Claymore Plaza
Overview & Key Facts
Claymore Plaza occupies one of Singapore’s most storied residential addresses — Claymore Hill in District 9 — a private lane that climbs gently above Orchard Road into a quiet enclave of low-rise buildings, embassies, and old-money quiet. Developed by Golden Development and completed in the early 1990s, the development comprises just 24 freehold units arranged in a single block: a rarity even within the already-thin inventory of the Claymore Hill micro-market.
The scale is the defining characteristic. At 24 units, Claymore Plaza operates more like a private residence than a condominium — there are no tennis courts, no Olympic-length lap pools, no ballroom function rooms. What it offers instead is discretion, address prestige, and freehold tenure on one of the handful of streets in Singapore that still carry genuine cachet among local and foreign high-net-worth buyers. The Claymore Hill address places the development within easy walking distance of Orchard Road, ISS International School, and St. Anthony’s Primary School, while sitting far enough off the main boulevard to feel genuinely residential.
Transaction volume is thin by design. With only 24 units and buyers who tend to hold long, Claymore Plaza records very few resale transactions in any given year. This illiquidity is a feature rather than a bug for certain buyer profiles: it keeps the building exclusive and limits price volatility, but it also means buyers should enter with a long holding horizon and an understanding that exit liquidity is limited compared to larger developments on the same street.
Location & Connectivity
The location is arguably the most compelling thing about Claymore Plaza, and it is best understood as two distinct advantages stacked together. The first is proximity to Orchard: at 0.28 km, Orchard MRT — an interchange serving both the North-South Line and the Thomson-East Coast Line — is closer than many residents’ morning walk to the coffee shop. ION Orchard, Paragon, and Ngee Ann City are all within a 10-minute walk, placing the full spectrum of Orchard’s retail, dining, and medical facilities on foot. The second advantage is that Claymore Hill itself is not Orchard Road: the lane is sheltered, quiet, and almost entirely residential, insulating the building from the noise and footfall of the main shopping belt.
For drivers, the connectivity is excellent. The CTE is accessible within five minutes, and the PIE is reachable via Scotts Road or Orchard Boulevard without traversing any congestion hotspots. The CBD is around 12–15 minutes in off-peak conditions. Changi Airport is 25–30 minutes via the CTE. The school belt is particularly dense: St. Anthony’s Primary School sits 0.33 km away, ISS International School (Paterson campus) is 0.56 km, and Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) and Methodist Girls’ School are both within 1.1 km — an exceptional concentration of primary schools that makes the address highly relevant for P1 balloting strategy.
For everyday amenities, Cold Storage at Takashimaya and the basement supermarkets of Scotts Square and Forum The Shopping Mall are all within a 10-minute walk. Tanglin Club and the American Club are immediate neighbours. The Singapore Botanic Gardens UNESCO heritage site is accessible in under 15 minutes on foot via Napier Road — a green corridor that is genuinely rare at this price point in the CCR.
Schools & Education
1 primary school within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| St. Anthony's Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| ISS International School (Paterson) | international | Within 1 km |
| ISS International School (Preston) | international | Within 1 km |
| Chatsworth International School (Orchard) | international | Within 1 km |
| Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) | primary | ~1.1 km |
| Methodist Girls' School | secondary | ~1.1 km |
| ACS (Junior) | primary | ~1.2 km |
| Singapore Chinese Girls' School (Primary) | primary | ~1.2 km |
Facilities
Facilities at Claymore Plaza are modest by any objective measure. The development provides a swimming pool, a small gymnasium, and basic communal landscaping — what one would expect from a boutique 24-unit development completed in the early 1990s. There is no function room, no tennis court, no BBQ pavilion or clubhouse. Prospective buyers who prioritise resort-style amenities should look elsewhere in the D9 inventory: The Avenir, Orchard Scotts, or Scotts Square all offer significantly broader facility packages within the same district.
