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District 15 East Coast has traditionally been a highly sought after district when it comes to property, whether it is to buy for investment or own stay.
Today we will dive deep into this district, specifically Meyer Road and Amber Road areas.
Meyer Road and Amber Road are the prime residential areas of District 15. Both are classified under the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and offer mainly freehold properties.
We will touch on the resale market as well as the new home sales. What are the average prices transacted here over the past 12 months?
For new home sales, prices are hitting $2,600psf and above for some units. Are they worth the buy?
Properties in District 15, are they good investments?
What is the potential upside for properties in Meyer Road and Amber Road area?
Location Scan
District 15
District 15 includes Tanjong Rhu, Meyer Road, Amber Road, Katong, Marine Parade, Joo Chiat and area around East Coast. A large proportion of the district is zoned for residential development.
There are both freehold and leasehold properties here, Generally, the residential properties in Tanjong Rhu and Marine Parade are 99 years leasehold (except for a few like Waterside and Parkshore in Tg Rhu which has the freehold status).
Properties in Meyer Road, Amber Road, Katong, Joo Chiat and East Coast are generally freehold (except The Shore where the developer, Far East has decided to sell the property at 103 years leasehold instead of freehold).
Meyer Road and Amber Road Areas
When you look at the map, Meyer Road and Amber Road neighbourhoods are next to each other, separated only by Tanjong Katong Road.
However, if you make a trip down, you will notice these two neighbourhoods give off totally different vibes, appealing to different groups of people.
Meyer Road area is a quiet neighbourhood. A large part of the area is zoned as landed housing, with even a segment of it zoned only for bungalows.
High rise condos lined in front of the highway and form a "wall" between the sea and the landed housing.
It is relaxing to take a walk around the neighbourhood and enjoy the lush greenery and tranquil environment.
On the other hand, there are more developments in the Amber Road area.
You will find a few big condos here with hundreds of units each, and many boutique condos with fewer units.
There are plenty of amenities within walking distance - eateries, pubs, shopping malls etc.
There is a lot of vibrancy in the Amber Road area.
What Is The Average Prices in Meyer and Amber Area?
Meyer Road
It is very interesting when we look at the age of the major condominiums on Meyer Road. Broadly speaking, we can classify them into 3 eras of condos:
Built Between 1970 to 1985
Peach Garden (TOP 1975)
Hawaii Tower (TOP 1984)
Meyer Park (TOP 1985)
The above are the transactions which took place for the past 12 months.
Based on the units transacted this year, the average sales price is $1,601psf for Peach Garden and $1,657 for Hawaii Tower. There wasn't any units sold for Meyer Park.
Built Between 1986 to 2000
The Sovereign (TOP 1993)
The Atria @ Meyer (TOP 1996)
The Makena (TOP 1998)
Based on the units transacted this year, the average sales price is $1,636psf for The Makena, $1,750 for The Atria at Meyer and $2,214psf for The Sovereign.
Built Between 2001 to 2015
The Belvedere (TOP 2007)
The Seafront on Meyer (TOP 2010)
Aalto (TOP 2010)
The Meyerise (TOP 2014)
Newer condos are built in place of older condos which were en bloc.
From the chart above, we can see that The Seafront @ Meyer transacted at an average price of $1,850psf. The Belvedere transacted at $1,955psf, followed by Aalto which was averaging at $2,166psf. The Meyerise, being the newest resale condo, transacted at $2,367psf.
Looking at the charts above, it is easy to see that the newer the condos, the higher the PSF price. However, do note that the older condos like Peach Garden, Hawaii Tower and Meyer Park have very spacious units so it is natural that their PSF price is lower too.
Amber Road
The developments in Amber Road areas consist mainly of these 2 types: Large land parcels with a big number of units, and smaller land parcels with high rise condo.
Large land parcels with a big number of units are popular with families. Condos like One Amber, The Esta, and The Sea View have more than 400 units each. The average unit size is also bigger with more 3 and 4 bedders type.
Facilities like swimming pool, gyms and function rooms are more families-oriented. Maintenance fees are also normally lower as there are more units.
Let's take a look at the price of these condos over the past 12 months:
The Seaview (TOP 2008, total units 546)
The Esta (TOP 2008, total units 400 )
One Amber (TOP 2010, total units 562)
From the chart above, we see that the bigger developments in the Amber Road areas transacted at an average of $1,772 to $2,002psf.
Smaller land parcels with high rise condo can commonly be found in the Amber Road areas. These developments consist mainly of the smaller units and are targeted more at singles or couples with no kids.
Let's check out the price of the below developments to see if the size of developments affects the price.
Amber Residences (TOP 2011, total units 114)
Amber Skye (TOP 2017, total units 109)
Amber 45 (TOP 2020, total units 139)
From the chart above, we can see that the prices of these smaller developments are transacting at around $1,652 to $2,509psf.
Amber 45 is transacting at a much higher price than Amber Residences and Amber Skype. Amber 45 is the newest boutique development in the area, receiving its TOP only in 2020.
