Emery Point

Overview & Key Facts

Emery Point occupies a quietly distinguished address on Ipoh Lane in District 15 — a slender freehold tower of 19 storeys and just 51 units, completed in 2003 by City Developments Limited (CDL), one of Singapore’s most respected and long-standing developers. In a neighbourhood defined by its old-Katong heritage, Peranakan shophouses, and the slow gentrification of the Joo Chiat corridor, Emery Point stands as a compact contemporary residential statement: resort-styled in design brief, uncompromising in its freehold tenure, and deliberately exclusive in scale. CDL’s hallmark attention to build quality is evident — the development was marketed on “cutting-edge designed units” with spacious layouts, abundant natural lighting, and resort-aesthetic facilities on a constrained but well-utilised site.

With 51 units across 19 floors, Emery Point belongs to a rare breed of boutique freehold condominiums that have all but disappeared from Singapore’s new-launch pipeline. Land scarcity and development economics make sub-100-unit freehold towers economically unviable for most developers today; the few that exist — and Emery Point is among them — command a structural scarcity premium in the secondary market. Transaction records show a clear upward trajectory: from approximately S$1,427 psf five years ago to a 12-month average of S$1,815 psf, a gain of roughly 28% over the period. The development’s profitability score of 82/100 on ShiokNest reflects this strong capital gains record among early buyers and continuing resale appreciation.

The buyer profile at Emery Point is specific: owner-occupiers who prize the inner-eastern freehold pedigree, the Katong lifestyle, and the proximity to the Haig Girls’ Primary catchment. Investors drawn by the 2.71% gross yield will find the numbers modest but respectable for a freehold boutique in this corridor — the real upside has historically been and continues to be capital appreciation, underpinned by the triple-MRT accessibility and the irreplaceable Haig Road school address.

Location & Connectivity

Ipoh Lane sits in the heart of old Katong — a micro-location with genuine character that no developer brochure can manufacture. East Coast Road’s Peranakan shophouse strip, the Joo Chiat Road dining belt, and the heritage terrace houses of Koon Seng Road are all within a 10–15 minute walk. The Marine Parade hawker centres (Marine Parade Central Market, Old Airport Road Food Centre at 1.5 km) serve the neighbourhood’s culinary appetite, while Katong Mall, Parkway Parade (2.0 km), and the i12 Katong mall (1.5 km) cover retail. East Coast Park — Singapore’s most popular coastal recreational corridor — is a 10-minute walk or 3-minute cycle via the connector along Still Road South.

The MRT story is one of Emery Point’s most compelling recent upgrades. The development sits at the nexus of three MRT lines within 1 km: Paya Lebar interchange (EW/CC, 0.73 km) provides direct access to both the East-West Line (Raffles Place in 9 minutes) and the Circle Line (one-stop to Dakota, or westward to Dhoby Ghaut); Tanjong Katong MRT (TEL, 0.85 km) on the Thomson–East Coast Line opened in 2023 and adds a direct one-seat ride to Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay, Stevens, and Woodlands; and Dakota MRT (CC, 0.88 km) completes the triangle. The arrival of the TEL at Tanjong Katong was a genuine value inflection point for properties along this corridor — buyers who entered before TEL commissioning have captured measurable appreciation linked to this infrastructure event.

Drivers benefit from fast ECP access (approximately 10 minutes to the CBD, 15–20 minutes to Changi Airport), a convenient entry that makes Emery Point practical even for those who do not rely on the MRT daily. The surrounding Katong neighbourhood has excellent bus connectivity along Mountbatten Road, East Coast Road, and Still Road.

Schools & Education

6 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.

Facilities

For a 51-unit boutique tower, Emery Point’s facility provision is deliberately curated rather than exhaustive. The development offers a swimming pool with bubble pool and water features, a poolfront function room, a BBQ terrace, a children’s playground, and a tennis court — all secured by 24-hour guarded access with covered car parking. The resort-aesthetic brief is evident in the pool landscaping and the low-density ratio: with 51 units sharing these facilities, booking contention is virtually non-existent. Weekend pool access is a genuine contrast to the queuing reality at 300-unit+ developments where weekend lanes are contested and BBQ pits require advance booking weeks ahead.

