At a glance: The Seletar Hills area has seen quite a number of landed home launches in recent years. Pollen Collection is the latest to join the fray. With upcoming improvements to connectivity in the area, a potentially lower price point and a strong developer known for their attention to detail, Pollen Collection is an interesting one to consider if you are thinking of upgrading to a landed property.
| Property Name | Pollen Collection |
| Property Type | Landed Housing |
| Developer | Bukit Sembawang Estates Limited |
| District | 28 |
| Address | TBA |
| Total Units | 132 units |
| Unit Types | 3-storey landed homes, including 106 intermediate terraces, 22 corner terraces and 2 pairs (4 units) of semi-detached houses |
| Tenure | 99-year leasehold |
| TOP Date (Expected) | TBA |
| Architect | W Architects |
| Nearest Amenities | Shopping Malls • Greenwich V ~15-min walk • The Seletar Mall ~7-min drive • Hougang 1 ~9-min drive Hawker Centres • Cheng San Market and Food Centre ~15-min walk Supermarkets • Sheng Siong supermarket at ITE College Central ~12-min walk • Cold Storage at Greenwich V • Fairprice Finest at The Seletar Mall • Fairprice Xtra at Hougang 1 Parks and Recreation • Park Connector along Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 • Seletar Country Club ~7-min drive • Seletar Aerospace Park ~9-min drive |
| Schools Within 2-km (approx.) | • Fernvale Primary School • Jing Shan Primary School • Mayflower Primary School • Rosyth School • Sengkang Green Primary School • Teck Ghee Primary School |
| Nearby International Schools | • The Grange Institution and International Preschool ~5-min drive • Lodestar Montessori School ~7-min drive • International French School ~10-min drive |
An affinity with Seletar Hills
Pollen Collection is nestled within the highly exclusive Seletar Hill landed housing enclave. The enclave itself is pretty serene as a whole, however Pollen Collection’s location right next to the major expressway CTE isn’t exactly the most conducive. While the developer will most likely create green buffers to mitigate against the traffic noise—we are talking about the reputable Bukit Sembawang Estates after all—you will still want to opt for a housing unit that is at least facing away from the expressway.
Image courtesy of Google
Map courtesy of URA
Developer Bukit Sembawang Estates, which has its beginnings as a rubber company before becoming a property developer, is no stranger to Seletar Hills. The area used to be a rubber plantation so much of Bukit Sembawang’s valuable land bank are in this area. They have a few landed housing projects in Seletar Hills under their belt, including Mimosa Terrace, Luxus Hills and Nim Collection.
Pollen Collection is the 3rd phase of the Nim Collection, which was first launched in two phases in 2018 with all 98 units sold out. We are definitely going to see congruities between both developments since both developments are under the same architect, but the difference in name may signal a slight shift in concept.
Image courtesy of Rice
Pollen Collection is expected to see a good level of attention to detail, if Nim Collection’s architecture and design, which were helmed by W Architects and veteran Singaporean architect Mok Wei Wei, are anything to go by.
One of the design highlights for Nim Collection was the double roof terraces for each of the units—one at the usual spot at the attic and one above the car porch. A bridge leads to the latter at the mezzanine level, where the guest room also sits.
Image courtesy of Rice
Other features include linkages to outdoor spaces on each level, with the bedrooms connected to courtyards and air wells, as well as sustainable elements such as solar panels on the roofs and electrical charging points at the car porch. Some of the homes at Nim Collection also feature private pools, which we think will also be included for a few houses at Pollen Collection.
Images courtesy of Rice
Nim Meadow Park, a 100m linear park, was also incorporated to serve as a green buffer between the houses and Ang Mo Kio Ave 5, so you can expect a similar facility with Pollen Collection to block off the traffic noise from the nearby CTE.
Image courtesy of Mace Studio
Amenities and Connectivity
The Seletar Hills area is plenty private, with not very many amenities within walking distance. But the well-heeled residents of this area are most likely driving anyway. Still, the nearest mall, Greenwich V, is within walking distance. It’s a good 15 minutes, but definitely manageable. The small shopping mall packs a variety of services, retail shops, a pharmacy, and food outlets as well as a Cold Storage supermarket. Bigger malls are driving distance. The nearest ones include The Seletar Mall and Hougang 1.
There are a couple of recreation options around the area. For cycling enthusiasts, the park connector is right at the doorstep along Ang Mo Kio Ave 5. It’s part of the Coast-to-Coast trail, taking you all the way to Punggol Waterway Park and Coney Island in one direction and all the way to Jurong Lake Gardens in another direction.
