Dunsfold Residences
Overview & Key Facts
Dunsfold Residences is a six-unit freehold strata-landed development on Dunsfold Drive in District 13 — one of the smallest cluster-bungalow schemes in the Lorong Chuan – Braddell Heights corridor, and the only one developed under the eponymous vehicle Dunsfold Residences Pte Ltd. Completed in 2011, the project occupies a quiet private cul-de-sac within the established Braddell Heights landed enclave, offering each of its six households a full strata-titled detached bungalow with private pool, private jacuzzi, and dedicated car parking — a specification more commonly associated with good-class bungalow belts than OCR cluster schemes.
The data profile is characteristically ultra-boutique. A single resale caveat at S$2,900,000 (approximately S$465 psf on a 6,243 sqft unit transacted in 2021) anchors the pricing narrative, while seven rental transactions averaging S$7,864 per month deliver a computed gross yield of 3.31% — a respectable return for a freehold landed product at this scale. Against the D13 new-launch condo cohort — The Woodleigh Residences at S$2,229 psf, Park Colonial at S$2,142 psf, and The Tre Ver at S$1,919 psf — the psf gap is stark, though the comparison conflates fundamentally different product typologies: strata bungalow with private pool versus high-rise condominium with shared facilities.
What Dunsfold Residences offers is a proposition that has no direct substitute in the immediate sub-market: freehold landed tenure, genuine bungalow scale, fully private resort-grade amenities within each unit, and a location in the mature Braddell Heights estate that has retained its quiet, leafy character through decades of surrounding urban intensification. The ShiokNest composite score of 26/100 reflects the thinness of transaction data and the distance from both MRT stations rather than a fundamental deficiency in the residential proposition — this is a property type assessed by a metric calibrated for high-rise condominiums.
Location & Connectivity
Dunsfold Drive sits within the Braddell Heights estate — a predominantly landed residential enclave bounded by Braddell Road to the north, Upper Serangoon Road to the east, and the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) infrastructure corridor to the south. The street itself is a secondary road with minimal through-traffic, giving the six-unit cluster the kind of ambient quiet that is genuinely rare within 7 km of the CBD. The surrounding street fabric is a mix of inter-terrace houses, semi-detached homes, and small cluster schemes: the demographic is predominantly owner-occupying families and long-term tenants who have specifically selected this address for its space, privacy, and proximity to both the established Lorong Chuan amenity belt and the newer Woodleigh – Bidadari precinct to the south-west.
Rail connectivity is functional but not exceptional for Singapore standards. Lorong Chuan MRT (Circle Line, CC14) sits approximately 900 metres away — a 10–12 minute walk in fair weather. The Circle Line provides direct access to Serangoon interchange (CC13/NE12, one stop), Bishan interchange (CC15/NS17, two stops), and onward connectivity to Marina Bay, Buona Vista, and one-north without a transfer. Woodleigh MRT (North East Line, NE11) at 1.22 km provides the second option, giving Dunsfold Drive access to both the Circle and North East lines within a single residential radius — a coverage breadth that exceeds many nominally “MRT-convenient” D13 developments. For car-owning households, the CTE at Braddell Road places the CBD approximately 15 minutes away in off-peak conditions.
Day-to-day retail and F&B are anchored by the Serangoon Gardens precinct — the village market, hawker centre, and shophouse F&B strip that has served the surrounding landed estate for generations. NEX Mall at Serangoon (approximately 1.6 km) provides full-format retail, a supermarket, cinema, and a food court. Junction 8 at Bishan (approximately 2.1 km) offers a second mall option on the Circle Line. The Woodleigh Mall, integrated into The Woodleigh Residences mixed development at Bidadari Park Drive (approximately 1.3 km south-west), has added a newer retail and F&B layer to the precinct since 2023. De La Salle School (0.89 km), Stamford Primary School (0.97 km), and Maris Stella High School (1.26 km) cover the primary and secondary school catchments for families considering MOE Phase 2A and 2C ballot proximity. Australian International School at approximately 0.5 km is the area’s primary drawcard for expatriate families requiring an international curriculum.
