Should You Buy 8@BT? A Pricing Review Comparison With The Reserve Residences And The Linq @ Beauty World

The official prices for 8@BT aren’t out yet, but the developers have indicated a starting $PSF of $2,530. With that, here’s a guesstimate of what we think the starting $PSF for each unit type would be based on this information:

This is based on the following assumptions:

As such, we will cover the following points in this pricing review:

1. Why the exit for buyers of 8@BT could be more challenging in the short-term
2. Where does it stand in today’s new launch context – particularly those close to the MRT?
3. What are the prices of new condos around?

Why the exit strategy for 8@BT in the short-term could be complicated

D21 is no stranger to new launches in the past few years, but of interest are two plots that’s right next to 8@BT: The Linq @ Beauty World and The Reserve Residences. Looking at these two developments will help give a sense of how competitive the prices may be on the resale market later:

In the table above, we’ve averaged out the $PSF of all units for their respective bedrooms and calculated the premium or discount over the estimated starting $PSF.

The Linq @ Beauty World was first sold in 2020, so it had an advantage (for buyers) of being sold before the property market picked up. It’s also freehold which gives is an edge over 8@BT and The Reserve Residences. Now as the market is at a high, the prices will seem more than reasonable, given how prices have moved..

Here are the sub sale transactions that have occurred:

The most recent transaction was for a 2-bedder on the 17th floor and it went for $2,915 psf. This is around an 11% premium over the 2-bedroom at 8@BT.

However, its overall price is rather competitive due to its smaller size. It’s also a 17th-floor unit, so prices would likely be lower for the lower floors.

The 549 sq ft unit comes with just 1 bathroom though, which is expected of this size.

Both layouts offer some slight differences which boil down to personal preferences. On the one hand, 8@BT has one smaller bedroom but a more spacious living/dining as well as a household shelter. The Linq @ Beauty World has a larger common bedroom but its kitchen and dining are cramped together. Plus, it doesn’t have a household shelter.

For young couples who don’t intend to have kids, 8@BT’s layout is more suitable. Having the kitchen separate from the dining offers more space to entertain guests. A smaller common bedroom might not be such a bad thing if it’s to be used as an office. The window along the living and dining also brings more light into the home and there’ll be lots of cross ventilation as the kitchen even has a window of its own to allow air to flow through.

So while it is bigger and has a smaller bedroom, the overall layout could still make sense.

Next is the 3 bedder. There’s only 1 recent transaction – 797 sq ft. This happened on Feb 2024 and went for $2.24 million. This translates to $2,812 psf on the second highest floor – level 19.

The compact 3 bedder is quite well optimised. There’s a small foyer, 2 bathrooms of which one is ensuite. No enclosed kitchen and a smaller common bedroom though. But overall, a layout that makes sense for the more budget-conscious.

On the other hand, 8@BT already starts off with a larger-than-average 3 bedder at 1,001 sq ft.

At the estimated indicative, it puts the 3-bedder at close to $2.6 million dollars The extra space gets you a larger balcony, enclosed kitchen and a store room which is very useful for families. 

A more comparable 3-bedder at The Linq would be the 89 sqm one that’s closer in size to this 1,001 sq ft unit. It’s got 3 decently-sized bedrooms and an enclosed kitchen, but lacks a household shelter as the main difference from 8@BT’s smallest 3 bedder. These are found at stack 02.

If we average out the price paid for this stack, you’ll see that buyers got a pretty good deal:

On average, these units went for just under $2 million dollars. This would greatly reward the sellers on the resale market today.

The gap is quite considerable, so buyers of 8@BT now would have less wiggle room to hold their prices should buyers at The Linq choose to let go of their units for less (should they choose to exit in a down market). 

The Linq @ Beauty World, however, does come in smaller unit sizes. Apart from the lower $PSF, this would also affect the overall quantum. That said, buyers who are sticky on layouts of a larger size would be limited by the options at The Linq @ Beauty World, so this is a saving grace for 8@BT as there are more varied layouts.

Next, let’s look at The Reserve Residences which was launched more recently and is an integrated development.

