The Influence Of Landed Homes On New Launch Condos: What Buyers Should Know

Chuan Park raised some eyebrows when it sold 70 per cent of its units on the launch weekend, on 10th November 2024. While there are several reasons for this – including pent-up demand from around 14 years without a new launch – an overlooked factor may be the landed enclaves nearby. While we tend to look toward HDB enclaves as potential sources of buyers, it’s easy to forget that a landed cluster can also make a difference. Here’s a look at why:

There’s a substantial cluster of landed homes near Chuan Park

Simple availability is sometimes a factor. In some neighbourhoods, particularly areas that have maintained low-density housing for some time. In these situations, buyers who want to be in that location will be quick to snap up available condo units, which even as new launches, can be cheaper than landed options.

With that in mind, let’s consider the landed enclaves around Chuan Park:

There’s a sizeable number of landed homes in the surrounding area; roughly over 5,500 landed properties on this map. Now let’s compare it to the number of three-bedder or larger condo units nearby (we’ll skip the smaller one and two-bedders to focus on the main demographic, which is family buyers):

We estimate only around 1,351 units that are three-bedders or larger. This means the number of landed homes in the area is roughly four times higher than the number of condo options. If you’re searching for homes in this area, you’re going to find many of them are high-quantum landed units.

Next, let’s do a quick price comparison of condos versus landed homes in this area:

This is based on transactions for 2024. The average transacted price for landed homes is about $5.08 million, although detached houses are a notable departure. 

Here are the prices for nearby condos:

The average price of a three-bedder in Chuan Park is around $2.6 million, while a four-bedder is around $3.5 million. While that’s not cheap, you’ll notice the prices at Chuan Park are still below that of a terrace house, let alone a detached or semi-D unit. It’s a combination of higher surrounding prices (thanks to the landed enclave), as well as limited condo options, that makes Chuan Park’s prices palatable to buyers.

But more importantly, it also means that some of these landed buyers will be cashing out to right-size to a private property nearby instead.

This may be one of the reasons why a 70 per cent sell-out rate at launch was possible.

As another example, let’s look at another north-east district: Ang Mo Kio

Ang Mo Kio is also a mature area in the same north-east region. However, the landed enclave in this area is more limited:

Ang Mo Kio has around 3,900 landed homes, fewer than what we saw around Chuan Park. Now here are the condo numbers:

3900 versus 3,212 is a much smaller disparity, compared to what we saw in the Chuan Park/Serangoon area. Condo and landed options are pretty much equally available.

Next, let’s look at the pricing:

Prices are lower than in Serangoon, averaging around $4 million. 

Condo prices are similarly lower, and as such you may expect less price support coming from the landed homes in this area. As with Chuan Park, it does show that buyers tend to view “overall” home prices in the country, or in wider areas, as something of an abstraction. The price sensitivity is affected more by the immediate vicinity; and that’s how labels like “cheap” or “expensive” are formed. 

It’s also worth pointing out that, while we often think of HDB as the main contributor to condo prices (because of upgraders), landed homeowners shouldn’t be overlooked. Some people rightsize from landed homes to condos instead of flats, for example, and those who opt for common facilities later on. Quite a number of landed homeowners have made the switch, because condos are easier for family BBQs, poolside parties, etc.