The Woodleigh Residences

Being the first private residential development within the upcoming Bidadari new town, the Woodleigh Residences has been one of the most eye-catching new launch projects in the market for the last couple of months, and it was officially launched for sale on 11 May 2019.

Following its launch, around 70 units have been sold at The Woodleigh Residences (as of 16 May 2019) – which makes up around 10 percent of the entire development.

Despite being the first landmark private residential project within the popular Bidadari housing estate and a comprehensive integrated mixed development with a ‘proper’ shopping mall sitting next to Woodleigh MRT station, some may feel that the initial sales result from Woodleigh Residences is kind of underwhelming.

So, is The Woodleigh Residences a good buy? And what seems to be the problem for the initial poor showing for this new launch at Woodleigh? Let us take a look at the details and our review.

The Woodleigh Residences Developer

The Woodleigh Residences is being developed by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Limited and Kajima Development Pte Ltd.

Formed as a consortium, the developers acquired the 99-year leasehold mixed residential and commercial site next to Woodleigh MRT station for a whopping $1.132 billion (or $1,181 psf ppr) via the government land sales (GLS) programme – back in June 2017.

There were another 11 developers involved in the land tender and the top 4 offers all came in at more than $1 billion.

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH)

Established since 1984, Singapore Press Holdings or SPH has been Singapore and Asia’s leading organization in media distribution.

SPH’s core business involves the publishing of magazines and newspapers and other publications in both digital and printed form. Its shareholders include some of the top corporations in Singapore, such as the 3 major banks (DBS, OCBC, and UOB), SingTel and NTUC Income, etc.

The Woodleigh Residences condo and The Woodleigh Mall is SPH’s maiden development project in Singapore, which involves a residential component.

SPH’s real estate business includes the development, operation, and ownership of The Seletar Mall, and its 70 percent ownership of a real estate investment trust (REIT) known as the SPH REIT, which comprises of popular retail malls in Singapore – such as Paragon, The Clementi Mall and The Rail Mall.

In addition, it also has equity stakes in various shopping centers in other countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom.

Kajima Development Pte Ltd

Kajima Development Pte Ltd is a real estate arm under Kajima Corporation, which is one of the largest and oldest construction firms in Japan. It was founded way back in 1840 and other than real estate development, its services include engineering, design, and construction.

Before developing The Woodleigh Residences and Mall, Kajima Development’s only involvements in Singapore’s real estate scene were the high-end residential project, Bishopsgate Residences, and Regent Singapore – a 5-star hotel development in Tanglin, situated at the fringe of the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore.

Kajima Development has been actively involved in overseas ventures and real estate developments as well – mainly in ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Myanmar. On top of these countries, the developer also has businesses in Hong Kong and India.

The Woodleigh Residences Location

The Woodleigh Residences is located at Bidadari Park Drive, right next to Woodleigh MRT station and above The Woodleigh Mall; just opposite the new Alkaff Lake and diagonally across the Bidadari Park.

Situated in District 13 of Singapore, this new condo at Woodleigh is just at the fringe of the city center. And being just above The Woodleigh Mall, there is no need for you to venture out too far to fulfill your daily needs.

So what are the main attractions in The Woodleigh Residences location – which appeals to both homebuyers and investors?

Woodleigh MRT Station

Commuting around Singapore via the MRT is by far the most convenient and popular option among the locals and having an MRT station within a close proximity has somehow become one of the top considerations for homebuyers and investors when it comes to selecting the perfect property for them.

In short, if it is not near an MRT station, it is not a good property to them.

The Woodleigh MRT station is situated along the North-East Line (NEL) and it is just 5 stops away to Dhoby Ghaut MRT station in the city center of Singapore. Further down, commuters will find themselves just a few more stations away from the core downtown region and the Central Business District (CBD).

Commuting along the NEL will also provide you convenient access to various interchange stations (currently 6 in total), such as the ones at Dhoby Ghaut (to the North-South and Circle MRT line), Serangoon (to the Circle MRT line), Little India (to the Downtown line), Chinatown (to the Downtown line), Outram Park (to the East-West line) and Harbourfront (to the Circle MRT line); another one upcoming at Hougang (to the new Cross-Island line).

Thus, getting around and commuting to other regions of Singapore from this Woodleigh MRT condo will be an absolute breeze.

The Woodleigh Mall

The Woodleigh Residences is being built just right above the new Woodleigh Mall, which has retail spaces spanning across a massive gross floor area of more than 300,000 square feet in total.

In addition, It will also comprise if a community club (more than 60,000 square feet), a childcare center, a food hall, a supermarket, medical facilities, and a neighborhood police center which takes up more than 20,000 square feet of strata space.

