East Treasure
Overview & Key Facts
East Treasure is a 19-unit boutique apartment block at 36 Lorong N Telok Kurau in District 15, completed in 2004 by World Class Land. Five storeys tall, with a unit mix that historically spans studio, 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom and penthouse layouts, the development sits in the Telok Kurau / Joo Chiat heritage residential pocket between Still Road and Marine Parade Road — a 5–6 minute walk from the new Marine Terrace MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line.
The transaction profile is income-led. Zero resale caveats are on record but 16 rental transactions average S$3,248 per month (median S$3,000) — a credible rental dataset for a 19-unit block, signalling that East Treasure functions primarily as an investor-held rental asset in the post-TEL Marine Terrace catchment. Walkability scores 70/100, supported by Marine Terrace TEL at 430 metres, Marine Parade TEL at 940 metres, six MOE primary and secondary schools within 1.4 km, and the East Coast / Marine Parade lifestyle belt — 112 Katong, Parkway Parade, Katong Square — a short drive or bus ride away.
But there is one number that overrides every other line on the spreadsheet, and buyers must engage with it before going further. East Treasure is on a 99-year leasehold with approximately 77 years remaining. In two years, the lease will fall below the 75-year mark — the CPF and bank-financing cliff that materially restricts how much CPF a buyer can apply, how much bank loan they can secure, and (mechanically) the future buyer pool. This review treats the 75-year cliff as a first-order consideration, not a footnote. Anyone underwriting a 5+ year hold must price the cliff into their entry valuation.
Location & Connectivity
Lorong N Telok Kurau runs through the heritage low-rise residential pocket bounded by Still Road, Changi Road, and Marine Parade Road in District 15. At 36 Lorong N, East Treasure sits a 5–6 minute walk from the new Marine Terrace MRT (Thomson-East Coast Line) at 430 metres — a step-change in transit access that only materialised when TEL Stage 4 opened in 2023, transforming the historic East Coast bus-dependent corridor into a direct rail link to Orchard, the CBD, and Woodlands. Marine Parade MRT (TEL) at 940 metres adds redundancy on the same line, while the older East-West Line is reachable at Kembangan (1.29 km) and Eunos (1.44 km) — a brisk walk or one bus stop.
The school catchment is one of the strongest on the island. Telok Kurau Primary at 470 metres, Canadian International School (Tanjong Katong) at 1.10 km, Tanjong Katong Girls’ School at 1.11 km, CHIJ (Katong) Primary at 1.19 km, Broadrick Secondary at 1.20 km, and Chung Cheng High (Main) at 1.31 km bracket the development — six MOE and international options inside a 1.4 km radius. Day-to-day retail and F&B are anchored by the East Coast / Joo Chiat / Katong belt: 112 Katong, Parkway Parade, Roxy Square, Katong Square, the heritage Peranakan shophouse food district along East Coast Road, and the Marine Parade hawker centre. East Coast Park — the island’s longest contiguous beachfront recreation corridor — is a 10–12 minute walk south.
The neighbourhood character itself is a genuine asset. Telok Kurau / Joo Chiat is one of the few low-rise heritage residential pockets remaining in central-east Singapore, with shophouse conservation areas, the Peranakan Katong food cluster, and active URA Master Plan protection on the surrounding heritage streetscape. Post-TEL, this catchment has rerated meaningfully — Grand Dunman, Tembusu Grand, and Emerald of Katong have all launched at S$2,400–2,800 psf, anchoring the new pricing band.
Schools & Education
1 primary school within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Telok Kurau Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Canadian International School (Tanjong Katong) | international | ~1.1 km |
| Tanjong Katong Girls' School | secondary | ~1.1 km |
| CHIJ (Katong) Primary | primary | ~1.2 km |
| Broadrick Secondary School | secondary | ~1.2 km |
| EtonHouse International School (Broadrick) | international | ~1.2 km |
| Chung Cheng High School (Main) | secondary | ~1.3 km |
| Canossa Catholic Primary School | primary | ~1.3 km |
Facilities
At 19 units across five storeys, East Treasure is a true micro-boutique — but unlike the stripped-back blocks at this scale, the development does provide a small recreational layer: a swimming pool, children’s playground, fitness corner, BBQ area, open car park and 24-hour security. Buyers should calibrate expectations: the pool is a plunge / lap-style fitting for the plot, the fitness corner is open-air rather than an enclosed gym, and there is no clubhouse, function room, tennis court, or concierge. The amenity set is functional, not aspirational.
“We rented at East Treasure for two years before our daughter started P1. The pool is small but our kid actually used it every weekend, which is more than I can say for the friends we have at Tembusu Grand. The location is honestly the value — Telok Kurau Primary is five minutes’ walk, Marine Terrace MRT is six minutes, and the Katong food is right there.”