The first sale of The Reserve Residences was on the 6th Jan 2023. This was already when the property market was high, but still lower than it was today as you can see from the lower average $PSFs of The Reserve Residences compared to 8@BT. Given the launch date, there are obviously no sub sale transactions yet. 

As mentioned, The Reserve Residences is an integrated development so it’s definitely much bigger and will be more busy than 8@BT, but there’s also the added advantage of lower maintenance costs due to the larger number of units. This is unlike with 8@BT which is more exclusive, but maintenance costs are expected to be higher which is another factor that could put off future buyers.

In recent years, Integrated Developments have also been in demand from buyers. It’s more prominent and rentability is also better as tenants would find the convenience to amenities and transport links at The Reserve Residences a huge draw.

Average prices of its 1 bedroom is just $1.2 million and has an average $PSF that’s very close to the starting $PSF at 8@BT. The Reserve Residences would also be newer as it would only be completed a year later than 8@BT despite being launched earlier. 

As such, buyers of 8@BT today who want to exit in the short term may face some challenges as they will compete with buyers of The Linq @ Beauty World and The Reserve Residences.

This is amplified by the fact that both developments have a combined residential unit count of 852 units which is 5.4 times more than the units at 8@BT.

Unlike The Linq @ Beauty World though, The Reserve Residences comes with a range of wider units that could see similar competition with 8@BT. With TRR, 2-bedders have an option of the study layout at over 800 sq ft.

3 bedders have both compact options from 883 sq ft up and bigger options such as the 1,238 sq ft unit that also comes with a private lift and household shelter.

Here’s a look at the unit mix at The Reserve Residences:

What are your options today in the new launch market?

Pricing aside, the main issue in this Beauty World area is the lack of new launch supply. As of the time of writing, only a couple of big units are left at TRR so buyers who want the convenience of the location do not have any choice. 

For this exercise, we’ll look at the cheapest available units in other new launches. Note that these prices are based on current information that we have and may not be representative of the entire new launch market.

Doing this would allow you to weigh your options today if you’re looking for a new launch condo.

1 Bedroom

From the current supply and prices, the overall estimated 1 bedroom price looks reasonable considering its location in Bukit Timah and the fact that it’s next to an MRT. Other cheaper new launches are clustered in the Lentor area, or aren’t near an MRT. 

The Lentor area is also very new, so it makes sense that a more developed and mature area like Beauty World carries a premium to it. Plus, it’s in Bukit Timah and within 1KM to the popular Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary.

If we look at the remaining condos, 8@BT cost less than others like 10 Evelyn and The Continuum either due to their central location or freehold status.

2 Bedroom

It is the same conclusion with the 2-bedder as well. It’s just slightly higher than The Myst which is located in the Cashew area and has a leasehold tenure as well.

If this was the case, the 2-bedder at 8@BT would seem like a reasonable deal in today’s context. It’s logically pricier than the Lentor condos yet cheaper than Bartley Vue which isn’t near an MRT nor in the CCR.

However, 8@BT’s 2 bedder is a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom + 1 toilet. It doesn’t come with a full-fledged 2 bed 2 bath layout. The biggest-sized layout comes with a store and 1 shower rather than 2 proper bathrooms.

As such, there may not be a choice here despite its attractive price point if having 2 bathrooms is important to you.

3 Bedroom

8@BT is on the more expensive side when it comes to the 3-bedroom projects, and this is mainly due to its larger-than-average size. The smallest 3-bedder is already 1,001 sq ft.

If we look at Grand Dunman which is also leasehold and near an MRT (Dakota MRT), the cheapest 3 bedroom going for $2.458 million is 980 sq ft. $2.458 million is just 5% less and in terms of $PSF, it’s actually similar since Grand Dunman is slightly smaller.

Thus it does look quite competitively priced in today’s current market.

4 Bedroom

At the estimated indicative, 8@BT is priced similarly to the cheapest 4-bedder in J’den now. J’den is an integrated development. While it is further from the CBD, the MRT ride to City Hall is similar to 8@BT (about 30 minutes).

J’den’s cheapest 4-bedder in this case is a 1,485 sq ft unit located on level 4. 8@BT’s estimated cheapest 4-bedder would be a 1,356 sq ft unit located on level 9:

While the prices are similar, J’den’s layout seems better in that all the common bedrooms look like they can fit a queen-sized bed, unlike 8@BT.

