Review of The Tre Ver and Riverfront Residences by Daryl Lum, a CEA licensed real estate salesperson

Since the implementation of the new property cooling measures on the 5th of July, market sentiment has indeed cooled and buyers are starting to become a little more discerning when it comes to the latest new launch. Riverfront Residences opened for sale on the very night of the announcement in reaction to the new property cooling measures. The Tre Ver is currently open for buyers to preview the show units. I am reviewing these two properties together as I believe they hold some distinct similarities. They are both waterfront properties and both are not the nearest development to their nearest respective MRT stations.

Details about the developments

The Tre Ver is a 99-year leasehold development located along Potong Pasir Avenue 1. It is located on the site of Raintree Gardens, a former HUDC estate which underwent privatisation. Back in October 2016, the 175-unit Raintree Garden was sold en bloc to UVD (Projects), a joint venture of UOL Group and United Industrial Corporation. Each owner was paid SGD$1.9 million for their unit. In its place, a 729 unit development called The Tre Ver is to be built on the 201,405 square feet plot of land. The Tre Ver will consist of 3 20-storey tower blocks, 2 19-storey tower blocks, 4 7-storey garden blocks including a 2-storey carpark as well as a basement car park. The project is slated for completion in August 2022.

Riverfront Residences is a 99-year leasehold development located along Hougang Avenue 7. It is located on the site of Rio Casa, a former privatised HUDC estate. Rio Casa, a 286 unit development, was sold en bloc for $575 million to a joint venture company, Oxley-Lian Beng Venture. Riverfront Residences will be a joint venture between Oxley Holdings, Lian Beng Group, KSH Development and Apricot Capital. Their stakes in the joint venture are 35%, 20%, 35% and 10% respectively. Each owner of Rio Casa was paid $2 million for their units in the river-fronting estate. The land which the former Rio Casa sits on has a site area of 396,231 square feet.

Riverfront Residences is a 1,472 unit residential project with 6 retail shops. The development will consist of usual tower blocks as well as strata terraces.

Where are these developments located?

The Tre Ver Location Map

The Tre Ver is located along Potong Pasir Avenue 1. It is about 800 meters or a 10-minute walk to the Potong Pasir MRT Station. It is not near the MRT station especially when there are so many other nearer developments like The Poiz Residences and Sennett Residences which are located right next to Potong Pasir MRT Station.

The Tre Ver fronts the Kallang River and has a nice, serene park right next to it. If you are driving, it would take you approximately 5 minutes to get to the entrance of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE). Driving along Upper Serangoon Road towards the direction of Boon Keng and in about 10 to 15 minutes, you will get to Bugis or City Hall. Potong Pasir is also one MRT stop away from the upcoming The Woodleigh Mall which will be a bus interchange. Serangoon MRT Station is two stops away from Potong Pasir MRT Station and from there you can change from the North-East Line (NEL) to the Circle Line. Potong Pasir MRT Station is also 4 stops away from Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station.

The Tre Ver is located within a 1-kilometre radius of St. Andrew’s Junior School. Thus this may be a reason for some to buy a property here as well.

Walk to Potong Pasir MRT Station from The Tre Ver

Potong Pasir MRT to Dhoby Ghaut MRT (Source: LTA)

The Tre Ver to Serangoon MRT Station and The entrance to PIE

Riverfront Residences is located along Hougang Avenue 7. It will take approximately 14 minutes to walk to Hougang MRT Station according to Google Maps.

Although I would think that this distance should be slightly shorter if you were to cut across the HDB blocks. It is approximately a 1-kilometre walk to Hougang MRT Station although it should take you slightly shorter than that to reach Hougang Central. Riverfront Residences fronts the Serangoon River although there is a road separating the development from the riverfront. Punggol Park is nearby and is a very huge park. The entrance to the KPE Expressway is just around the corner. You have to drive towards Sengkang and turn right at Buangkok East Drive to get to the entrance of the KPE.

Alternatively, you could enter KPE from Tampines Road. Based on Google Maps, Suntec City is a 16-minute drive from Riverfront Residences. Riverfront Residences is located within 1-kilometre from Holy Innocents’ Primary School and Punggol Primary School.

Riverfront Residences Location Map

Riverfront Residences to Suntec City. 16-minute drive according to Google Maps.

The selling points about the developments

The waterfront facing of both developments is the main selling point in my opinion. To have a waterfront development in Singapore is not common thus I usually put a slight premium on properties that have waterfront facing. If you were purchasing the property for your own stay, these two properties are looking like very nice and serene developments to consider settling down in. Perhaps the slight edge would have to be given to The Tre Ver as it is directly facing the Kallang River whereas Riverfront Residences and The Serangoon River is split by Hougang Avenue 7.

The Tre Ver is developed by UOL Group and UIC, two very reputable companies in Singapore. Recent launches by UOL Group include Amber 45 and The Clement Canopy. Other notable developments in their portfolio include Botanique at Bartley, Spottiswoode Residences and Nassim Park Residences. Their commercial property portfolio includes malls like United Square and Novena Square. UOL Group is a very established developer with a very strong track record and their developments are usually well built and maintained. Personally, they are one of my favourite developers. UIC was also involved in The Clement Canopy with OUL and their other developments include V On Shenton, Mon Jervois and Alex Residences. They have been a public listed company since 1969. In terms of developer track record, the developers of The Tre Ver are one of the best out there.

Pricing rating 3/5

Riverfront Residences is developed by Oxley Holdings, Lian Beng Group, KSH Development and Apricot Capital. Oxley is currently the largest developer in Singapore based on unsold units. They have been extremely aggressive in the Singapore development scene and their recent developments include Affinity at Serangoon. Lian Beng Group is one of Singapore’s major home-grown building construction groups. KSH Holdings is a well-established construction, property development and property investment group and has been listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange since 2007. Apricot Capital is the private investment company of the Teo family of the Super Group. In terms of developer profile, Riverfront Residences is also backed by reputable parties.

Pricing rating 3/5

To read more on the property reviews by Daryl Lum, such as his thoughts on the developments and the comparisons he had made, visit:
https://www.daryllum.com/my-review-of-the-tre-ver-and-riverfront-residences/