Your landed property on the Bukit Timah belt is worth $4 million, and the upkeep. Repainting, waterproofing, garden, utility bills. Runs over $3,000 a month. Your child wants to enter the private market. And every new launch within 2km is either freehold, priced above $3,300 psf, or both. Dunearn House is the first private residential project in Turf City. The first GLS in this corridor in a generation. And it sits at a price point that makes the numbers work for the right buyer. The question is whether you are the right buyer, and whether this is the right move.
James's AssessmentStar Scorecard: Dunearn House+ Read →− Collapse
Best approached selectively, with discipline on stack and unit type.
That 79.1 score doesn't have a line item for governance, because there's no history to score yet. Dunearn House will be the first MCST in the entire Turf City precinct. No AGM minutes, no sinking fund track record, no managing agent history to check. Frasers, Sekisui House and CSC Land are reputable, but reputation isn't the same as a filed audited account. What to actually look for at the first two AGMs is in the management section below, or WhatsApp me directly and I'll walk you through it.
Dunearn House is a solid buy for owner-occupiers entering a new CCR precinct. Particularly right-sizers from the Bukit Timah landed belt and parents structuring a co-purchase for a child's first private home. At about $3,000 psf for a 99-year leasehold in District 11, it is not cheap. But with the adjacent second site already awarded at $1,625 psf/ppr, 15% above Dunearn House's land cost. The price floor argument is real. Buy for the right reasons: school belt, precinct transformation, retirement capital reduction, legacy structuring. Do not buy expecting a quick flip. The exit horizon here is 10 years minimum.
Launch update · 20 September 2026
Dunearn House launched in July 2026. The developer's price chart of 20 September shows 237 of 380 homes sold (62%), up from 228 on 12 August, so 9 homes sold in those five weeks.
The 143 homes still available are priced from about $1.5 million, at $2,856 to $3,387 psf, with a median near $3,145 psf. The 4-bedroom units of 1,302 to 1,378 sqft range from about $4.0 million to $4.65 million.
That is above my pre-launch base case of about $3,000 psf for most unit types. Where this analysis says "about $3,000 psf", read it as the floor I modelled before launch, not the price you will be quoted today.
Source: developer price elevation charts, 12 August and 20 September 2026. Prices and availability change; ask for the current list.
The seven questions, answered
1 of 7 · The price floorIs $1,410 psf ppr really the floor?+ Read →− Collapse
Frasers Property, Sekisui House and CSC Land paid $491.5 million for the site in July 2025, $1,410 psf ppr on a plot ratio of 2.4 (URA). Nine developers bid, and the winner was only 3.7% above CDL in second place, which points to developer consensus on value rather than one aggressive outlier.
On my estimates before launch, construction, fees and financing put the developer's breakeven at about $2,600 to $2,700 psf, so a launch near $3,000 psf implies a margin of roughly 10 to 15%.
| Nearby land price | psf ppr |
|---|---|
| Skye at Holland (2024) | $1,285 |
| Dunearn House (Jul 2025) | $1,410 |
| Holland Link, Amberwood (Jul 2025) | $1,432 |
| Second Dunearn Road site (May 2026) | $1,625 |
| Bukit Timah Road (Nov 2025) | $1,820 |
The same consortium bid $1,576 psf ppr for the neighbouring site ten months later, 11.8% more than it paid here. That site went for $1,625, and its own land cost implies a higher launch price, estimated at $3,200 to $3,300 psf when it comes to market around 2H 2027.
2 of 7 · The floor planDo the sizes reflect space you can use?+ Read →− Collapse
Dunearn House is GFA harmonised. AC ledges designated as common property are left out of the strata area and voids no longer count as saleable space. Balconies, walls to their midpoint and private planters are still included. Units range from 530 sqft (2-bedroom) to 1,380 sqft (4-bedroom premium).
Most leasehold comparables nearby, including The Reserve Residences and 8@BT, are also harmonised, so their psf compares directly. The exception is Fourth Avenue Residences (TOP 2022), which predates the rules: its psf includes AC ledges and some voids, so a straight psf comparison flatters it.
Harmonisation makes the advertised size more honest, but it does not tell you how much of a unit is balcony or corridor. At $3,000 psf, every percentage point of wasted space on a 1,000 sqft unit costs about $30,000. Check the internal versus balcony split and whether the bedrooms and living area work for how you live.
