• Yasmin Beevi
  • 13 May 2016

Bukit Sembawang Estates is a public-listed company whose portfolio includes landed residences and private apartments. 

Project Name: Luxus Hills

Address: Luxus Hills Avenue

Site area: Approx. 3,390,660 sqft

Tenure: Freehold

District: 28

Configuration:

36 landed homes (Phase 6)

32 landed homes (Phase 7)

Unit types:        

3-storey inter-terrace (1,615 sqft)

3-storey corner terrace (2,153 ; 2,160 sqft)

3-storey semi-detached (2,234 ; 2,248 sqft)

Expected TOP:  End 2018

Project Details

Luxus Hills is a landed project comprising a total of over 900 landed homes. These homes have been planned for multi-generational family living and will be released over 25 phases. At time of writing (Apr 2016), Phases 6 and 7 are open for sale.

Phase 7 consists of 24 intermediate terrace, 4 corner terrace and 4 semi-detached homes. All units are 3-storey with 5 ensuite bedrooms and a roof terrace with the option for a private lift and a terrace above the car porch.

luxus hills construction

For interested buyers, show units are on site.

seletar, landed

Source: Developer’s Brochure

The development is surrounded by low-rise buildings so residents will have some nice views.

Source: Developer's Brochure

Source: Developer’s Brochure

The semi-detached units are typically on the left ends of each phase. At present, the top row of homes is outward-facing towards open space.

 

At time of writing (Apr 2016), all unit types are still available.

Specifications:

Flooring

  • marble with marble skirting for living, dining areas and dry kitchen
  • porcelain or homogenous tiles with tile skirting for guest room, bathrooms and wet kitchen
  • timber flooring with timber skirting for all bedrooms and staircase threads
  • marble for master bathroom
  • homogenous tiles with tile skirting for store, water closet, utility, car porch, open terraces, open roof terrace and terraces
  • composite timber decking for open terrace above car porch

Doors

  • solid core timber panel double-leaf door for entrance
  • flushed hollow core timber doors for bedrooms, guest room, bathrooms and store
  • hollow core timber pocket doors for master bathroom and guest bathroom
  • hollow core timber-framed glass pocket door for dry kitchen to wet kitchen
  • powder-coated aluminium-framed swing glass door and/or aluminium-framed sliding glass door with/without fixed glass panel for open terraces, open rood terrace and wet kitchen
  • aluminium-framed bi-fold door for utility and water closet
  • aluminium louvred swing door in powder-coated finish for water tank/pump

Skylights

  • laminated glass with/without fixed aluminium louvres

Sunshades

  • powder-coated aluminium horizontal sunshades for terrace/turfing area outside living area

Gate and Fencing

  • metal entrance gate with remote auto-gate control
  • plastered prefabricated or brick wall with/without metal bar accents

Turfing

  • cow grass

Additional items

  • built-in wardrobes for all bedrooms except guest room
  • wall-mounted air-con for living, dining areas, study, bedrooms and guest room
  • car porch lighting control by motion sensor
  • water tank with booster pump

luxus hills corner terrace dry kitchen 1

 

luxus hills corner terrace dry kitchen 2

 

Cabinets with granite or solid surface countertops, a built-in induction hob, refrigerator, conventional and steam oven, wine chiller and stainless steel sink with mixer come with the dry kitchen. Appliances provided are from Brandt.

luxus hills corner terrace wet kitchen

 

The wet kitchen features cabinets with granite worktops, a gas burner, built-in cooker hood, washing machine and sink with mixer.

luxus hills utility

 

luxus hills water closet

 

The utility space and water closet are technically in the wet kitchen and this arrangement may not be ideal for some.

luxus hills guest bedroom

 

To the side of the kitchen, there is a guest bedroom in all units. This definitely makes it convenient if there were to be elderly folks living with you.

luxus hills guest bathroom

 

There is also a guest bathroom just next to it.

luxus hills corner terrace living

 

The living space is right in front of you when you enter the unit. There is also a mini water feature on the left, outside.

luxus hills corner terrace dining

 

The dining area is right behind, in front of the kitchen.

luxus hills corner terrace level 1

 

The view from the living area, with the staircase on the right.

