parc Clematis by SingHaiyi Group
My review of Piermont Grand by City Developments Limited
My review of Parc Komo by CEL development
My review of Riviere by Frasers Property
My review of Avenue South Residence
My review of 1953 by Oxley Holdings
My review of Uptown @ Farrer
My review of The Florence Residences
My review of Treasure at Tampines
My review of Fourth Avenue Residences
My review of The Woodleigh Residences
My review of Kent Ridge Hill Residences
My review of Arena Residences
My review of Whistler Grand and Twin Vew
My review of Mayfair Gardens and Daintree Residence
My review of Parc Esta
My review of Jui Residences
My review of The Jovell
My review of JadeScape
My review of Stirling Residences and Margaret Ville
My review of The Tre Ver and Riverfront Residences
My review of Park Colonial
My review of Affinity at Serangoon and The Garden Residences