The counterpoint is that Claymore Plaza’s residents have never been the target market for on-site amenities. At this price point and address, residents have access to private clubs (Tanglin Club is 300m away, American Club 500m), Orchard Road’s commercial fitness offerings, and the Botanic Gardens for outdoor recreation. The building’s appeal is its address and its size, not its pool deck. Maintenance fees are correspondingly lower than comparably-priced CCR developments with full resort facilities — a non-trivial consideration when monthly fees at large CCR projects can exceed S$1,000 per unit.
“The facilities are basic but that’s not why you buy here. You buy for the address, the quiet, and the fact that you’re walking distance from everything on Orchard. The building feels very private — barely any foot traffic through the lobby.”
— Resident review via PropertyGuru
Unit Sizes & Layout
Unit information for Claymore Plaza is limited by the thin transaction record. Historical sales data shows a mix of unit types transacting at prices between S$3.6M and S$4.5M, with the available PSF data suggesting floor areas consistent with 1990s CCR boutique standards — typically larger than contemporary new launches, though without the planning efficiency of post-2010 designs. Buyers should expect well-proportioned rooms, generous corridor widths, and layouts that predate the era of bay windows and planter boxes being subtracted from liveable floor area. Most units are likely 3-bedroom configurations in the 1,800–2,500 sqft range, though this requires independent verification via URA records.
The PSF trend tells an important story: transactions recorded at S$1,918 psf and subsequently S$1,663 psf suggest the development trades at a meaningful discount to newer freehold CCR developments of comparable address quality. The Avenir on River Valley Road, for example, transacts at S$3,190 psf, and newer launches in the broader Orchard area command S$3,000–S$4,000+ psf. This PSF discount reflects the age of the development and its limited facilities, but it also means a buyer is acquiring freehold D9 land content at a fraction of comparable replacement cost — an argument that underpins the en-bloc optionality narrative, even if the en-bloc score (44/100) suggests that optionality is not imminent.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 BR | 1 | $1,918 | $2,250,000 |
| 5 BR | 3 | $1,663 | $4,666,667 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 4 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $2,250,000 to $7,000,000, averaging $4,062,500.
Rents range from $1,150 to $14,000 per month across 43 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 1.3%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2024, the average PSF has declined by 13.3% (from $1,918 to $1,663 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
The closest comparable within District 9 is The Avenir on River Valley Road — freehold, 376 units, transacting at S$3,190 psf. The Avenir offers modern facilities, fresh finishings, and a larger secondary market, but costs nearly double the PSF of Claymore Plaza. Buyers who want the freehold D9 narrative but cannot justify The Avenir’s capital outlay may find Claymore Plaza’s PSF discount compelling, provided they accept the age and facility trade-off. Scotts Square (also freehold, Wheelock, 338 units at ~S$3,093 psf) is another frequent comparison: it offers integrated retail, hotel services, and Orchard MRT at 0.22 km, but at a commensurately higher price point with the additional complexity of a mixed-use strata title.
For buyers prioritising investment fundamentals over address prestige, Kopar at Newton in the same district (99-year lease, 378 units, S$2,512 psf) offers a more liquid secondary market and better yield optics, though the Newton address does not carry the same weight as Claymore Hill. The real comparison for Claymore Plaza is not other condominiums — it is the broader question of whether a 24-unit boutique development on a prestige lane, purchased for capital preservation and address quality rather than income, suits the buyer’s strategy. Against that benchmark, there are very few alternatives on the island.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLAYMORE PLAZA | Freehold | — | 24 | — |
| IRWELL HILL RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2020 | 2021 | 540 | $2,726 |
| RIVER GREEN | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2025 | 524 | $3,135 |
| RIVER MODERN | 99 years leasehold | — | — | $3,237 |
| THE AVENIR | Freehold | 2021 | 376 | $3,190 |
| KOPAR AT NEWTON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2019 | 2021 | 378 | $2,512 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates CLAYMORE PLAZA across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Absolutely love the location — Orchard MRT is literally a 3-minute walk and you feel like you’re in the middle of everything but the moment you turn into Claymore Hill the noise just disappears. The building is small so you actually know your neighbours, which is rare in Singapore condos.”
