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21-03-2012, 06:12 AM
Clap! Clap! Honey, I shrunk the house! 
The Straits Times
Mar 21, 2012
3-bedroom condo unit at 635 sq ft: A new low?
By Gan Yu Jia
'HONEY, I shrunk the house,' could well be the tagline for a new, swanky condominium in Bukit Batok. A three-bedder at Natura at Hillview Terrace, a joint venture between Roxy-Pacific Holdings and Macly Group, measures just 635 sq ft.
That is smaller than a squash court and slightly bigger than five HDB carpark spaces. Real estate consultants said a typical three-bedroom apartment occupies 1,000 to 1,500 sq ft of space.
Market watchers said Roxy-Pacific appears to be setting a trend as far as shrinking three-bedroom units is concerned.
They noted that another of the company's projects, Treescape in Telok Kurau, also features micro three-bedders which start from 603 sq ft. All 32 units have been sold since the project was launched, of which 25 units were sold last month at a median price of $1,401 per sq ft.
But unlike Treescape, which is a boutique development, Natura is a full facilities condominium with 193 units.
It is unheard-of for a mass market project here to have three-bedroom units of such a compact size.
Mr Ken Yeo, projects director of Macly Group, has defended the size of the apartments.
'We've designed the building in such a way that the wall can be taken out, so that you can open up the living room to be of a bigger space. That's what we mean by 'efficiently designed',' he said.
Noting that all of Macly's previous shoebox projects were sold out within one month of their official launches, Mr Yeo added that Macly has not received any complaints that 'Mickey Mouse apartments are not liveable'.
He predicts that owner occupiers who opt for such units are likely to be singles or childless couples who prefer a smaller living space.
Mr Tan Kok Keong, OrangeTee's head of research and consultancy, said that it is difficult to predict if such units will be well-received by the public.
'If you use Hong Kong as an example, yes it's liveable, but whether it's the kind of quality of life that people can get used to is something we actually won't know until the project is completed,' he said, referring to small flat sizes in Hong Kong.
The Straits Times
Mar 21, 2012
3-bedroom condo unit at 635 sq ft: A new low?
By Gan Yu Jia
'HONEY, I shrunk the house,' could well be the tagline for a new, swanky condominium in Bukit Batok. A three-bedder at Natura at Hillview Terrace, a joint venture between Roxy-Pacific Holdings and Macly Group, measures just 635 sq ft.
That is smaller than a squash court and slightly bigger than five HDB carpark spaces. Real estate consultants said a typical three-bedroom apartment occupies 1,000 to 1,500 sq ft of space.
Market watchers said Roxy-Pacific appears to be setting a trend as far as shrinking three-bedroom units is concerned.
They noted that another of the company's projects, Treescape in Telok Kurau, also features micro three-bedders which start from 603 sq ft. All 32 units have been sold since the project was launched, of which 25 units were sold last month at a median price of $1,401 per sq ft.
But unlike Treescape, which is a boutique development, Natura is a full facilities condominium with 193 units.
It is unheard-of for a mass market project here to have three-bedroom units of such a compact size.
Mr Ken Yeo, projects director of Macly Group, has defended the size of the apartments.
'We've designed the building in such a way that the wall can be taken out, so that you can open up the living room to be of a bigger space. That's what we mean by 'efficiently designed',' he said.
Noting that all of Macly's previous shoebox projects were sold out within one month of their official launches, Mr Yeo added that Macly has not received any complaints that 'Mickey Mouse apartments are not liveable'.
He predicts that owner occupiers who opt for such units are likely to be singles or childless couples who prefer a smaller living space.
Mr Tan Kok Keong, OrangeTee's head of research and consultancy, said that it is difficult to predict if such units will be well-received by the public.
'If you use Hong Kong as an example, yes it's liveable, but whether it's the kind of quality of life that people can get used to is something we actually won't know until the project is completed,' he said, referring to small flat sizes in Hong Kong.
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