february 2017 bto - punggol northshore cove

DISCLAIMER:​​

1. Readers are advised to use information available here as study guide and use it at your own risk. 
2. Please note that changes/ update based on available information will be made from time to time, readers are advised to check on this page regularly.
3. Analysis was done based on available data at the time of publishing of this review.
   
4. As each and every unit has it's own attributes, analysis shown here only represent the majority units in the stacks having the same attribute including sun, wind, view, distance etc. 
   

NORTHSHORE COVE

Location

1. This development is situated next to Punggol Northshore Straits View which was launched back in November 2015. This development is part of Northshore District which is selling the seafront appeal (that’s the selling point! If you don’t see the blue sea, you shouldn’t be paying premium for this development!). Northshore Cove is located 250m away from Punggol Point LRT (PW3). While it’s still considered as transit oriented development, it’s connectivity via LRT weakened its appeal as LRT will need to connect to MRT which serve the broader Singapore. Distance to the nearest MRT which is the Punggol MRT (NE17) will be more than 1.7km away.
   
2. Knowing what’s happening across the Straits of Johor will be more important than knowing what’s going to happen around this district. Having seafront appeal also means exposure to natural elements which may or may not be beneficial to home owners.
3. The surrounding sites are more or less confirmed with the launch of Northshore Trio back in November 2016 and sites reserved for schools just across Northshore Drive. Understanding the surrounding future development in terms of usage, building heights, density etc will allow buyers to make informed decision on which stacks or units to select to avoid unnecessary pollution or bad attributes cause by activities at the surrounding sites. 

 
Site Layout

1. Northshore Cove’s site is smaller compare to Northshore Straits View. Both sites have the same plot ratio of 4.0 based on URA Master plan 2014. With a high plot ratio and narrow sea frontage, the challenge will be designing a decent view (or if there’s a any at all!) for every single unit in this development. Just like a perfect (or seems to be) policy, it may not benefit everyone which was supposed to be designed for!   
   
2. Northshore Cove being located towards the corner of this tract of land will limit its sea frontage. An angled extension towards the land reserved for park is merely to mitigate this shortcoming while it doesn’t resolve the view issue. To maximize the number of sea facing units, stacks and units were tilted at an angle to get a glimpse of the sea view rather than full frontal view. The tilted angle also resulted in units facing west sun and most units looking at other unit’s ‘backside’!

"Not that we didn't trust your free review but being kiasu we decided that we should get the paid review as well since we are deciding to buy something that costs few hundred thousand. Thankfully we did, ..."

Mrs. Lim | Tampines GreenWeave

Skyline and View Vista

1. At a high plot ratio of 4.0 and a narrow sea frontage, you can either flat out the skyline and have a boring development or try very hard to create interesting skyline by introducing different building heights to make this development more attractive.
2. Instead of creating a meaningful internal space which can visually connect to the sea front, stack 153, 155, 157 and 159 have been designed to be one of the highest stacks and being place in the middle to sort of creating a gateway statement which doesn’t make sense at all! No one is coming from JB to dock here! If the 2 towers were located to both end, this will create a meaningful internal and external space connection which can benefit more units and the internal greenery.
3. Our inch accurate 3D model of the whole development have been build with the internal greenery platform, you can even stand on any point to get a glimpse of the sea view or even any unit of the total 801 units from all bedrooms and living room and judge it for yourself.
   

 
Unit Layout

1. For both 4-rm and 5-rm, there’s an option of either with or without balcony. In terms of space allocation, both are the same and the difference is only the additional space for balcony.
2. 4-rm unit present a better layout option in terms of future renovation potential as there’s no column in between Main Bedroom and Bedroom 2, thus allowing future extension of Main Bedroom should the need arise. The alternative (by knocking off the separation wall) will allow space for walking wardrobe for the Main Bedroom. The same can be done for 5-rm units though there will be higher space wastage.
3. As usual, the gable end wall of Main Bedroom will be of cavity pre-cast wall (air insulated) which being claimed to reduce heat intake (technically yes). The flip side of this would be heat will still channel through, albeit slower pace; yet, once inside, it will be trapped should the Main Bedroom not being ventilated.

"... actually we think that the report is really very detailed and analytic. It provides most, if not all, of the attributes that are important in selecting a flat unit and it has been made as easy to understand as possible. The meetup to clarify our doubts was also very very beneficial as face to face explanation is always preferred when dealing with technical terms.

Overall we think the service is recommended for those who wish to buy a house but has no technical expertise in this area."

Mr & Mrs Gan (electronics engineering) West Plains@Bukit Batok

How to choose the better unit from this development?

1. If you are paying for a balcony space, make sure that you get the sea view or else money down the drain. While getting the view (which many think it’s premium, looking at seaport across the channel which is more than 1km away!) may be important, there will be challenges in making sure your selected unit is not heat absorbing unit!
   
2. For inward looking units, you may want to look for a steal (a bit of that sea view, but not paying the premium), attached here is a sample of view from Waterway Ridges and the unit involve (shown on site plan). You can either make uncalculated risk (using ruler to draw lines on the plan) or calculated risk by using our 3D model to get the exact view corridor which you can almost be sure of. 
3. Based on recorded average selling price for developments in this vicinity, Straits View recorded a S$311.30 psf average selling price, North Shore Trio at S$273.96 psf and North Shore Cove at S$309.56 psf.  In short, the price premium for a seaview will be 13% more.
   

Update 07 June 2017

1. This morning LTA announced the new extension from Punggol MRT NE17, Punggol Coast Station will be opened 7 years ahead of the timeline and estimated by 2023. LTA news release can be read here. The latest Punggol Northshore district BTO launched in February 2017, Punggol Northshore Cove is slated for completion by 30 Sept 2022, that will be 1 year ahead of the opening of the Punggol Coast MRT station. 

2. To date, 7 developments in this vicinity have been launched with total units of 5,227 garnering 4,350,615 sqft of real estate and combine value of S$1,366,874,400! Yes, that's more than S$1B worth of residential property launch here.

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