— Resident review via EdgeProp
“Pool is fine, gym is basic. Don’t buy here for facilities. Buy here because the address opens doors — the expat community in Singapore has heard of Claymore Hill. It’s a proper address. Renting out is not the problem; the problem is that rent doesn’t justify the price if you’re purely looking at yield numbers.”
— Investor review via PropertyGuru
“The building is older and the units show their age if not renovated. My unit needed a full overhaul when I moved in. But the bones are good — high ceilings, solid concrete, no paper-thin walls. The neighbourhood is quiet, no rowdy malls or crowds. St Anthony’s Primary is around the corner which was the deciding factor for us.”
— Owner-occupier review via 99.co
The consistent thread across resident feedback is that buyers here understand what they are paying for and what they are not. The address, the MRT proximity, and the building’s privacy are consistently praised. The facilities, the age of finishings, and the yield mathematics are acknowledged as trade-offs that come with the territory. Expatriate renters are drawn by the Orchard address and the international school proximity, even if rental returns do not compensate adequately for the capital deployed.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Orchard MRT interchange (NSL + TEL) at 0.28 km — genuinely exceptional CCR walkability
- Freehold tenure on Claymore Hill — one of Singapore's most established residential addresses
- Ultra-boutique 24 units — building feels private; neighbours tend to be long-term holders
- Walkability score 88/100 — Orchard retail, dining, and medical all on foot
- St. Anthony's Primary School 0.33 km — strong P1 balloting proximity
- ISS International School (Paterson) 0.56 km — relevant for expat school demand
- PSF discount vs new CCR launches — freehold D9 land content at fraction of replacement cost
- Quiet lane character despite Orchard adjacency — no thoroughfare foot traffic or mall noise
- Singapore Botanic Gardens accessible on foot via Napier Road corridor
- Lower maintenance fees than resort-facility CCR peers
- Gross yield 1.32% — among the lowest in the ShiokNest database; cash-flow negative investment thesis
- Very thin secondary market — 4 recorded sales makes exit liquidity narrow; wider bid-ask spread
- Facilities minimal — pool and basic gym only; no tennis, no function room, no clubhouse
- Building age requires renovation budget — 1990s finishings need full overhaul in most units
- Avg PSF declining in available data ($1,918 → $1,663) — price discovery difficult with sparse data
- En-bloc score 44/100 — collective sale optionality present but not imminent at current score
- ShiokNest score 61/100 — reflects facility and yield constraints relative to CCR peers
- No on-site F&B or retail podium — all conveniences require exiting the compound
- Limited unit mix visibility due to thin transaction record — buyers must rely on strata title docs
Verdict
Claymore Plaza is a narrow-aperture buy. The case for it rests on three overlapping arguments: freehold land content on Claymore Hill at a PSF discount to newer CCR inventory; genuine walkability to Orchard MRT interchange (0.28 km is genuinely exceptional — most CCR developments ask buyers to tolerate 10-minute walks or taxi supplements for the MRT); and the structural scarcity of 24-unit freehold buildings on a prestigious low-density lane. None of these advantages is likely to erode. The Claymore Hill address is fixed, the MRT distance is fixed, and the unit count is fixed.
The case against is equally clear. The yield mathematics are punishing: at a median transaction price around S$3.6M and average rent of S$4,866 per month, gross yield is approximately 1.32% — among the lowest in the ShiokNest database. This is not a cash-flow asset. The facilities are minimal, which rules out a meaningful cohort of CCR buyers who expect resort living at CCR prices. And the thin secondary market means that buyers who need to exit in a hurry will face a bidding pool of perhaps two or three genuinely interested parties at any given time, with commensurately wider bid-ask spreads.
The ideal buyer for Claymore Plaza is someone who intends to hold for 10+ years, either as owner-occupier or long-term landlord, and who values address prestige and neighbourhood quality over rental yield or liquidity. For that profile, the combination of freehold tenure, Orchard MRT proximity, and Claymore Hill’s character makes this development genuinely hard to replicate at any price. For everyone else, the calculus will be difficult to justify against better-yielding or more liquid CCR alternatives.