3 of 7 · The pricing testDo the launch prices pass against what is already nearby?+ Read →− Collapse
My result: a conditional pass, and a narrower one now that prices are out. Remaining units are listed at $2,856 to $3,387 psf (median near $3,145, 20 September 2026), above every existing private home within 1km. The gaps below use my pre-launch $3,000 psf base case; at the actual median, the gap to Fourth Avenue Residences widens to roughly 18% to 25%.
| Comparable within 1km | Approx. psf | Gap to $3,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Maplewoods (freehold, 1997) | ~$2,136 | +40% |
| The Cascadia (freehold, 2010) | ~$2,280 | +32% |
| Fourth Avenue Residences (99-year, 2022) | $2,520 to $2,674 | +12% to +19% |
| Royal Green (freehold, 2021) | ~$2,862 | +5% |
The gap rests on three things: a new building, the Turf City plan and the next site's higher land cost. Two of the three are still forward-looking. In my view, the price is defensible for owner-occupiers who believe in the precinct plan and stretched for investors expecting immediate resale parity. The second Dunearn Road launch, estimated at $3,200 to $3,300 psf (CBRE), will be the first real test.
4 of 7 · The yieldWhat will it actually rent for?+ Read →− Collapse
Fourth Avenue Residences, the closest leasehold comparable, rents at $7.12 to $7.25 psf a month and yields about 3.5% at its current prices (EdgeProp; PropertyGuru, May 2026). Applied to an entry near $3,000 psf, that points to about 2.6% to 3.0% gross, below the 3.0% to 3.5% often quoted for new CCR launches.
| Illustration: 2-bed, 530 sqft at about $1.59M | Monthly rent | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative ($6.50 psf) | $3,445 | 2.6% |
| Base case ($7.00 psf) | $3,710 | 2.8% |
| Optimistic ($7.50 psf) | $3,975 | 3.0% |
Across the Bukit Timah area, 2-bedroom units rent for about $6,500 to $8,500 a month, driven by expatriate families who put schools and greenery ahead of the CBD commute. Here the income case depends less on the headline yield and more on keeping good tenants, which comes down to how well the building is run. These are estimates, not projections from the developer.
5 of 7 · Transport and the corridorWhere does Turf City sit on the corridor?+ Read →− Collapse
Dunearn House is the first private launch in Bukit Timah Turf City, a 20 to 30 year plan to turn the former racecourse into 15,000 to 20,000 homes. Today it has one MRT line: Sixth Avenue on the Downtown Line, about a 7-minute walk. Around 2032, a Turf City station on the Cross Island Line is planned within the estate, and King Albert Park, one stop away, becomes a DTL and CRL interchange.
On the spine I track from Springleaf through Bukit Timah and Newton to Marina Bay, Dunearn House sits in the middle: past the Lentor and Springleaf repricing, below the Newton and Orchard tier where land has gone for $1,820 psf ppr and more.
The timeline is slow by design. The second Dunearn Road site launches next, more sites follow from 2028 to 2031, and Dunearn House itself reaches TOP around 2030. Being first is good for upside. It also means years of construction and waiting around you.
6 of 7 · The exitWho buys it from you, and how quickly?+ Read →− Collapse
Dunearn House has no resale history yet, so Fourth Avenue Residences (476 units, completed 2022) is the closest guide.
| Fourth Avenue Residences, 2025 to 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Sales in 12 months | 8 of 476 units (about 1.7% a year) |
| Profitable vs loss-making sales, past year | 16 to 6 |
| Rental transactions in 6 months | 55 |
| psf trend 2023 to 2026 | -0.19%, essentially flat |
Source: PropertyGuru PG Pulse, May 2026. That is a real, working resale market, but an unhurried one: about 1 in 60 units changes hands each year. Strong tenant demand helps you hold while waiting for the right buyer.
How you exit depends on why you are selling. An investor competes on yield and psf; a retiree needs timing and building condition to line up; a family handover needs clear ownership and governance across two generations; a forced sale trades price for speed. Plan which of these you are before you buy.
7 of 7 · The management realityWho will run the building, and what can you check?+ Read →− Collapse
Under the BMSMA, the MCST is formed automatically when the strata title plan is registered; the developer does not choose the council. What the developer controls is build quality, how it handles the 12-month defects liability period and the condition of the building at handover. Structural latent defects have a longer 15-year window.