Being a massive integrated development, The Woodleigh Residences and The Woodleigh Mall will have direct (sheltered) access to the Woodleigh MRT station at Basement Level 2 and will also be the home for Singapore’s first ever air-conditioned underground bus interchange.

Having all these amenities all packed into one single project, residents of The Woodleigh Residences couldn’t be more contented with such convenience being literally just right at their doorsteps.

The Bidadari New Town

There have been visions of the upcoming Bidadari New Town being a fine exemplar of the existing Bishan housing estate as both areas have similarities in history – being once a cemetery ground.

Over the last few decades, the level of popularity, demand, and evolution of residential development in Bishan is somewhat a perfect template for what Bidadari can potentially turn into.

Spanning across a massive land area of around 93 hectares, the Bidadari estate is part of the Toa Payoh planning area and it is being bounded by a couple of major roads – Bartley Road, Upper Serangoon Road, Mount Vernon Road, and the Sennett Estate.

The main concept of the Bidadari New Town is to have a community within lush greenery – specifically a garden. The Woodleigh Residences condo will set to incorporate its design into the government’s master plan for Bidadari by providing green recreational spaces – such as verandas, garden courtyards, and roof gardens, to encourage outdoor activities for the community in this new township.

Connectivity by car and buses

For drivers, you will be pleased by the excellent connectivity around The Woodleigh Residences as you will enjoy direct routes to some of the major expressways in Singapore, such as the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) which extends across the western and eastern regions of Singapore; the Central Expressway (CTE) which links the northern region all the way to downtown core central, and the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) that links the north-eastern region to the greater southern region.

For commuters by bus, you’ll find more than 10 bus services available just right in front of The Woodleigh Residences and Woodleigh Mall. Some of these bus services include routes which will take you to the core downtown areas such as Marina Bay and Shenton Way.

Top schools close to The Woodleigh Residences

For parents who are making plans for their school-going children, the location of The Woodleigh Residences couldn’t be any better as it is within the 1-km radius of Maris Stella High School and Cedar Primary School.

Even at within the 2-km radius coverage, you’ll find other top primary schools such as St. Andrew’s Junior School, Pei Chun Public School, Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School, and St. Gabriel’s Primary School, etc.

As for those seeking higher education, Cedar Girls’ Secondary School,  Maris Stella High School, St. Andrew’s Secondary School, St Andrew’s Junior College, and Nanyang Junior College are all within close proximity to Woodleigh Residences as well.

For investors, you will be glad to know that the Stamford American International School (SAIS) is just right opposite The Woodleigh Residences condo and the Australian International School is also less than 2 km away.

The Woodleigh Residences Condo Facilities

The abundance of condo facilities within Woodleigh Residences is just astounding. Other than the typical ones, such as an infinity pool, BBQ pavilions, clubhouse, relaxation decks, lush gardens, and gym, this new condo at Woodleigh does have some other unique “Japanese inspired” facilities as well. You probably will not find these in other condominium or apartment projects in Singapore.

One of them is the Indoor Onsen – which is like a Japanese style sauna which is located just across Woodleigh Residences and is being linked by a sky bridge over Bidadari Park Drive.

At the Woodleigh Residences Onsen, you will get to relax and soak away in the hot pool which overlooks the Alkaff Lake and lush greens surrounding it at Bidadari Park.

Another one of the key features would be the Japanese Sunken Courtyard with the BBQ facility. Within some of the larger traditional homes in Japan, it is actually common to find courtyard gardens as part of the home. It was believed to help regulate the airflow and temperature in the home during summer.

At Woodleigh Residences, the sunken courtyard does add on as a unique facility as residents are able to host their friends and guests with a cozy and airy space and being served by some of the finest delicacies over the grill.

The Woodleigh Residences Floor Plan and Unit Types

The Woodleigh Residences comprises of 667 units in total, ranging from 2-bedroom units (570 sq ft) to 4-bedroom units (1,475 sq ft) – spreading across 11 residential blocks (13 storeys each). It is expected to TOP by 31 August 2022.

Being an integrated development with The Woodleigh Mall, the first 2 levels comprise of restaurants, shops, banks, the childcare center, enrichment center, and police station. Thus, apartment units at Woodleigh Residences will start from Level 3 onwards.

Here is The Woodleigh Residences floor plan for each unit type.

• 2-Bedroom (570 to 592 square feet)

• 2-Bedroom Deluxe (646 to 700 square feet)

• 2-Bedroom Flexi (721 to 743 square feet)

• 3-Bedroom (850 to 958 square feet)

• 3-Bedroom Deluxe (1,076 to 1,119 square feet)

• 4-Bedroom (1,259 – 1,281 square feet)

• 4-Bedroom Deluxe (1,475 square feet)

The Woodleigh Residences Price Guide

The following table shows the Woodleigh Residences price indication for each unit type for sale (as of 12 May 2019).

