Overview & Key Facts
21 Richards is a small freehold-style boutique development tucked along Richards Avenue in District 19, just off the established Kovan residential belt. Developed by Aurum Land (Private) Limited — the residential arm of the Woh Hup Group — the project completed in 2014 with a modest count of 31 units across a low-rise envelope. By the standards of D19, where mega-developments of 1,000+ units dominate the headlines, 21 Richards is firmly at the opposite end of the spectrum: small, quiet, and unapologetically intimate.
The development sits on a 99-year lease starting in 2013, leaving roughly 87 years on the tenure as of 2026. While it is not a true freehold, the tenure is generous enough that lease decay is a non-issue for any realistic ownership horizon — CPF and bank financing remain fully unrestricted, and the first meaningful milestone (drop below 75 years) is still 12 years away.
With 31 units and only 8 recorded resale transactions to date, 21 Richards is genuinely thinly traded. Average PSF over the last 12 months sits at S$1,479, with a median transacted price of S$1,339,000. This is a development bought primarily by owner-occupiers who value the Kovan address and walkability to the MRT — not by yield-chasing investors. Gross yield, at roughly 2.6%, makes that orientation explicit.
Location & Connectivity
Location is 21 Richards’ strongest single attribute. Kovan MRT (NE13) is approximately 460 metres away — a comfortable 6 to 7 minute walk via Upper Serangoon Road. That puts the development squarely inside the “walkable to MRT” tier, a meaningful distinction in a district where many otherwise-attractive projects (The Minton, Riverfront Residences) sit a bus ride from the nearest station. From Kovan, the North-East Line connects directly to Serangoon (one stop), Dhoby Ghaut (CCL/NSL interchange) in 12 minutes, and HarbourFront in roughly 25 minutes.
Drivers benefit from quick access to the CTE (about 5 minutes) and Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway, with the CBD reachable in 18 to 22 minutes off-peak. Paya Lebar, Bishan, and Toa Payoh are all within a 12-minute drive. The wider Kovan / Hougang sub-market is one of the better-served residential pockets in the north-east for both public and private transport.
For everyday needs, Heartland Mall at Kovan is the obvious anchor — sitting directly above the MRT, it houses a FairPrice supermarket, NTUC Pharmacy, food court, and a meaningful spread of F&B. The Kovan hawker centre at Block 209 Hougang Street 21 is a short walk and remains one of the better-regarded heartland food centres in the area. NEX shopping mall at Serangoon is one MRT stop away for larger retail trips.
Schooling is unusually strong for a development of this size. Xinmin Primary School sits just 160 metres away, and Holy Innocents’ Primary School is within 600 metres — both well inside the 1 km MOE balloting radius. Yangzheng Primary, St. Gabriel’s Primary, and Montfort Junior all fall within 1 km as well. For families targeting P1 priority, this is a meaningful cluster.
Schools & Education
9 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Xinmin Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Xinmin Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Holy Innocents' High School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Holy Innocents' Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| St. Gabriel's Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Yangzheng Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Montfort Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Montfort Junior School | primary | Within 1 km |
Facilities
Buyers expecting resort-style facilities should look elsewhere — this is a 31-unit development, and the facility programme reflects that scale. 21 Richards offers the standard boutique condo set: a lap pool, a small gym, a children’s play area, BBQ pavilion, and basement parking. There is no clubhouse, no tennis court, no function room of any meaningful size, and no on-site retail.
“If you’re used to mega-condo facilities, this will feel sparse. If you’re trading down from a landed home or upgrading from a 4-room HDB, the trade-off is more honest — you get a quiet pool that’s actually usable and maintenance fees that aren’t subsidising a badminton dome you’ll never use.”
— Composite of resident sentiment via EdgeProp and PropertyGuru
The honest read: facilities are a non-feature here. The compensating advantage is that maintenance fees are correspondingly modest — a 31-unit shared cost base on a small footprint keeps monthly outgoings well below what a comparable Minton or Florence Residences owner pays. For buyers who have outgrown the “facilities arms race” and prioritise low monthly cost plus quiet enjoyment, that is the right trade-off. For families with children who actively use pools, gyms, and play equipment daily, the 1,000-unit alternatives in the same district will feel meaningfully better-equipped.
Unit Sizes & Layout
With only 31 units and a low-rise envelope, 21 Richards offers a small but well-considered unit mix. Layouts skew toward 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom configurations, with sizes broadly in the 700–1,100 sqft range — reasonable for a 2014-era boutique, though noticeably smaller than the older mega-developments in the same district (The Minton 2-BR starts at 936 sqft).
Stack orientation is a real consideration here. The development’s footprint along Richards Avenue means some stacks face the road (mild traffic noise during peak hours), while others face inward toward the pool deck or the adjacent landed enclave on Richards Avenue and Richards Drive. The landed-facing stacks are the quietest and offer the best long-term view protection — the surrounding plots are unlikely to be redeveloped into high-rise.
Interior finishings are functional rather than premium — in line with Aurum Land’s positioning at the time. Buyers should plan for some renovation, particularly on bathrooms and kitchen fittings, if they want a contemporary feel. The bones (ceiling height, layout efficiency, window placement) are sound; it is the finishes that show the project’s 12-year age.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 BR | 3 | $1,772 | $725,000 |
| 1 BR | 1 | $1,579 | $918,000 |
| 2 BR | 1 | $1,499 | $1,339,000 |
| 3 BR | 2 | $1,389 | $1,465,000 |
| 4 BR | 1 | $1,290 | $2,000,000 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 8 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $690,000 to $2,000,000, averaging $1,170,250 (~$1,479 psf).
