Centrale8 @ Tampines

Updated 21 Jun 2011: Added confirmed pricing

After almost a 2 years break, a new DBSS site is finally launched at Tampines Central no less. I will not repeat what I have written in my other posts on DBSS. You can refer to my Parc Lumiere post here, The Peak post here, my Natura Loft post here, my Park Central post here, and my CityView post here.

DBSS @ Tampines Central has been named Cantrale8, and is located at the junction of Tampines Ave 5 and Tampines Central 8. It's next to The Premiere@Tampines. The confirmed pricing and configuration are as follows:

3 room	61-62 sqm (182 units)	from $397,000 $389,000 to $510,000 $445,000	61 sq m: A/c Ledge (1 sq m); Living Room w/ Balcony (7 sq m) 62 sq m: A/c Ledge (1-2 sq m); Living Room w/ Balcony (5-6 sq m)
4 room	83-84 sqm (348 units)	from $531,000 $511,000 to $683,000 $592,000	83 sq m: A/c Ledge (2-4 sq m); Living Room / Master Bedroom w/ Balcony (8 sq m) 84 sq m: A/c Ledge (4 sq m); Living Room / Master Bedroom w/ Balcony (10 sq m)
5 room	108-109 sqm (178 units)	from $685,000 to $888,000 $778,000	108 sq m: A/c Ledge (4 sq m); Small Dining section; Living Room / Master Bedroom w/ Balcony (12 sq m) 109 sq m: A/c Ledge (4 sq m); Small Dining section; Living Room / Master Bedroom w/ Balcony (12 sq m);

You can take a look at the floor plans here. The unit comes with kitchen cabinets with solid surface counter top, kitchen sink, cooker hood and hob, built-in wardrobes and air-conditioning to all Bedrooms only, built-in toilet vanity cabinet to master bathroom and common bathroom, and clothes drying rack. The flat is very small compared to the normal HDB especially the kitchen from the floor map as about 8 sq m to 16 sq m are used by the a/c ledge and balcony, depending on the type of room chosen. I've also checked the map and it's about 700m from Tampines MRT. The downtown line is still non-existent. The closest shopping centre I can see is at Tampines Central which is about 500m away.

You can find more information of what you need to know at the following that is linked from Sim Lian:

• Documents required here.
• Application procedures here.
• Terms and conditions here.
• FAQ here.

The CityView post includes some of the calculations I did to see if it fits into my affordability matrix. After revising the amount based on the new $10,000 ceiling with a 35% limit on the repayment amount based on the gross salary, you can now loan up to a maximum of $771,000+ for 90% loan over a period of 25 years with a 2.6% interest rate (CPF Housing Loan), according to the CPF website calculator. That's what I term as the safety limit.

Regardless of the amount that you can loan up to, paying $765 $667 psf for a 3 room HDB DBSS flat is out of this world. Furthermore, I've not even excluded the obscene amount of space used by the aircon ledge and balcony.

One word. Avoid.

Update 1: The confirmed pricing does not make this any better. They have revised the top price closer to my safety limit but if you look at the pricing of The Peak @ Toa Payoh, you can see that it doesn't justify such a premium. The Peak has a bigger apartment, cheaper, and is in a better location. I will still avoid.