Bite-Sized Property Review – Midtown Modern

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♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim

At A Glance

Location Analysis

• Public/Private Transportation

With the Bugis MRT station literally just right outside its doorstep, Midtown Modern enjoys an unrivalled location in terms of convenience and accessibility. Residents will have direct access to two MRT lines (East-West Line and the Downtown Line) which will easily bring them to the CBD, Marina Bay & the Paya Lebar Commercial Hub in just a few stops.

There will also be bus stops within a 2-minutes walk, with bus services that will connect you to different parts of the island e.g. Orchard Road.

If that’s not enough, residents might be glad to know that Midtown Modern has very good access to the major highways and roads e.g. CTE, MCE, ECP etc (although we do think that a car is not a necessity given the excellent location of the project).

One thing worth noting however, is that traffic might be a little busy during the peak hours – this is inevitable given that there are many commercial & retail spaces nearby. If it provides any form of relief, what the developer has done to mitigate this is by having thick plants around the development.

• Retail and F&B Options

I believe the Bugis area needs no introduction. Locals & foreigners alike would be familiar with the sheer amount of amenities in the area. In the near vicinity, you have Bugis+, Bugis Junction, Bugis Cube shopping malls. Further down, there’s also Suntec City Mall, Raffles City, Marina Square etc. I haven’t even mentioned the future Guoco Midtown that will literally be right at your doorstep. In terms of retail, F&B and groceries options, you will certainly be spoilt for choice.

• Schools

Sounds good so far, isn’t it? Well, the only gripe that I have is that there are not many primary schools options nearby.

Within a 1km radius of Midtown Modern, there is only Stamford Primary School. For families looking with young children, this is something that you might wish to take into consideration before making the purchase. Although I must mention that if you don’t mind travelling a little, you will be able to reach the Bukit Timah Education Belt quite easily. There, you have your popular schools e.g. SCGS, ACS, Nanyang Primary School etc. St Margaret’s & River Valley Primary School are also not too far away.

School	Distance from Project (km)
Stamford Primary School	0.55km
St Margaret’s Primary School	1.69km
Farrer Park Primary School	1.69km
School of the Arts	0.93km
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts	1.05km

Unit Mix

Usually when we’re talking about Core Central Region (CCR) projects, developers tend to allocate a higher proportion for the smaller 1BR / 2BR unit types to cater to investors. However, for Midtown Modern, it seems like the distribution between the 1BR/2BR and the 3BR above are fairly equal. Instead of targeting investors, the developers are also catering to families who wish to experience luxurious living in the heart of Singapore.

Personally, we like this change as families tend to have stronger holding power than investors and this bodes well for the potential price appreciation of the project.

Unit Type	No. of Units	Percentage
1 Bedroom	168	30.1%
2 Bedroom	139	24.9%
3 Bedroom	139	24.9%
4 Bedroom	55	9.9%
4 Bedroom Premium	55	9.9%
Penthouse	2	0.003%

Investment Potential Analysis

• If you’re looking for Rental & Yield…

As we have discussed earlier, the fact that there are many Grade-A offices & retail spaces in the area will unquestionably support the rental demand here. We expect the demand from those working in the nearby CBD to also spillover to this area. Investors looking for rental play should have little problems in finding tenants of a good profile. Now, the question is, what’s the rental yield here?

Let’s take a look at the rental yields that nearby projects have achieved:

Project	Average Rental Yield %
Duo Residences	3.8%
South Beach Residences	2.6%
Concourse Skyline	3.6%

We can see that the yield here is fairly healthy, even with South Beach Residences being an outlier dragging down the average, the yield is still approximately 3.3%.

• If you’re looking for Capital Growth...

To preface this section, can I just share that District 07’s price appreciation over the years has been impressive to say the least. In the last 20 years, the average price appreciation of 99years leasehold projects has been a whopping +212%!

For our avid readers, you might already know that there are a few things we analyze before we determine if a project will potentially appreciate in value. To keep this article short & sweet, we’ll share just three points below:

1. Attraction Factors
2. Demand vs Current Supply
3. Future Development

1. Attraction Factors
Midtown Modern is in a prime location at the Central of Singapore. On top of that, it’s directly linked to the MRT station with many retail and F&B options nearby. With the exception of the School factor, it essentially checks all the other boxes:
– Near to MRT & Bus Stop(s)
– Retail and F&B options nearby
– Well-connected to City Centre
– Close to work location

2. Demand vs Current Supply
It’s apparent that the demand for private housing in this area has been very strong and steady, evidenced by the resilient price appreciation of the district over the past 20 years. Although one may argue that there already exists many condos in the region, but rarely do we see projects that caters towards family-living, with facilities like tennis court (South Beach Residences & Duo Residences do not come with tennis court). Demand for family-oriented units in this region clearly outweighs the current demand.

3. Future Development/Transformation
One future transformation that residents can look forward to is:

– Kampong Bugis Rejuvenation
The government plans to add 4,000 private homes, and over 50,000 sqft of retail, offices and community facilities to the waterfront district. We believe that this is expected to have a spillover effect to the Bugis area, in which Midtown Modern will stand to benefit from.

Source: URA

– Redevelopment of nearby Shaw Tower
The redeveloped mixed-use development will include 435,000 sqft of Grade-A office spaces and a five-storey podium of retail space. This will further enhance the vibrancy of the area.

Nearby Projects’ Profitability Analysis

Let’s take a look at how nearby projects have performed over the years.

Let’s look at the percentage of transactions that were profitable. Based on historical data, most owners have managed to lock in profits from their property sale. There is a proven track record of profitable sales in the area, and buyers of Midtown Modern can find comfort in this (savvy buyer tip: please make sure you enter at a good price! Feel free to reach out to us if you need guidance).

Project	% of Profitable Sales
Duo Residences	80.3%
Concourse Skyline	83.0%

What Could Have Been Better?

• Due to the hustle & bustle of the area, residents could be subjected to noise especially during the peak hours (although this is something inevitable for a project that is located in the city centre with many amenities)
• Would be great to have more primary school options within the 1km radius – but that’s something that the developers have little control over

Final Thoughts

The Good	Can be Better
+ Very near to key amenities such as MRT, bus stop, malls, F&B + Very Central & Prime Location + High Rental & Own-Stay Demand + Situated within a growth area + Near to many offices	Lack of Primary Schools within 1km

We hope that this review will help you make an informed decision on whether you should purchase this property. For more details on floor plans, pricing and which unit/stack to buy, feel free to contact us (May Li Property).