The Tre Ver, a joint-venture project between UOL Group and UIC Ltd, drew a crowd of more than 6,000 on its preview weekend on July 21 and 22. This was despite the preview taking place just a fortnight after the ninth round of property cooling measures came into effect.
“The turnout was very good,” says Daniel Lim, director of projects and marketing at Huttons Asia, joint marketing agent with ERA and PropNex for The Tre Ver. “A fair number who visited the showflat on a weekday returned for a second visit to submit their expressions of interest.”
With the latest property cooling measures, buyers will be focusing on not just pricing and location but also product quality, says Liam Wee Sin, deputy group CEO of UOL Group. With effect from July 6, the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) was increased by five percentage points and mortgage borrowing limits were cut by 5ppt.
Liam believes The Tre Ver has an edge over other new launches. The project is a redevelopment of the former Raintree Gardens privatised HUDC estate, which UOL Group purchased en bloc for $344.2 million in October 2016. The price translates into a land rate of $797 psf per plot ratio (ppr).
The property transaction marked one of the first en bloc sales before the onset of the collective sale fever in 2017 and 1H2018. The cooling measures have halted the collective sales train in its tracks. “Developers will [now] take a breather,” says Liam. “We expect the longterm housing supply to moderate.”
Instead of rushing to be the first off the mark with a new launch, UOL took its time with the project, collaborating with acclaimed architect WOHA, a champion of green design. This is not the first tie-up between UOL Group and WOHA; they have worked together for 15 years. They collaborated on condominiums in the Newton-Novena area, Newton Suites and 1 Moulmein Rise, which won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007.
WOHA was also the architect for UOL’s Parkroyal at Pickering, which won two awards: the Singapore President’s Design Award 2013 Design of the Year, and the Fiabci Prix d’Excellence 2014 World Gold Winner in the hotel category. The architectural firm is also designing the group’s redevelopment of Pan Pacific Orchard on Claymore Road.
UOL and WOHA have paid a great deal of attention to the interiors of the units at the 729- unit The Tre Ver. A total of 286 units will enjoy the “green foyer” concept and have views of greenery from both the entrance and the balcony. Further, all the units will have marble flooring for the living area and American oak timber flooring for the bedrooms.
The Tre Ver will capitalise on its 220m Kallang River frontage, where 12 raintrees will be conserved. The 99-year leasehold project will comprise three 20-storey blocks, two 19-storey blocks and four 8-storey blocks on a 201,405 sq ft site.
The blocks are oriented such that 80% of the units at The Tre Ver will have a water view — either of the Kallang River or a swimming pool. More than a third of these units will have a dual water view. The remaining 20% of the units will have a view of greenery — looking out towards Bidadari or Woodleigh Park. The development is also located next to the central urban loop park connector.
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Starting from $1,525 psf for a 484 sq ft, one-bedroom unit, The Tre Ver offers a good proposition, says Huttons’ Lim.
Park Colonial at Woodleigh was the first project in the Woodleigh-Potong Pasir area to be launched this year. Given its proximity to the Woodleigh MRT station, 51% of the 805 units in the development were sold within two weeks of its launch on July 5. Its showflat was closed after the weekend of July 14 and 15. Some of the units sold crossed $2,000 psf, according to Lim.
He therefore says the pricing of The Tre Ver “is at a sweet spot” for homebuyers.
The Tre Ver is within easy access of the Central Expressway and Pan-Island Expressway. It is also near top schools such as Saint Andrew’s Village, Cedar Primary School and Cedar Girls’ Secondary School as well as Maris Stella High School. The Stamford American International School and the Australian International School are also nearby. The project is located about 900m from two MRT stations — Potong Pasir and Woodleigh — on the Northeast Line.
UOL’s Liam believes that green or sustainable designs are increasingly sought after and have become a luxury statement. “The Tre Ver is built to be sustainable over the long term,” he says.