Northwave Review

Executive condominiums in Singapore are a strange breed of property. They begin their first ten years as public housing and therefore purchasable only by locals and PRs. During the first ten years, all resale transactions can only be made to locals and PRs but on the 11^th year, it leaves public property space and is converted automatically into private property and therefore opened for purchase by anyone, local or otherwise.

Northwave 3D model

Also due to their lower barrier to entry, ECs are inherently a much better investment opportunity than most condominiums. It certainly doesn’t hurt that for some unfathomable reason, ECs tend to look and feel bigger than condo units while at the same time offering all the expected facilities and in some cases, much more, than condominiums.

Northwave does absolutely nothing to change this fact.

To its credit, it goes one step further by making the idea of living in Woodlands View far more palatable for someone that’s not familiar or interested in living so far from the central or eastern areas.

At the Northwave showflat launch on the 22^nd (E-app for public starts on the 25^th of June 2016), there are two showunits available for viewing; a 3BR and 4BR.

3BR (Type C2M) 990 sqft

Even at a mere 990 sqft, the 3BR unit on display is far superior to several larger condo counterparts. No unnecessarily long corridors, massive balconies and tiny bedrooms here. The best way to describe the unit here is that everything – every room, balcony, and kitchen – is proportionate to the overall space.

3BR living and dining room

The living room is spacious and with a clear demarcation for where the dining table can sit. The layout puts the kitchen behind the structural wall and as the kitchen is enclosed, it makes for a much better visual upon entering the unit.

The kitchen is by no means small. Two people could be in there with little problem. The width between the counters on either side also makes it easy for you to reach out for things on either side while cooking.

3BR enclosed kitchen

The washing machine sits in the corner and while it is nice that it’s not in the way of the cooking section nor taking up valuable cabinet space, the washing area might be a bit too small for a family of four.

Fortunately, this is the only area of the house that can be considered as ‘too small’. For a washing area, adding a dryer would eliminate the need to hang clothes, but with the window there, you can still hang clothes out to dry. Its smaller size therefore, is mitigated by the options you have. If a bedroom is small, then there’s little that can be done save breaking down the wall to another bedroom. A small yard has less of an impact.

With that said however, the common bedrooms here are spacious. The large floor to ceiling casement windows help in making the space feel bigger by admitting large quantities of natural light.

3BR common bedroom 1

The bedrooms are all fitted with laminated timber flooring and built in wardrobes that come with sliding doors. A super single as always gives you more room to add additional furniture but a queen side bed fits.

While doing so means there’s no more room for a table or a shelf (unless its wall mounted somewhere), there’s quite a good amount of space between the foot of the bed and the wall. But this of course, is not ideal.

3BR common bedroom 2

A common bedroom requires more than just walkable room between the wall and the bed. It needs to function as more than just a place of respite and this is certainly possible with the common bedrooms.

As good as the common bedrooms are, the master bedroom is that much bigger, even with its own, large bathroom.

3BR Master bedroom

As all bathrooms, common or master, are wheelchair accessible, it’s easy enough to imagine just how much more space there is compared to most condominiums now.

4BR (Type D1) 1,270 sqft

One of the more interesting features of Northwave has nothing to do with its condo-like facilities or even the air-conditioned badminton court that can be used for weddings, birthdays and other events as well.

This feature is available for the bigger units and it makes a large living room even bigger. The verandah or balcony that runs around the living room also connects to where the entrance is. By sliding open the balcony doors fully, you can step onto the verandah immediately from the main entrance.

4BR living room and verandah

The balcony is 140 sqft, thus granting you additional space when you have many guests over or just want to ventilate your living room. The entire living room is decked out in porcelain tiles which leads to an enclosed kitchen. This kitchen is connected with the yard area but this is located in the back and out of the way of where you’d be cooking. The layout of the kitchen is extremely neat and accessible.

4BR kitchen

Aesthetically and functionally, the kitchen ticks all the right boxes. It’s simple but attractive and spacious enough so you don’t accidentally obstruct yourself while cooking. Basically, it’s what a kitchen needs to be.

Bedrooms are more of the same, which for Northwave, is both consistent and good. A common bedroom can take a queen size bed quite ably but as mentioned for the 3BR, while it does give you quite a bit of walking room, it doesn’t leave much else for additional furniture. A smaller bed or even a bunk bed will be the best use for the amount of space the common bedroom has.

4BR common bedroom

The master bedroom is obviously a lot bigger but it is surprising how much bigger it feels when compared to several condominium units that have the same en-suite bathrooms. The bedroom with a queen bed still has ample room for a dressing table. Rearranging the bed would free up more space for additional furniture.

4BR master bedroom

The bathroom is big so that it remains wheelchair accessible. The wet and dry areas are separated by a swinging glass door. That wet area is also quite big so you don’t feel like you’re bathing in a cramped cell.

4BR master bathroom

The 4BR unit is impressive and is expected to be quite popular as long as it is priced right. It will be an excellent choice for larger families upgrading from the HDB estates in the area.