Having received a few private messages asking for our opinion on certain new launches, we decided to create a new section “Project Review” within PropertyNet.SG to share our review of new launches.

And the 1^st project that we are providing our opinion on is Queens Peak at Queenstown.

In brief, Queens Peak is a 99-years leasehold 736-residential units development by HY Realty (Dundee) Pte Ltd launched last Oct 2016. For more details on Queen Peak, you may visit one of the marketing websites at http://queens-peak-condo.co/.

After its well-received launch in early November 2017 where HY Realty sold 250 units, Queens Peak sales continued steadily, and as of today (20 Oct 2017), buyers have picked up 486 units, with 1 Bedroom & 1+1 Bedroom configuration fully sold. You may check the availability of your choice units at http://queens-peak-condo.co/price-sales-chart/.

In this article, apart from highlighting the attractive attributes that led to the good take-up rate of Queens Peak, we will also dig further to identify any potential pitfalls one might face when buying Queens Peak.

Pricing

Based on transacted data for the past six months, Queens Peak is the second most expensive developments within 0.5 KM from Queenstown MRT station.

However, considering that Queens and Alexis are older developments, the project comparable to Queens Peak would be Commonwealth Towers.

Therefore, for this article, we will compare Queens Peak with Commonwealth Towers. If you are deciding between Queens Peak and other developments, do feel free to contact us at (65) 6100 1344 for our opinions.

Regarding PSF, Queens Peak is relatively better priced than Commonwealth Towers.

Let’s look at each bedroom type. We will exclude 1-bedroom configuration as it is already fully sold.

Based on past transactions, Queens Peak is priced relatively cheaper than Commonwealth Tower.

Breaking down the pricing into bedroom type, regarding per unit pricing, 2 Bedroom & 3 Bedroom are more affordable at Queens Peak than Commonwealth Tower. As the 4-bedroom of Commonwealth Tower is smaller in size compared to those of Queens Peak, the per unit price is generally lower than that of Queens Peak.

On the whole, despite being a newer development than Commonwealth Tower, Queens Peak, surprisingly, was competitively priced against Commonwealth Tower.

Furthermore, with the higher land bid price (around S$1,050 per square per plot ratio ) at nearby Stirling road announced on May 20. This upcoming development at Stirling Road’s breakeven cost would be around S$1,600 to S$1,700 PSF PPR, making Queens Peak’s current selling PSF of S$1,500 to S$1,600 an attractive proposition.

Potential Rental Yield

Given that Queens Peak is a new project, we have to take reference from Queens and Alexis to project the rental yield of Queens Peak. As Queens Peak is a newer development and connected to the train station, it should command a better rent than Queens and Alexis. However, given the size of the apartment of Queens Peak is smaller than Queens, to attract tenant away from Queens, the price would have to be attractive. Henceforth, balancing it out, the rent at Queens Peak would be near to the rent of Queens.

With that, we have worked out the potential rental yield of Queens Peak as followed:

In today’s market, a gross rental yield of 3.3 to 3.7% is acceptable. However, it is important to remember that when the development TOP, it will face rental competition from Commonwealth Tower and one never knows the future of the rental market. On a side note, one has to remember to take into account the MCST fees, property tax, agent’s fee, non-rental period & cost of upkeep when working out if Queens Peak is worth investing.

Unit Mix Distribution

Queens Peak is one of the few developments where the unit mix has been distributed wisely. At Queens Peak, shown in the diagram below, the larger units distributed above level 27, whereas the smaller units are distributed below level 26.

As the smaller units are typically purchased for investment purposes, it makes economic sense for a smaller unit to be given the lower floor, and the everchanging of tenants will not cause unnecessary disturbances/friction to the residents of larger units. Over here, we assume that buyers of larger units are purchased mainly for own stay.

Floor Layout

The clear downside of Queens Peak is the size of the common room – it can barely fit a queen-sized bed. We may argue that bedrooms of newer developments are mostly small, but when we compare it to its comparable development, Commonwealth Tower, next door, it is a disappointment. The common room of Commonwealth Tower can easily fit in a queen-sized bed. On a side note, for a family with kids who like to coop up in the room using their electronic gadget, having a smaller bedroom would encourage your kids to spend more time in the spacious living area.

Another let down of Queens Peak is the presence of unnecessary foyer in some of the layout, and in some of the layout has a weird shaped elongated balcony which may be hard to utilise.

The upside Queens Peak has against Commonwealth Tower is that all the bedrooms have wall to wall length of windows to allow natural lightings to lit up the room. At Commonwealth Tower, some of the layouts have a room with only one panel of the window.

Proximity to MRT Station

Home buyers and investors prize developments that are located near to MRT. Queens Peak is one of the rare few new developments left. In fact, Queens Peak is connected seamlessly to Queenstown MRT by a sheltered bridge.

Utilizing the Range-Based Car Parking Standards

Given the proximity to the MRT and the fact that tenants of 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom are unlikely to own cars, Queens Peak has reduced the number of car park lots to 80% of the household units (under the Range-Based Car Parking Standards by LTA), i.e. 589 lots to 736 apartment units. In a way, the development cost may be reduced due to lesser car parks needed to be built and these savings can be passed on to the buyers.

Wrapping it up

Having shared our findings on the goods and the bads of Queens Peak, we hope this article will help you make a better-informed decision.

If you have any comments regarding Queens Peak, you may leave your comments at the bottom of this article.

For more information (floor plan, viewing appointment, prices etc.) on the development, you may visit their page or drop them (developer sales team) a note using the contact form below..

Editor’s note

We will be reviewing more projects in the coming weeks. If you have any project you hope we can prioritise, you may write to us at hello@52.221.194.137.

Disclaimer

This article serves as a guide only, and you should not make your decision based solely on this article. You are advised to seek professional advice from licensed real estate salesperson to assist you in planning your real estate portfolio.

Data source: URA, extracted on 15 October 2017