It is interesting to note that there is a big gap in prices between the older condos and the newer ones in Meyer and Amber Road. These including those under construction. I will touch on that in the later part of this article.
Prices of smaller developments tend to be lower than the larger ones due to the lack of facilities.
How is District 15 as compared to District 9, 10 and 11?
According to an article by Edgeprop, District 15 is one of the Top 5 most-searched districts by property buyers.
Let's look at how District 15 fared as compare to the 3 popular districts, District 9, 10 and 11.
From the chart above, we can see that in terms of sales volume, District 15 took the lead every year except 2013 and 2016.
Prices in District 15 grew by more than 39% over the past 10 years. This is only bettered by properties in District 10, where prices increased by 47%!
District 9 and 11, which is more popular with real estate investors purchasing for rental purposes, saw a price growth of only 16% and 18% respectively.
Properties in D15 are popular with both homeowners and property investors.
Accessible to MRT In 2024
There are no MRT lines running in District 15 currently. The nearest MRT station to the East Coast area is Paya Lebar, Eunos and Kembangan stations on the East-West Line or Mountbatten and Stadium stations on the Circle Line.
However, with the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) ready in 2024, there will be 6 stations serving the residents in D15.
These stations are Tanjong Rhu, Katong Park, Tanjong Katong, Marine Parade, Marine Terrace and Siglap stations.
Condos in Meyer Road are accessible to 2 MRT stations - namely Katong Park MRT and Tanjong Katong (Amber) MRT.
Amber area is served by Tanjong Katong (Amber) MRT.
TEL is an important MRT line as it leads all the way to Woodlands (with the possibility that the line might be extended to Malaysia) on one end and Changi Airport on the other end.
It takes only 6 to 7 MRT stops from Meyer Road and Amber Road areas to reach Marina Bay.
Let's take a pause now and think about this question:
How many freehold properties in Singapore can we find that is within minutes walk to the MRT station?
En-bloc Potential
Developments in the Meyer Road area typically sit on a larger land parcel. Many of them are built in the older eras and their land is under-utilised. Condos like Hawaii Tower, Meyer Park and The Sovereign have huge development potential.
Hawaii Tower is sitting on a land size of 17,869sqm, with currently 135 units in the development. Compare this to The Seafront on Meyer, which has only a slightly bigger land size at 18,684sqm but has a total of 327 units.
Meyer Park has a land size of 8,981sqm, with a total of 60 units now. Compare this to The Belvedere, which has a smaller land size of 7,551sqm but has 167 units.
Lastly, look at The Sovereign. This development has a land size of 13,370sqm and only 87 units. Compare this to The Meyerise, the newest condo on Meyer Road. The Meyerise has a smaller land size of 10,613sqm but 239 units.
The en-bloc potential on Meyer Road is huge.
There are also a couple of developments that are under-developed in the Amber area.
Kings Mansion was built in 1982. It has a land size of 16,419sqm with 196 units in it. At a plot ratio of 2.8, there is a huge potential for redevelopment.
Amber Point was built in 1991. It has a land size of 8,168sqm with 100 units. The units are all above 1600sf. There is potential for redevelopment too.
How can property investors capitalise on this?
There are 2 ways to capitalise on this.
Firstly, investors can invest in an older property with en-bloc potential. This is because properties that were en-bloc successfully will fetch a higher market price than if it is listed in the market.
Secondly, investors can purchase a unit in the area where there are developments with en-bloc potential. This is because when these developments are en-bloc successfully, the prices of the new development will in-turn bring up the prices of surrounding properties.
New Launches In Meyer Road And Amber Road
There are currently a few new launches in the Meyer Road and Amber Road areas:
One Meyer
Coastline Residences
The prices of these new launches average between $2,100 to $2,800psf.
Are the prices of these new launches too high? What is the supply of new launches in D15? As an investor, what is the upside of buying these properties? Check out this article by Realvestor.
Conclusion
District 15 has always been a highly sought-after district. It is home to many generations. Many East Coast dwellers are hardcore East siders and will not move to any other parts of Singapore.
Properties in D15 are also favoured by many tenants. It is only a 10 minutes drive both to the CBD and Changi Airport. When the TEL MRT is ready in 2023, it will attract a bigger pool of tenants.
As a home for own-stay or property to be rented for passive income, D15 properties appeal to both. That is why this district has always been highly searched by property buyers.
If you are interested to explore investing in a property or need further opinions on which one makes a good investment. Do make an appointment and let's share our opinions :)
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About The Author
Vivian is an experienced real estate agent who has been in the industry for 18 years.
Over the years, she has transacted numerous property deals including HDB and private properties. She is well-versed in policies and regulations involving the sale and purchase of residential properties. She has also handled many transactions involving complicated situations like contra, divorce, administration/probate cases, and decoupling / part-share purchase.
Vivian is also a mother to 2 boys. Being a real estate mom allows her to spend more time with her children as they were growing up. Both boys are avid footballers representing their schools and clubs. She loves watching their games and hardly misses a game whenever they play.
Vivian is an active real estate salesperson and team leader. Call her at 98577714 for your real estate matters, or if you are looking to join the real estate industry.