For those who have not heard about Lentor... here's a quick read to catch up on the happenings in this up-and-coming estate and a few things that many would want to know about it.
What about its location and accessibility, what types of homes are in Lentor, what are the Government's plans for this area and what school options are there at Lentor? Read more to find out.
1. Lentor Homes, Plans, Schools and More: Let's start with the location. Where is it?
Lentor is a lovely tranquil enclave in D26 Upper Thomson and Springleaf, and its neighbours include a few long-time stronghold estates such as Ang Mo Kio, Thomson, Yio Chu Kang and Seletar. And in this estate of D26, Lentor holds a strategic location that is very near the boundary lines of the Rest of Central Region (RCR aka city fringe).
For now, it is home to a few condominiums and HDB estates, landed homes and some offices and light factories. Its newest condominium is Meadows @ Peirce and that was completed in 2012, which was some 10 years ago.
Summary: Almost city fringe region. Stone's throw to Ang Mo Kio and Thomson. Seems to be an area that has quite a number of private homes and greenery, especially the areas near the Lentor MRT.
2. Lentor Homes: What Condos Do We Have At Lentor?
Other than Meadows @ Peirce, what condominiums are at Lentor? Looking at the above illustration, looks like there are about three waves of condominium completion in the last 40 years.
Between 1984 - 1986: Thomson Grove and Far Horizon Garden
In 1997: Castle Green and Seasons Park
Between 2007 - 2012: The Calrose and Meadows @ Peirce
The highest resale PSF transacted in this area ranges from $1,200 - $1,700 for leasehold and freehold properties.
Summary: This area will definitely see an increase its footfall especially with a MRT station right at its doorstep. Currently, there is only a handful of condominiums at Lentor and the average age of these six condominiums is about 26 years old. Looks like Lentor will be in a good strategic state for some rejuvenation efforts.
3. Past Lentor Trends: How Has D26 Been?
Dwelling a little deeper into the transactions at D26, the properties have appreciated about 94% since 2013. Comparing this against the national average, that is about 50% higher.
Some may say that this percentage is boosted by the record high prices of the new launches. The second chart shows the appreciation for only the resale transactions and these numbers give a more telling story. The PSF growth in D26 is almost 75% higher than the average growth of all resale transaction islandwide.
Summary: Lentor feels like a natural forest that has grown well on its own with the nourishment from the natural elements. What if moving forward... it will receive more structure planning in terms of developing this town and its amenities, what would its potential be?
4. Accessibility: How Connected Is Lentor?
Photo from www.landtransportguru.net
First up in the Government's plan. Introducing accessibility into this area. The Lentor MRT Station, which is part of the Thomson-East Coast Line, was opened in August 2022. This line is currently open from Woodlands to Marina Bay, and within 30 mins travelling time from Lentor, it brings you to any line in Singapore.
4 stops (15mins) to Caldecott which connects to the yellow Circle Line
5 stops (19 mins) to Stevens which connects to the dark blue Downtown Line
8 stops (24 mins) to Orchard which connects to the red North-South Line
11 stops (31 mins) to Outram Park which connects to the purple North-East Line and green East-West Line
By 2024, the whole line is expected to be complete where you have direct connectivity to Marine Parade, Singapore Expo and the east side of Singapore.
By 2030, there will be a new Cross Island Line and its interchange at Bright Hill is just two stops from Lentor. This new line will provide easy connectivity to Pasir Ris, Punggol, Serangoon North, Ang Mo Kio, King Albert Park and Clementi.
Furthermore, the North-South Corridor, which is expected to be ready in 2027, is a major expressway project in Singapore that connects the northern part of the island to the city center. This Singapore’s longest Transit Priority Corridor will bring several benefits to Lentor area as follows:
Firstly, the North-South Corridor will provide faster and more convenient access to the city center for residents of Lentor. The expressway will feature dedicated bus lanes and cycling paths, which will enhance public transport connectivity, cut down travelling time and provide alternative modes of transport for residents.
