Clydes Residence
Overview & Key Facts
Clydes Residence is a compact freehold boutique development tucked into 78 Mergui Road, in the Farrer Park pocket of District 8. Completed in 2006 by Clydesbuilt Development, it comprises just 48 units housed in a single block — small enough to feel intimate, freehold enough to sidestep the lease-decay anxieties that shadow most of its larger 99-year neighbours along Kallang and Serangoon Road.
The development sits in a curious sweet spot. It’s RCR by URA’s segmentation, but functionally it borrows amenities, schools, and MRT access from three distinct neighbourhoods: Farrer Park and Little India to the south, Novena to the west, and Boon Keng to the east. The result is a quiet Mergui Road address that punches well above its weight in terms of connectivity — an asset that the small unit count and relatively thin transaction history (just 11 sales in the current trailing period) sometimes mask on the price charts.
Per EdgeProp’s project page, recent 12-month transaction PSF averages S$1,653, with an average quantum of S$1,411,000 and median of S$1,300,000. Rental demand is healthy — 71 leases logged over the same period at an average of S$3,633/month — translating to a gross yield around 3.32%. That rental depth, disproportionate to the 48-unit roster, tells you most of what you need to know: tenants like the address, even if buyers haven’t always given the project the premium its freehold status arguably deserves.
Location & Connectivity
The Farrer Park MRT station (North-East Line) sits roughly 590m from the development — about a 7–8 minute walk depending on your pace and the weather. That’s comfortably inside the “walkable” threshold that most Singaporean buyers apply, though it’s not door-to-door adjacency. Novena MRT (North-South Line) is 980m away, Boon Keng is 1.08km, and Bendemeer (Downtown Line) adds a third line within 1.25km. Few boutique freeholds in the RCR can claim this kind of three-line optionality.
For drivers, the location is genuinely excellent. CTE and PIE access are minutes away via Serangoon Road and Kallang Bahru. Orchard Road, the CBD, and the Marina Bay fringe are all within a 10–12 minute drive off-peak. The PropertyGuru project page highlights this dual accessibility as one of Clydes Residence’s standing advantages — a car-lite household can live comfortably here, but car-owning families get even stronger value.
Amenities are dense. The City Square Mall and Mustafa Centre are both short walks away for groceries, electronics, and the full 24-hour shopping circus that defines Serangoon Road. Farrer Park Hospital, KK Women’s and Children’s, Novena Medical Centre, and Tan Tock Seng Hospital form a medical cluster that’s difficult to replicate anywhere else in Singapore — relevant for ageing-in-place buyers and for tenants in healthcare or adjacent sectors. Food options span hawker (Berseh Food Centre, Pek Kio Market), the Little India heritage strip, and the growing café scene along Tyrwhitt and Jalan Besar.
Schools & Education
2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace | primary | Within 1 km |
| Farrer Park Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| St. Margaret's Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| St. Margaret's Primary School | primary | ~1.1 km |
| LASALLE College of the Arts | tertiary | ~1.2 km |
| Bendemeer Primary School | primary | ~1.3 km |
| Bendemeer Secondary School | secondary | ~1.4 km |
| St. Andrew's Secondary School | secondary | ~1.4 km |
Facilities
Facilities at Clydes Residence are what you’d expect from a 48-unit single-block boutique: a swimming pool, a modest gym, a BBQ pit, and basic landscaping. This is not a “resort condo” and was never designed to be one. Buyers drawn to sprawling facility decks with tennis courts, clubhouses, and themed pool zones should look elsewhere — Clydes Residence’s proposition is address, tenure, and efficiency, not amenity breadth.
What a small development does offer, however, is low congestion. Per Stacked Homes’ project directory, the single-block layout means fewer neighbours sharing the pool on any given Saturday morning, faster lift access, and a more predictable maintenance fee profile since there’s less infrastructure to keep running. For DINKs, retirees, and light-footprint owner-occupiers, that trade-off often makes sense.
The practical caveat is that small MCSTs have less financial cushion for major works — lift replacements, external repainting, or waterproofing projects hit individual owners harder when there are only 48 units to share the bill. This is worth factoring into any holding-cost projection, particularly as the building approaches the 25–30 year mark where these works typically arise.
Unit Sizes & Layout
Unit sizes at Clydes Residence trend toward the practical end of the boutique spectrum. Resident commentary on Singapore Expats and PropertyGuru describes layouts in the ~1,150 sqft range for the larger units — generous by 2020s new-launch standards, but described as tight by a reviewer fitting a family of five into one. Smaller unit types cater to singles and couples, which aligns with the rental transaction mix (71 leases suggest a heavy investor/tenant pattern rather than pure owner-occupier).
