Hi everyone, welcome back to another episode of “Property Showdown on LittleBigRedDot!”
In my previous post, we did an analysis together on whether Arina East Residences is worth buying and we used Meyer Blue’s PSF to do some comparison. However, that’s not enough! Today, let’s have a Showdown between these two projects located in the highly sought after District 15 of Singapore (:
“Meyer Blue” by UOL Group and Singapore Land, and “Arina East Residences” by ZACD Group Limited.
Like always, we will be breaking down this Showdown into 7 categories, they are:
We will be breaking down this showdown into 7 categories like what we did previously. They are:
- Distance to the nearest MRT Station
- Number of MRT stops to the city centre (Raffles Place MRT Station)
- Distance to the nearest Hawker Centre
- Distance to the nearest Shopping Mall
- Primary Schools within 1KM radius
- Price per Square Foot
- Premium over the resale units in the vicinity
Category 1: Distance to the nearest MRT Station
To start, let’s look at Meyer Blue’s nearest MRT Station, that will be Katong Park MRT Station located on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL)
As both Meyer Blue and Arina East Residences have the same nearest MRT, the one with the shortest distance will be the winner for this round!
The closest walking distance from Meyer Blue to Katong Park MRT Station is 550m according to Google Maps and the walk will take you approximately 7 minutes. It’s a nice straight route with no shelter so be sure to bring along your Umbrella for Singapore’s rain and shine!
Let’s have a look at Arina East Residences next. It has the same nearest MRT Station! How close? We’ll find out now!
From Arina East Residences, Katong Park MRT Station is also a 7 minutes walk according to Google Maps, but wait… it’s just 500m away. That was close but we have a winner!
The winner for Category 1: Arina East Residences
Category 2: Number of MRT stops to the City Centre (Raffles Place MRT Station)
Oops, I guess there won’t be a fight for this category. However, let’s still look at the distance and cost to City Centre from Katong Park MRT Station (:
Wow, it only takes 4 stops, with 1 change in MRT line – from Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) to North South Line (NSL) to reach Raffles Place MRT Station. It takes approximately 11 minutes and costs $1.59 per adult.
The winner for Category 2: Draw!
Category 3: Distance to the nearest Hawker Centre
This is getting exciting! Next we shall look at both developments’ nearest Hawker Centre. Local delicacies are a must to feel at home!
As most may know, Meyer Blue is located along East Coast Parkway and certain stacks and storeys will have a beautiful premium – view of the sea. Now, what we want to know is – will that compromise with having amenities within a good walking distance? Let’s find out.
Based on Google Maps, Blk 4A Jalan Batu Hawker Center is the nearest one from Meyer Blue. It is a good 1.5KM away and approximately 20 minutes walk.
After some research, it is very much the case that Arina East Residences nearest Hawker Centre is also 4A Jalan Batu Food Centre, haha! However, from what we can see here, it is definitely nearer at 1KM distance, about a good 14 minutes walk.
The winner for Category 3: Arina East Residences!
Category 4: Distance to the nearest Shopping Mall
How will Arina East Residences fair?
This is tough. Both developments are more than 20 minutes walk to their nearest Shopping Center. It would be easier if you have a car instead. With a car, here are the approximate time it takes to reach the respective malls:
Meyer Blue – 1.8KM – 6 minutes drive
Arina East Residences – 1.9KM, 5 minutes drive
Since we are discussing about walking distance here, the winner will be the shortest walking distance by foot.
The winner for Category 4: Meyer Blue!
Category 5: Primary Schools within 1KM Radius
I have seen several sites stating that Meyer Blue is within 1KM of many schools like Tanjong Katong Primary School, Haig Girls’ School, Kong Hwa School, Chung Cheng High (Main) and even EtonHouse International School. However as you can see from Elite.com.sg, there is apparently no schools within its 1KM radius. I have further confirmed the information with Google Maps by searching on each of the respective schools above, and it is indeed true that none of them are within 1KM distance.
According to Elite.com.sg, it seems like there is also no schools within 1KM of Arina East Residences. However, as I have mentioned in my previous blog post on “Is Arina East Residences worth buying?” (https://littlebigreddot.com/is-arina-east-residences-worth-buying/) further research with confirmation using Google Maps have suggested that Dunman High School is a mere 400m away, just 6 minutes walk from the development.
Dunman High School is however, not a Primary School. Despite so, having a school within its 1KM range is still a win here!
