When it comes to Executive Condominiums (ECs), it sometimes falls through the cracks in people’s property search process. It’s a condominium, and yet it is subsidised. Between a HDB and a private condominium, ECs may have the best of both worlds to offer you. With a much lower entry price than most condominiums and apartments, ECs give HDB upgraders a palatable step up in the property world.
Tenet EC is one of the exciting upcoming ECs to watch in this space. As the market continues to heat up, demand for more affordable properties will be on the rise. And ECs are definitely on the list when it comes to the more affordable end of the bargain. However, there are specific eligibility requirements that buyers must meet before they can buy an EC.
In this opinion piece, we will cover the basics of Tenet EC. Why it might be appealing to some home buyers and the concerns that you should be aware of before you jump in. This is going to be an exciting one so stay tuned and read till the end!
General Location & Information
Tenet EC will be located in the east, along Tampines Street 62. It is estimated to TOP in 2026, with an estimated price range between $1,250 to $1,400 psf. Do note that these are just our estimates of the prices based on the land bid with some assumptions on the cost of construction, profit margins, and comparable property prices in the area. The official prices will probably be out by the showroom viewing.
Speaking of which, here are the specific dates you will want to mark on your calendar if you are interested in having a first look at the Tenet EC showflat and other important dates.
- Showflat Viewing: 12 Nov to 28 Nov 2022
- Price Release / Drop Ballot Ticket: 30 Nov to 1 Dec 2022
- Balloting: 2 Dec 2022
- Booking: 3 Dec 2022
If you are interested in signing up, contact us here to book your slots!
Onto the rest of the article, you can find the location of Tenet EC on the Google Maps image below. It is located on the fringe of Tampines Estate, along the TPE and close to Pasir Ris. This area is a huge residential cluster with multiple green spaces, malls, and other amenities that residents can look forward to. When it comes to Singapore’s core population, a huge chunk of people are definitely easties living in the Tampines and Pasir Ris area.
Due to this large cluster of public housing in the east, this location might look to be attractive especially for those couples and families who have their parents and extended family living in the same neighbourhood or estate. The close proximity to family means lesser time spent on travelling and more convenient family gatherings.
The location also gives Tenet EC quick access to the TPE, which gives it a quick 20 minute drive to the CBD area. This gives families who are driving to work fuss-free access to the highway without having to be slowed down by multiple traffic lights deep in the heartlands.
There are also multiple options when it comes to green spaces and recreation in natural spaces. Sun Plaza Park, Tampines Eco Green, Pasir Ris Town Park, and Pasir Ris Park are all wonderful options within just a 1.5km radius of Tenet EC. This area makes a great walk, run, and cycle locale.
To add on, there are multiple schools available within a 2km radius of Tenet EC. Younger families who are planning to have children would not be short of options in this area. Even with the estimated TOP of 2026, young parents now can also hope to have the property ready by the time their children enrol into primary or secondary school. Here’s a table of them in no particular order. There are even more options for schools outside of this simple 2km radius, and plenty of Kindergartens nearby.
When it comes to shopping, the most exciting are IKEA Tampines, Giant Hypermarket, and Courts Megastore. Needless to say, the large cluster of shopping malls at Tampines MRT area is also within a 2km radius. This includes Tampines Central Shopping Street, Tampines 1, Tampines Mall, and Century Square. To the north, we have Pasir Ris West Plaza, Elias Mall, White Sands (Pasir Ris MRT) and Downtown East (Wild Wild Wet). You will never have a boring weekend just by alternating your weekend shopping trips and meals around this neighbourhood.
Less than 500m to Tampines North (Cross Island Line)
When it comes to the Unique Selling Point (USP) of Tenet EC, it has definitely got to be the fact that it is located so close to an upcoming MRT, the Tampines North Cross Island Line (CRL). Most ECs are typically located further away from MRT stations such that it is outside of walking distance (more than 1 km away). In this case, Tenet EC will be merely 500m away from Tampines North MRT, which is only slightly more than a 5 minute walk.
The upcoming Cross Island Line will connect Tenet EC to the East-West, Northeast, North-South, Thomson-East Coast, and Downtown lines all within 9 stops. This cuts down the travelling time across the island by a significant amount. Future residents in the Tampines North area can definitely look forward to this new addition to the transportation infrastructure.