Rents range from $1,900 to $4,000 per month across 40 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 2.6%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2025, the average PSF has declined by 0.4% (from $1,687 to $1,681 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
Within District 19, 21 Richards competes most directly against larger 99-year leasehold developments rather than other boutiques. Chuan Park — the headline new launch — sits at roughly S$2,596 psf with a fresh 99-year lease commencing in 2024 and direct MRT integration; buyers pay a ~75% PSF premium for that combination but get TOP only in 2028. The Florence Residences at ~S$1,745 psf and Affinity at Serangoon at ~S$1,698 psf are 2018-vintage 99-year leases with extensive facilities and 1,000+ units — both trade at roughly a 15–18% PSF premium to 21 Richards.
Riverfront Residences at ~S$1,588 psf is the closest peer on price but sits further from MRT (Hougang area, around 1 km to Hougang MRT). Serangoon Garden Estate at ~S$1,736 psf is freehold but is a landed/cluster context rather than a true high-rise comparison. The honest summary: 21 Richards is the cheapest entry point in walkable-to-Kovan-MRT private property at present, with the trade-off being scale and facilities. For buyers who explicitly want that trade, the value gap is real; for buyers who want the full mega-condo experience at the cost of an extra ~S$200–300 psf, the larger 2018-vintage projects are the better fit.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 RICHARDS | 2014 | 31 | $1,479 | |
| CHUAN PARK | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2024 | 916 | $2,596 |
| THE FLORENCE RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 1,410 | $1,745 |
| RIVERFRONT RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 1,451 | $1,588 |
| AFFINITY AT SERANGOON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 1,012 | $1,698 |
| SERANGOON GARDEN ESTATE | Freehold | 2021 | — | $1,736 |
Lease Decay Analysis
The 99-year lease runs from 2014, meaning approximately 12 years have already been consumed. Roughly 87 years remain — still comfortably within the range where most banks will offer full financing without restrictions.
| Year | Lease remaining | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (now) | ~87 years | Full bank financing available |
| 2044 | ~69 years | CPF usage still unrestricted for most buyers |
| 2053 | ~59 years | Approaching 60-year threshold — CPF limits begin for some |
| 2073 | ~39 years | Significant financing restrictions for next buyer |
| 2113 | Expiry | Lease reverts to state |
For a buyer purchasing today with a 10-year horizon (exit around 2036), the lease situation is essentially a non-issue — you’d be selling a property with ~77 years remaining, which is still very bankable. The risk profile changes for longer holds.
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates 21 RICHARDS across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Bought here in 2018 specifically for Xinmin Primary — it’s a 3-minute walk and we ballotted in Phase 2A1 with no issue. The development is genuinely quiet, and the small unit count means we know almost everyone in the lift. Trade-off is the gym is tiny.”
— Owner-occupier, 3-bedroom unit, via EdgeProp resident reviews
“Walk to Kovan MRT is the real selling point. Six minutes door-to-platform on a normal day. Heartland Mall has everything we need, and the hawker centre at 209 is a daily haunt. Maintenance fee is reasonable for a small development.”
— Long-term resident via PropertyGuru community
“Don’t expect facilities. Pool is small, gym fits maybe two people comfortably, no function room to host birthdays. We knew this going in — if facilities matter, look at The Minton or one of the bigger projects nearby.”
— Resident review via Singapore Expats forum
The pattern across the (admittedly limited) public reviews is consistent: residents value the location, the school catchment, and the quiet, low-density feel; criticisms centre almost entirely on the modest facility set. There is no recurring complaint about management, maintenance, or build quality — which for a 31-unit boutique with a single MCST is a positive signal in itself.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Walkable to Kovan MRT (NE Line) — ~460m / 6-7 min walk
- 8 schools within 1 km, including Xinmin Primary at 160m
- Long lease remaining (~87 years) — no CPF or financing constraints
- Significant PSF discount (~15-43%) vs nearby new launches
- Boutique 31-unit scale — quiet, low-density living
- Modest maintenance fees due to small shared cost base
- Heartland Mall + Kovan hawker centre within 7-min walk
- Quick CTE / KPE access for drivers (CBD ~20 min off-peak)
- Reputable developer (Aurum Land / Woh Hup Group)
- Minimal facilities — small pool, tiny gym, no function room
- Thinly traded — only 8 recorded resales since TOP
- Below-average gross yield (~2.6%) for D19
- Interior finishings reflect 2014 mid-market positioning
- 99-year leasehold (not freehold despite boutique scale)
- Limited investor appeal — owner-occupier oriented
- Some stacks face Richards Avenue (mild road noise)
- Lower ShiokNest score (34/100) reflects scale + liquidity gap
Verdict
21 Richards is a buy for a specific profile: an owner-occupier who values walkability to Kovan MRT, prioritises one of the strongest school clusters in D19, and is comfortable with a boutique-scale facility offering. At ~S$1,479 psf, the entry price is a meaningful discount to nearby new launches and gives buyers a genuinely walkable MRT address without paying CCR-adjacent prices. For families targeting P1 balloting at Xinmin Primary or Holy Innocents’, the case is even stronger — the under-200-metre walk to Xinmin is a daily-life advantage that few competing developments can match.
As an investment, the picture is more mixed. Gross yield at 2.6% is below the D19 average and reflects the higher absolute pricing relative to achievable rents in this micro-market. The 8-transaction history over the development’s lifespan also means liquidity is genuinely thin — sellers have historically waited longer for the right buyer than owners in larger nearby projects. Investment Score of 46/100 and ShiokNest Score of 34/100 are honest reflections of these constraints.
The verdict, then, depends entirely on use case. For own-stay families with school-age children and an MRT-walking preference, 21 Richards punches above its size. For yield-focused investors or those needing high resale liquidity, the larger nearby developments (Riverfront Residences, Affinity at Serangoon, The Florence Residences) offer better optionality even at higher PSF.