The Provence Residence EC eBrochure is not ready as yet, but check out this page for more details:
Before we jump into the review for Provence Residence Executive Condo, a little introduction.
For our readers who have been following EC releases, you will know that in the year 2020, Parc Canberra was the best-selling EC, selling 64% of all 496 units just over one weekend in February 2020.
The biggest draw was its proximity to the new Canberra MRT station (opened in Nov 2019), which is just 350m away. There are very few ECs that enjoy such convenient access to an MRT station at launch.
The first Executive Condominium launch of 2021 opens with Parc Central's launch in January, and hot on its heels comes Provence Residence Executive Condo, a new Executive Condo located just beside the Parc Canberra plot, and also enjoying the same convenience to Canberra MRT.
At this point in writing, we do not have the full and complete details yet of Provence Residence EC, but we will dive in whatever details we have at this point. For more updates, do check back regularly!
Check out this link for more details on Provence Residence EC.
Provence Residence EC is located in District 27, along Canberra Link and is well within comfortable walking distance to Canberra MRT Station (a mere 450m away).
Some quick details about Provence Residence EC:
One of the top priorities for any homeowner looking for a residential unit is almost always: to be near to an MRT station.
The most important aspect of Provence Residence EC is it's location - it is just about 400m away from the nearest MRT station - Canberra MRT station, which came into operation on Nov 2019.
This close proximity was what propelled Parc Canberra to sell 64% at its launch in Feb 2019. This is despite the fact that Parc Canberra actually did not run that many mainstream advertisements (how many ads did you see for Parc Canberra?).
It is indeed rare to come across an EC that is so close to an MRT.
Case in point - take a look at the EC map below and see how many are located close to an MRT station.
There are only a few ECs near an MRT:
A residential development being near an MRT will do well in terms of property price, because proximity to an MRT station is always in demand.
Esparina's psf has grown 49% since launch, and Prive's psf has grown 42% since launch.
This is a view of the Master Plan for the land plot at and around the Canberra area.
Provence Residence EC is situated along Canberra Link, right next to Parc Canberra EC, and also in close proximity to Bukit Canberra, a 12 hectare community space that will have amenities such as a hawker centre, indoor and outdoor sport facilities, a polyclinic, a senior care centre, green spaces for community farming and lifestyle related amenities.
The land plot beside Provence Residence EC is marked "E" (which represents a plot marked for an Education facility).
Here's an aerial view of the current area, taken around Dec 2020, with the site of Provence Residence EC being in the foreground. You can see that there is already some work being done on the site.
The empty plot of land beside Provence Residence EC is where the new school will be built.
At this point, the exact pricing for Provence Residence EC has not been released, but let's do some analysis to see how much prices will launch at.
For the Provence Residence EC land plot, there was a total of 8 bidders, with MCC Land (Singapore) eventually winning the bid. Here's the list of bidders:
Let's start our analysis with Parc Canberra.
Parc Canberra's land bid was for $558 psf ppr, and the breakeven price estimated at $954psf.
It eventually launched at an average of $1085psf, which is a 13.7% margin.
Next, the other EC that launched, Parc Central.
Parc Central's land bid was $578 psf ppr, with breakeven price at $978 psf.
It launched on 23 Jan 2021 at an average of $1177 psf, which is a 20% margin. This margin seems higher than that for Parc Canberra, and our reasoning is that Parc Central is located in Tampines, a more mature estate than Canberra.
Being a more mature estate means that amenities around are more plentiful, and hence a higher living convenience.
(Read our Parc Central Residences Review)
And now, the land plot for Provence Residence EC.
The land was bought at $566 psf ppr, and the breakeven estimated at $963 psf.
Assuming that we maintain roughly the same 13.7% margin as that for Parc Canberra, let's use 15% margin to be on the conservative side.
The average launch price of Provence Residence EC should then come in at $1107psf.
Provence Residence EC is developed by MCC Land, which is under MCC Group in Singapore, a subsidiary of the Fortune 500 company Metallurgy Corporation of China Ltd. It is a total development services provider with ability in property development, construction and project management, as well as engineering services.
MCC Land (Singapore) Limited was incorporated in 2010 and has been actively involved in Singapore’s real estate scene.
Some of MCC Land's projects include:
Although MCC Land does not top the charts of BCA's ranking, they do perform reasonably well, achieving a score of 93.6 in 2017, which was above average.
Their development Lake Grande also achieved the Conquas star award in 2019.
You can do a search for yourself here, at the BCA Search and Compare.
Check out the Conquas Projects by Developer
MCC Land was also in the news recently, having acquired a land parcel next to Tanah Merah MRT station for S$248.99 million in November 2020. The land plot can yield 265 condominium units and 2,000 square metres of commercial space. For this development, MCC Land (Singapore) entered into an agreement with The Place Holdings and Ekovest Development (S) jointly develop this 99-year lease site at Tanah Merah into a mixed residential development.
See: MCC Land wins tender for Tanah Merah site with S$249m bid
See: The Place Holdings to jointly develop a residential-commercial project in Tanah Merah
Provence Residence EC will definitely be catered for family living, and the info that we have at this point is that the units there will be composed of 3 and 4 bedder units.
3 Bedder Units:
4 Bedder Units
Provence Residence EC has some pretty interesting layouts that we'll take a quick look at.
