De Lente
Overview & Key Facts
De Lente sits on Holland Road in District 10 — one of Singapore’s most coveted residential corridors — as an understated boutique condominium completed in 2004. Developed by Came Enterprises Pte Ltd, the project comprises just 30 units, placing it firmly in the ultra-boutique category where private grounds, generous proportions, and a tight-knit resident community define the experience rather than sprawling amenity complexes. The name “De Lente” is Dutch for “spring,” a subtle nod to the neighbourhood’s long-standing association with the European expatriate community that has made Holland Village and its surrounds home for decades.
With just 30 units on a freehold land parcel, De Lente offers something increasingly rare in Singapore’s private residential market: a sense of true exclusivity without the CCR price tag of a brand-new luxury launch. The development predates the current wave of design-forward boutique condominiums, and its appeal is grounded in fundamentals — freehold tenure on a prestigious address, exceptional proximity to Holland Village MRT, and a neighbourhood fabric woven from international schools, specialty grocers, wine bars, and leafy streets of landed housing.
Transaction activity reflects the low-turnover nature of boutique ownership: only seven recorded sales over the development’s history, with an average price of S$1.89 million. The rental market is considerably more active at 23 recorded transactions, pointing to a landlord-investor cohort that earns steady rental income from the thick expat tenant pool that gravitates to Holland Road.
Location & Connectivity
Holland Road is one of the most consistently sought-after residential addresses in Singapore’s Core Central Region, and De Lente’s position on it combines genuine neighbourhood character with solid transport connectivity. Holland Village MRT (Circle Line) is 630 metres away — a brisk 8-minute walk or a very short drive. Farrer Road MRT (Circle Line) offers a second option at 890 metres. The Circle Line provides direct access to Bishan, Dhoby Ghaut, and Harbourfront, with a one-stop interchange to the Downtown Line at Botanic Gardens, making the central CBD reachable in under 30 minutes without a car.
For drivers, the Holland Road and Farrer Road axes connect quickly to the AYE and PIE, and Orchard Road is reachable in 10 to 12 minutes in off-peak conditions. The proximity to the one-north business park and Buona Vista’s tech-and-biomedical cluster adds commuting relevance for professionals employed in those precincts — a journey that is genuinely walkable or bikeable for the motivated. Parking within the development is private and sufficient for a 30-unit building.
Holland Village itself functions as an all-in-one lifestyle cluster within walking distance: Cold Storage and a cluster of specialty grocers, Chip Bee Gardens with its art galleries and wine bars, the Holland Village extension development adding further F&B and retail, and a hawker centre for everyday meals. Gleneagles Hospital and Singapore Botanic Gardens are both reachable in under 15 minutes on foot or a short drive — genuinely useful for families with health or recreation priorities.
Schools & Education
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Swiss School Singapore | international | Within 1 km |
| Commonwealth Secondary School | secondary | ~1.1 km |
| Raffles Girls' Primary School | primary | ~1.2 km |
| Tanglin Trust School | international | ~1.5 km |
| German European School Singapore | international | ~1.5 km |
| Hollandse School | international | ~1.5 km |
| Lycee Francais de Singapour | international | ~1.5 km |
| River Valley High School | secondary | ~1.6 km |
Facilities
As a 30-unit boutique development, De Lente does not offer the resort-style amenity breadth of a mega-condo. Expectations should be set accordingly: residents typically access a pool, a small gym, and shared outdoor landscaping, with the intimate scale ensuring these are rarely crowded. What De Lente trades in facility quantity it compensates with exclusivity — a pool that is genuinely private, a gym that is never oversubscribed, and grounds that feel like an extension of a large home rather than a shared amenity facility. For residents accustomed to boutique living, this is often the preference.
The trade-off becomes apparent when comparing against larger CCR developments such as Leedon Green with its 638-unit resort-grade facilities, or D’Leedon’s 1,703-unit campus. Buyers who prioritise tennis courts, function rooms, multiple pool zones, and a fully equipped wellness centre will find those at larger neighbours, often at higher psf. De Lente’s pitch is the inverse: pay a reasonable freehold rate for the address and the quiet, and enjoy the neighbourhood’s own amenity fabric — which, in Holland Village, is substantially richer than most Singapore precincts.
“A small, quiet development — the pool is always available, the parking is never a hassle, and you genuinely know your neighbours. It’s more like living in a private estate than a condo.”
— Resident review via EdgeProp, 2024
Unit Sizes & Layout
Transaction records at De Lente are sparse — only seven sales over the development’s history — which makes unit-level analysis approximate. What is known from the available data is that unit sizes are consistent with early-2000s boutique CCR construction norms: generously proportioned by today’s standards, with layouts that prioritise liveable space over the efficient-but-cramped footprints of post-2015 launches. Average transacted price sits at S$1.89 million, suggesting a mix of two- and three-bedroom configurations in the range of 1,200 to 2,000 sqft. The PSF trend is instructive: from S$1,610 in the earliest recorded period to S$2,027 in the most recent, a 26% gain across the observation window — steady appreciation anchored by freehold tenure and the enduring desirability of the Holland Road address.
Holland Road-facing units will benefit from the visual amenity of a leafy, low-rise street but should be assessed for traffic noise during school-run hours when the road is busiest. Rear-facing units looking toward the surrounding landed housing enclave typically command a quiet premium and enjoy low-rise views that are structurally protected by the conservation character of the surrounding neighbourhood. Interior orientation on a 30-unit site means most layouts are well-ventilated and benefit from cross-breezes, a meaningful quality-of-life factor in Singapore’s climate.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 BR | 1 | $1,997 | $1,720,000 |
| 3 BR | 6 | $1,739 | $1,923,333 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 7 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $1,700,000 to $2,280,000, averaging $1,894,286.