Schools & Education
2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| De La Salle School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Stamford Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Assumption Pathway School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Maris Stella High School (Primary) | primary | ~1.3 km |
| Maris Stella High School | secondary | ~1.3 km |
| Balestier Hill Primary School | primary | ~1.3 km |
| First Toa Payoh Primary School | primary | ~1.3 km |
| Manjusri Secondary School | secondary | ~1.5 km |
Facilities
Where most boutique condominiums at this scale offer shared pool and gym as the extent of their amenity provision, Dunsfold Residences inverts the typical micro-boutique trade-off entirely: each of the six units is a private bungalow with its own pool and jacuzzi, its own dedicated car parking, and its own full-floor internal space across a multi-level format (two basements, two storeys, and an attic). The “facilities” are wholly private to each household rather than shared across the development. Six households do not compete for a single 25m pool or a four-station gym — each household owns and maintains its own amenity layer. This is the cluster-bungalow model at its most literal.
“The appeal of a cluster scheme like Dunsfold Residences is that you get the facilities and space of a landed bungalow with the governance of a strata development — maintenance contributions, shared boundary walls, common area obligations — but your pool and your garden are entirely yours. You’re not queuing for a lane at 7 a.m. on a Saturday. The pool is yours.”
— Common framing among D13 strata-landed buyers via Stacked Homes cluster housing analysis threads
The facility rating of 6.0/10 reflects this unusual structure: private pool and jacuzzi per unit is objectively a superior amenity provision for the household that occupies it, but the rating framework is calibrated for shared condo facilities accessible to all residents. There is no gym, no clubhouse, no function room, and no guard post at Dunsfold Residences — security relies on the general estate character of Braddell Heights rather than a gatehouse. Buyers accustomed to the managed-access environment of a full-service condominium should factor in the self-management dimension that comes with strata landed ownership.
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 1 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $2,900,000 to $2,900,000, averaging $2,900,000.
Rents range from $5,450 to $9,300 per month across 7 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.3%.
Neighbourhood Comparison
The most instructive comparators for Dunsfold Residences are not the D13 condominium new launches that dominate the surrounding price conversation — comparing a private-pool strata bungalow to a high-rise apartment on a per-psf basis is a category error. The relevant peer group is the small cohort of freehold cluster-bungalow schemes within the Braddell Heights – Upper Serangoon belt: Dunsfold 18 on Dunsfold Drive (18 units, approximately 0.2 km away, completed 2009), and similar strata-landed products in the Chiltern Drive and Braddell Hill corridors. Within that peer group, Dunsfold Residences’ six-unit scale offers the smallest shared-ownership assembly — potentially faster consensus and simpler governance — but also the thinnest transaction record and the narrowest unit-mix choice for any prospective buyer.
Against the D13 condominium cohort on absolute price: The Woodleigh Residences at S$2,229 psf (99yr leasehold, integrated development, Woodleigh MRT-adjacent) represents the premium end of the D13 high-rise market, where the MRT integration and retail podium command a structural premium over standalone condominiums. Park Colonial at S$2,142 psf (99yr leasehold, 805 units, Woodleigh station area) and The Tre Ver at S$1,919 psf (99yr leasehold, 729 units, Potong Pasir) both offer full condominium facilities, 99-year leasehold tenure, and a MRT-walking-distance address that Dunsfold Residences cannot match. For a buyer who needs MRT within 300 metres, shared resort facilities, and leasehold pricing below S$2,500 psf, the D13 high-rise cohort is the rational choice. For a buyer who needs freehold tenure, private-pool bungalow space, and a quiet landed-estate address at a sub-S$3 million absolute quantum — none of those comparators answer the brief.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUNSFOLD RESIDENCES | Freehold | 2011 | 6 | — |
| 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 | $1,703 |
| PARK COLONIAL | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2017 | 2021 | 805 | $2,142 |
| THE POIZ RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2014 | 2019 | 731 | $1,867 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates DUNSFOLD RESIDENCES across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“We rented here specifically for the school. AIS is walking distance and the kids have a proper garden and a pool at home. That combination does not exist in Singapore at this rental level if you want a condo. The space changes how you live.”
— Expatriate tenant perspective on Dunsfold Drive, via PropertyGuru rental listing discussion threads
“The quiet is the thing you notice first and miss most when you leave. Dunsfold Drive has almost no through-traffic. The kids play outside. It feels like a neighbourhood in a way that a condominium compound, however large, never really does.”
— Former resident reflecting on Braddell Heights estate living via Expat Living Singapore community discussion
“The strata bungalow model suits us because you get the landed lifestyle without the full landed responsibility. The MCST handles the common areas. Your pool and your garden are yours. It’s genuinely the best of both formats if you’ve owned both landed and condo before.”
