Is The Watertown Waterfront View Worth A Premium Over Parc Centros And A Treasure Trove?

Hello Stacked,

I really love the content that you have put up. Great stuff!

I am currently contemplating between Parc Centros, A Treasure Trove and Watertown. PC top in 2016, ATT in 2015 and WT in 2017. In terms of average psf for a 3+1 / 4bedder, PC and ATT are between $1,200 and $1,300 with ATT slightly lower. WT on the other hand, is selling at an average psf of 1,550.

While I really love the waterfront view that a WT 4B sky patio unit can offer, I am not sure if it is practical to pay almost 25% more in psf for WT when PC and ATT are within walking distances from the Punggol MRT / Bus interchange and WWP. Also wondering if ATT and PC will appreciate better than WT once the Punggol town hub, CRL and PDD are in place.

Appreciate if you could advise me on this.

Thank you.

(This is part of an ongoing series where we answer reader questions about the property market. If you have one of your own, send it to stories@stackedhomes.com.)

Hey there

Thank you for writing to us and thank you so much for your kind words, we appreciate it a lot! We understand your concern about picking the right unit especially with value retention in mind. All three developments are close to one another and have their fair share of pros and cons which we will share here.

Parc Centros

Parc Centros is seeing a gradual appreciation in recent years based on the price trend. Current average $PSF stands at $12xx psf. It offers good-sized 4 bedroom units with an efficient layout and the development has decent facilities – great for families!

Pros:

• Walking distance to Waterway Point and Punggol Central for Transport node.
• Smaller development (more private)
• Affordable quantum
• Decent facilities

Cons:

• Inner stack units are too close to the opposite block.

At 1,378 sqft, the 4 bedder size is spacious and has a good layout. Great kitchen size with a proper yard for laundry and utility room for storage/helper’s room. It also has decent size bedrooms, however, it does come with a long bedroom walkway and an oversized balcony which some may not consider to be an efficient use of space.

A Treasure Trove

A Treasure Trove current average $PSF stands at $1,1xx psf, to be fair, this year it has seen quite a number of penthouse units with a lower $PSF entering the resale market which pulls down the development average $PSF.

Nevertheless, it would be best to enter as close to the average $PSF to put you on the safer side when it comes to exiting in the future. It has a decent price quantum for the larger unit type too! Great for families as it has decent facilities as well.

Pros:

• Convenience to amenities and transport node right across the street
• Decent facilities
• Affordable quantum for a good size unit.

Cons:

• Average facade
• Unit are too close to opposite block
• Too much balcony space area that takes up unit sqft

Floor plan analysis:

At 1,335sqft, the 4 bedder unit is spacious with the provision of 3.5 bathrooms, great for multi-generation living. It has decently-sized bedrooms and a kitchen with a proper yard area for laundry and an in-unit household shelter for storage. However, the living & dining area comes a little tight with lots of space goes that goes to the balcony.

Similarly, the 1206 sqft 3+study shares similar pros and cons being lots of wasted space that goes to the balcony. Of course, it also depends on how much you value the outdoors, and if you do then this could be considered a plus!

Watertown

Watertown current average $PSF stands at $1,3xx psf, thus, entering the 4 bedder at $15xx psf is a steeper price point so it represents a riskier as compared to the other choices – especially for a unit which caters to a niche market given the amount of outdoor space here (private terrace).

Pros:

• Convenience to amenities right at doorstep with waterway point.
• Convenience to Punggol MRT and Bus interchange
• Great facilities provided with tons of pools.

Cons:

• Crowded with the bustle activities in the development.
• High maintenance fees
• PES unit usually caters to niche market, harder to exit in future. Slow appreciation. (For certain Sky Patio 4BR units)

The 1,550 sqft unit (those with a private terrace) is definitely spacious. Such a unit with this large an outdoor space does cater to a niche market – especially even so for a high quantum unit. Squarish in layout with good size kitchen with ample countertop space with provision of wet & dry kitchen and proper yard area for laundry and utility room for storage/ helper’s room. Decent size living and dining area, however one of the common bedrooms come in a little tight. At this price point, it will also be better if it comes with a junior master suite which it currently lacks.

Conclusion:

Watertown remains as the benchmark in the area considering it sits atop the MRT and is as convenient as it can get. As such, we think that the other developments would be a safe entry so long as the premium gap remains sizeable. We can of course see the temptation to get Watertown for the view but this is really subjective to each individual. Rationally, it’s hard to say that it is worth that price point. But there would always be those who value views and are willing to pay the premium for it – just know that that is a niche group and you’d really have to find the right buyer when it comes to exit.

On the other hand, Parc Centros and A Treasure Trove is pretty decent and a good alternative should you decide that the views aren’t worth the premium. Ample facilities and equally decent and squarish layout which is great for a family own stay. Added with convenience to Waterway Point for amenities and within walking distance to Punggol MRT and Interchange. Price will likely follow the general market sentiments in years to come, fuelled with the Punggol Digital District and Cross Island Line (CRL) plans.

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