Unit Type	Size	Indicative Pricing
2-Bedroom	570 to 592 sq ft	$998,000
2-Bedroom Deluxe	646 to 700 sq ft	$1,156,000
2-Bedroom Flexi	721 to 743 sq ft	$1,341,000
3-Bedroom	850 to 958 sq ft	$1,745,000
3-Bedroom Deluxe	1076 to 1119 sq ft	$2,249,000
4-Bedroom	1259 to 1281 sq ft	$2,899,000
4-Bedroom Deluxe	1475 sq ft

Please note the price shown is subjected to changes and discounts (if any), so do drop us a note or give us a call at (+65) 6631-8384 for updates on the Woodleigh Residences price and unit availability.

In case you are wondering how much is the price difference between The Woodleigh Residences and its nearby ‘competitor’, Park Colonial by CEL Development, we will touch on that in the review section at the end of this article.

Woodleigh Residences Price History

The following shows the 10 latest transactions at Woodleigh Residences and the price for each (as of 11 June 2019).

CONTRACT DATE	ADDRESS	UNIT AREA (SQFT)	PRICE (S$ PSF)	PRICE (S$)
2-Jun-19	19 BIDADARI PARK DRIVE #11-xx	689	1,920	1,323,000
2-Jun-19	19 BIDADARI PARK DRIVE #10-xx	689	1,906	1,313,000
2-Jun-19	19 BIDADARI PARK DRIVE #09-xx	689	1,891	1,303,000
2-Jun-19	23 BIDADARI PARK DRIVE #03-xx	570	1,769	1,009,000
2-Jun-19	25 BIDADARI PARK DRIVE #09-xx	700	1,899	1,329,000
31-May-19	21 BIDADARI PARK DRIVE #03-xx	700	1,734	1,213,000
29-May-19	21 BIDADARI PARK DRIVE #06-xx	570	1,793	1,023,000
29-May-19	23 BIDADARI PARK DRIVE #08-xx	667	1,813	1,210,000
28-May-19	23 BIDADARI PARK DRIVE #07-xx	667	1,798	1,200,000
27-May-19	27 BIDADARI PARK DRIVE #07-xx	721	1,887	1,361,000

As you see from the most recent transactions, the units which are most popular among buyers are the 2-bedroom unit types and the Woodleigh Residences psf price point is at an average of $1,841 psf.

Woodleigh Residences Showflat

The Woodleigh Residences showflat is located along Serangoon Link, just opposite the NEX shopping mall.

As of now, the showflat opening hours are from 10 am to 7 pm daily, however, it may be subjected to changes. So do contact us via (+65) 6631-8384 to get an update, in order to avoid making a wasted trip down.

Before you head down to Woodleigh Residences showflat, there are some pictures (photo credit: SRI) of the sales gallery and you can have a rough idea of what to expect for this new Woodleigh condo launch.

The Woodleigh Residences Review

In order to keep this review short and concise, I will be touching mainly on the price and numbers since it was the key consideration for some of the prospects which I’ve touched base with. So is Woodleigh Residences a good buy? Here we go!

When The Woodleigh Residences first had its ‘soft launch’ back in October 2018, the sales result was truly appalling. By the end of 2018, only 26 units were transacted (according to data from URA) from the earlier Woodleigh Residences launch; at an average per square foot (psf) price of $2,026.

Pricing at more than $2,000 psf, it is indeed shocking for most of the prospects who are looking to own a property within the upcoming Bidadari new town.

As a result, most of these homebuyers would have gone for the next best option – Park Colonial at Woodleigh, which is just situated right opposite The Woodleigh Residences across the Upper Serangoon Road.

Due to Park Colonial having a lower price point than the initial Woodleigh Residence launch price, It has already sold a total of 615 out of the 805 units available (as of 21 May 2019).

The fact is that when these 2 plots of land were sold under the government land sales back in 2017, the Park Colonial’s plot was acquired for $1,110 psf ppr while The Woodleigh Residences’ plot was acquired for S$1,181 psf ppr.

But yet, the average psf price for all the units sold at Park Colonial turns out to be around $1,751 psf – which is about 14 percent lower than the average of Woodleigh Residences.

At the end of the day, if the pricing is your main concern, then, by all means, go for Park Colonial. It really does make a little bit more dollar-sense.

So, does it really make The Woodleigh Residences a worse project? Does it mean that it is not a good buy?

Honestly, if you are willing to look beyond just the price, I show you why some market watchers actually highly rated this project as in the Woodleigh Residences review.