For those who like to golf, the Seletar Country Club—which recently underwent a $24M redevelopment—is within a short driving distance. And for families with younger children, you can drop by the nearby family-friendly Seletar Aerospace Park with its vast green areas, playgrounds and restaurants.
If you drive, connectivity’s pretty great with the adjacent CTE. Getting to Orchard Road and the Downtown Core is about an estimated 20-min drive. It’s also really convenient to several business districts, including Seletar Aerospace Park (9-min drive), which is home to a number of companies from the aviation industry, the upcoming 50-hectare Punggol Digital District (14-min drive), which will see the gathering of industries in the digital economy when it progressively opens from 2024, as well as Paya Lebar Central, a commercial hub that is set to expand once the nearby Paya Lebar Air Base moves out from 2030.
Image courtesy of URA
The upcoming North-South Corridor (Singapore’s 11th expressway) will also boost connectivity in the area. Scheduled for completion in 2027, it stretches all the way from Woodlands to Marina Bay, and will link towns such as Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan and Toa Payoh. The section near Pollen Collection will run between two major expressways, CTE and SLE, and will also comprise cycling and express bus lanes, with the former linking to current park connector routes.
Image courtesy of The Straits Times
This does help to offset the location’s inconvenience in terms of public transportation. The nearest MRT stations are at Yio Chu Kang station, which sits on the North-South Line and the upcoming Tavistock station (along Ang Mo Kio Ave 3) along the Cross-Island Line. Both will require at least 25 min walk, which isn’t ideal.
There are buses you can take though. The bus stops along Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 have buses that you can take to neighbourhoods like Bishan, Punggol, Yio Chu Kang, Tampines, Toa Payoh and Pasir Ris, but depending on where your house is located at, it may be a bit of walk down to the bus stops.
Why go for a landed home?
The main advantages of living in a landed home are obviously the privacy, exclusivity, freedom (fewer rules and regulations) and space, but perhaps less obvious are the advantages from an investment point of view.
Demand for landed homes have been, on a whole, on a relatively upwards trend. This can be partially explained by a limited supply—landed homes represent just about 5 percent of the total housing stock in Singapore.
Source: EdgeProp
Couple that with how landed homes are also regarded as the pinnacle of asset progression in Singapore, home upgraders will always be seeing them as the final stage to aspire to. With increasing demand and limited supply, it makes landed housing a relatively stable source of investment for the long term since pricing is unlikely to see a major drop because of issues like a supply glut.
Source: URA
This year alone has seen remarkable interest for landed property, with prices increasing by 2.6 per cent for the third quarter based on URA’s real estate statistics. If you compare this with non-landed homes, that category only increased by 0.7 percent in the same period.
The Business Times also reported that the number of detached and semi-detached houses sold in the first seven months of this year had already exceeded last year’s total. District 28, our focus for Pollen Collection, was ranked in the same report as one of the top six districts with the highest sales volume based on data from 2018 to 2021.
The strong demand has largely been driven by the pandemic and we think it looks set to continue with more people staying in and working from home and as large living spaces become more desirable.
Pricing and rent potential
The 999-year leasehold Luxus Hills, which was launched last year, offers a good indication of how the prices will be for Pollen Collection. Also by developer Bukit Sembawang Estates and located in the same Seletar Hills area, it went for $3.2M to $3.5M for terrace houses and around $4.2M for semi-detached houses. Average prices are around $2,012 psf.
Pollen Collection’s 99-year leasehold status will indicate a slightly cheaper offering, which is good news if you are just looking for a landed property to stay and a dwindling lease isn’t going to be a major factor. But it’s also a plus if you are looking to rent out your home since a cheaper home results in a higher gross rental yield.
Rental yields aren’t very high in this area, but you do get decent rental demand, particularly with families thanks to the area’s family-friendly atmosphere and proximity to several primary schools including the reputable Rosyth School. We think the improved connectivity with the North-South Corridor and upcoming business districts, Punggol Digital District and expansion of Paya Lebar’s commercial centre, will likely improve rental demand in the area.
Here’s a look at what you can get in terms of rental rates, based on the latest transactions from D28 landed homes:
With its more affordable price point, Pollen Collection’s a good option for folks looking to upgrade or for those who are keen on a stable form of investment. Its Seletar Hills location is an added plus for a sense of exclusivity, although you may wish to take into account its lack of walking distance amenities and its location near the CTE.
If you prefer a freehold cluster housing instead, take a look at upcoming Belgravia Ace, which is located in the same Seletar Hills vicinity.
Available Units
| TYPE | PRICE STARTING |
|---|---|
| TBA | TBA |