EC in Woodlands – Full List with Review

Why are ECs in Woodlands interesting ?

We wrote a dedicated article for ECs in Woodlands because we see great potential for price appreciation for ECs in this area.

The potential growth trajectory and profits to be derived from these ECs is reminiscent of the highly profitable ECs in SengKang and Punggol.

The government has year marked to transform Woodlands into one of the regional business centres in Singapore. 

There is a potential first mover advantage in early ownership of a new or resale EC in Woodlands.

Why ECs in Woodlands over Private Condos ?

At the risk of straying out of the topic, let’s quickly address this point.

From our research “EC vs Condo”. We observe that in the OCR area, dominated by buyers who are HDB upgraders. ECs being more affordable tends to outperform private condo in terms of capital appreciation, despite private condo being located closer to MRTs.

HDB upgraders tend to prioritise affordability, space and layout over proximity to MRT.

Next, the current resale private condos available in Woodlands are much older developments and the newer resale and new ECs in Woodlands takes the lead in terms of newness, free from concern of ageing lease.

Check out Norwood Grand review for more insights on resale condos in Woodlands.

We are Decoupling Expertise

Before committing the next 5 mins reading this article, it helps to know who is behind the pen. 

We are a team of specialist realtors that specialises in helping our readers research, shortlist and purchase investment properties. We believe in delivering informational value upfront without obligations through practical, detailed and data backed long form articles. 

If you like a more personalised solution tailored to your current consideration drop us a whatsapp text. 

Full List of ECs in Woodlands

In this article, we will provide the full list of ECs in Woodlands for your consideration. 

We will cover …

• New EC – to be purchased directly from developers
• Resale EC – ECs that have fulfilled its 5 year MOP and is available on the resale market

New EC to Launched in Woodlands – Woodlands Drive 17 EC 

The GLS land plot was placed under the Government land sales reserve list on 25 June 2024. It is scheduled to be placed under the confirmed list for developers bidding in Oct 2024. This new EC is estimated to be launched in Q2 or Q3 2025. 

As a side note, if you are in market for a new EC and is open to consider other location like Tampines beyond Woodlands, check out the following article on the Aurelle of Tampines New EC Review. Due to its strategic location, located within 4 mins walk from Tampines North MRT, we see potential for it to bring in above average returns for buyers.

Woodlands Drive 17 New EC 

Eligibility Criteria to Purchase New EC 

To even consider the purchase of a New EC, you first have to qualify for the New EC eligibility criteria. 

The following are eligibility criterias to be considered

Citizenship Status 

At least one of the joint applicants has to be a Singaporean citizen, the other joint applicant has to be a Singapore permanent resident. Foreigners are not eligible to purchase a brand new EC, given that it is a form of HDB subsidised housing. 

Specifically for applicants applying under the Joint Singles Scheme, where up to 3 Singles can jointly apply for a new EC. All applicants have to be Singapore citizens, PRs are not eligible under this scheme. 

Income Ceiling

The aggregated income of all applicants listed in the EC application must not exceed $16,000.

Property ownership 

All Citizens and PR are only entitled to 2 times the privilege of buying HDB subsidised housing. At the point of EC application, all applications must not have bought more than 1 HDB subsidised property. 

HDB subsidised property comprises the following, New EC, BTO, Resale HDB with government grants, New DBSS. 

If any of the applicants is previously a private property owner, they must dispose of it 30 months prior to the EC application. 

Eligibility Schemes

Applicants must apply under any one of the following EC eligibility schemes.

• Public Scheme – for families
• Fiance and Fiancee Scheme
• Orphan Scheme
• Joint Singles Scheme

Advantage of getting a New EC in Woodlands

There are several advantages to getting a new EC, if you are qualified to purchase it. 

Advantages comprise of the following

Freshest and youngest least amongst other ECs in Woodlands

From a lease life perspective, the New EC will be the youngest amongst all ECs in Woodlands. Currently, most ECs in Woodlands are launched between 1997 to 2015. Owning a new EC that is launched in 2025 will make the Woodland Drive 17 EC the newest EC in Woodlands. 

