Centurion Residences
Overview & Key Facts
Centurion Residences occupies a quiet stretch of Puay Hee Avenue in District 13, tucked into a leafy residential enclave that feels a world away from the urban bustle — yet is just 220 metres from Potong Pasir MRT. Completed in 2010 by boutique developer Yi Kai Development Pte Ltd, the project comprises only 15 units across a small cluster of blocks at addresses 3B through 7 Puay Hee Avenue. It is the kind of development that rarely appears in mainstream property listings: low-profile, freehold, and occupying a scale that prioritises privacy over amenity breadth.
With a median transaction price of S$2,710,000 and just four recorded sales on URA’s caveats database, Centurion Residences caters to a very specific buyer — one seeking large, freehold accommodation in a mature neighbourhood with exceptional MRT access, and who values exclusivity over resort-style facilities. The implied unit sizes, estimated at 3,000–4,000 sqft based on the sole historical PSF data point of S$708, place these squarely in the large 3- or 4-bedroom segment that has become increasingly rare to find freehold in the Rest of Central Region.
The surrounding Potong Pasir area is undergoing a quiet renaissance. The completion of the nearby Bidadari New Town, with over 8,800 new flats and a 13-hectare heritage park that opened in September 2024, has drawn younger families to the corridor — improving local amenities and boosting the area’s long-term residential appeal. For a small freehold development like Centurion Residences, this neighbourhood transformation is an unambiguous tailwind.
Location & Connectivity
Puay Hee Avenue is a short residential cul-de-sac branching off Upper Aljunied Road, flanked by landed housing and low-rise walk-up apartments. The street itself is calm, shaded, and largely free of through-traffic — one of those pockets of Singapore that still feel genuinely unhurried. The immediate surroundings are dominated by private housing: a mix of older inter-terrace houses, semi-detached properties, and a handful of small boutique condominiums like Centurion Residences itself.
The headline figure is the MRT proximity. At 220 metres, Potong Pasir MRT (North-East Line, NE10) is genuinely walkable — a five-minute stroll in any reasonable weather. This places Centurion Residences in a rare tier: freehold properties this close to an MRT station in D13 are exceptionally uncommon. From Potong Pasir MRT, residents reach Dhoby Ghaut interchange in four stops (approximately 10 minutes), and City Hall in five, making the CBD fully accessible on public transport. The DTL connection at Geylang Bahru MRT (0.93 km) extends reach further, and Woodleigh interchange (NE/Thomson-East Coast Line, 1.03 km) — completed as part of the Bidadari precinct development — adds a second direct route to Orchard and Marina Bay.
For daily needs, the Potong Pasir area has quietly expanded its retail and F&B offering. The Poiz Centre, Potong Pasir’s first dedicated mall (opened 2015), is accessible via a short bus ride or a brisk 15-minute walk, and includes a FairPrice supermarket, F&B outlets, and services. NEX at Serangoon — one of the better suburban mega-malls — is about 10 minutes by bus. The Woodleigh Mall in the adjacent Bidadari precinct adds further retail depth, and the Bus Interchange at Woodleigh (Singapore’s first fully underground air-conditioned facility, opened April 2025) enhances regional connectivity significantly.
Schools & Education
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Assumption Pathway School | secondary | ~1.1 km |
| Stamford Primary School | primary | ~1.1 km |
| Bendemeer Secondary School | secondary | ~1.2 km |
| Bendemeer Primary School | primary | ~1.2 km |
| Red Swastika School | primary | ~1.4 km |
| Bartley Secondary School | secondary | ~1.6 km |
| Hong Wen School | primary | ~1.6 km |
| Balestier Hill Primary School | primary | ~1.8 km |
Facilities
For a 15-unit development, Centurion Residences includes a creditable set of shared facilities: a communal swimming pool, wading pool, jacuzzi, sun deck, water feature, children’s playground, and a gym. This is a practical rather than lavish offering — the land-use economics of a boutique freehold development do not support the amenity breadth of a 300-unit or larger project, and buyers here are generally not choosing for facilities.
“Boutique freehold developments on Puay Hee Avenue offer what larger condos cannot: genuine street-level privacy, large unit footprints, and a neighbourhood feel closer to landed living than apartment life.”
— A common sentiment among buyers of sub-20-unit freehold projects in Potong Pasir and surrounding D13 estates
The value proposition here is not facilities-per-unit but ownership experience: with only 15 households sharing the pool and gym, maintenance fund contributions per unit are higher in absolute terms but residents rarely encounter the booking conflicts and overuse issues that plague larger developments. Noise, crowding, and facility wear are non-issues at this scale. Buyers who have previously lived in large 500–1,000-unit condominiums often single out the quiet enjoyment of boutique facilities as an underrated quality-of-life difference.
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 4 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $2,525,000 to $2,750,000, averaging $2,646,250.
Rents range from $6,700 to $7,500 per month across 2 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.3%.