Phase 1 of the CRL is estimated to be completed in 2030. This will connect Tampines North to Bright Hill, granting access to the Northeast Line, North-South Line, and Thomson-East Coast Line initially. The rest of the stations above are expected to be completed by 2032. With the TOP expected to be around 2026, the MOP of Tenet EC is expected to end around 2031. This is right around when the first two phases of CRL are completed. Just in time for buyers to book profits.
Alternatively, it will be a great boost in accessibility, which will tempt homeowners then to continue living in that project. This distance to the CRL MRT station along with how interconnected the CRL is, makes this project appealing to families who do not drive.
Additional Perks of ECs that Buyers Love
There are also other perks that might interest home buyers in the current market. These other perks are typical of ECs and some specific to Tenet EC’s location.
1. More Larger Unit Sizes in the Mix
Compared to other new launches or private resale condominiums, ECs tend to be more family-friendly. There are typically more units of a larger size to cater to larger family needs or multi-generational households. This means that the unit mix will have substantially more 4 and 5-bedroom units as compared to conventional private condominium units.
2. More Affordable Compared to New Launches
When pitted against recent new launch condominiums in the market, ECs will typically be more affordable on the psf basis due to their subsidised nature. As a result, EC home buyers may get more bang for their buck. A larger unit at an affordable quantum. For Tenet EC in particular, this is a huge boon when you consider the close proximity to the future MRT station.
3. Baby-steps into Private Condo Segment
For HDB upgraders or dwellers that have never stepped into the private condominium and apartment segment before, ECs may be a good entry point for this part of the property market. Looking at new launches in a heated up market along with countless options for resale condos may be very intimidating for some HDB upgraders. ECs provide that natural stepping stone into the condominium space, both in terms of price and psychology.
4. High Appreciation Prospects
ECs typically have good prospects when it comes to appreciation. Due to the MOP waiting period, most EC buyers typically hold the property for a substantial period of time before selling. This gives the property sufficient time to appreciate before letting them go on the open market. To make things better, the proximity to Tampines North for Tenet EC will be a key selling point moving into the next decade. The appreciation prospects of this on top of the fact that it is a subsidised property make this option particularly attractive from a financial returns standpoint.
5. Lower Risk Option in Tough Macroeconomic Environment
In the current high inflation, high interest rate environment, buyers are spooked when it comes to increasing higher interest payments. This might put off many buyers in the market. It will also price out many buyers from participating in the pricier new launch segment. ECs are technically a lower risk option under these tough circumstances due to the better prices and value for money position.
6. Paya Lebar Airbase Development Nearby in the Future
URA’s Long Term Plan highlights the redevelopment of Paya Lebar Airbase (PLAB) into a residential and commercial hub. Being located quite close to this area, Tenet EC might enjoy close access to this district in the future since it is almost right outside of the planned PLAB area. This might mean more workspaces and offices nearby, along with potentially higher rental demand.
7. Huge HDB Upgrader Audience — High HDB to Condo Ratio
When it comes to the Tampines estate, it is one of the few estates with close to the highest HDB to Condo Ratio. Even in the immediate vicinity of the Tampines North Estate, we see a huge HDB upgrader audience coming from the immediate neighbourhood as well as the larger Tampines area. This might prop up demand for the EC now, and even into the future as HDB dwellers upgrade their residences but wish to live in the same neighbourhood due to family or familiarity.
8. Unactivated Land Plots to Fuel Future Developments
Last but not least, there are plenty of unactivated land plots around the Tampines North MRT. This gives multiple reasons for Tenet EC to have future bumps in value. It will be no surprise if we see an integrated shopping mall pop up right next to the MRT. It would also not be surprising to see more schools, medical healthcare facilities, or community infrastructure come into development in the near future. This goes with the flexible development philosophy of the URA. The land will be developed according to the changing needs of the community. These unactivated land plots help with this form of flexible planning.
MOAT Analysis of Nearby Condos
We now move on to our MOAT Analysis of Nearby Condos to see how Tenet EC might fare in the future. By using the performance of nearby condos and ECs as a gauge of the desirability of the location, we can roughly tell how Tenet EC will do. In this section of the article, we will cover two specific analyses. The first will focus on ECs and Condos within the Tampines Estate that are near Tenet EC. The second will focus on the ECs and Condos that are geographically near Tenet EC, meaning to say that projects in Pasir Ris will also be included.
Tampines Estate MOAT Comparison
Tampines has one of the lowest densities of Condos and EC in comparison to the number of population in Tampines. The ratio of condos to HDB is considerably low and thus, it creates an even larger HDB audience for upgrading. Because of this, it is also rather hard to wait for a new condo or EC project to pop up in Tampines Estate.