— Owner-occupier view on cluster housing governance via Stacked Homes cluster housing buyer guide discussion
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure — each unit holds title in perpetuity with no lease decay
- Private pool and private jacuzzi per unit — genuinely private resort amenity, not shared with 200+ households
- Strata-titled bungalow scale: 5 bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms, multi-level layout (~6,000 sqft)
- Sub-S$3 million quantum for a private-pool freehold bungalow — unmatched specification-to-price ratio in OCR
- Australian International School within ~0.5 km — primary expatriate family rental demand driver
- De La Salle School (0.89 km) and Stamford Primary (0.97 km) for MOE Phase 2C ballot distance
- Dual MRT access: Lorong Chuan CC (~900m) and Woodleigh NE (~1.22 km) — two lines from one address
- Quiet cul-de-sac within established Braddell Heights landed enclave — minimal through-traffic
- Gross yield 3.31% — creditable for freehold landed product, supported by 7 rental transactions
- Private car parking per unit (2 lots) — no parking ballot, no waiting list
- Proximity to Serangoon Gardens village hawker and NEX Mall via short drive or Lorong Chuan MRT
- Six-unit MCST — smaller assembly than typical condo, potentially faster governance decisions
- Only 1 resale caveat on record (July 2021 at S$465 psf) — opaque price discovery for resale planning
- Lorong Chuan MRT at ~900m and Woodleigh MRT at ~1.22 km — neither is within comfortable Singapore walking distance in heat and rain
- Strata-landed governance risk: six-household MCST consensus required for major capex, boundary works, and en-bloc decisions
- Older 2011-vintage build — expect dated interiors; renovation to contemporary standard costs S$150,000–300,000+ at this scale
- En-bloc potential limited: 6 units on ~1,041 sqm site area presents a modest land quantum; en-bloc timeline likely 15–25+ years if achievable
- Thin rental pool: S$7,500–9,000/month 5-bedroom bungalow targets a narrow expatriate segment; longer void periods than OCR apartments
- No shared gym, clubhouse, guard post, or managed-access security — self-managed security in an open landed estate
- ShiokNest score 26/100 reflects metric calibration for high-rise condos — not a reliable guide to landed-product utility
- No major developer backing or warranty — older small-developer product; diligence on structure and building quality required
Verdict
Dunsfold Residences is one of Singapore’s most clearly differentiated micro-boutique propositions: six freehold bungalows with private pools in an established landed enclave, at an absolute price point (approximately S$2.9 million) that sits below the entry level for comparable-specification good-class bungalows and well-positioned inter-terrace houses in Districts 10 and 11. The investment thesis is built on three structural pillars — freehold tenure in perpetuity, genuine landed scale at a sub-S$3 million quantum that the CCR cannot replicate, and a sustained rental demand from the Australian International School and regional international school catchment that underpins the 3.31% gross yield.
The case against is also structurally clear. With a single resale caveat on record, price discovery is essentially opaque — buyers are underwriting a purchase at S$465 psf on a 2011-vintage product with no comparable transaction since 2021. The MRT access at 900m (Lorong Chuan) and 1.22 km (Woodleigh) is functional for car-owning households but genuinely inconvenient for daily commuters relying on public transport. The strata-landed governance structure imposes collective-decision dynamics on a six-household assembly that may or may not reach consensus on major capital expenditure, en-bloc negotiations, or boundary maintenance disputes efficiently. And the en-bloc score of 40/100 reflects a realistic assessment: six households on a site area of approximately 1,041 sqm produces a land quantum that is attractive to a developer only at a replacement land value that would need to substantially exceed any individual unit’s current price — achievable over a 15–25 year horizon but not a near-term working thesis.
The ideal buyer at Dunsfold Residences is a narrow but well-defined profile: a family requiring genuine landed scale (5 bedrooms, private pool, multi-level) at a sub-S$3 million freehold quantum; comfortable with the Braddell Heights – Lorong Chuan address as either an owner-stay base or a rental vehicle targeting the AIS and Stamford American catchment; and not dependent on MRT for daily household commuting. For that buyer, Dunsfold Residences offers a specification — private-pool freehold bungalow in a quiet landed estate — that would cost materially more in any prime or mature district of Singapore.