Aside from lease life, the newest also comes with more modern and more aesthetic facade, facilities and layout. 

CPF Grant for New EC

Purchasing a New EC also gives you an opportunity to secure up to $30k CPF grant to facilitate your purchase. 

New EC housing grant based on average gross monthly household income

Woodlands Drive 17 New EC – Greatest Proximity to MRT

From a location perspective, the Woodlands Drive 17 EC has the greatest proximity to MRT compared to the other ECs in Woodlands. 

By convention, Executive condos tend to be launched in less prime locations compared with private condos. Hence most of the current resale ECs available in Woodlands are at least 900 m away from the nearest MRT station. 

Unique to Woodlands Drive 17 New EC, it is only 5 mins walk away from the Woodlands South MRT station. This give it a locational advantage when compared with the resale ECs in Woodlands. 

Disadvantage of getting a New EC 

Long wait time and holding duration 

The downside to getting a new EC lies in the holding duration in which you have to endure before being able to resell it for a profit. 

Time is a valuable commodity in real estate investing, as every year passed, your maximum loan tenure decreased. 

The downside with purchasing a new EC is that you have to incur a 3 year construction wait time and a 5 year minimum occupation period before being eligible to resell the property for a profit. 

Higher overall purchase quantum and lower affordability

The new EC will be launched at a higher PSF pricing than the older ECs in Woodlands. From a affordability standpoint this meant that you could be paying more for the same or less square footage. 

For buyers with budget constraint, this meant that you could potentially only be able to afford a 3 bedroom compact in a new EC, as compared to purchasing a larger 3 bedroom unit with utility room and yard in an older resale EC. 

Resale / MOP EC in Woodlands

For the uninitiated, resale ECs are ECs that have fulfilled their 5 year minimum occupancy period.

They are eligible for resale purchase in the resale market.

Due to their privatisation status. ECs that are between the 5 to 10 year marks from TOP are semi privatised and are only eligible for resale to Singapore citizens and PR.  For resale ECs that are fully privatised passing their 10 year mark, they are eligible for foreigner purchase.

Full List of ECs in Woodlands 

All the resale ECs in Woodlands have passed its 5 year MOP mark.

Advantage of getting a resale EC

While resale ECs are older,  the initial round of steepest profiteering opportunities being reaped by its first owner.

We see the following merits in getting a resale EC.

Reduced holding duration 

There is no obligation to fulfil any 5 year minimum occupancy period and 3 year construction period.

The unit is available for immediate occupancy.

2nd Wave of Price Appreciation 

In our research article on buying resale EC, we see an opportunity in enjoying a second wave of price appreciation, if you were to purchase a resale EC early, shortly after it attains its MOP status.

This is on the assumption that the first owner pass on some of the price discount by offering a lower selling price.

Greater certainty in layout and facing

Compared to purchasing a new EC off the site plan of a showroom model, where there got be hit or misses.

Purchasing a resale EC unit via physical viewing provides more certainty on actual unit facing and layout.

Disadvantage of getting a Resale EC in Woodlands 

Distance away from MRT

Unfortunately, all the resale ECs are not located within working distance from MRT.

The closest resale EC woodvale is located 546 away from MRT and the remaining resale ECs are at least 900 m away from nearest MRT.

Age 

Of course with resale ECs you will be buying into an older condo development and an older unit that may require more renovation work as compared to moving into a new EC which you can design the interior from scratch. 

Review of Resale ECs in Woodlands

The sections that follow will be highlighting selected resale ECs based with reference to specific criterias that can have an impact on capital appreciation and liveability. 

In-Market for a new EC ?

Check out the following research on new EC launches

• Coastal Cabana Pasir Ris EC Review

#1 – Newest Resale EC in Woodlands – Northwave EC 

The resale ECs in Woodlands can be divided into two categories the newly MOP ones and those that have TOP in the 2000s with age ranging from 16 to 24 years. 

Note the tipping point for a condo to start facing concerns over decaying lease is when it passes its 30 year mark. 