Type C1 and C2 units are 3 bedder units, however, do take note that the 3rd bedroom indicated in the floorplan can only accommodate a single bed.
For these layouts, Bedroom 3 is now a more normal size and can fit a Queen sized Bed.
The main door of the unit faces the Kitchen.
The Master Bedroom enjoys access to the balcony, there is a Junior Master available.
The Main door opens to a more private space, and the Fridge is positioned outside the Kitchen.
Bedroom 3 can access the balcony, Junior Master is available, and the Kitchen is overall larger with a Dry Kitchen.
Canberra may be a relatively younger estate, but there are still amenities nearby.
Chief of which is Canberra Plaza, which opened in Dec 2019, and future residents of Provence Residence EC can also look forward to Bukit Canberra (slated for completion in end 2021), which will help bring about a lot of conveniences.
Amenities around Provence Residence include:
Now, at this point we do not have any info on the type of finishings or site layout of Provence Residence EC, however, we can analyse the feasibility of this development based on a few macro factors.
And these macro factors can sometimes be more important, as it affects the surroundings and the price potential of the project.
Now, from our earlier segment in case you are thinking that the projected psf for Provence Residence EC is high (at $1107psf), it's worth taking a note of some developments occurring around the Canberra area.
There are 2 land plots along Canberra Drive, near Canberra MRT, that have already been sold for private residential development.
These are marked as Parcel A and Parcel B, with Parcel B being twice as large as Parcel A.
The breakeven price for Parcel B is already at $1,162psf, and we factor in a 20% margin, the launch price for this development will be at an estimated $1394psf.
Compared with our estimate for Provence Residence EC, this is 25% higher.
Considering that Provence Residence EC isn't that far from MRT as well, buyers who purchase a unit at Provence Residence EC would have realised a paper gain when the development for Parcel A and B are launched.
In addition to Parcel A and B, there are as many as 3 other land plots within the immediate vicinity that are undeveloped and awaiting tender.
These are condominium land plots and will most definitely be sold at higher price levels than EC land.
Canberra may seem like it doesn't have much at this point in time, but that's where its potential is at and what buyers of Provence Residence need to pay special attention to.
As the area is being built, and connectivity, accessibility and convenience is being enhanced, the degree of interest (and demand) for that area increases, and so does property prices.
In fact, there are as many as 6 very key transformations and developments happening in the area that any home buyer needs to be aware of:
Ask any home buyer what is their top criteria when selecting a property to purchase.
More often than not, it is proximity to an MRT station.
Provence Residence EC is located a mere 450m away from Canberra MRT, which is great value in itself. A property located near to an MRT station is almost guaranteed to increase in value.
As a testament to the government's commitment to bringing up Canberra as a residential estate, the Canberra BTO was launched in Feb 2020, and this estate is right next to an MRT.
True enough, Canberra Vista was 10 times oversubscribed, which just shows how much interest is flocking to this region.
When these BTO buyers reach their MOP and want to upgrade, where will they look to purchase? Residential units around the area of course, with Provence Residence EC being one of the candidates.
Ok, this isn't exactly Canberra, but still very worth mentioning.
Sun Sails launched in Nov 2020, and also oversubscribed, with more than four first-time applicants vying for each of the 184 five-room flats.
This will have a spillover effect into Canberra as well, when these BTO home owners want to cash out and upgrade when they reach MOP. Similarly, when they want to upgrade, Provence Residence EC will be one of the choices.
Bukit Canberra is a significant project that hints at how much further the density of Canberra is set to increase.
The 12 hectare space - first announced in 2016 - will provide amenities such as a hawker centre, indoor and outdoor sport facilities, a polyclinic, a senior care centre, green spaces for community farming.
The hawker centre alone will feature over 40 stalls and more than 700 seats.
It will also see the largest ActiveSG gym with indoor and outdoor pools, along with 3km of running trails.
The creation of Bukit Canberra is in anticipation of the many more upcoming developments in Canberra.
A bonus?
Bukit Canberra is just across the road from where Provence Residence is at.
Every neighbourhood estate needs a mall for residents to get their daily necessities.
Canberra Plaza caters specifically to residents in the Canberra area, standing at 11,000sqm over 3-storeys.
The North South Corridor (NSC) is Singapore's 11th expressway, running from Admiralty Road West in the northern region to East Coast Parkway in the southern region, enabling connectivity to various parts of Singapore.
It spans 21.5km and has dedicated bus lanes and cycling lanes. Its significance is in catering to residents of the northern region and alleviating the heavy traffic flow that plagues CTE.
Originally conceived purely as an expressway in 2008, the NSC has since seen a change in concept to form Singapore's longest transit priority corridor, which means it will include dedicated bus and cycling lanes.
One other lesser well-known transformation taking place in Singapore is the relocation and transformation of Sembawang Shipyard area.
The shipyard is slated to cease its operations there, and the site projected to be redeveloped into a waterfront lifestyle precinct with plenty of public spaces for all to enjoy.
A waterfront public space with commercial and water sports activities is extremely rare in Singapore, and what this means is that the North area will increasingly become more sought after.
In conclusion, we believe in the potential of Provence Residence EC and this one development to look out for.
Do keep a lookout for the launch of Provence Residence EC in Mar/Apr 2021.
For more details on EC Eligibility Conditions, EC Grants, Resale Levy, EC Financing, please refer to the Provence Residence EC website.
If you'd like to contact us, leave us a note here.
Cheers!