— Tenant perspective on East Treasure facilities and location via PropertyGuru community discussion
Maintenance contributions, by the economics of a 19-unit block with a pool, typically land in the S$300–450 per month band — materially below the S$500–800 charged at full-facility 200–500 unit developments of comparable vintage, but slightly above no-facility blocks. For households who treat the surrounding Joo Chiat / Katong / East Coast Park ecosystem as their amenity layer, the on-site facilities are sufficient. For families expecting the resort-style provision of Grand Dunman, Tembusu Grand, or Amber Park, this is the wrong building. The substitute venues — East Coast Park, Marine Parade Community Club, ActiveSG facilities at the Wilkinson Road sports complex — are all within easy reach.
Neighbourhood Comparison
Versus the new-launch cohort that has redefined the District 15 / Marine Parade / Katong skyline post-TEL, East Treasure offers a fundamentally different proposition. Grand Dunman (S$2,400–2,600 psf, 99yr fresh, 1,008 units) and Tembusu Grand (S$2,500–2,700 psf, 99yr fresh, 638 units) deliver full resort-style facilities, fresh leases of 99 years, and significant transaction liquidity at the cost of a high entry PSF and high-density living. Emerald of Katong (S$2,500–2,800 psf, 99yr fresh, 846 units) sits in the same band on a Jalan Tembusu plot. The Continuum (S$2,650–2,900 psf, freehold, 816 units) and Amber Park (S$2,700–3,000 psf, freehold, 592 units) trade an even higher PSF for the structural certainty of a freehold tenure that bypasses the lease-decay problem entirely.
The trade-off framing: if a buyer wants pool, gym, multiple facility decks, fresh-lease price-discovery comfort, and a hold horizon that does not collide with the 75-year cliff, the new-launch 99yr cohort (Grand Dunman / Tembusu Grand / Emerald of Katong) is the right answer — and the 50–70% PSF premium versus East Treasure is being paid for in tenure freshness, facilities, and transaction depth. If a buyer wants the same TEL Marine Terrace catchment and the same school cluster at a materially lower entry price, and is willing to either (a) hold long enough to amortise the lease decay or (b) accept that the exit will be income-yield-led rather than capital-gain-led, East Treasure is a credible answer. If a buyer wants tenure certainty above all else, the freehold Continuum or Amber Park cohort is structurally superior — the 75-year cliff simply does not exist in their underwriting.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAST TREASURE | 2004 | 19 | — | |
| GRAND DUNMAN | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2022 | 2023 | 1,008 | $2,537 |
| EMERALD OF KATONG | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2023 | 2024 | 846 | $2,640 |
| THE CONTINUUM | Freehold | 2023 | 816 | $2,790 |
| TEMBUSU GRAND | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2022 | 2023 | 638 | $2,462 |
| AMBER PARK | Freehold | 2021 | 592 | $2,540 |
Lease Decay Analysis
The 99-year lease runs from 2004, meaning approximately 22 years have already been consumed. Roughly 77 years remain — still comfortably within the range where most banks will offer full financing without restrictions.
| Year | Lease remaining | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (now) | ~77 years | Full bank financing available |
| 2034 | ~69 years | CPF usage still unrestricted for most buyers |
| 2043 | ~59 years | Approaching 60-year threshold — CPF limits begin for some |
| 2063 | ~39 years | Significant financing restrictions for next buyer |
| 2103 | Expiry | Lease reverts to state |
For a buyer purchasing today with a 10-year horizon (exit around 2036), the lease situation is essentially a non-issue — you’d be selling a property with ~67 years remaining, which is still very bankable. The risk profile changes for longer holds.
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates EAST TREASURE across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Marine Terrace TEL changed everything about this address. We’ve been here since 2019 and the difference between pre-TEL and post-TEL is night and day — six minutes’ walk to the station, direct line to Orchard, no more buses. The block is small, the pool is small, but it works for us.”
— Long-term tenant on TEL impact via 99.co listings discussion
“Honest review — the lease is the issue. We loved the unit, loved the school catchment, but our mortgage broker walked us through the CPF pro-rated math and we couldn’t make it work for a 7-year hold. If you’re buying for 20+ years and you’re young, the math is different. For us it wasn’t.”
— Buyer who declined a unit citing lease decay via Stacked Homes reader discussion
“Telok Kurau Primary is a five-minute walk and CHIJ Katong is fifteen minutes. For families balloting Phase 2A or 2C, the catchment density here is genuinely best-in-class. We balloted successfully and the next ten years are sorted — we’ll worry about the lease when the kids are in secondary.”
