Tampines retains premium-pricing luster despite competition from new towns

Tampines has continued to attract buying interest largely due to its wide array of amenities and easy accessibility. The presence of shopping facilities such as Century Square, Eastlink Mall, Tampines Mall and Tampines Plaza have made it popular with residents as well shoppers from the neighbouring regions. The town also has giant retailers such as Courts Megastore and IKEA Tampines.

Not to mention, Tampines has schools such as Temasek Polytechnic and United World College of South East Asia and its proximity to the Changi Business Park and Seletar Aerospace Park have also caught the eye of investors looking for healthy rental yields.

Tampines is also easily accessible by public transportation networks including the East-West MRT line and the Downtown line, scheduled for completion by 2017.

About 75 per cent of Tampines residents live in Housing Development Board (HDB) four-room and five-room flats %E2%80%93 a potential pool of buyers for new launches. With not many new projects in the area, demand is likely building up.

The town also has a relatively lower supply of residential units as compared with the up and coming towns of Punggol and Sengkang and even nearby Pasir Ris.

A total of 3,870 units can be launched from Punggol%E2%80%99s and Sengkang%E2%80%99s confirmed list sites, while Pasir Ris could see a further 1,430 units built. Tampines%E2%80%99 confirmed list sites on the other hand can yield only 1,180 units.

This relatively lower supply pipeline and pent-up demand from HDB upgraders are the two main reasons that some experts have cited as the causes for home prices in Tampines to outpace the national average.

Commented Mr Getty Goh, Director of Ascendant Assets, “Tampines is able to command a price premium as it is very well served by amenities. In fact, the urban planning for Tampines was so successful that the Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) of the UN awarded the World Habitat Award in the Developed Country Category to HDB for Tampines town in Oct 1992.

Naturally, the newer towns cannot be compared against Tampines as they are in very different stages of development. However, this points to some opportunities. For example, Punggol with the My Waterway@Punggol project could be an interesting location to look into. Incidentally, the project clinched its first international award, the Grand Prize for Excellence in Environment Engineering presented by American Academy of Environment Engineers (AAEE), just shortly after its launch.

With HDB%E2%80%99s grand plan to make My Waterway@Punggol Singapore%E2%80%99s version of Venice, some long-term investors may want to consider buying something there before prices escalate.”