Neighbourhood Comparison
Against D13’s larger leasehold developments, Centurion Residences occupies a different segment entirely. The Woodleigh Residences (S$2,227 psf, 99-year) and Park Colonial (S$2,142 psf) are better-facilitated, larger-scale projects with new lease clocks — but both are fundamentally 99-year products. The Tre Ver (S$1,919 psf) and Bartley Ridge (S$1,703 psf) offer more competitive entry pricing but again on leasehold terms. On a like-for-like psf basis, Centurion Residences’ sole data point (S$708 psf) appears dramatically cheaper — but this reflects a much older transaction and implied supersized unit footprints. Adjusted for unit size and current market, the effective comparison is at the absolute price level (S$2.5M–S$3M range), where freehold tenure, walking-distance MRT, and a boutique ownership experience justify the positioning against new-launch leasehold.
For buyers who have exhausted searches for large freehold units near an NEL station in D13, Centurion Residences and its immediate Puay Hee Avenue neighbours represent effectively the only supply. That structural scarcity — combined with the Bidadari neighbourhood uplift and the Woodleigh interchange completion — underpins the long-term holding value case. Buyers comparing against landed housing in the Potong Pasir enclave will find Centurion Residences priced competitively on a per-sqft basis while offering the security infrastructure and pool access that pure landed ownership does not.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CENTURION RESIDENCES | Freehold | 2010 | 15 | — |
| THE WOODLEIGH RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2017 | 2021 | 667 | $2,229 |
| THE TRE VER | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 729 | $1,919 |
| BARTLEY RIDGE | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2012 | 2018 | 868 | $1,708 |
| PARK COLONIAL | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2017 | 2021 | 805 | $2,145 |
| THE POIZ RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2014 | 2019 | 731 | $1,867 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates CENTURION RESIDENCES across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“The walk to Potong Pasir MRT is genuinely easy — five minutes, flat, sheltered part of the way. That alone is rare for a freehold development. The street is extremely quiet; we barely hear any traffic.”
— Resident feedback compiled from property forums and agent conversations, Puay Hee Avenue freehold cluster
“Fifteen units means you actually know your neighbours. The pool is never crowded. The gym is always free. It’s closer to living in a landed enclave than a typical condo, but with the security and shared facilities.”
— Long-term owner, boutique D13 freehold development
“Potong Pasir has changed a lot since Bidadari opened up. More young families, better coffee shops, the new park is a big plus. It used to feel slightly forgotten — now it feels like a neighbourhood that’s found its footing again.”
— Resident, Potong Pasir corridor, shared via property community discussions
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure — perpetual ownership with no lease decay
- Exceptional MRT proximity: 220m walk to Potong Pasir NE Line
- Very large implied unit sizes (~3,000–4,000 sqft) by modern standards
- Boutique 15-unit scale — pool, gym, and facilities never overcrowded
- Quiet residential street with minimal through-traffic
- Bidadari neighbourhood transformation adding amenities and park access
- Woodleigh MRT interchange (NE/TE) within 1 km — expanded connectivity
- Three primary schools within 1.2 km for P1 balloting
- Low-profile and private — close to landed-living ownership experience
- Supply-constrained freehold micro-market in a mature D13 estate
- Very thin transaction data — only 4 sales on record, PSF benchmarking difficult
- Minimal rental liquidity — just 2 rental transactions, yield estimate unreliable
- Basic facilities only — no tennis court, function rooms, or resort amenities
- High absolute price quantum (~$2.5M–$2.8M) limits buyer pool significantly
- No public floor plan or unit breakdown data available
- En-bloc potential low (45/100) given small site area and recent TOP
- Limited comparable sales for resale valuation transparency
- Local retail still maturing — Potong Pasir less self-sufficient than Serangoon/Bishan
Verdict
Centurion Residences is a niche product for a specific buyer. If you are seeking a large, freehold unit within five minutes’ walk of a North-East Line MRT station, in a mature, quiet residential street in D13 — the options are extremely limited. That scarcity is real, and it explains why units here trade at absolute values (S$2.5M–S$2.8M) that far exceed the headline psf of neighbouring 99-year leasehold condominiums. You are not paying for resort facilities or a show kitchen: you are paying for tenure security, space, MRT proximity, and the intangible value of living on a street with 14 other households rather than 400.
The investment case is harder to quantify given the thin transaction history. Gross yield is estimated at 3.32% based on two rental data points — a figure that should be treated as directional rather than precise. Capital appreciation tracks broader D13 freehold sentiment, which has benefited and will continue to benefit from the Bidadari transformation bringing younger, more affluent families into the corridor. The completion of the Woodleigh MRT interchange and the opening of Bidadari Park represent upgrades to the neighbourhood’s liveability that were not priced into the development at launch.
The en-bloc potential score (45/100) is modest — reflecting the small site area and the relatively recent 2010 TOP date — but for a freehold development of this vintage, an en-bloc is not the primary investment thesis. The primary thesis is own-stay quality and long-term freehold value in a supply-constrained micro-market. For that buyer, Centurion Residences is a quietly compelling option that rarely announces itself.