Divided into two gated communities, covering 290 acres, Sentosa Cove has a members-only marina, berths for mega yachts, and W Hotel in the works. On the island there are 2 championship golf courses, and there are plans to build a resort featuring a casino and a Universal Studios theme park.



Of the 2,500 homes planned for completion, some of the more exciting projects include:

- An 18-villa community on Sandy Island, one of the manmade islands in the Cove, where villas will range in size from about 6,500 square feet to 12,000 square feet. Each will come with a boat berth and a private pool. Claudio Silvestrin, the architect, designs Georgio Armani's stores.

- A 20-unit apartment development that will be the only property facing Sentosa Golf Club's Tanjong Course. Each 6,000 square foot unit will have its own pool and an estimated price tag between 9-10 million Singapore dollars (about 6.25-6.95 million US).

- The Pinnacle Collection, a planned 20-story condominium structure that will be the tallest building on the island and will offer panoramic vistas of the South China Sea, the Southern Islands and the city skyline.

Although land sales in Sentosa Cove started off with a bust back in 2003 (in the midst of the SARS epidemic), land prices have since jumped from 350 Singapore dollars per square foot to 1,799 dollars per square foot.

Analysts estimate that Singapore's property market will increase by as much as 30 percent this year. So far, Sentosa Cove has outpaced the rest of the Singapore market in appreciation, in part because it is the only place in Singapore where foreigners are allowed to buy landed properties.

But is it all enough to consider Sentosa Cove the world's most desirable address? Developers in Dubai might have something to say about that.

More on Sentosa Island:

Sentosa, which means peace and tranquillity in Malay, is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year. Attractions include a two-kilometre long sheltered beach, Fort Siloso, two golf courses and two five-star hotels.

The island has an area of 5 square kilometres. It lies just half a kilometre (a quarter of a mile) away from the southern coast of the main island of Singapore. It is Singapore's fourth largest island (excluding the main island). 70% of the island is covered by secondary rainforest, the habitat of monitor lizards, monkeys, peacocks, parrots as well as other native fauna and flora. Significantly large portions of land are currently being added to Sentosa due to land reclamation.

Sentosa has a stretch of sheltered beach of more than two kilometres in length on its southern coast, divided into three portions: Palawan Beach, Siloso Beach, and Tanjong Beach. These beaches are artificial, reclaimed using sand bought from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Sentosa Island is a short 15 minute drive from downtown Singapore, which makes the island a desirable location to own a home.