Review: Normanton Park
By: Joshua Loo
Tags: Property, Real Estate, Estatemagnates, Singapore, Investment

Situated near Kent Ridge Park and Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE), the old Normanton Park has a rich history. It was first designed and built by HDB as a Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) scheme in 1977, before gaining its privatized status in 1993.

The old Normanton Park was developed by the Ministry of Defence to provide affordable housing for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) commissioned officers. This community allows a strong bond between officers as an added bonus.

General consensus was positive as 81 per cent of owners were keen on proceeding, but was unsuccessful as there were no bids at its reserve price of about $800 million in 2015.

In 2017 however, it was successfully sold for $830 million.

In recent times, you might have heard about its approval of the sale license given by the Controller of Housing (COH). This means that the real estate developer is allowed to market and sell the units before the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) date.

The no-sale license was previously imposed earlier in January 2019 due to a previous development from the developer called Hillview Peak. This does not necessarily reflect on the development/building quality of Normanton Park.

The future developments near Normanton Park are plenty and too exhaustive for me to go into detail. These are for example the Greater Southern Waterfront, the upcoming Circle Line extension by 2025, the Greater One-North extension (Dover Knowledge District) and much more.

This image summarises the future developments near Normanton Park and will spur on Normanton Park’s prices in the coming years.

Technical Specifications

Advantages

Estimated Launch Price

I like to start this review strong and talk about what most of you are wondering about first.

Price.

In my opinion, I believe that Normanton Park will launch at an exceptional ~$1,650 PSF. Here are my reasons.

Based on my usual calculations, I will estimate that Normanton Park will launch at approximately $1900-$2000 PSF. Cross-referencing with other new launches and resale supply, this figure is simply too high. The developers will have no choice but to reduce the asking price to remain competitive.

Turn your focus onto the Building Under Construction (BUC) supply, the orange line. You will notice that they are sold on an average of $1614 PSF. This makes it simply ridiculous should the launch price of Normanton Park be at $1900 PSF!

Some of the current BUC projects are Parc Clematis, Kent Ridge Hill Residences, and Twin View.

For now, keep in mind that Parc Clematis is one of the Top-selling BUC projects in 2020.

Next, let us look at the current resale condos prices, which are at $1,155 PSF, based on the 99.co sales transaction trend that I have provided above. You might feel that these prices are somewhat suppressed, and might show that D05 is not a good location to invest in.

Allow me to elaborate on a few points.

Bias Magnification from Large Sample Size

I could have added more segments into the line chart above, but it would have been more confusing, so trust me on this.

On average, most condos within D05 will have made an approximate $300 PSF from the TOP date. However, there are some condos that do not resonate with this statement such as Seahill and The Vision. These two condos are on average breaking even on price.

If you read my previous reviews, one reason why I do not like condominium belts or clusters is that they often cannibalize each other sales and compete heavily in terms of rental opportunities. I believe that this is the case for Seahill and The Vision.

Parc Riviera, Twin VEW, and Whistler Grand are three relatively new launches in close proximity. What do you think will happen shortly once the spark of a new launch dies down?

The initial owners of Regent Park have already profited from their investment, but I’ve just placed it in for comparison’s sake.

I have mentioned earlier that Parc Clematis is a top-selling project in 2020, but future performance will be debatable, in my opinion.

Still, it will overall depend heavily on the right location. Even in a tight condo cluster, some developments can beat the odds.

The New Launch Market

Moving on to my next point, supply within D05 is extremely limited. The following information was extracted from PropertyGuru, this is in direct reference to the resale market at present (Dec 2020). D05 is within the top 5 in Singapore for great opportunities.

This is also proven from the sales transaction trend. Notice the stagnation of resale supply from 2016 onwards and the meteoric climb of prices/transactions for new launches with TOP granted after 2020.

Home Occupiers probably had little choice, and investors spotted it as a good entrance. Therefore, both parties were willing to pay a good premium.

The recent sales launch of Clavon over the weekend saw over 70% of its unit being sold. The 1-Bedroom and 2-Bedroom units are completely sold.

Estimation of Launch Price

I have covered so far, the supply of the resale market, and launch prices of D05 condos. I will like to turn your attention to Stirling Residences (D03) and Kent Ridge Hill Residences (D05).