The partners start from a credible base. Frasers, Sekisui House and CDL together delivered The Orie, which sold 86% of 777 units at launch. CSC Land's construction arm has worked in Singapore since 1992 as an A1-grade BCA contractor.
None of that guarantees a well-run MCST. Dunearn House will be the first MCST in Turf City, with no AGM minutes or sinking fund record to check. What decides the next 15 years is who owners elect to the first council, which managing agent they choose, and whether sinking fund contributions are set to match the building's planned works. The first AGM, held within a year of TOP, is where that starts.
Pricing DetailGFA Harmonisation Status+ Read →− Collapse
Dunearn House falls under URA's post-2023 GFA harmonisation rules. All comparable leasehold condos used in this analysis (The Reserve Residences, 8@BT) are also harmonised. The practical implication: the about $3,000 psf you see in marketing materials is a harmonised strata psf. The liveable psf. The space you actually inhabit. Will be higher once AC ledges, planter boxes, and void areas are excluded. Full harmonisation analysis is in the floor plan section below. Model accordingly.
Move 1What the Market Is Telling You+ Read →− Collapse
What the Market Is Telling You
The Dunearn House land bid closed in June 2025 at $491.5 million, $1,410 psf/ppr. With nine developers bidding. That level of competition in a corridor that has not seen a new GLS residential site in over a generation signals one thing clearly: developer conviction in Bukit Timah Turf City is real, not speculative. Within ten months of the first award, the adjacent second Dunearn site went to Wing Tai and Metro Holdings for $1,625 psf/ppr. A 15.2% step-up that nobody was forced to make. They chose to pay it. The full GLS pipeline context for this corridor is tracked at the GLS Tracker.
The leasehold comparable set within District 10/11 tells its own story. Resale prices for non-landed homes in D10 rose 21.7% between 2021 and 2026 (URA REALIS). The CCR led all regions in price growth in the first nine months of 2025, gaining 5.6% (URA, Q3 2025). Recent CCR new launches, Skye at Holland ($2,944 psf), River Modern ($3,266 psf). Sold over 88 to 99% on launch day, reinforcing that the pricing band Dunearn House is entering has active, willing buyers. CCR gross rental yields sit at approximately 3.0 to 3.5% in 2026. Below suburban yields but consistent with what this asset class has always delivered.
Leasehold comparable performance: D10/D11
Sources: URA REALIS; EdgeProp. PSF figures are approximate resale/subsale averages. Dunearn House yield is estimated based on D10/D11 market benchmarks. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
The land cost ladder makes the price support concrete. At $1,410 psf ppr, Dunearn House sits between Chuan Grove ($1,376 psf ppr) and Thomson View ($1,178 psf ppr) on one side and the Newton GLS ($1,820 psf ppr) on the other. The neighbouring Wing Tai and Metro site at $1,625 psf ppr, already awarded and expected to launch in 2H 2027 at about $3,200 to $3,300 psf, is about as clear a price-support signal as any new launch in Singapore has today.
What the Market Isn't Telling You
Every brochure, every agent presentation, every developer deck on Dunearn House leads with the same three points: first mover, CCR address, Turf City transformation. None of them mention what you are actually buying into as a strata owner in a brand-new precinct with no completed MCST history.
Dunearn House will be the first MCST established in the Bukit Timah Turf City estate. That matters more than most buyers recognise. The first Annual General Meeting of a new development sets the contribution rate for the sinking fund, establishes the maintenance fee schedule, selects the managing agent, and approves the first set of bylaws governing everything from short-term rentals to pet policies. In a mature development, you can inspect years of AGM minutes, sinking fund audited accounts, and contractor procurement records before you commit. At Dunearn House, none of that history exists yet. You are buying into an unknown governance track record. Even if the developer is reputable.
This is not a red flag. It is a due diligence gap that every buyer should close before signing. Frasers Property, Sekisui House, and CSC Land have a combined track record across multiple completed developments. What to look for: how well their other completed projects have managed the post-TOP handover period, what their typical sinking fund contribution rates look like at year one versus year five, and whether the appointed managing agent has a track record of governance discipline in similarly sized CCR developments. The full management track record analysis is in the management section below, the layer every agent skips.
