Queens Peak review from a buyer’s point of view

I was invited to MCC Land’s Queens Peak VIP preview on October 22. The Edge Property says there were 4,000 people at the sales gallery during the preview weekend. It won’t be surprising that probably half of them are property agents.

Don’t visit Queens Peak at peak hours

When the show suite opened at 10 a.m., it was already fully packed with sales representatives from the developer’s appointed marketing agents Knight Frank and Huttons. VIP guests started flocking to the sales gallery after 10.30 a.m. It was so jam packed that visitors had to queue up to view the three showflats.

The official launch of Queens Peak is today (November 5) when the developer starts to accept cheque from buyers.

The show suite at 10 Dundee Road is directly opposite the Queenstown MRT. But if you are driving and want to ensure that there is an available parking lot at the carpark, please be there early in the morning. It opens from 10 am to 7 pm.

From my personal experience, new launch sales galleries are most crowded before or after lunch hours, especially during the first launch weekend. If you want to avoid the traffic, the non-peak period is usually Mondays. That’s why property agents like to hold sales meetings on Mondays.

A good location without paying a king’s ransom

The selling point of Queens Peak is its proximity to the Queenstown MRT. The site is the former Queenstown Driving Test Centre that has retired in 2014.

Personally, I like District 3 because of the short driving distance from Tanglin and the CBD. I bought two rental properties in this district before. The investment proved to be very rentable and profitable.

Queenstown is a central location with only six stations away from Raffles Place MRT. Queens Peak is targeting both locals and foreigners who work in the CBD area and do not drive to work.

With 736 units, there are only 589 residential carpark lots available on first-come-first-served basis. The developer assumes that tenants occupying the one or two-bedroom units are likely to take public transportation (never mind the fact that their home is actually very near to the car showrooms in Alexandra Road!).

In fact, there is an overhead bridge directly connected to the MRT station to shelter residents from sun and rain. The bridge is built exclusively for Queens Peak residents with security card access.

However, there are existing condo projects located on both sides of the Queenstown MRT, namely the Commonwealth Towers and the older condo Queens.

A station away there are several projects just a stone’s throw from the Redhill MRT, including the Metropolitan, Ascentia Sky, Enchelon and Alex Residences. The new ones also have Principal Garden and The Crest. These projects with more than 1,200 unsold units either just obtained TOP or will be ready for occupation in 2018 and 2019.

The earliest TOP date for Queens Peak is late 2018. Buyers are definitely spoiled for choices.

Impressive facilities for a queen

The Queens Peak sales brochure lists an impressive 77 facilities in total (still have 63 facilities left after deducting all the necessities like the gates, lift lobbies, etc.).

There is also a childcare centre on the ground floor under stack 8 and 9 and a shop near the overhead bridge. Both will be managed by the MCST.

The 44-storey Queens Peak is comprised of two towers (1 Dundee Road and 3 Dundee Road) from level 8 to 44. Below is a snapshot of the development.

Choosing the best stacks at Queens Peak

All the units in Queens Peak are north south facing,

1. South facing stacks

Stacks 8 to 13 and 20 to 26 are facing south but the units are all overlooking the MRT station, the train track and the busy Commonwealth Avenue.

Based on the principles that ‘if you can see it, you can hear it’ and ‘the higher the floor, the louder the noise’, avoid stacks facing this direction if you are particular about noise and dust.

2. North facing stacks

On the opposite side, north-facing stacks 1 to 7 and 14 to 19 have units facing the HDB flats with a quieter ambience.

Stacks 14 to 19 are directly blocked by the HDB flats. The 40-storey Queenstown HDB twin towers with 125 metres in height are just located at Strathmore Avenue on one side of Queens Peak.

Stacks 1 to 7 enjoy more open view but they are facing the Church of the Good Shepherd. It is not recommended to stay near a religious place unless you are a devoted Christian.

Do take note that Dundee Road is a one-way street. Expect heavy traffic during Sundays for church services.

Space optimization at its peak

From the showflats, the finishings and fittings at Queens Peak are not too bad. There is stone flooring for the halls and timber flooring for the bedrooms (except 1-bedroom units).

I am especially impressed by all the wardrobes in the bedrooms which are very functional with all the necessary drawers for your clothes and accessories. Today’s wardrobes come with only some simple shelves is a big contrast to the good carpentry work used to be offered by developers during the good old days.

Another big problem of mass market condos these days is the developer’s attempt to squeeze in as many tiny units as possible in their expensive plot of land.

These shoebox units look self-contained, but are they inhabitable? They look affordable in quantum, but are they overpriced per square foot?

In the case of Queens Peak, the smallest 1-bedroom flat is 431 sq ft and 2-bedroom is 624 sq ft. Three bedrooms are contained in just 807 sq ft. The master bedroom has difficulty fitting in a king-size bed. For all the units, the large balcony and aircon ledge already occupy a lot of precious space.

Stacks 1, 2, 3 and 4 have private lifts that go up directly to the unit. However, there is no door in between the lift and the unit and owners cannot close their door at night. Instead, the main door is built outside the private lift facing the neighbor’s unit which is least required for security.

Below is the unit distribution and pricing taken from the Knight Frank Queens Peak website. Check out the Property Soul facebook page for more photos of the show suite.

Given 62 percent of the units in the project are 1 or 2-bedroom units and nearly one-third of the units are 3-bedders, go for the limited 4 or 5-bedroom units if you can afford it. You will face less competition both for rent and for sale in the future.

Under strong competition, Queens Peak is strategically priced with smaller units from $1,580 psf. Next door CDL’s Commonwealth Towers which sold 416 out of 845 units are slashing their average price from $1,650 psf to $1,5xx level this weekend.

Here comes the final verdict

Now it’s time to rate the Queens Peak according to our PCS (Property Club Singapore) Rating System.

Your property agent may say otherwise. But With plenty of choices available in the same district, take your time to shop. Remember to join us for the How to Buy Good Quality Properties Workshop on November 12 if you want to learn more about how to pick the best units and houses … because you know very well that no agent will share with you all the traps and tips of picking a good quality property!


Did you watch my video “2018 Singapore Property Market – what developers, agents, banks and analysts are hiding from you”? Watch it now!