luxus hills corner terrace common bedroom queen 1

 

luxus hills corner terrace common bedroom queen 2

 

The common bedrooms can generally fit a queen-sized bed comfortably.

luxus hills corner terrace common bedroom single

 

You could also go with a single bed to free up more space.

luxus hills corner terrace common bathroom 1

 

luxus hills corner terrace common bathroom 2

 

The common bathrooms have a wet and dry area as per usual. Fittings are from Grohe and Duravit.

luxus hills corner terrace master bedroom 1

 

The master bedroom which is on the second floor, is much larger and can accommodate a king-sized bed, with more than enough leg room to spare.

luxus hills corner terrace master bedroom 2 lounge

 

You could turn the extra space in the master bedroom into a lounge or relaxing area of sorts, if you wanted to.

luxus hills corner terrace master bedroom 2

 

luxus hills corner terrace master bedroom view

 

They also come with an open terrace, which makes for a nice space to relax in at night or in the evenings.

luxus hills open terrace master bedroom

 

The master bedroom open terrace in an inter terrace unit.

luxus hills open terrace corner terrace

 

The master bedroom open terrace in a corner terrace unit.

luxus hills master bathroom 1

 

luxus hills master bathroom 2

 

The master bathroom is quite spacious and is designed in a ‘his and hers’ manner. It also comes with a bathtub.

luxus hills study

 

A mini study area on the second floor.

luxus hills work space

 

You could also choose to convert one of the common bedrooms into an open work space if you wanted to.

luxus hills roof terrace 1

 

luxus hills roof terrace 2

 

The units also come with a roof terrace and this area is perfect for hosting mini parties or just to chill out at during the evenings.

luxus hills open terrace 2

 

There is also a smaller open terrace in between the floors, on the second storey. Residents can get more light into their home this way, if they need to.

luxus hills staircase

 

The view of the staircase from the third storey.

luxus hills car porch

 

Lastly, the car porch at the entrance.

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Location

Seletar refers to the areas south of Yishun and west of Sungei Punggol, covering parts of Yio Chu Kang, the Lower Seletar Reservoir and part of Upper Thomson. The estate comprises mainly low rise homes; predominantly bungalows and semi-detached.

nearby, seletar, landed

Source: Google Maps

Getting there: Luxus Hills is located along Luxus Hills Avenue of District 28. If you’re travelling by train in the mornings, Raffles Place MRT is a 23-minute ride from Ang Mo Kio MRT. By car, it is a 12-minute drive to town via the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) and the Central Expressway (CTE), assuming optimal traffic conditions.

transport, train, nearby

 

Ang Mo Kio MRT is a 5-minute drive away. From there, it is six stops down to Orchard MRT, where you have the entire Orchard Shopping Belt. There are also MRT interchanges at Bishan, Dhoby Ghaut, Raffles Place and City Hall, for enhanced connectivity.

 

The estate: Luxus Hills is situated within the relatively quiet Seletar Hills Estate. Surrounding the development are more private projects and landed housing.

transport, nearby

 

The nearest bus stop is directly in front of the development, along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 with services 50, 72 and 88. Between them, these services cover Bishan, Ang Mo Kio, Yio Chu Kang, Pasir Ris, Tampines, Toa Payoh, Punggol, Sengkang, Hougang and Upper Serangoon.

seletar, landed, amenities

Source: Developer’s Brochure

As for school options, there are a few nearby.

education, seletar

 

International Schools:

  • Chatsworth Kindergarten
  • Lycee Francais de Singapour
  • Dimensions International College
  • James Cook University

seletar, shopping, amenities, dining

 

Retail and lifestyle hub Greenwich V is a 3-minute drive away. The mall features alfresco dining and casual outdoor spaces. This may be a good option for residents looking for a relaxed evening out.

nearby, shopping, amenities, dining

 

Ang Mo Kio Hub is a 6-minute drive away. Anchor tenants at the suburban mall include Cathay Cineplexes.

amenities, shopping, dining, seletar, nearby

Source: fareastretail.com.sg/Retailers/Hougang-1

For a quick bite or grocery haul, Hougang 1 is about a 10-minute walk away. The anchor tenant is FairPrice Xtra, so it should be quite convenient for residents.

dining, nearby, seletar

Source: Google Images

For some good local fare, or to enjoy late night suppers, Jalan Kayu and its laidback charm is a 5-minute drive away.

