Discover upcoming condo launches in Singapore

Are you searching for a brand new residential condominium that will TOP by this year and satisfying all these important criteria below?

* Reputable local developer
* Within short walking distance to MRT station
* Within 5 mins walk to amenities, eateries and shopping
* Quality finishings
* Near parks or park connectors

I have searched the market and shortlisted these quality residential developments that are expected to TOP by this year and each of them offers more than the above criteria for your consideration below:

The Jewel @ Buangkok is developed by reputable City Developments Limited (CDL) and just a short 4 mins walk to Buangkok MRT (NEL) station  allowing residents to find commuting a breeze, regardless of where you want to be. The area is also well served by the Central Expressway (CTE), Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) and Tampines Expressway (TPE).

The Jewel @ Buangkok is also less than 500 metres walk to Kopitiam food court, eateries, bakeries, amenities, shops, 24 hour NTUC supermarket and clinics. There are also nearby parks and park connectors for residents who enjoy jogging or green spaces.

The URA masterplan showed future development of an integrated bus interchange beside Buangkok MRT station. This will bring much joy and convenience as well as potential upside to properties nearby.

With only a short 5-minute walk to Pasir Ris MRT, Coco Palms is the final development in Pasir Ris Grove nearest to Pasir Ris MRT. A stunning residential development by City Developments Limited, Coco Palms is designed with inspiration from the world’s best resorts in the Maldives, Caribbean and Fiji seamlessly combining home comforts with the relaxing charms of a luxury beach resort. Designed with sustainability in mind, Coco Palms has achieved the BCA Green Mark GoldPLUS Award.

The Skywoods is a beautiful new launch residential development along Dairy Farm road, in the Bukit Timah enclave, set amidst lush greenery environment and with a picturesque view of forested area such as Dairy Farm Park and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve catering to the affluent lifestyle of the locality. The Skywoods offers residents unblocked panoramic view of both Dairy Farm Park and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve within 5 mins walk to the new Hillview MRT (DTL) and amenities, e.g. The Rail Mall.

Rezi 3Two is a rare new launch freehold project located in the city fringe at District 14. Rezi 3Two's city fringe location combined with its proximity to Dakota MRT Station (Circle Line), heading anywhere is a breeze for its residents plus eateries, amenities, cafes, supermarket and restaurants nearby. The nearby park connector is delightful for a leisurely stroll or a healthy jog / run along the Kallang River leading to Kallang Sports Hub and The Gardens by the Bay. Residents of Rezi 3Two commute easily to Central Business District (CBD), Marina Bay Sands (MBS), Shenton Way or even Suntec city.

This year - 2016, Singapore's Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat delivered his first Budget in Parliament on March 24. Here are key points from Budget 2016 that may interest you:

• Setting up of 'Our Singapore' fund. Like the SG50 fund, it will support projects that build the spirit of resilience and promote unity and sense of being Singaporean. The fund size is $25m and will be set up by 2H16.
• From 1 July 2016 to end-2018, business that help employees volunteer will receive 250% tax deduction.
• Pilot community networks for seniors will be established in order to encourage seniors to stay active, healthy and meaningfully engaged.
• Seniors will continue to receive other support like elder care subsidies and GST vouchers, which comes on top of support received from their children.
• Silver Support Scheme will cover up to 30% of seniors. Modest but meaningful supplement to retirement incomes. Not to substitute other forms of support like personal/family savings.
• Worker Income Supplement (WIS) scheme: Raise qualifying income saving to $2,000 per month, which will help bottom 20% income workers. Qualifying criteria will also be simplified, and payout systems will be enhanced. Now, workers will see quicker payouts, monthly instead of quarterly thus benefiting up to 460,000 Singaporeans.
• New outdoor campus will be built on Coney Island, in order to foster a spirit of adventure among children, build confidence and build team spirit across schools. This is expected to be ready 2020 and cost $200m.
• The Fresh Start Housing Scheme: provide grant 35k to let families with kids own a flat with shorter lease. To qualify, parents need to stay employed and make sure kids attend school.
• Parents to get $3,000 in Child Development Account of babies born from March 24
• Government will set aside $4.5b under the industry transformation program to support enterprises and industries. This will include increased funding for SPRING, IE Singapore, and the Economic Development Board to support economic development.
• Infrastructure development will see a further $1 billion top-up to the Changi Airport development fund. Enhancement of R&D capability will mean $40 billion will be directed towards industry collaboration, with a top-up fund of $1.5b to enterprises.
• To promote startups in new and existing industries, a new entity called SG Innovate to help link startups with mentors, venture funding. SG Innovate will build over what has been done to expand accelerator programs to new industries.

• SPRING will partner with Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) on 30 projects to reach 3,000 SMEs. The government will provide $30m over the next 5 years to support Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs).

• National Robotics Program: Solution providers will offer cheaper packages for SMEs. It can help create value added jobs in various sector such as healthcare, construction, manufacturing, logistics. The government will provide $450m in support of the national robotics program over the next 3 years.
• The government will provide an automation support package for an initial period of 3 years. Currently, there are no incentives to promote automation. The government will shoulder up to 50% of the cost of qualified automation projects, with a maximum grant of $1m. Qualifying projects will also receive 100% allowance for automation equipment. Access to loans will also be improved.
• A business grants portal will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2016. Firms will not need to go from agency to agency to access incentives. Various support schemes will be reviewed and simplified.
  

Land Transport Authority announced on 21 March 2016 that they will build the world's first: four-in-one rail and bus depot in East Coast for S$1.99 billion by 2024. At the East Coast Integrated Depot, the train depots for the East-West Line (EWL), the Downtown Line (DTL) and Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) will be stacked on top of each other, with a bus depot located next to them, in total occupying about 36 hectares of land housing up to 220 trains and 550 buses. Doing this will save 44 hectares of land, equivalent to 60 football fields. Work is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2016 and be completed by 2024.

Since we are on the topic of Singapore exciting future development in the East, below are two good projects in District 15 that you may want to consider if you are hunting for a nice new launch property either for investment or own stay. These two properties have good potential upside and are very near to upcoming MRT stations along the Thomson East Coast Line (TEL) with amenities.

Despite slowing economies and our strong Singapore currency, Mainland Chinese and Malaysian buyers bought 1,952 private homes in 2015, or 54 percent of total foreign purchases in 2015, that is more than half of the total purchases made by foreigners for properties in Singapore.

Chinese nationals accounted for 998 private home purchases and Malaysian home buyers accounted for 954 private homes in Singapore. Many mainland Chinese also bought homes for their children studying in Singapore.

Even after the devaluation of the Chinese yuan in August 2015 which resulted in a reduction of the purchasing power of mainland Chinese, they are still attracted to Singapore's properties due to Singapore’s political stability, transparent real estate policies and strict rule of law. Investors value these factors when deciding where to invest their money as they would want to enjoy a higher level of certainty on returns.

However, it is interesting to note that the number of Indonesian home purchases fell greatly by 33.6 percent to 279 units in 2015, much lower than the figure of 618 homes bought by Indonesians in 2008 during the global financial crisis.

Freehold city fringe projects near MRT & amenities like Rezi 3Two which is expected to TOP around June this year in 2016 is a good investment choice for good returns.