Finishes reflect the 2006 TOP vintage. Expect solid but dated fittings in unrenovated units — timber strip flooring, standard bathroom fittings, kitchen cabinetry of the era. Most active resale stock has seen at least one round of renovation, so buyers should scrutinise what they’re paying for: a renovated unit at S$1,650+ psf is one proposition, an original-condition unit at the same price is quite another.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 BR | 3 | $1,487 | $837,667 |
| 3 BR | 7 | $1,465 | $1,588,286 |
| 4 BR | 1 | $1,133 | $1,890,000 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 11 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $800,000 to $1,890,000, averaging $1,411,000 (~$1,653 psf).
Rents range from $1,500 to $6,800 per month across 72 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.3%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2025, the average PSF has appreciated by 23% (from $1,333 to $1,639 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
Within D8, the obvious freehold comparable is City Square Residences at ~S$1,889 psf — larger (910 units), more facilities, better liquidity, but a ~14% PSF premium. Piccadilly Grand (99-year, 2021 lease) sits at S$2,164 psf and offers MRT integration at Farrer Park plus new-launch finishes, but at a 30%+ premium and with the lease clock already ticking. Sturdee Residences at S$1,999 psf is a credible middle option for buyers willing to trade freehold tenure for fresher construction.
Kerrisdale at S$1,395 psf looks cheaper on paper but is 99-year from 1998, meaning the lease-remaining gap versus Clydes Residence is the real story — and it widens every year. The freehold premium you pay at Clydes Residence (roughly S$260 psf over Kerrisdale) is effectively the cost of never having to worry about lease decay or en-bloc timing. For a 15–25 year holding horizon, that premium is defensible; for a 5–7 year flip, it’s less obviously worth it.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLYDES RESIDENCE | Freehold | 2006 | 48 | $1,653 |
| PICCADILLY GRAND | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2021 | 2022 | 407 | $2,167 |
| CITYLIGHTS | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2004 | 2007 | 600 | $1,767 |
| CITY SQUARE RESIDENCES | Freehold | 2009 | 910 | $1,891 |
| STURDEE RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2015 | — | 305 | $1,999 |
| KERRISDALE | 99 yrs lease commencing from 1998 | 2006 | 481 | $1,395 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates CLYDES RESIDENCE across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Freehold, great location! Walking distance to Farrer Park MRT and Mustafa is just around the corner for late-night anything.”
— Resident review via PropertyGuru
“I would stay in this place if the units were bigger. Not for big families — 1,150 sqft for 5 people is too small.”
— Resident review via 99.co
The recurring themes across review platforms are consistent: tenants and owners love the address, the freehold tenure, and the density of surrounding amenities. Criticisms cluster around unit size (better for couples than families), facility limits (expected at 48 units), and the age of unrenovated interiors. SRX’s project overview notes that the building has held up reasonably well visually, with ongoing common-area maintenance that reflects a functional MCST despite the small member base.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure in a pocket dominated by 99-year leaseholds
- Genuine three-line MRT optionality (NEL, NSL, DTL within 1.25km)
- Dense amenity cluster — Mustafa, City Square Mall, Little India on foot
- Exceptional medical-cluster access (Farrer Park, Novena, TTSH)
- Strong rental depth — 71 leases on just 48 units
- Meaningful PSF discount vs Piccadilly Grand and City Square Residences
- Low-congestion living — 48 units, one block, minimal shared-facility friction
- Strong school optionality within 1km (CHIJ OLQP, Farrer Park Primary)
- Quiet Mergui Road address away from Serangoon Road traffic
- 5-minute drive to Orchard and the CBD
- Minimal facilities — pool, gym, BBQ only, no clubhouse or tennis
- Small MCST means capex surprises hit per-unit harder
- Low transaction liquidity — 11 sales over 12 months creates noisy comparables
- MRT walk is ~590m — good, not door-to-door
- Dated interiors in unrenovated units (2006 vintage)
- No dedicated kids' facilities — limited family appeal
- Choppy PSF appreciation pattern vs linear-growth peers
- Ground-level units face some Mergui Road noise
- Limited market profile — less broker attention than larger projects
Verdict
Clydes Residence is a classic “hidden freehold” play: small, understated, well-located, and priced at a meaningful discount to flashier D8 and D12 peers. Against Piccadilly Grand at S$2,164 psf and City Square Residences at S$1,889 psf, the S$1,653 psf entry point looks like genuine value — especially when you factor in freehold tenure that neither of the 99-year competitors can match over a 20–30 year horizon.
The caveats are real. Facilities are minimal. The unit count is too small to generate strong market comparables, which can make exit pricing unpredictable. MRT proximity is “good” but not “excellent” — at ~590m to Farrer Park, you’re walking, but you’re not arriving sweat-free in July. And the single-block MCST dynamic means capex surprises hit harder per unit than in a 400+ unit project.
For the right buyer — a freehold-seeking investor after a rentable unit in a dense amenity pocket, a healthcare professional wanting proximity to the Farrer Park cluster, or an owner-occupier who values discretion over facilities theatre — Clydes Residence is a sensible, under-the-radar pick. For buyers prioritising facility-driven lifestyle, new-build finishes, or maximum liquidity on exit, the value case weakens.