The second thing the market isn't telling you is about the 99-year lease in this particular setting. Bukit Timah is one of Singapore's most freehold-heavy areas. The landed estates around it, Namly, Duchess, Watten and Greenwood, are mostly freehold or 999-year. When you eventually sell Dunearn House, your buyer will weigh your remaining lease (about 70 years in 2055, if you buy at launch and hold 25 years) against newer leasehold launches in Turf City and freehold resale homes in the surrounding streets. That comparison isn't brutal, but it's real, and it calls for more discipline on holding period than most buyers expect.
Third: the integrated mandatory supermarket obligation. The developer is required to maintain a supermarket of at least 10,764 sq ft within the development for a minimum of 10 years from TOP. This is genuinely useful for residents. But it also means ground-floor commercial tenancy obligations that the MCST and management council will need to manage alongside residential governance from day one. In a mature development, commercial-residential MCST dynamics are well-understood. In the first development in a new precinct, they are not. Buyers in stacks adjacent to the commercial podium should model noise and access implications before selecting units.
Weigh It UpReasons to Buy, Reasons to Pause+ Read →− Collapse
- First private residential project in Turf City: genuine first-mover pricing before the precinct reprices
- Adjacent second site at $1,625 psf/ppr provides a hard price floor and future comparable benchmark
- One of the densest school belts in Singapore: MGS Primary, Raffles Girls' Primary, Nanyang Girls' High within reach
- Right-sizer play: landed sellers in Namly/Duchess/Watten can monetise equity, reduce outgoings, and hold a CCR asset
- Strong developer JV: Frasers, Sekisui House, CSC Land: execution risk is low
- Mandatory supermarket and childcare centre add immediate amenity value without buyer cost
- CRL Turf City station (~2032) adds a second rail spine and east-west connectivity not currently available
- 99-year leasehold in a predominantly freehold/999-year neighbourhood: tenure discount affects long-term exit
- No MCST track record: first AGM will set governance norms for an untested precinct council
- The Turf City plan runs 20 to 30 years. The CRL station is years away and full build-out is generational
- about $3,000 psf for 99LH is premium pricing relative to comparable leasehold launches in D21/OCR
- GFA harmonisation gap must be modelled: liveable psf will be lower than advertised strata psf
- Commercial-residential MCST dynamics from mandatory supermarket obligation add governance complexity
- Stack selection is critical: some blocks face road noise from Dunearn Road; not all units carry equal view premium
James Picks a SideWould You Rather: Dunearn House or the Alternative?+ Read →− Collapse
For a buyer with a 10-year minimum horizon and a specific reason to be in the Dunearn/Bukit Timah corridor. School ballot, right-sizing from the landed belt, co-purchase with a child, Dunearn House at about $3,000 psf new offers a cleaner price floor than Leedon Green resale at ~$2,910 psf with an ageing leasehold clock. The adjacent second site at $1,625 psf/ppr creates a comparable that Leedon Green resale cannot match. But if the buyer's horizon is under 7 years, or the primary motivation is yield rather than capital structure, Leedon Green's known MCST, completed TOP, and immediate rental activation make it the lower-risk choice. The condition on Dunearn House: stack discipline matters. Not all 380 units are equal. Get the floor plan analysis right before you commit.
The named trigger is the adjacent Wing Tai/Metro site. It awarded at $1,625 psf/ppr, 15.2% above Dunearn House's land cost of $1,410 psf/ppr. That second site will launch in 2H 2027 at an estimated $3,200 to $3,300 psf. When that launch happens, it will show whether Turf City pricing has moved above Dunearn House's own launch prices, with a directly comparable development setting the next benchmark.
The trade-off between the two sites is worth putting in numbers. If the second site does launch at its estimated $3,200 to $3,300 psf, a 1,000 sq ft unit there would cost roughly $50,000 to $150,000 more than one at Dunearn House's current median of about $3,145 psf. That gap is an estimate, not a promise, and it shrinks as Dunearn House's remaining units are repriced.
For right-sizers from the landed belt: what matters is whether a specific Dunearn House unit fits your budget, holding period and exit, not where the next launch eventually prices. Speak to a licensed financial adviser for advice specific to your situation regarding CPF, mortgage structuring, and overall financial planning before committing.
