Project Review – Penrose

Have you heard about the recent new launch in district 14, Singapore? Yes, it is Penrose. This has been a hot topic discussed by many buyers looking for new launches and also, real estate professionals in Singapore.

There are various reasons as to why this development is drawing so much attention. From the location to accessibility, design, layout, pricing, and more.

Do allow me to share with you, some of the key benefits of this development. Before I get into more details of the project, one of the key important things to take note of is;

This development is done by not one, but two established developers in Singapore. The City Development Limited ( CDL ) and Hong Leong Group.

Let me now dive into the details of the project. Why everyone is talking about it, why this development is worth looking at, and why you should consider this development whether you are an investor or buying for your own stay.

For those of you who have been reading my blog on project reviews, you might have realized, I will hit onto the key points, mainly consisting of the layout of the unit, the location, and lastly, the future development of the project—sharing with you a few tips, saving you, a reader of my blog, time and effort in reading it.

For Penrose and subsequent future posts, I will incorporate another section, which is the price and future potential growth.

Layout

Penrose, having a total of 566 units in the development, would be considered as a middle sized development. Although the size of the development is mid, it has Single bedroom units for the investors and individuals to four-bedroom units that are ideal for families.

With the current Covid-19 situation, that has no visible end point, and what happens POST Covid-19, buyers might be considering buying a slightly bigger unit that allows for keeping one of the rooms as a study room.

Unit Type	No. of Units
1 Bedroom	57
1 Bedroom plus study	2
2 Bedroom	137
2 Bedroom plus study	34
3 Bedroom	228
3 Bedroom plus study	54
4 Bedroom	54

2 Bedrooms With Study

The 2 bedrooms (with study) is one of the good units for newly married couples or investors. Why?

The 2 bedrooms (with Study) being 74 square meter in size, has a regular layout design, whereby there are no corners and shape edges, leading to wasted space.

For both working couples, one study room may not be enough, as each will require their own privacy during work. Bedroom two, in this case, can be used as the other work area.

Alternatively, the bedroom two can also be used as a game room, where most of Generation Y and after, will appreciate the Internet gaming.

Lastly, bedroom two can also be used, like a baby room should there be a new member coming to the family.

For investors, upon buying a unit, you will most likely want to rent it out and start collecting rent. Many landlords will like to have tenants that are professionals. Due to the nature of their work, these groups of tenants will most likely want to have a work area, that is not mixed with the rest area, like the bedroom.

This will give you a higher opportunity to fulfill the tenant needs and have your unit rented out sooner than the rest.

3 Bedrooms Premium

In Penrose, there are 3 broad types of three bedrooms. They are the basic three bedrooms, three-bedroom with study, and three bedrooms premium.

What I am recommending will be three bedrooms premium, in particular, type (3Y) d. Now you might ask me, why this particular type.

Firstly, this unit has a size of 99 square meters. By looking at the size, the first thing that crosses your mind would probably be, why only 99 square meters? Putting aside the numbers to the size of the unit, when you step into the show flat, which is a similar unit, which is also Type (3Y) but is e model. Both the units are comparable but the size is even smaller, which is 98 square meters.

After you have gotten a feel of the space, you will not have the feeling of being confined in the unit. The reason being that the unit is very regular. There is no sharp corners and irregular bends inside the unit. The second, which is the key, is that the unit ceiling height is 2.8 meters. With such a right ceiling height, that gives you the benefit of air circulation and also, the feeling of freedom

Lastly, the unit is on stack 34. The development is built with the North-South facing and the next block, which is the HDB, is across the street. Due to the distance between both the blocks, it does not affect the breeze from flowing into the units during a windy day. Best of all, their units will be facing the angle of the morning sun, that gives you the brightness and not the heat.

4 Bedrooms

The 4 bedrooms in Penrose is like a 1 bedroom unit. It is rare, as less than 10% of the units are 4 bedrooms. This amounts to only 54 units, across the whole 566 units available.

Personally, for the 4 bedrooms unit, I preferred the type (4) b, per the attached picture. This unit sits at the corner of the block, having the facilities right in front of the balcony.

The development has only 18 floors, and for this unit, I will recommend having anything above 14 floors. the higher floor will have a better view and better breeze.

Another benefit for the 4 bedrooms in Penrose is, all rooms come with an attached bathroom. As you might be aware, the morning rush for many families can be challenging. The units come with 3 bathrooms, both the master and bedroom 4 is solely attached and bedroom 2 and 3 are shared with a bathroom.

Location

Penrose is located along Sims Drive. The plot of land was previously a cluster of the old HDB flat. The physical location of the project will be at 20 to 30 Sims Drive.

Accessing to routine marketing is just across the street. There is a sizable wet market and hawker center within 5 mins of walk.

MRT

The nearest MRT station from the development will be Aljunied MRT Station, which is about 400 meters away, which would take you less than 7 mins to reach by foot. Aljunied MRT, which is the East-West line of our MRT transport system, and it is the first MRT line that is operational in Singapore.

From Aljunied MRT station, you are only 5 stations away to Raffles Place, which the financial hub and business district of Singapore. Bringing you the shopping area in Bugis, where there are 2 big shopping malls, is only 3 stations away. Going towards East, it is only 1 station to Paya Lebar, a newly developed shopping and office area.

For working professionals, the MRT will also bring you to most of the business hubs in Singapore, such as Raffles Place, Marina Bay Financial Center, Suntec City, Paya Lebar Quarter

Schools

Primary school is always a key consideration for many parents. Penrose, other than having the accessibility to the key business hub in Singapore. It also has popular schools within reach.

Within one KM, we have Geylang Methodist School and within two KM, we have Kong Hwa School and Cedar Primary School.

Development in District 14

Penrose is currently the only value for money development in district 14. Other than Penrose, there are currently no other developments of that size. I am confident that there will be more developments of this size in the future, however, whether it is in the near future or far future, i do not know.

I am so confident in the additional development as I feel that there are still many unwind developments in district 14. Looking at the current development of Penrose, there is still another plot of land nearby, that is not developed, or even sold yet.

Knowing there are still so many options, why should you be getting the unit now? I do agree that you can wait. However, currently, with the Covid-19 situation, developers are softer in their pricing. Once that is over, there is a very high chance that the developer will review and revamp the price structure.

Also, what happens to the price in 2 years time? As we know, property pricing is always on the up. 10 years ago, the property you were looking at property at was asking for less than one thousand per square feet. Now, in many areas, the asking price is above 1,600 per square feet.

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