A ‘genuine’ integrated residential and commercial development

The description of a property is a “mixed development” has often been abused by sales agent or developers – using it as a huge selling point as such properties provide convenience to the residents.

Such developments usually have shops on the lower floors and are often being sold to individual owners. Thus, you never know what kind of businesses will be operating in these commercial spaces and more often or not, these businesses come and go very often, and keeps changing all the time.

It can be a convenience store today, a cafe tomorrow, or even changed hands to a hair salon in a couple of months or a year’s time.

A true-blue integrated residential and commercial development – one that has tremendous value, would be those that are mega shopping malls which private residential homes sitting right above them.

The tenant-mix in these malls are usually controlled by the property developer or its assigned management firm. Therefore, it will ensure that the complex will have a wide variety of businesses operating in the mall. In most cases, they also have the ability to draw big-name tenants into the mall.

If you’ve been actively monitoring the property market in Singapore, you will realize that such developments are usually priced a notch higher than the surrounding projects which only has a residential component in them. Thus, it is not “abnormal” for Woodleigh Residences to be priced higher than its fellow neighboring condos.

Let’s take a look at some classic examples based on my own experience.

North Park Residences

The first one at the top of my mind would be North Park Residences. It is the residential component sitting right above the Northpoint City shopping mall in Yishun, a suburban region in Singapore.

This project was launched in 2015 at an average psf price range of $1,250 – $1,450. At that point of time, many thought it would be absolutely nuts for anyone to buy a property in Yishun at that price range when some of the neighboring new launches (such as Symphony Suites and Nine Residences) were only selling at $1,000 – $1,100.

And to make things even worse for prospects, 2015 was the lowest point during the last downcycle of Singapore’s property market. You can refer to the chart below from data.gov.sg (a government source, not from any bogus websites).

Rightfully, no one in the right mind should be buying a property at North Park Residences. But the fact is, this project has already been fully sold out as of May 2018 and the last 2 units re-sold by individual owners in April 2019 have both made lucrative profits!

Just to add, this project has already completed by end 2018 and owners have already received their keys to their properties.

Park Place Residences

Another example would be Park Place Residences in Paya Lebar. Unlike North Park Residences or other integrated developments with residential and commercial components, Park Place Residences is actually of a much larger scale than the rest.

Not only it has a shopping mall and an MRT station connected to it, the whole complex (known as Paya Lebar Quarter will also have Grade ‘A’ offices.

The entire project is leveraging the government’s existing master plan to revamp and rejuvenate the entire Paya Lebar precinct – turning it into one of the most vibrant business hubs in Singapore. As a matter of fact, the entire plan began a couple of years back with the area at Tai Seng stretching all the way to Paya Lebar central.

As of 21 May 2019, Park Place Residences has already sold around 98% of its 429 units available in total – with the highest transacted psf price of $2,281 for a 484 sq ft apartment.

Honestly, when you mention that this an area surrounded by less-glamourous precincts such as Joo Chiat, Geylang and Aljunied, it is not a project which you will imagine it to be associated with a $2,000 plus price tag.

However, the outstanding sales achieved at Park Place Residences have spoken for itself and you can see how government plans played a big role for homebuyers and investors.

Final Word

Yes, the price of Woodleigh Residences does seem high on its surface. But if you are willing to open up to look beyond the price tag, you will see that there’s still growth to the price point which you are entering right now.

Although it sounds absolutely absurd now if I was to say that property prices for Woodleigh Residences will eventually appreciate to $2,300 or even $2,400. Similarly back in 2015, nobody thought that a unit at North Park Residences in Yishun could be resold at $1,647 psf – but it did!

Most may argue that buying a unit a Park Colonial will also give you a chance at similar profits, and yes I totally agree with that. However, judging based on just the quality of the development, I will trust Kajima to deliver a more superior home than its nearest neighbor.

In addition, the direct connectivity to The Woodleigh Mall, Woodleigh MRT station and the future bus interchange seriously makes The Woodleigh Residences significantly more appealing.

To be fair, if it’s just for the price, Park Colonial will probably suit you better. However, you’ve got to act really fast because units selling out fast as we speak.

However, due to the existing competition, units at Woodleigh Residences have been conservatively re-priced as compared to those which were sold during the soft launch. Thus, it may be a good time to pick out a unit there now.

This is because when Park Colonial has sold out all its units, buyers will naturally pay more attention to Woodleigh Residences. And that’s when SPH and Kajima will have ‘full control’ of the pricing and you will probably be at their mercy in time to come.

So if you are into mega integrated developments that offer sublime connectivity and convenience right at your doorstep; quality living and finishes, you will probably want to consider buying a unit at The Woodleigh Residences…now?

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