In this corridor, Namly, Duchess, Watten, Greenwood, I observe a pattern that the Dunearn House brochure will never name. Parents in their late 50s and early 60s are sitting on landed properties worth $3.5 to $5 million. The annual upkeep. Repainting cycles, waterproofing, garden maintenance, utility bills for a large house that is half-empty. Runs $30,000 to $50,000 a year or more. Their adult children want to enter the private market but cannot do so alone at CCR pricing without a significant equity injection or co-purchase structure.
Dunearn House is the first new project in this corridor in a generation that makes both moves possible simultaneously: the parent sells or right-sizes into a smaller strata unit, reduces outgoings by $2,000 to $3,000 a month, and either co-purchases Dunearn House with a child or provides the equity injection that makes the child's purchase viable. The strata unit becomes the retirement hedge. A well-located CCR asset that covers the retirement horizon, generates rental income if needed, and is far simpler to manage than a 40-year-old semi-detached on a 60ft by 100ft plot.
The question I ask every client in this position is not about the psf. It is about what the MCST will look like in year ten. A retirement-capital asset held for 15 years is only as good as the building that surrounds it. That is the question the brochure doesn't answer. And the one I can help you think through before you sign.
If you are considering right-sizing from the landed belt, co-purchasing with a child, or structuring retirement capital through a D10/D11 property. Let's look at the numbers together before you commit. WhatsApp me at 91111173.
Who should skip this
Dunearn House probably isn't for you if:
- Your budget stops well short of about $3,000 psf. This is a 99-year leasehold priced at CCR levels.
- You want a governance track record. It will be the first MCST in the Turf City precinct, with no AGM history to check.
- You want a CRL station soon. Access is roughly two years further out than at Thomson Reserve.
- You may need to sell quickly. It is the smallest of the three launches I compare it with, so resale liquidity is thinner if the precinct matures slowly.
Its strengths are the school belt and scarcity in a mostly freehold neighbourhood. Buy it for those, not for a short hold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dunearn House a good buy for 2026?+ Read →− Hide
Is Dunearn House freehold or leasehold: and does the tenure matter here?+ Read →− Hide
What is the expected rental yield at Dunearn House?+ Read →− Hide
Which schools are within 1km of Dunearn House for Primary 1 ballot?+ Read →− Hide
How does Dunearn House compare to the second Dunearn Road site (Wing Tai/Metro)?+ Read →− Hide
What is the Turf City MRT station and when will it open?+ Read →− Hide
You now know more than most buyers walking into this launch. Three things still decide whether it works for you.
Methodist Girls' Primary sits right on the 1.1km line. Check the exact registered address before you count on it.
No AGM history exists yet. See the management section for what to check once the first council forms.
This is a 10-year-minimum hold, not a flip. A 99-year lease in a freehold-dominant corridor needs that discipline.
These three are what James maps in the session below. Not a generic price-list handout.
How much did the six bidders for Dunearn Road Plot 2 agree on?
When the Dunearn Road Plot 2 tender closed on 28 April 2026, six developers bid within 9.8% of each other, a tight cluster compared with the 48.6% spread across nine bidders when Plot 1 closed in June 2025 (URA tender results; EdgeProp; The Edge Singapore). That points to broad agreement on land value rather than one bidder's outlying view.
Within that cluster, CDL, UOL and COLI bid between $1,526 and $1,530 psf/ppr, within $4 of each other. Wing Tai's winning $1,625 psf/ppr bid cleared the second-placed Frasers consortium's $1,576 by $49 psf, a premium linked to the ground-floor commercial space in its plan. For Dunearn House buyers, Plot 1's $1,410 psf/ppr land cost sits below where six developers independently valued the corridor.
Is this project right for you?
Every buyer's numbers are different. I'll check your budget, loan, the alternatives and your exit in a free written Property Decision Review. No obligation.
Get my free Property Decision Review →Sources + Show all 7 →− Hide
- URA: Tender Award, Dunearn Road GLS Site, 3 July 2025
- URA: Tender Award, Second Dunearn Road GLS Site, 4 May 2026
- URA: Private Residential Property Price Index, Q3 2025 and Q1 2026
- EdgeProp: URA Awards Dunearn Road GLS Site to Wing Tai-Metro JV, May 2026
- The Edge Singapore: Dunearn Road GLS Site Draws Six Bids, May 2026
- 99.co, Second Dunearn Road GLS Tender, Top Bid $533M, May 2026
- UOB Global Economics & Markets Research: Singapore Economic Outlook and Property Demand Drivers, January 2026
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