Goldmine in "Ponggol"

Have you ever driven into the deep north of Punggol Road? If you have, you might have noticed two left turns into landed housing estates known as Ponggol Seventeenth Ave and Ponggol Twenty-fourth Ave. Curiously, "Ponggol" is spelt differently from "Punggol" for these two streets, possibly a hint at the 'ulu-ness' of the estates.

Well, all that will change with the new Land Use Plan, which proposes an extensively developed Punggol North, complete with its own MRT station.


Notice the two landed housing estates nestled within the new Northshore District and Punggol Point District.

The new development proposals for Punggol presents an excellent investment opportunity for those who are looking in the medium to long term. Data from URA shows that the latest land sale in Ponggol Twenty-fourth Ave took place in April last year, with a 9,104 sqft plot being sold at $665 psf. Granted, prices in the 2 estates have already adjusted upwards slightly due to the introduction of new strata bungalow developments such as The Ambience. But compare this $665 psf price tag with the nearby Seletar Hills (D28) average of $1,425 psf (in Jan 2013, URA), it is clear that the huge upside for the landed houses at Punggol is almost guaranteed.

There are extremely few transactions for these landed houses at Punggol though, with only 8 recorded since Feb 2011. It could be due to be low number of units there in the first place, or it could be that the owners are already the investors waiting to cash out in the medium term, having invested with the prior knowledge of the impending development of Punggol. Going forward, the estates will gain popularity, but the high quantum due to the large land plots will continue to be a barrier for many. Further, the Master Plan 2008 zoned the estates as 'bungalows' which disallows investors to subdivide the large land plots into multiple smaller terrace houses to maximise profits.

Today these residents can be said to be living in the middle of a forest. In 2030, their properties will be dwarfed by high-rise surrounding them. We would have lost another tranquil haven, just like the Seletar black & white bungalow estate we lost in the name of development of Seletar Aerospace Park. For homestayers, they might be sitting on a goldmine, but they might not be happier with their new bustling "Punggol Downtown" life.