Buying a strata Landed (CLUSTER HOUSE)
Longing for a landed home, but wish it could have enticing condo-style facilities such as swimming pools, gyms, well-maintained gardens
and 24-hour security? A cluster house might be your dream come true. Once rather exotic hybrids, cluster houses are getting popular,
with more projects coming on the market. Basically landed homes with a strata title, a cluster development can comprise terraces, semi-Ds,
bungalows or a mix of these, but they all share facilities within the development.
Located within the prestigious Old Holland Road area among enclave of Good Class bungalows, the freehold Illoura comprises 30 four storey detached and semi-detached cluster houses that overlook a 25m long lap pool, water features and lushly landscaped recreation areas. The asking price for a home in Illoura is around $4.5 million to $5.3 million (about $1,219 psf) for sizes ranging from a spacious
4,176 to 4,563sqf. While $5 million may seem steep for a strata home, cluster houses are in demand. Semi-Ds at Hillcrest Villa, a 99 year cluster project at Hillcrest Road which launched in 2009 at $850psf, are being snapped up for $950 – $1,000psf. The 163-unit
Hillcrest Villa enjoys prime location fronting leafy Watten Estate. It’s a short walk from elite Nanyang Girls School, Raffles Girls Primary and National Junior College and the upcoming Tan Kah Kee MRT Station. A new launch, Far East Organization’s The Greenwood at
Greenwood Avenue nestled in premium Watten Estate, is also selling well. Prices cost around $3.2m for an approximately 3,000sqf two
storey terrace house (about $1,000psf ), with a 103-year lease starting from 2008.
CRUCIAL DIFFERENCE
To the uninitiated, cluster homes look exactly like regular landed homes. They are usually at least two storeys high and located within
zoned landed or mixed landed estates so they blend in. However, property pros warn that some bullish developers are charging a stiff
“bungalow premium” by pricing cluster and landed homes in the same location similarly, even though they don’t have the same property
rights. These developers use the skyrocketing per-square-foot price of land in premium estates to calculate their project’s psf price.
“Because their property rights are inferior to normal bungalows, in theory they should fetch lower prices. If they are priced higher, ask why,”
warns Colin Tan, Director of Research, Suntec Chesterton.
There is an important difference between a cluster bungalow and the “goodclass bungalow” next door. With conventional bungalow, you
own the land on which your property sits. With a cluster bungalow, you are accorded a strata title, which entitles you to a share of the
whole estate – meaning you have joint ownership of the land as well as of the common areas like walkways and gardens.
Unlike individually owned landed properties, strata titled properties are normally priced calculated based on built-in area or floor area.
Comparison of prices of normal landed properties is usually on a psf basis on the land area. Land titles are calculated based on land
area with some premium for the house – the older the house, the less premium it commands.
HIGH FIXED COSTS
Owning a strata title means you’ll need to pay a monthly maintenance fee for upkeep purposes. For instance, owners of the 163 homes at
Hillcrest Villa pay about $200 a month. But residents of the much smaller Illoura pay about $1,400-$1,500 as the costs are shared amongst
just 30 units.
You will also be bound by condominium rules. If you buy a bungalow or semi-D in a mixed development, you’ll find yourself paying a great
deal more towards upgrading than your apartment-owning neighbours as you own more share value units. If there is a need to repaint the block or replace the lifts, you, as an owner of a “large apartment”, will have to fork out a larger amount for a facility you don’t use.
Another implication is that, unlike owners of conventional landed homes, owners of cluster houses do not have the flexibility of rebuilding their
properties, or making changes to the external facade, without the approval of the condominium’s management committee.
STYLISH PACKAGING
Despite these caveats, cluster houses have their admirers. To this group of buyers, they are still more attractive than individual landed homes
as they are new, well-situated and more stylishly packaged. You also do not have the costs and headaches of renovating a rundown house.
Developments such as The Teneriffe and Binjai Crest, which are nestled in super-prime areas, are sought after by a niche group of locals and
expatriates, says Tay Huey Ying, Collier International’s Director of Research & Advisory.
“They marry the status and appeal of landed properties with the convenience and perks of condominium living, with communal facilities such
as swimming pools, saunas and playgrounds.”
Another big draw is the high rentals they can fetch – between $11,000-$14,500. Agents report that a house in newer projects such as Hillcrest
Villa and The Teneriffe can command rentals of between $11,000-$13,000, while older ones like Binjai Crest fetch about $8,000. The rental yields
can be about four per cent.
For those who value privacy, another appeal is the 24-hour security and seclusion from the main road. “They are usually found within a gated
development,” says Tay. “The basement carparks also remove the ills of congested roadside parking often associated with conventional landed
estates,” she adds.
“A responsible agent or developer of a cluster bungalow development should highlight the differences between such a development and a
conventional bungalow to prospective purchasers,” she adds. As with all big-ticket purchases and investments, it is up to the buyer to weigh the
financial outlay and potential rental yield along with the intangibles of exclusivity, good design and stylish environment.