In this area, Northwave emerges as the newest resale EC that has just TOP in 2019. Adding another 5 year MOP period to it, it has just attained its MOP status in 2024. 

List of Resale EC in Woodlands by Age

Opportunity for a 2nd mover advantage

For ECs that have just attained its MOP status. There is an opportunity for a 2nd mover advantage, whereby you can purchase a unit at an advantageous entry price as the first owner looks to pass down some of the discount they receive from developer by reselling their unit at a lower price. 

They are willing to do some as they have accumulated significant capital gain based on their initial subsidised entry price. 

The probability of getting an advantageous entry price increases as you seek to purchase early, when price benchmarks have yet to be fixed and initial sellers are still uncertain with their target selling price. 

#2 – Resale EC in Woodlands with Greatest Proximity to MRT – Forestville

Even though proximity to MRT is not the prioritised selection criteria for HDB upgraders, to gain an edge over the multiple Resale EC developments in Woodlands. It helps to optimise towards purchasing a relatively young unit with maximal proximity to MRT

Forestville EC is one such resale EC development. It TOP in 2016 and is 882 m away from Admiralty MRT. 

#3 – EC in Woodlands with the most Affordable Purchase Quantum

For buyers looking to stretch their budget when upgrading from a HDB. Again, Northwave is the resale EC that stands out in terms of balance between purchase quantum and lease life. 

Affordability is a factor of size of unit, floor plan efficiency and psf pricing. For newer condo or EC developments developers tend to adopt a more efficient floor plan with an attempt to squeeze all the necessary components into smaller square footage. 

On the other hand, developments from the older era tend to be more generous in allocating spaces to yards, corridors and bay windows. 

In terms of affordability, both Northwave and Bellewoods stand out, you can potentially get a 3 bedroom compact unit at close to $1.2 mil at the time of writing. 

#4 – EC in Woodlands with the highest capital appreciation

Similarly the divide between the older resale ECs and the newer resale ECs can be seen when reviewing the % annualised capital gain between developments.

You will see the younger resale ECs like Northwave, Bellewoods and Forestville experiencing higher sales volume and annualised capital gain % as compared with the older resale ECs.

Growth Potential for ECs in Woodlands

There are several factors that will serve as price catalyst for ECs in Woodlands

#1 – Healthy demand from HDB upgraders

Woodlands as a housing district is ranked top 5 in terms of having the most HDB and BTO units in the area.

The number of newly built BTOs being built falls into the same tier as emerging estates like Tampines, Pasir Ris and Seng Kang.

Aside from having sizable HDB upgrader demand. The HDBs, particularly the 4 , 5 and executive HDB are priced with a premium. This will equip Woodlands HDB upgraders to further drive ECs price appreciation as they look to upgrade.

No of HDB Units in different Districts

#2 – Future GLS land sales and new launch development 

Future government land sales and new private condo launches in Woodlands will set to set new benchmark prices for ECs in Woodlands to price against.

At the moment, Norwood Grand a new private condo is scheduled to be launch, with future land plots in Woodlands North mrt area pending land sale and future residential development.

Woodlands Central – Upcoming GLS Land Sale

#3 – MRT Infrastructural Development

Inline with Woodlands being developed into a regional commercial node in Singapore.

The development of Woodland North and South MRT station will improve the area’s connectivity with the city centre.

With the Thomson East Coast line setup, Woodland South MRT will be two stops away from centralised Lentor.

Gaining a competitive edge when buying a EC ? 

Think about it, what does buying a new EC entails ? You are essentially sealing a multi million dollar purchase by relying on couple of viewings and some assurance from your property agent.

The only way to ensure you place your money in the best development is to do your prep work, lots of prep work, lots of research. 

Objectively parsing through facts and numbers to decide if the EC you are considering …

Is it priced fairly ?

Are there any upcoming price catalysts ?

Does it possess fundamental attributes that buyers desire? I.e school, affordability ?

If research is not your cup of tea, the smarter way is to outsource it to someone who enjoys doing it.