Sim Lian Group executive director Kuik Sing Beng said Executive condo (EC) Aurelle of Tampines attracted over 9,000 guests to the sales gallery during the four days from Feb 22 to 25.
Launched on March 8, indicative prices at Aurelle of Tampines start from
- $1.417 million ($1,687 psf) for a three-bedroom apartment from 840 sq ft;
- $1.689 million ($1,651 psf) for a four-bedroom from 1,023 sq ft; and
- $2.258 million ($1,665 psf) for a five-bedroom of 1,356 sq ft.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, notes Aurelle of Tampines is the ninth EC project to be opened in Tampines since Simei Green Condo in March 1997. Based on terms entered in March and April 1997, Simei Green’s average price for units was about $411 psf. Average price of $1,094 psf today shows 166% increase.
Aurelle of Tampines marks Sim Lian Group, under Kuik family management, its fifth EC project in Singapore since 2001. The first EC project the developer undertook was The Dew in Bukit Batok, where the average price of units sold in the first three months of introduction, from May to July 2001, was $385 psf. Based on registered concessions, the average price of units sold last year was $1,141 psf, a 196% capital gain over 25 years.
Early 2012 saw The Tampines Trilliant, a EC at Tampines Central 7, launched beside The Dew. In 2016 Sim Lian started two EC developments: the Treasure Crest in Sengkang and the Wandervale in Choa Chu Kang.
For Sim Lian, Tampines has been a pillar, adds Kuik; the real estate developer has completed five residential developments in the regional centre over the previous 25 years. Considered the largest condo in Singapore, Sim Lian also built two private condos in Tampines: the 2,203-unit Treasure at Tampines (finished in 2023) and the 696-unit Waterview (completed in 2014).
Moreover, the developer completed two HDB projects under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS), stopped in 2011. Launched in October 2006, the 616-unit Premiere at Tampines drew almost 6,000 applications before completion in 2008. Launched in 2011 and finished in 2014 the 708-unit Centrale 8 followed.
Upcoming new ECs in Tampines
Apart from the forthcoming Aurelle of Tampines and The Tampines Trilliant, Sim Lian has an other EC project under development. Said to feature 560 apartments, the EC property is located at Tampines Street 95. With an offer of $456 million, Sim Lian won the property in a land tender in October; this amounts to $768 psf per plot ratio (ppr), and sets a new bar for EC land prices.
Sim Lian’s total of three EC projects on Tampines Street 95 is most likely to reach the market sometime in 1Q2026. This results in Tampines having a grand total of 10 EC projects.
Next door to Aurelle of Tampines is the 618-unit EC Tenet by joint developers Qingjian Realty and Santarli Realty. Starting in December 2022, the project has sold 617 apartments at an average price of $1,385 psf. Based on conditions reported as of February 21, it only has one open unit for sale. As such, argues PropNex’s CEO, Ismail Gafoor, there is no competing supply in the area.
The launch of the nearby ParkTown Residence, part of a mixed-use development linked with a transportation hub, coincided with the Aurelle of Tampines showcase. Out of 1,193 units at an average price of $2,360 psf, joint developers UOL Group and CapitaLand Development sold 1,041 units (87%), over the weekend of February 22–23.
Christine Sun, OrangeTee Group chief research and strategist, said the robust sales at ParkTown Residence “encourage buyers to enter the market now. “These buyers, particularly those who have been on the sidelines, could feel that since many people are purchasing right now it would be a good time to act.”
Treasure at Tampines launched the last new private condo project in 2019 before ParkTown Residence. Notes PropNex’s Gafoor, the 2,203-unit Treasure at Tampines, although the biggest condo in Singapore, sold out within three years after its opening in March 2019.
Reflecting the great demand in private residences there, both private condominiums and ECs in Tampines have performed well, he says.
Within a five-minute walk of ParkTown Residence, Aurelle of Tampines will thus be close to its amenities: the forthcoming Tampines North MRT Station (on the Cross Island Line), bus interchange, community club, hawker centre and shopping mall.
“It is quite rare to find an EC within a short walk of an MRT station and integrated transport hub,” Yip adds from Huttons. “Only Aurelle of Tampines and Esparina Residences now meet the requirements.”
For a 1,523 square foot, four-bedroom apartment, Aurelle of Tampines has suggested rates of $1,651 psf. Nonetheless, argues Eugene Lim, senior executive officer of ERA Singapore, additional smaller flats and higher-floor units might see prices cross the $1,700 psf threshold.
From its debut price of $818 psf in October 2010, the average price of the Esparina Residences in Sengkang has more than doubled to $1,747 psf depending on concessions. Huttons’ Data Analytics found that the most notable increase in Esparina Residences exceeded $1.3 million. “Buyers of Aurelle of Tampines may also see such gains,” Yip said.
Sim Lian’s forthcoming EC at Tampines Street 95 adds Yip; it will be close to a mixed-use project across from Tampines West MRT Station (on the Downtown Line), so reflecting characteristics similar to those of Aurelle of Tampines. He so expects the EC to find “equally strong demand.”
New EC prices should “creep upwards to $1,800 psf eventually,” Yip predicts.