Stirling Residences was included in my analysis although it is in another district, as I felt that it is close to D05.

Based on my estimation of Normanton Park launch PSF of ~$1,650 PSF, it will be an absolute bargain as compared to these nearby projects. I expect the PSF range to be between $1,550 — $1,750 PSF.

This is the end of my discussion on the launch price of Normanton Park, but the list of its advantages has only just started!

Location Plan

Stirling Residences and Kent Ridge Hill Residences is in this discussion as they are the two major new launches in the vicinity. A significant advantage that Normanton Park has, it is technically without any competition in terms of residential supply! This makes for excellent demand.

The pink and brown circle represents a one-kilometer radius around the projects, and you can see that Kent Ridge Hill Residences and Stirling residences are tightly clustered with other developments.

Just right beside Normanton Park are landed properties that are around Winchester Road. These are a different residential segment, which has temporary permits for preschools/childcare centers.

Site Plan

Low Site Coverage

Based on the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) guidelines the maximum site coverage for condominium and flats are up to 40%. Those that have kept an eye on site coverage will have noticed that this was changed recently on 5th July 2019.

Normanton park was most likely not subjected to the latest guidelines as they have submitted their development applications before that date, on 09 Jan 2019.

That being said, site coverage for Normanton Park is only at 20.67%. What this means is that there will be more space contributing to the overall landscaping of the development.

The architect has creatively elevated all the blocks within Normanton Park, thereby allowing an extension of natural landscaping linked from Kent Ridge Park. This is a great point for all the residents, and not just nature lovers.

Carparks are creatively located underground, so as to not affect the landscaping.

Reduced Noise Impact

The National Environment Agency (NEA) recognizes that significant noise pollution can affect nearby residential developments. As such, tower 45 is located at least 105m away from AYE. In addition, all units are provided with acoustic ceiling and window/door restrictors, reducing the noise impact.

For the terrace houses, these come with window restrictors and slanted fins for selected units.

Setbacks

Amenities

This was a tough decision to make, seeing that Kent Ridge Park is one of the major points of marketing for this development, but I’ve decided to place it as a setback as there are not many amenities in proximity to Normanton Park. This can cause some inconvenience to its residents, as public transportation can be quite limited.

However, I feel that the developers of Normanton Park recognize this as a particular weak point, as there is a guaranteed 1 carpark lot for every sold unit. This is uncommon as most residential developments do not have a 1:1 ratio of dwelling units to carpark lots.

With private transport, Normanton Park is convenient as most amenities are within a 10 minutes’ drive.

Science Park (2 mins)

NUS (5 mins)

NUH (5 mins)

Singapore Polytechnic (10 mins)

One North Business Park (5 mins)

Vivo City (9 mins)

Maple Tree Business Park (4 mins)

Jurong Lake District (11 mins)

CBD (11 mins)

Distance to MRT Stations

With walking distance to Kent Ridge MRT is 16 minutes, I feel that this is a severe detriment to the project. However, I believe that shuttle bus services should be available, subject to management.

Plot Ratio

Normanton Park has a gross plot ratio of 2.1. I feel that this is rather low as compared to other residential developments. This however, is a minor gripe and should not play a huge role as a deciding factor.

Summary

I feel that the architects and developers of Normanton Park have done an exceptional job at addressing the setbacks that the development faced, instead of avoiding them.

This will help homeowners/investors to make a sound decision and not have buyer’s remorse.

Its highly attractive launch price, coupled with current strong demand and low supply, will no doubt draw in strong sales over its launch weekend.

The sum of all its parts make Normanton Park a well-heeled contender for D05 and interested home buyers/investors should look into it.

With Preview starting from 2nd January 2021, book your appointment with me now early to avoid disappointment!

Are you keen on finding out if Normanton Park is an ideal investment for your specific financial circumstance? Contact us at +65 96329840 or send your queries to estatemagnates@gmail.com! Our consultations do not have a charge, so let us assist you!

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee, or other group or individual. The author does not accept any responsibility whatsoever for any harm or loss arising from accessing or relying on information contained in this blog post.