We will be looking at the MOAT profiles of CityLife@Tampines, The Tampines Trilliant, The Eden At Tampines, Pinevale, The Alps Residences, The Tapestry, The Santorini, Q Bay Residences, Arc at Tampines. Here are what the 9 MOAT Profiles look like together.
Taking the average MOAT Scores of these 9 ECs and Condominiums, we have a score of 68.8%. This is a decent average score to work with. On the MOAT Analysis we can see that the overall performance is very strong for Exit Audience and Quantum Effect. This is consistent with all that we have discussed thus far.
In addition, the USP of Tenet EC being located close to the MRT is not to be underestimated. This high MRT effect score for Tenet EC will stand out in the future as we see close to none of the condominiums in this estate have that level of accessibility.
Geographical MOAT Comparison around Tenet EC
In this analysis, we take a non-easties approach to looking at Tenet EC. The boundary between Tampines and Pasir Ris Estates might not be as salient as we think. From the perspective of someone living outside of the Eastern Region, Tenet EC is actually located very close to Pasir Ris (more so than Tampines). In this case, we look at the MOAT profiles of 9 nearby ECs and Condos including those in the Pasir Ris Estate.
The 9 projects we will be looking at are Ris Grandeur, Livia, NV Residences, Coco Palms, The Palette, D’Nest, CityLife@Tampines, The Tampines Trilliant, and Pinevale. This geographical analysis of the MOAT profiles around Tenet EC might give us a technically clearer picture of its actual MOAT Score.
Visually, both the Tampines Estate and Tenet Geographical MOAT Profiles look rather similar, Quantum Effect and Exit Audience remain the top two performing features. However, upon taking a closer look at the precise MOAT scores, we see some minor differences. Taking the average of these 9 ECs and Condos in the immediate proximity of Tenet EC, we get an average MOAT score of 73.3%. This is a high score and is within a good range as an indicator of value.
Looking at this second analysis, Tenet EC still stands out as a strong performer in MRT Effect. This will be a core indicator of appreciation moving forward. As the MOAT score might be relatively better in comparison to its geographically proximate competitors. Even taking a grand average from both analyses, we have an overall score of 71%, which passes the 70% threshold as a value indicator. We expect the actual MOAT score for Tenet to be higher than this average.
Concerns that Buyers Should Know
All this being said, there are some concerns that buyers should be aware of when considering Tenet EC as a housing option. Note that there are requirements when it comes to EC purchasing eligibility. Buyers would have to meet all these conditions in order to be eligible for EC purchase. This includes but is not limited to a 30 month waiting period if you have just disposed of your private property and a $16,000 monthly household income ceiling.
There are also some additional concerns. First, due to its close proximity to the TPE, Tenet EC may face some noise concerns. This will be especially applicable to units facing north. While this might be an issue for some home buyers, light sleepers should consider units on the other side of the parcel facing southwest.
Next, Tampines is a high density residential cluster. Naturally, while this means more amenities and schools, it also means a more crowded neighbourhood. If you’re the kind to love the hustle and bustle of a lively heartland, then this might be more of a perk for you. But if you are adverse to crowds and prefer quieter and less crowded residential estates, this might be an issue of concern.
Being a new project, Tenet EC will take time to complete. Barring any delays, the TOP is expected to be in 2026. And the MOP will last till 2031. This might be a concern for buyers looking for a quick entry and exit. The wait will be considerably longer before the exit of your investment (around 9 years from now). Your investment horizon and schooling plans for your children would probably be anchored around this area.
Finally, the core USP of Tenet EC will only start to manifest its benefits after 2030. This means that home buyers moving in upon TOP will have to wait approximately 4 years before the completion of the first phase of the Cross Island Line. The wait for the second phase to be completed would be 6 years from TOP.
Beyond these concerns, Tenet EC gives a strong host of benefits to prospective buyers. We summarise the Pros and Cons in a simple table below.
Let’s Get In Touch!
Here are the specific dates you will want to mark on your calendar if you are interested in having a first look at the Tenet EC showflat. If you are interested in signing up, contact us here to book your slots!
- Showflat Viewing: 12 Nov to 28 Nov 2022
- Price Release / Drop Ballot Ticket: 30 Nov to 1 Dec 2022
- Balloting: 2 Dec 2022
- Booking: 3 Dec 2022
