Woodgrove Ascent (May 2021 Build-To-Order)

5/26/2021

disclaimer:
1. Readers are advised to use information available here as study guide only and use it at your own risk.
2. Please note that changes/ update based on updated 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 this review being published.

Woodgrove Ascent is the 15th development to be developed within the Woodlands Planning Area under the BTO program since 2012. This development is only the second in Woodgrove since year 2010. Most of the new launches have been concentrated within neighbourhood 7 (4 since 2012), neighbourhood 5 and 6 (Admiralty) (3 each since 2012), neighbourhood 1 (Marsiling, 2 since 2012) and 1 each at neighbourhood 8 and 9. The immediate vicinity has developments dated up to year 1985 with 64 years of lease remaining.

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1. Indicative prices for Woodgrove Ascent 4-rm and 5-rm are both at S$275,000 to S$373,000 and S$372,000 to S$491,000. Do note that this development is only up to 25 storey high as compared to UrbanVille@Woodlands which reach 32 storey high. For 4-rm, at level 25-27, the price is up to S$379,600 while 5-rm up to S$512,200. The price differences of S$6,600 for 4-rm and S$21,200 for 5-rm should be seen as discount for having a distance to MRT double of that from UrbanVille@Woodlands.

2. Surrounding resale prices indicated for 4-rm and 5-rm as S$445,000 to S$470,000 and S$476,888 to S$550,000. Note that the immediate surroundings are mostly units with at least 24 years old and above. Within Woodlands (which includes Marsiling and Admiralty), there’s only up to 14 developments being launched under the BTO program since 2012. TreeTrail@Woodlands at neighbourhood 8 was launched in the year 2012 and last year has reached it’s MOP and enter resale market.

If you are keen to know how to have an upper hand in the BTO system, do join us when we arrange our limited sharing session in coming weeks. We will share the timing of our sharing session via our Telegram channel. Please click on icon here to connect.

1. Heat have been a sticky issue in Singapore due to its locality and will continue to be the same or worst in the foreseeable future due to climate change as well as rapid urbanisation and redevelopment activities. National Research Foundation of Singapore (NRF) (https://www.ura.gov.sg/Corporate/Resources/Ideas-and-Trends/Beat-the-heat) have funded ‘Cooling Singapore’ initiative, which consist of multi-institutional initiative led by Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC), NUS, SMART and TUM CREATE to look into ways to reduce heat in Singapore since 2017 (https://www.coolingsingapore.sg/). Back in June 2020, Cooling Singapore released their findings on ‘Urban Heat Vulnerability Analysis for Singapore’ which clearly indicates which town in Singapore is more vulnerable to heat impact.
(https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/handle/20.500.11850/419689)

“The UHV index (Urban Heat Vulnerability) is used to measure the effects of physical exposure, demographic sensitivity and socio-economic adjustment parameters. ... The findings help to define areas where heat mitigation measures are needed most, in order to ensure the protection of the population.” - Cooling Singapore

2. The best way to reduce heat intake is by minimising the direct exposure. In Singapore, we try to avoid heat intake from the west sun (afternoon sun) due to Singapore being located along the equator, which mean closer to the sun than other part of Earth. Since Earth rotate at a slanted angle of 23.5 degrees at its axis, North and South facing buildings will have direct west sun exposure as well, the difference is when and how often. Please watch the video here to have a better understanding of the above.

3. For this development, our preliminary assessment for west sun impact (2pm-4pm) shown that up to 58% of the stacks here will have west sun impact. Therefore, we give a score of 2 out of total 4 for this attribute

1. The Sun is 147.84 million km away from Earth, that’s more than 3,689 times the circumference of the Earth. The Sun is too far away for us to control its impact. The radius of the Sun is 109x the radius of the Earth. The size of the Sun should speak volume about the difference (if any) in terms of heat intake. On the other hand, wind is closer to home as it happens on Earth. We can either take advantage of it or lose it, we can’t control it. In Singapore, we enjoy prevailing wind during the monsoon season with wind speed of 6-10 km/h. (NEA - weatherwise Singapore). Knowing when and which direction the prevailing wind happens may help to mitigate the heat impact due to west sun exposure.

