Archipelago at Bedok Reservoir review
Did your fengshui master say you have to live near water? The Archipelago is your answer then! This new condo by UOL and Singapore Land sits right beside the scenic and peaceful Bedok Reservoir. So the views of the water should be quite good right? Oh no no no my friends.
Before we begin, some quick details:
History lesson
UOL won the bid in March this year at $320m. The break-even cost worked out to $800-$900psf.
Developer: UOL and Singland
District: 16
Tenure: 99-year leasehold
Site area: ~491,098 sqft
Storeys: 5
Units: 553 condo units and 24 Semi-Detached units
Notable Facilities
Standard stuff with pools, and so on. But one glaring omission here is the tennis courts. Chances are these green concrete courts will be a thing of the past if land prices keep going up and up.
Approximate Unit Breakdown
1BR (~526 sqft) x 90 units
2BR (~829 – 839 sqft) x 178 units
2BR+study (~982 sqft) x 15 units
3BR (~1,188 sqft) x 136 units
3BR+study (~1,404 sqft) x 32 units
4BR (~1,664 sqft) x 36 units
5BR (~2,411 – 2,643 sqft) x 15 units
Penthouses (~1,468 – 3,449 sqft) x 51 units
Semi-Detached (~4,050 sqft) x 24 units
Location
Image: Onemap.sg
This condo has a good location no doubt about it. Directly to the east is the neighbourhood centre where you get access to eating houses, shops and so on. And then to the south lies the upcoming Bedok Town Park MRT. Just walk through the HDB blocks and the Primary school and you will get there in about 10 minutes.
The PIE exit is nearby too. A short drive east will take you to Bedok MRT and the upcoming mall there. Head down south and you end up at East Coast Park. Not too bad eh? That’s why people like living in the east.
Water views?
This condo is only 5-storeys high. Meaning only the top floors might get a chance to see the water. A chance only. Trees grow you know.
If you look at the site layout, most of the reservoir facing units will be looking at the trees of Bedok Reservoir Park instead of blue waters.
Maybe residents here can start a forest fire and clear these trees in their way?
The Archipelago is quite a large development – it is almost 400m wide. Get one too far west and you will face a long walk to the neighbourhood centre at the eastern end of the development.
To the south lies Bedok Reservoir Road and beyond it 11-storey HDB blocks.
The Semi-D units are located at the eastern end of the site, but they are tucked between two 5-storey blocks. Honestly they feel quite enclosed. What’s the point of living in a landed home when you are surrounded by buildings?
We think the best units would be those facing the park and the woods. The air would be very fresh for sure and there is plenty of privacy.
The ones pictured here are on the north-eastern end of the development and the top few floors will get a view of the reservoir. Do also note the large balconies at the units on the left of the picture. These 5-BR units here will get a very excellent view too (and cost a bomb).
Avoid units facing Bedok Reservoir Road. Those units there might be cheaper but they are simply too close to the noise generated from the buses, trucks and cars that ply along this road that is bound to get busier once all the condos are done. What’s more, they face the HDB blocks to the south.
View from the western end of the development. Quite close to each other don’t you think?
Units facing the pool are quite tightly packed, with the opposite-facing units too close for comfort. But that is the reality of living in Singapore, so if you must get units here, aim for the 2nd or 3rd floor units as they do get a nice view of the pool.
Prices
During our visit last weekend, we were quoted $837,000 for a 2nd floor, 840 sqft 2BR unit facing Bedok Reservoir Road. That works out to $996psf.
A 5th floor, 980sqft, 2+1BR unit was priced at $1,160,000 or $1,183 psf. For a 1,184 sqft 3BR unit on the 2nd floor facing the pool, it will set you back $1,299,000 or $1,097 psf.
Do note that the prices here are quite varied, so it will be a good idea to check with the agents on the best price for your budget. The general rule here as far as we can tell is that prices are highest for units facing the park and lowest for units facing the road.
Nearby condos Waterfront Isle (99-yr, 2015) sold for an average of $1,150 psf in September and October. It’s neighbour, Waterfront Gold (99-yr), saw units sell for an average of $1,003psf in September, while in October, a single unit went for $929 psf, or $1.4m.
No surprises here with regards to the price. Suburban condos close to the MRT have been moving past $1,000 psf for some time now.
Final Thoughts
You’d expect at least a view of the water from a condo that’s almost at the water’s edge, but only a handful of units do. That’s the biggest problem we have with The Archipelago – the name evokes the sea and water, but you get trees instead!
The proximity to the neighbourhood centre and the MRT is a good thing, but when a DBSS (aka Belvia) can offer the same thing AND views of the reservoir at half the price, it’s pretty hard to justify. And then there’s the Waterfront series of condos further east towards the Bedok Reservoir MRT – they are within the same price range and promise better views of the water too.
With so much more competition you’d expect the developers to offer a little bit extra, but they don’t. The architecture is disappointing, the units and facilities are uninspiring, and we don’t understand why the semi-Ds have to be placed inside the condo when they could have been shifted out to face the greenery.
Still, we expect this condo to do well. Buyers see MRT and they go beserk.
Showrooms are open so do pay them a visit!
Images: Brochure
Article & Picture: http://www.h88.com.sg/article/Archipelago+at+Bedok+Reservoir+review/