Secondly, the North-South Corridor, which runs parallel to CTE, will improve the overall transport network in the area, reducing congestion on existing roads and easing traffic flow. This will help to reduce travel time for residents and improve the overall quality of life in the area.
Summary: The lethal combination of its almost city-fringe location and the close proximity to the MRT station is unleashing its power here. And to be honest, with such excellent connectivity, you would be very tempted to leave the car at home and just take the public transport. Plus you don't have the deal with the hassle of looking for carpark lots!
5. The Plans: What Can We Expect To See At Lentor?
Now, let's look into the township planning. The Government, specifically the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), has started to review its plans for this area and we can see some significant changes to the land parcels and its details.
2008 Masterplan (top) VS 2023 Masterplan (bottom)
2008 and 2023 URA Masterplan screenshot of Lentor from www.ura.gov.sg
Looking at the two masterplans, we can quickly spot three key differences:
Category | 2008 URA Masterplan | 2023 URA Masterplan |
|---|---|---|
Land Use |
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No. of Land Plots |
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|
Gross Plot Ratio [the tiny numbers on the land plot] |
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The changes in the Masterplan coincides with the proposed vision for Lentor that is found on URA website (see below). Hillock Park will be a centrepiece of this estate and it connects to a Linear Park where there will be pathways for cyclists and pedestrians to enjoy. The residential projects surrounding these parks will enjoy ample of airflow between the land parcels. There will also be a mixed use development above the Lentor MRT station which offers over 96,000 sqf of retail offerings.
Photo from www.ura.gov.sg
Summary: With this plan, we can foresee Lentor being transformed from a natural forest to a beautiful sculptured garden. It will be a beautiful vision where people can work, play and stay in harmony with nature.
6. The Players: Which Developers Have Invested In Lentor?
If Lentor is going to be sculptured into an alluring garden, the next important question is - which gardeners are responsible for turning this vision into reality?
Since July 2021, a total of five plots of land had been sold. Looking at the five successful developers, this is another reason why people are getting excited about Lentor - because they are seeing the big guns gathering there.
Land Plot | Successful Bidder | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
Jul 21: Lentor Central | Guocoland | First developer to successfully plant their flag at Lentor |
Jan 22: Lentor Hills Parcel A | Guocoland, Intrepid and TID | Yes, Guocoland again! And Intrepid is wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Leong! |
Sep 22: Lentor Hills Parcel B | Hong Leong and Mitsui Fudosan | Yes, Hong Leong again! |
Sep 22: Lentor Central | China Comms and Yanlord Land | Yes, another prominent player in the Lentor area! |
Apr 23: Lentor Gardens | Guocoland and Interpid | Yes, third time Guocoland and third time Hong Leong! |
Want to know where these plots of lands are? Here's another illustration:
In short, Guocoland is definitely very invested in the Lentor area and this is in line with their strategy which focuses on transform and uplift neighbourhoods. This is their press release after their Apr 2023 successful land bid at Lentor Gardens. Needless to say, their repeated successful claims in Lentor is a very strong vote of their confidence regarding the growth potential in this area.
Summary: The line-up of gardeners is astounding! A quote comes to my mind at this point - that any small changes will eventually add up to huge results. With Guocoland and Hong Leong developing four out of five land parcels at Lentor, this would give them more control and flexibility to build a township where each of these individual developments can complement and synchronise with each other to bring up greater harmony in this estate.
7. The Schools: Which Schools Are Within 2KM?
When we are talking about homes, we cannot neglect the importance of primary school enrolment specially for parents, parents-to-be and parents-wannabe. Even for investors, they are keen to know more about the school proximity because those within close proximity of popular schools will be choice units for families who wish to rent/buy a place to be close to these schools.