— Family resident on school catchment outcome via EdgeProp community comments
Across community discussion, the recurring split is consistent: tenants and long-hold owner-occupiers view East Treasure as an efficiently priced, well-located asset with a school catchment and a TEL connection that justifies the entry; medium-term investor-buyers consistently flag the 75-year cliff as a deal-breaker once their mortgage broker walks them through the CPF and LTV math. There is very little middle ground — the lease either fits the holding period or it doesn’t, and the rental dataset depth (16 transactions on 19 units) suggests the let-out segment has already reached a stable equilibrium that is largely insulated from the resale-pricing question.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Marine Terrace MRT (Thomson-East Coast Line) at 430m — 6-minute walk, direct line to Orchard / CBD / Woodlands
- Multi-line MRT options: Marine Terrace TEL (430m), Marine Parade TEL (940m), Kembangan EW (1.29km), Eunos EW (1.44km)
- Six-school catchment within 1.4km: Telok Kurau Primary (470m), CIS-TK (1.10km), TKGS (1.11km), CHIJ Katong (1.19km), Broadrick (1.20km), Chung Cheng High (1.31km)
- Heritage Joo Chiat / Katong location — Peranakan shophouse conservation district, F&B cluster, 112 Katong, Parkway Parade
- East Coast Park 10–12 minutes walk south — island's longest contiguous beachfront recreation corridor
- Functional on-site amenity layer — swimming pool, children's playground, fitness corner, BBQ area, 24-hour security
- Boutique scale (19 units) — low-density living, neighbour familiarity, moderate maintenance fees (~S$300–450/mth)
- Varied unit mix — studio, 2BR, 3BR and penthouse layouts with private roof terraces (rare in current new launches)
- Rental dataset of 16 transactions averaging S$3,248 — credible income-yield underwriting anchor
- Materially lower entry PSF than the new-launch cohort (Grand Dunman / Tembusu Grand / Emerald of Katong)
- URGENT — 99-year leasehold with ~77 years remaining; the 75-year CPF / bank-financing cliff hits in roughly 2 years
- CPF pro-rated rule kicks in below 75 years remaining lease — restricts future buyer pool, especially older buyers
- Bank-loan LTV math tightens as remaining lease decays — compounds the resale-pricing drag year over year
- Zero resale caveats on record — no public price-discovery data; underwriting relies on asking prices and external valuation
- Mid-2000s finishes — units may benefit from S$50,000–120,000 refresh to maximise resale or premium-rental positioning
- 19-unit micro-boutique — extremely thin transaction turnover, very limited unit choice when buying
- Open-air fitness corner, no enclosed gym, no clubhouse — facility set is functional rather than aspirational
- Medium-term (5–10 year) holders will exit on the wrong side of the 75-year cliff — capital-gain thesis is structurally constrained
- En-bloc score 52/100 — possible long-term optionality but not part of base-case underwriting
Verdict
East Treasure is a niche product with a clear and time-sensitive thesis. On the positive side: a 6-minute walk to the new Marine Terrace TEL station, one of the strongest school clusters on the island (Telok Kurau Primary, CHIJ Katong, TKGS, Broadrick, Chung Cheng High, CIS), the Joo Chiat / Katong heritage lifestyle on the doorstep, a functional on-site amenity layer (pool, playground, fitness corner), and a price band materially below the new-launch cohort (Grand Dunman, Tembusu Grand, Emerald of Katong). The 16-transaction rental dataset clusters credibly around S$3,000/month, supporting an income-yield narrative.
The case against is shaped almost entirely by the lease. With approximately 77 years remaining and the 75-year CPF / bank-financing cliff arriving in roughly two years, every 5–10 year holder will exit on the wrong side of the cliff into a structurally smaller buyer pool. This is not a soft risk — it is a mechanical consequence of MAS and CPF rules. Buyers who can underwrite a 20+ year owner-occupier hold (and who place a premium on the school catchment, the new TEL access, and the heritage lifestyle) can rationalise the entry; buyers underwriting a medium-term capital-gain trade against the new-launch cohort almost certainly cannot.
The ShiokNest composite score of 64/100 reflects the balance: outstanding MRT access (8.5/10 — new TEL Marine Terrace at 430m), strong neighbourhood (8.5/10 — Joo Chiat / Katong / East Coast / six-school catchment), and solid unit layout (7.5/10 — mid-2000s boutique with penthouse variety) lift the score, while a moderate facilities score (5.5/10), a cautious value score (6.5/10), and a depressed lease score (6.5/10 — 77 years remaining with the 75-year cliff imminent) keep it from the upper range. The lease is the swing factor: at 99 years remaining this would be a 75–80 score; at 77 years remaining with a 2-year cliff, 64 is honest.