Condo Preview: Tree House



Tucked away in the quiet corner of Singapore, surrounded by lush untouched greenery, is CDL's latest - Tree House. Check out this 24-storey, 99-year condo in District 23. We've got plenty of photos, site layouts, floorplans and much more!

Tree House is quite aptly named, it's literally surrounded by trees. Situated at the junction of Petir Road and Chestnut Avenue, this development is also quite 'ulu' or remote. Some might like this area for the greenery, peace and quiet, some might hate it for the inconvenience when it comes to getting around.

The developer City Developments Limited (CDL) won the tender for this site back in late-August 2009, making this the quickest turnaround ever - 8 months from winning the bid to project launch. It's obvious they're trying to catch the buying wave.

They won the bid at $144m, making it around $280 psf ppr.

Tenure: 99 yrs
District: 23
Developer:
City Development Ltd
Estimated TOP: end-2014
Floors: 24
Blocks: 4
Units: 429 total, 2BR (48), 2+1BR (72),3BR (119), 3+1BR (116), 4BR (66), PH (8).

Unit Sizes
2 BR: 721 sqft (PES: 990 sqft)
2+1 BR: 807 - 861sqft (PES: 1,076 sqft)
3 BR: 1,151 - 1,162 sqft (PES: 1,474 -1,485 sqft)
3+1 BR: 1,227 - 1,248 sqft (PES: 1,550 - 1,636 sqft)
4 BR: 1,410 sqft (PES: 1,959 sqft)
PH: 1,927 / 1,969 / 2,023 / 2,917 sqft


Notable Facilities:
TWO(!) tennis courts
Swimming pool
Gym
Jogging Track

Location

Image: Google Maps. Note: Site overlay is approximate.

The closest place you could do your eating and shopping is at Rail Mall about a 1km drive away. The next best thing would be Ten Mile Junction in Bukit Panjang.

This area is like Punggol back in the early 2000s, empty plots of land all around. Plenty of room for development.


Image: Google Street View

The new Downtown Line Cashew MRT and Hillview MRT will be built pretty close by and slated for completion in 2015, which should be around the same time as the Tree House's TOP. Check out this PDF for their location.

Those with cars should note that BKE and Upper Bukit Timah Road gets quite heavy during rush hour.

If you look at the artist impression below, there's this cool feature - wall garden / living wall / vertical garden or whatever you might call it. It's at the block closest to the tennis courts. Pretty neat way to block out the hot hot evening sun.


Wall-garden/Vertical Garden

Site Layout

Image: Google Maps. Note: Site overlay is approximate. Green arrows = ideal view, yellow arrows = fair view, red arrows = not so good view. [Edit (16 Apr 2010): We have made some corrections to stacks 1 and 2, they are facing east. Thanks: Kwuan Tzee.]

Best views and best units
The blocks are north-south facing, meaning that future developments north and south of Tree House will block your views. Don't believe us, check the URA Masterplan 2008.

To the east it's the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE), there's 100m of jungle/forest to dampen the noise and block your view. Past that, its greeeeeenery all the way with Singapore's central water catchment areas. High-floor units could possibly get a view of the Upper Peirce Reservoir and Mandai Reservoir on a clear day.

[Edit 16 Apr 2010: We've made a mistake with the views of stack 01. Initially we thought it faced north-south. Actually it faces east.

With that correction, the views in stack 01 could be the best. It looks down at the pool below and looks through the gap between the blocks to the Central Catchment Area. We would recommend high-floor units in stack 01.]

We also recommend high floor units in stacks 07, 08, 17 and 18 to make the most of the green view. If you think the BKE is too unsightly, the next best could be mid-floor units in stack 13 - you get a pool view and will be some distance away from any future developments south of the project.

Until a new development gets in their way, stacks 03 and 04 do get a nice view of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve to the south.


Prices
Agents are touting "prices starting from $6XXk". Let's assume the smallest units - 2BR, 721 sqft - are going for $610,000. Going by that (admittedly shaky) yardstick, that works out to around $840psf. Which means larger units could be going in the range of $750 - $800psf.

We shall know for sure when the showflat opens its doors tomorrow for the VVIP preview.

Nearby Cashew Heights (999 yr, TOP92) caveats from Jan to Mar 2010 are at an average of $708psf. Glendale Park (FH, TOP2000) Jan 2010 caveats averaged $701 psf while Hillview Heights (FH, TOP96) Jan - Mar 2010 averaged $715psf.

Quick thoughts
CDL's bid for this site was rather aggressive, and its chairman Kwek Leng Beng was pretty confident about the location. Perhaps he knows something we don't.

Think long term: you can always look at this project as the area's 'pioneer' development, whose prices should rise as soon as the Downtown Line gets built in 2015.

Still, it'll do you no harm to head down to the showroom and see the site for yourself!

More images



Pool views

Some floorplans

2 BR Floorplan


2+1 BR Floorplan


3 BR Floorplan


3+1 BR Floorplan


4 BR Floorplan

Images: Brochure

Tree House update: Breathtaking views and Balloting

We popped by CDL's Tree House and took some photos of the environment around. Check out some breathtaking views of the Central Catchment Area! Plus - some interesting developments!

View along Petir Road, towards Bt Panjang

This is the area just south of the development. Plenty of greenery and jungle around. Note the Tree House showroom in the background.

South view, Petir Road towards Dairy Farm Road

High floor units will be able to see Bukit Timah Hill.

View on 16th floor, Blk 201 Petir Road

This shot faces north-east. In the background is the Central Catchment Area.

View on 21st floor, Blk 210 Petir Road

This shot faces north-east. Look at that! Who says Singapore has no natural landscape? The tiny silver of water way way back is Mandai Reservoir. The road in the foreground is the BKE. This block is right next to it. It's quite noisy too.

View on the 20th floor, Blk 211 Petir Road

This is the money shot! The camera is facing south-east. The Tree House site is further down on the right-hand side of the image. My my my! That's Upper Peirce Reservoir my friends! Amazing!


Trees, trees, trees! Same angle, but more to the left (east).

An update - cheque balloting
According to our sources, this site is so popular that the developer will be balloting cheques come Thursday 22 April for their VVIP preview. In essence, no more first come first serve for VVIPs, must ballot HDB-style. Interested buyers have to send in their cheques by this Monday 19 April. So move fast!

Those who are concerned about the potential noise BKE makes should not be too worried. The trees shield the traffic noise pretty well. Only if you listen hard, you can make out a low low hum but really, it's not noticeable at all.

The (rumoured) prices are pretty acceptable, final quantum for the 2BRs are around the $600-700k mark and the 3BRs around $800-900k. We'll only know the final price on launch day.

We do forsee very good sales for Tree House. There aren't many mass market units to choose from these days.

As usual, not all units are available in the first phase (esp the ones with the good view), but hey, it never hurts to try your luck!

Worth looking at
There's still time! We highly suggest you pop by this weekend to take a look. Official 'public' opening is on 23rd April, while VVIP 22nd April. Option-to-purchase cheques must come in by this Monday 19th April.

As posted in h88.com.sg by John

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