At the moment, we don't have 100% certainty as One Map website is unable to provide the proximity information as the blocks are not built yet. However, we can guesstimate the likelihood. Based on this location, there are three primary schools that could be within the 1KM radius area of Lentor namely:
Anderson Primary School
CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School
Mayflower Primary School
Using the One Map website, you can do a search of the school and it will show the buildings that are within 1KM (indicated in red) and 1-2KM (indicated in red). As such, we have used a circle to try to conservatively demarcate a possible 1KM radius mark from the school.
* Do note that this indicative circle boundary is purely a guesstimate as MOE calculates distance based on the shortest distance from a point on the boundary around the school to the applicant's home. Based on this formula, the 1KM radius should follow the boundary of the school premise instead of a circle. All readers are strongly advised to check the distance and school eligibility after the address details have been uploaded on the One Map website.
Based on this guesstimate method, these are the findings:
(7a) Anderson Primary School
Anderson Primary School is a popular school in Ang Mo Kio. In the 2022 Primary 1 Registration Exercise, the school had to conduct a balloting exercise for Phrase 2C applicants who are staying within 1-2KM as the number of applicants exceeded the available vacancies. Those staying within 1KM were smoothly enrolled into the school.
Referring to the guesstimate boundary line, it seems that the five Lentor land parcels that had been sold are likely to be within the 1KM of Anderson Primary School. This implies that there is a high probability for those who are living within 1KM to be successful in their enrolment into Anderson Primary School.
(7b) CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School
CHIJ St. Nicks are one of the most popular schools in Singapore. In the 2022 Primary 1 Registration Exercise, the school conducted balloting exercises for both Phrase 2B (parent volunteers, church/clan endorsement and/or active community leaders) and Phrase 2C applicants who are staying within 1KM. Those who stay beyond 1KM of the school did not have a chance of entering this school.
Referring to the guesstimate boundary line, it seems that the Lentor Hills Parcel B land plot should be within the 1KM of CHIJ St. Nicks. There may be some blocks in Lentor Garden land plot that could meet the 1KM requirement. For Lentor Hills Residence, there may be a tiny chance for certain blocks or perhaps none at all. Hopefully the developers would be able to share more light on this during the launches of these projects. And a note of caution for those who have strong interest in the school proximity: do check the address details of these new launch projects before committing to the purchase.
(7c) Mayflower Primary School
The third school is Mayflower Primary School. In the 2022 Primary 1 Registration Exercise, those staying beyond 2KM of the school were accepted into the school. For parents who wish to have a smooth and stress-free enrolment into Mayflower Primary, they can consider any of the five launches in this area.
The Summary: All About Lentor
Lentor is a wonderful estate at the boundary of the Rest of Central Region (RCR) of Singapore.
It enjoys excellent connectivity in terms of the MRT network and its close proximity to the expressways.
In recent years, the Government has put in effort to change the land use of this area to build the next town where we can expect commercial and retail offerings, and new homes that are well-balanced with abundant green pastures.
Prominent developers, like Guocoland and Hong Leong, have staked their multi-million dollars ($2.199 billion to be exact) to invest in this area to realise this vision.
Parents who are keen in this area may have opportunity to enrol into Anderson Primary School, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School and Mayflower Primary School (subject to proximity conditions of each block in these developments).
If you are thinking of a home at Lentor, feel free to contact me for a chat. I will be happy to share more and we can find out if Lentor is a suitable choice for you and your family.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Before the change to real estate, Pris Low was in the non-profit sector for close to 20 years, helping distressed consumers, disadvantaged families, children with special needs, persons with disability and frail seniors.
Now she finds it equally meaningful to be able to work directly with seniors, couples and families to plan their property path in an enjoyable find a right home within their comfortable finances and help them build resilient families that can flourish and overcome challenges.
Each property path is unique to the family, and there is no right and wrong path as long as it guides the family towards achieving their goals at its own pace.
Come, let's have coffee together and enjoy a lovely stress-free chat where we can see what are some of the suitable property options for you.