 

For golfers, Serangoon Gardens Country Club is a 4-minute drive away.

As for healthcare needs, the upcoming Sengkang General & Community Hospital will be a 5-minute drive away. You can easily find general clinics at any of the nearby malls and even under HDB blocks along Hougang Street 91 and Hougang Avenue 4.

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Analysis

Caveated transactions for Luxus Hills (Phases 6 and 7) at time of writing (Apr 2016) stands at 24. Recorded transaction prices range from $2.686M to $3.448M (see Chart 1).

Sales Transactions

Source: PropertyGuru, URA

Source: PropertyGuru, URA

Source: URA

Source: URA

Luxus Hills’ closest competitor would be Belgravia Villas, located 500m away, along Belgravia Drive. Currently also under development, its median price is $848 psf to Luxus Hills’ median of $1,711 psf. The reason for this difference in unit price is the fact that Belgravia Villas is a strata landed housing project whereas Luxus Hills is a conventional landed housing development. Thus, prices for Belgravia Villas are calculated based on floor area while those for Luxus Hills are derived based on land area.

Similar to Luxus Hills, Belgravia Villas is also made up of terrace houses and semi-detached houses. To have a clearer understanding, we will be looking at the inter terrace units alone. According to caveats, transactions for the units at Luxus Hills range from $2.686M to $2.83M, and from $2.7M to $3.286M at Belgravia Villas.

Before deciding based on these numbers alone, we should look at unit sizing as well. Units at Luxus Hills are generally larger with the inter terrace ones between 3,660 sqft and 3,714 sqft. At Belgravia Villas, they are between 3,520 sqft and 3,584 sqft. Keeping in mind that Belgravia Villas is a strata landed housing project with communal facilities, security and maintenance, perhaps the higher price is to be expected.

In terms of simple sale prices however, Luxus Hills is definitely easier on the wallet.

 

Future Rental Potential

To understand what rental prices will be like for Luxus Hills, we need to look at rental prices for other projects in the area.

The current median rental price for landed residential projects in District 28 (Seletar) is around $1.87 psf per month at time of writing, based on rental transactions for the past 4 quarters. As for Luxus Hills itself, the current median rental price is $2 psf per month.

At these rates, an inter terrace unit around 3,660 sqft at Luxus Hills would go for around $8,500 a month, after factoring a 20% premium for its new build. With the median price for the unit being around $2.768M, the annual gross rental yield at the current rate would be an estimated 3.7%.

The median unit size of an inter terrace unit at Belgravia Villas, on the other hand, would probably fetch around $8,200 which would translate to an estimated rental yield of 3.3%.

According to the estimated figures, rental yield for Luxus Hills seems slightly higher. The choice of nearby amenities is pretty much the same, since Belgravia Villas is just down from Luxus Hills. Unit sizing however differs with units at Luxus Hills being larger.

Overall, both projects seem to be safe in terms of rental yield.

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Summary

The location of the project and the relatively affordable prices are Luxus Hills’ biggest selling points. Proximity to the upcoming Seletar Aerospace Park and the future North-South Expressway are important considerations for residents.

As for shopping amenities, dining and entertainment options, there is a wide array to choose from – Ang Mo Kio HUB, Greenwich V, Hougang 1, Seletar Mall and even Jalan Kayu. For buyers thinking about educational institutions in the vicinity, there are indeed a number of schools nearby, spanning across the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

A potential drawback would be the lack of an MRT station within walking distance of the development. However, there is a bus stop right in front of the project and the entire development is almost along the arterial Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5. For those who drive, major expressways like the CTE, TPE and SLE are easily accessible.

If you’re in the market for a landed home in a relatively quiet but still convenient location, Luxus Hills is a good option. When looking at the price points for other similar projects in the area, Luxus Hills definitely stands out and seems quite appealing.

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Eric Wong

Yasmin Beevi

Yasmin has been exploring show flats with her family since young and enjoys coming across interesting designs and offers. When she’s not at the office or on a site visit, she’s probably out trying new types of food with friends, at the theatres engrossed in a movie or occasionally, enjoying herself overseas.