2. There’s 1 in 16 chances of having the luxury of facing a specific prevailing wind direction, which happens 20% of the days in a year (based on MSS’s wind data recorded at Changi station from 2014-2017). The next best option would be 3 in 16 chances of facing the prevailing wind, which happens at least 10% in a year (excluding the above). Mechanical ventilation like air-conditioning can never replace natural ventilation as mechanical mean is mainly contained (meaning the same air will circulate in the same room), while natural ventilation allows air changes between external (outdoor) and internal (indoor) spaces.

3. For this development, our preliminary assessment for prevailing wind exposure shown that 52% of the stacks here will enjoy prevailing wind exposure which happen at best 70 days in a year. Therefore, we give a score of 3 out of total 4 for this attribute.

"If you are spending more than half a million dollars on your future property, nothing beats having a professional in his field advising you up till your HDB selection day and right up to the smallest little details. Wind, sun shade and noise analysis are very thorough but what sets him apart is his 3D walkthrough of your shortlisted units. From there you can make an informed decision on which units offers the best view in 3D even before it is being built. Well done Hausanalyst :-) “

Mr. Firdaus | Specialist, oil and gas | UrbanVille 5-rm 2020

1. The viewing angle is 1 of the 3 attributes which can be determined by the planner or architect during the planning stage. They can either maximise the number of units with good viewing angle or just design to maximise the allowable number of units without consideration for good viewing angle. Both are mutually exclusive as higher land yield will lead to more building blocks or taller building blocks which will affect the units viewing angle.

2. The viewing angle took into account the human eye’s coverage as well as the distance one can see things and identify objects at 1m height objectively. This attribute will filter situation where the building frontal distance, maybe spacious enough, but the viewing corridor have been greatly reduced due to narrower coverage (reason like the placement of buildings in front which adversely reduced the maximum view).

3. For this development, our preliminary assessment for viewing angle shown that at least 39% of the stacks here will enjoy a good viewing angle (50m for stacks at and lower than 18 storey and 100m for stacks above 18 storey). Therefore, we give a score of 2 out of total 4 for this attribute.

1. The noise exposure is the 2 of the 3 attributes which can be determined by the planner or architect during the planning stage. The planner can plan the town by segregating the land use base on activity, reduce roads, etc., while the architect can create buffer to block the adverse effect of noise or use creative way to reduce the surrounding noise impact. As a homeowner, you can make a better judgement by knowing the distance from a potential noise source and how the noise impact will reduce with distance.

2. The understanding of noise disturbance in Singapore is still lacking though it’s a prevailing issue in recent years especially in the housing estate. NEA has since identified the 3 main noise disturbance sources as Vehicular noise, Construction noise and Industrial noise. On top of these 3 major noise disturbance sources, we have further identified minor noise disturbance source such as social, mechanical, vehicular (minor), religious, educational, etc.

3. For this development, our preliminary assessment for noise disturbance shown at least 3 minor noise disturbance will affect this development. Therefore, we give a score of 3 out of total 4 for this attribute. We assign 3 points for each major noise source and 1 point for each minor noise source.

1. The building distance is the 3rd attributes which can be determined by the planner or architect during the planning stage. The planner and architect will need to make a judgement call about how to balance the yield (number of units) as well as ensuring a good building distance between the building blocks. Please note that a good building distance does not translate to a good viewing angle.

2. In 2010, URA introduced an industry guide to control the building length to prevent ‘wall-like’ developments. This guideline is mainly to control the distance between the side of 2 buildings rather than the distance between 2 buildings facing each other to break a ‘wall-like’ building blocks. HDB does have an internal guideline to dictate the distance between building facing each other, but it’s not a regulation.

3. For this development, our preliminary assessment for building distance shown that up to 56% of the stacks here will enjoy a good building distance (50m for stacks at and lower than 18 storey and 100m for stacks above 18 storey). Therefore, we give a score of 2 out of total 4 for this attribute.

We rate this development with an overall score of 12 out of 20

Our scoring scale

Sun, Wind, View, Distance
0 - 25% > 1 pt
26 - 50% > 2 pt
51 - 75% > 3 pt
76 - 100% > 4 pt

Noise (Major noise source > 3 pt; Minor noise source > 1 pt)
> 7 pt > 1pt
4 - 6 pt > 2pt
1 - 3 pt > 3pt
0 pt > 4pt

GARDEN BLOOM@TENGAH | MACPHERSON WEAVE |
TELOK BLANGAH BEACON | WOODGROVE ASCENT

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