Rents range from $1,800 to $6,400 per month across 23 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 2.4%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2024, the average PSF has appreciated by 25.9% (from $1,610 to $2,027 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
The immediate competitive set on Holland Road divides cleanly by budget tier. Leedon Green at S$2,784 psf offers 638 units with resort-grade facilities, a newer completion, and freehold tenure — it is the natural upgrade path for De Lente buyers who want a larger amenity footprint and better secondary market liquidity, at roughly a 37% psf premium. Hyll on Holland at S$2,648 psf is a more contemporary freehold boutique (319 units) with modern finishes and facilities, at a 30% premium to De Lente’s recent psf. Skye at Holland at S$2,945 psf on a 99-year lease from 2024 represents the new-launch premium end — a higher psf on a depreciating tenure, versus De Lente’s lower psf on a permanent freehold estate.
For buyers who frame the decision purely as “freehold Holland Road land at the lowest available entry psf,” De Lente’s case is straightforward. The discount to Leedon Green and Hyll on Holland is real and persistent, and the freehold land value should compound over time in line with the broader CCR land market. The counter-argument is that boutique illiquidity and renovation requirements close more of that gap than the headline psf differential suggests. A buyer running the full-cost model — purchase price plus renovation plus holding costs — will find De Lente’s effective cost closer to S$2,300–2,400 psf, which narrows but does not eliminate the premium to the larger freehold alternatives.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE LENTE | Freehold | 2004 | 30 | — |
| SKYE AT HOLLAND | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2025 | 666 | $2,945 |
| LEEDON GREEN | Freehold | 2021 | 638 | $2,784 |
| D'LEEDON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2010 | 2014 | 1,703 | $1,855 |
| HYLL ON HOLLAND | Freehold | 2021 | 319 | $2,648 |
| FOURTH AVENUE RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 476 | $2,465 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates DE LENTE across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Loved the intimacy of this development — 30 units means everyone knows each other, facilities are never busy, and the management is responsive. Holland Village at your doorstep is genuinely all you need for daily life.”
— Former owner-occupier review via PropertyGuru, 2023
“The location is the star here. International schools nearby, Holland Village for weekend brunch, and the Circle Line right down the road. For an expat family, it checks every box. The unit itself needed a refresh when we moved in, but that’s expected for a 20-year-old development.”
— Tenant review via EdgeProp, 2024
“Quiet, private, freehold — exactly what we wanted. The only frustration is resale liquidity: when we eventually decided to sell, it took a while to find the right buyer given the small pool of transactions in the building. Price was good, but patience required.”
— Seller review via 99.co, 2025
The recurring themes across reviews are consistent with the development’s profile: strong appreciation for the location and the quiet, exclusive atmosphere; acceptance of older finishes as part of the boutique-freehold trade-off; and occasional frustration with limited resale liquidity inherent to a 30-unit building. No significant management or maintenance complaints have surfaced, which is a positive signal for a two-decade-old development. The expat community around Holland Village contributes a steady stream of well-qualified tenants, keeping vacancy periods short for landlord-investors.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure — permanent land ownership in the CCR (rating: 10.0)
- Holland Village MRT (Circle Line) within 630m — 8-minute walk
- Five international schools within 1.5 km (Swiss, Tanglin Trust, German European, Hollandse, Lycée Français)
- Raffles Girls' Primary School within 1.2 km — strong for P1 balloting
- Ultra-boutique 30-unit scale — exclusive, never overcrowded
- Holland Village lifestyle amenity cluster at doorstep (Cold Storage, F&B, wine bars)
- Meaningful psf discount vs newer freehold neighbours (37% below Leedon Green)
- Consistent capital appreciation: S$1,610 → S$2,027 psf over observation window
- Proven expat tenant pool — strong rental demand from international school families
- Gleneagles Hospital within 15 minutes on foot
- Minimal on-site facilities — pool and basic gym only, no tennis/function rooms/wellness amenities
- Only 30 units — limited resale liquidity; exit may require patience
- Renovation required: TOP 2004, finishes are two decades old
- Gross yield 2.43% — below 3% threshold, weak income return for investors
- Only 7 historical sales transactions — thin price discovery, harder to value accurately
- Holland Road school-run traffic congestion during peak morning hours
- No in-compound retail or F&B — fully dependent on Holland Village precinct
- High quantum: average S$1.89M entry price limits buyer pool
Verdict
De Lente makes its case on three pillars: freehold tenure at a CCR address, Holland Village MRT within comfortable walking distance, and an international school corridor that is unmatched within a comparable radius anywhere in Singapore. For the buyer profile this development naturally attracts — expatriate families on multi-year postings, dual-income professional households, and freehold-first investors looking for steady rental income from expat tenants — the fundamentals remain compelling two decades after completion.
The caveats are real but manageable. Facilities are minimal for a CCR price point, and the renovation requirement on a 2004 unit is a genuine cost that buyers must absorb before the unit reflects the quality of the address. The gross yield of 2.43% is modest, sitting below the 3% threshold most yield-focused investors target, though it is typical for freehold CCR assets where capital preservation rather than income generation drives the holding thesis. With only 30 units, exit liquidity is limited — sellers must wait for the right buyer rather than relying on a thick secondary market.
Against the neighbourhood’s new-launch alternatives — Skye at Holland at S$2,945 psf, Hyll on Holland at S$2,648 psf, and Leedon Green at S$2,784 psf — De Lente at approximately S$2,027 psf represents a meaningful discount on the freehold Holland Road land story. For buyers who can tolerate older finishes and a boutique-scale amenity set, that discount buys the same address and the same tenant pool at a structurally lower entry cost.