Longing for a landed home, but wish it could have enticing condo-style facilities such as swimming pools, gyms, well-maintained gardens
and 24-hour security? A cluster house might be your dream come true. Once rather exotic hybrids, cluster houses are getting popular,
with more projects coming on the market. Basically landed homes with a strata title, a cluster development can comprise terraces, semi-Ds,
bungalows or a mix of these, but they all share facilities within the development.
Located within the prestigious Old Holland Road area among enclave of Good Class bungalows, the freehold Illoura comprises 30 four storey detached and semi-detached cluster houses that overlook a 25m long lap pool, water features and lushly landscaped recreation areas. The asking price for a home in Illoura is around $4.5 million to $5.3 million (about $1,219 psf) for sizes ranging from a spacious
4,176 to 4,563sqf. While $5 million may seem steep for a strata home, cluster houses are in demand. Semi-Ds at Hillcrest Villa, a 99 year cluster project at Hillcrest Road which launched in 2009 at $850psf, are being snapped up for $950 – $1,000psf. The 163-unit
Hillcrest Villa enjoys prime location fronting leafy Watten Estate. It’s a short walk from elite Nanyang Girls School, Raffles Girls Primary and National Junior College and the upcoming Tan Kah Kee MRT Station. A new launch, Far East Organization’s The Greenwood at
Greenwood Avenue nestled in premium Watten Estate, is also selling well. Prices cost around $3.2m for an approximately 3,000sqf two
storey terrace house (about $1,000psf ), with a 103-year lease starting from 2008.
CRUCIAL DIFFERENCE
To the uninitiated, cluster homes look exactly like regular landed homes. They are usually at least two storeys high and located within
zoned landed or mixed landed estates so they blend in. However, property pros warn that some bullish developers are charging a stiff
“bungalow premium” by pricing cluster and landed homes in the same location similarly, even though they don’t have the same property
rights. These developers use the skyrocketing per-square-foot price of land in premium estates to calculate their project’s psf price.
“Because their property rights are inferior to normal bungalows, in theory they should fetch lower prices. If they are priced higher, ask why,”
warns Colin Tan, Director of Research, Suntec Chesterton.
There is an important difference between a cluster bungalow and the “goodclass bungalow” next door. With conventional bungalow, you
own the land on which your property sits. With a cluster bungalow, you are accorded a strata title, which entitles you to a share of the
whole estate – meaning you have joint ownership of the land as well as of the common areas like walkways and gardens.
Unlike individually owned landed properties, strata titled properties are normally priced calculated based on built-in area or floor area.
Comparison of prices of normal landed properties is usually on a psf basis on the land area. Land titles are calculated based on land
area with some premium for the house – the older the house, the less premium it commands.
HIGH FIXED COSTS
Owning a strata title means you’ll need to pay a monthly maintenance fee for upkeep purposes. For instance, owners of the 163 homes at
Hillcrest Villa pay about $200 a month. But residents of the much smaller Illoura pay about $1,400-$1,500 as the costs are shared amongst
just 30 units.
You will also be bound by condominium rules. If you buy a bungalow or semi-D in a mixed development, you’ll find yourself paying a great
deal more towards upgrading than your apartment-owning neighbours as you own more share value units. If there is a need to repaint the block or replace the lifts, you, as an owner of a “large apartment”, will have to fork out a larger amount for a facility you don’t use.
Another implication is that, unlike owners of conventional landed homes, owners of cluster houses do not have the flexibility of rebuilding their
properties, or making changes to the external facade, without the approval of the condominium’s management committee.
STYLISH PACKAGING
Despite these caveats, cluster houses have their admirers. To this group of buyers, they are still more attractive than individual landed homes
as they are new, well-situated and more stylishly packaged. You also do not have the costs and headaches of renovating a rundown house.
Developments such as The Teneriffe and Binjai Crest, which are nestled in super-prime areas, are sought after by a niche group of locals and
expatriates, says Tay Huey Ying, Collier International’s Director of Research & Advisory.
“They marry the status and appeal of landed properties with the convenience and perks of condominium living, with communal facilities such
as swimming pools, saunas and playgrounds.”
Another big draw is the high rentals they can fetch – between $11,000-$14,500. Agents report that a house in newer projects such as Hillcrest
Villa and The Teneriffe can command rentals of between $11,000-$13,000, while older ones like Binjai Crest fetch about $8,000. The rental yields
can be about four per cent.
For those who value privacy, another appeal is the 24-hour security and seclusion from the main road. “They are usually found within a gated
development,” says Tay. “The basement carparks also remove the ills of congested roadside parking often associated with conventional landed
estates,” she adds.
“A responsible agent or developer of a cluster bungalow development should highlight the differences between such a development and a
conventional bungalow to prospective purchasers,” she adds. As with all big-ticket purchases and investments, it is up to the buyer to weigh the
financial outlay and potential rental yield along with the intangibles of exclusivity, good design and stylish environment.