The winner for Category 5: Arina East Residences
Category 6: Price per Square Foot
Meyer Blue has its public sales launch last year end on 5 October 2024. Up until this point of writing, Meyer has sold 66.37% of its units at an average of $3,232 PSF with the lowest being $2,984 PSF and highest being $3,569 PSF.
As Arina East Residences has yet to launch, we will take reference from its developer – ZACD Group’s set-to-preview Arina East Residences pricing – that will be starting from $3,000 PSF (Source: https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/zacd-group-preview-freehold-arina-east-residences-prices-3000-psf) That will amount to around $1.485 mil starting from a 1 Bedroom – 495 Sqft.
For a safer measure with better unit selection options, let’s take $3,250 PSF as its average – PS. it could be more or it could be lesser, this is just an estimate.
To sum up, Arina East Residences will be selling at around 0.55% more expensive based on their average PSF. As both developments are well located in the highly popular District 15, and relatively close to each other – its almost an equal competition. Arina East Residences does have better range based on amenities. A 0.5% range is justifiable – we will see the actual records after its official public sales!
The winner for Category 6: Meyer Blue
Category 7: Premium over the resale units in the vicinity
Lastly, and also one of the most important category, we are going to look at the Premium of our respective developments over their resale units in the vicinity.
Let’s begin with Meyer Blue. Meyer Blue is a Freehold Development housing 226 units. The condominium development we will take to compare with Meyer Blue is “The Meyerise”. A Freehold Condominium next to Meyer Blue, which had its TOP in January, 2016.
I will be using Meyer Blue and The Meyerise’s most recent transactions over the last 6 months, and using its average PSF to compare.
The average PSF taken from Meyer Blue’s transactions over the last 6 months is $3,162.
The average PSF at The Meyerise is $2643 between Dec’24 to May’25. With that, we have Meyer Blue having a 19.63% premium over its neighbour.
Meyer Blue’s 19.63% price uplift over The Meyerise can be seen as a reflection of its newer build, potentially better modern design features, and proximity to the upcoming Katong Park MRT. While both are Freehold, Meyer Blue benefits from current architectural trends and more updated layouts. UOL and SingLand, have also brought about a strong track record over the years. For some buyers, these factors may reasonably support the price difference.
What about you? What’s your thoughts on this?
Next, let’s look at Arina East Residences.
We will use “The Line @ Tanjong Rhu” for this comparison. The Line @ Tanjong Rhu is a freehold, fully facilitated development housing 130 residential units. It was also completed in 2016 just like Meyer Blue and its comparing property, The Meyerise, making them ideal benchmarks for assessing the new launch premium of Meyer Blue and Arina East Residences respectively!
Above, we have the most recent transactions of The Line @ Tanjong Rhu over the past 6 months – yes, there was only 1 transaction in December 2024 with the PSF of $2,295. This would amount to Arina East Residences having a premium of 41.61% over The Line @ Tanjung Rhu.
In the previous post “Is Arina East Residences worth buying?” (https://littlebigreddot.com/is-arina-east-residences-worth-buying/), we discussed on the pros and cons of having such a hefty premium over neighboring condominium. That being said, Arina East brings strong appeal with its newness and location, but the price differential compared to The Line @ Tanjong Rhu invites a closer look…
The winner for Category 7: Meyer Blue!
Verdict: Meyer Blue (4) vs. Arina East Residences (4)
Wow. For the first time ever, our Property Showdown on LittleBigRedDot has ended with a draw! What a close fight.
In all seriousness, both Meyer Blue and Arina East Residences have their strengths, each edging ahead in different aspects – from location and amenities to pricing and city access. With the comparison ending in a draw, the real winner depends on what matters most to you. So weigh each round based on your own priorities – and choose the home that fits your lifestyle best! (:
Love,
Lin Xuan
Disclaimer: I am in the Real Estate Field under the company ERA, which is appointed as the Developer’s Sales Team for most New Launch Projects in Singapore including both Meyer Blue and Arina East Residences. The above are my sincere and friendly comparison. If you are looking to move into the next phase of life and is looking to upgrade or downsize your home to cash out – but is in a dilemma on what is the best option, I’m always available on WhatsApp at +65 8222 2556 to have a good chat! You may reach out to me for all Official Project Details such as Floor Plans, e-Brochures & Factsheets as well.
Wishing you a great weekend!