J’den also seems to have a more spacious kitchen, allowing for an island counter in the middle. There’s also a WC next to the kitchen unlike the one in 8@BT.

Overall, at this estimated indicative pricing, prices would seem fair based on today’s conditions.

As mentioned, new launches in D21 and the Bukit Timah area were in greater supply just a couple of years ago. Many of these have already obtained their TOP in the 2020s. Considering this, 8@BT would only be about 3-5 years older than some of these condos, so it makes sense to look at how 8@BT’s estimated indicative pricing fare today.

For this, we’ll use resale/subsale transactions since September 2023 for projects that are completed based on URA’s database.

Do note that the numbers below are based on actual transactions. However, for 8@BT, we’ve used the estimated based on their initial indicative, thus the average $PSF for 8@BT will likely higher on average.

Judging from the $PSF, it does seem that there are competitive resale options in the area, although located further away.

Looking at Forett at Bukit Timah, this freehold condo has a 2-bedder transacting at $2,440 $PSF which is lower than the $2,530 psf minimum asking price for 8@BT. The Forett transaction was for a 721 sq ft 2 bedroom unit on the 7th floor and took place recently in August 2024. 

You can also see that Mayfair Modern and Mayfair Garden is about 4 to 5 years older based on the completion year yet would have quite a sizeable gap.

In the case of Mayfair Gardens, it’s $600 $PSF lower when it comes to the 2-bedder and almost $300 psf lower for the 3-bedder.

This does mean that relative to its resale peers, the recently-TOP developments are competitive and more so if you have a timeline limitation. 

It could also be argued that the recent new launches including 8@BT could pull prices of these resale condos up – in this case, there’s a possibility that resale condos around the area at current prices could see some appreciation due to these higher-priced new launches. So if you look at this in a less positive note, with the higher $PSF and competitive newly completed condos around, it is also likely that the resale condos around would benefit more from the transformation in the area. 

Capital gains aside, if being near an MRT isn’t a priority for you, then the resale condos like Verdale and Daintree Residence where the $PSF is just north of $2,000 would be attractive due to the $PSF gap and closeness in age. But if staying near an MRT in D21 is important, then again, there really isn’t much of a choice.

In any case, the area still has a lot more room for growth and future changes/supply. As we mentioned in our Verdale review a few years ago (when people were thinking there was a possible oversupply here), it was more likely that there were more plans upcoming to this area from the Government. 

Finally, if you really wanted an MRT project but want to be in the area, what are your options?

Let’s take a look at the condos close to the MRT nearby. For this exercise, we’ll look at both Hillview and King Albert Park MRT, as well as condos that are within 2-3 minute’s walk to it.

By $PSF:

On a $PSF basis, all of the projects seem more affordable. Maple Woods for example is still $2,100+ for the 2-4 bedroom projects. It’a also within 1KM to the popular Methodist Girls’ School, comes with more facilities and is freehold.

By price:

Looking at the price is important because you finance the property based on overall price, not on $PSF. You can see that Maple Woods in this case still costs more on average than the estimated prices of 8@BT. If we account for the fact that we’ve compared this to the indicative, then we’ll likely see 8@BT being priced quite close to Maple Woods.

Both condos are admittedly, very different. Maple Woods is not next to an integrated development. In terms of amenities, 8@BT trumps. It’ll also be a full 30 years newer when completed! So while prices may be similar between this freehold and leasehold condo, it really depends on what you’re looking out for. If you’re seeking a modern development, Maple Woods wouldn’t even make the list to begin with. But if you’re looking at value, the freehold Maple Woods might present a better option as it’ll be bigger and it’s freehold.

The same can be said on the Hillview side. The developments are a lot older but also cheaper while offering more space. This is again a matter of personal preference.

Overall, echoing our conclusion in our review, buyers have a wider range of options, both from new launches and resale properties in the current market. However, if you’re focused on the immediate vicinity, supply is limited. The Linq @ Beauty World and The Reserve Residences are fully sold (with only large units remaining at The Reserve Residences, mostly due to facing concerns). As such, 8@BT offers one of the last chances to purchase a new development in Beauty World before its upcoming transformation materialises.