“The pool is never crowded — on most weekday evenings it feels like a private pool. That’s the thing about these small boutique CDL buildings; the facilities ratio is completely different from the mega-condos.”

— Resident review via PropertyGuru

The trade-off for boutique scale is the absence of a fully-equipped gymnasium, clubhouse function ballroom, or the multi-sport courts typical of developments three to four times the size. Residents seeking a comprehensive gym facility will need to supplement with nearby fitness options — the ActiveSG Geylang East Swimming Complex is under 1.5 km away, and multiple commercial gyms operate along the Paya Lebar commercial corridor. The tennis court is a genuine asset in this size category; many sub-100-unit developments in D15 omit it for land efficiency. Overall, the facilities package is appropriate and well-maintained for the boutique tier.

Pricing & Market Position

Based on 9 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $1,780,000 to $2,400,000, averaging $2,160,111 (~$1,815 psf).

Rents range from $2,700 to $7,000 per month across 25 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 2.7%.

Price Appreciation

From 2021 to 2026, the average PSF has appreciated by 28.5% (from $1,427 to $1,834 psf).

Neighbourhood Comparison

Within the D15 freehold landscape, Emery Point’s natural comparison set is the corridor of newer freehold launches: The Continuum (816 units, freehold, ~$2,790 psf), Amber Park (592 units, freehold, ~$2,538 psf), and the leasehold Grand Dunman (~$2,537 psf, 99-year) and Emerald of Katong (~$2,640 psf, 99-year). Against these benchmarks, Emery Point at ~$1,815 psf occupies a distinct value tier: the PSF discount of 35–54% vs new-launch freehold peers is real, but so is the vintage delta. Buyers choosing between Emery Point and a new-launch freehold peer are effectively choosing between a significantly renovated older CDL product at substantially lower quantum versus a brand-new unit with full modern amenities at full market price. For owner-occupiers with renovation appetite, the Emery Point arithmetic is compelling; for those seeking a turn-key lifestyle experience, the new-launch options deliver it at a premium.

The more direct competitor set may be other boutique 2000s-vintage freehold condos in the same radius: Mandarin Gardens and Laguna Park are larger leasehold estates and occupy a different tier; Amber Glades and similar sub-100-unit freehold towers along the Amber–Tanjong Katong corridor are the most direct structural comparables. Against those peers, Emery Point’s CDL pedigree, the 0.15 km Haig Girls’ proximity, and the triple-MRT coverage are differentiating factors that command a modest premium within the vintage tier. Stacked Homes’ D15 condo guide identifies the Katong–Ipoh Lane micro-cluster as one of the corridor’s most resilient sub-markets precisely because of the school and transport density.

ShiokNest Scores

Our proprietary scoring system evaluates EMERY POINT across multiple dimensions.

What Residents Say

“We moved here specifically for Haig Girls’ — it is literally a 2-minute walk from the gate. The fact that it’s a 51-unit CDL freehold and not one of those 300-unit mega-condos where you never know your neighbours was a bonus. We intend to stay indefinitely.”

— Resident review via PropertyGuru

“Three MRT lines within walking distance is genuinely useful. I take the TEL to Marina Bay for work and my husband uses Paya Lebar interchange for the EWL. The Tanjong Katong station opened and our commutes dropped by a combined 25 minutes a day. This area has only improved since we bought.”

— Resident review via 99.co

“The pool and tennis court are excellent because of the unit count — you rarely wait. The gym is missing, which is the main thing I’d flag for anyone considering this place. We use the ActiveSG gym nearby. The neighbourhood food scene — Joo Chiat, East Coast Road, Old Airport Road — is unmatched. That alone justifies living here.”

— Resident review via Singapore Expats

The consistent thread across resident sentiment reflects the boutique D15 freehold archetype: strong satisfaction with the school proximity and neighbourhood lifestyle quality, appreciation of the low-density facilities ratio, and candid acknowledgement of the absent gymnasium. Long average tenure among owner-occupiers — many of whom purchased to access the Haig Girls’ catchment and have since remained past their children’s school years — signals genuine lifestyle satisfaction and the “forever home” intent typical of the boutique freehold segment.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Verdict

Emery Point is a well-executed case study in why boutique freehold in the inner-east continues to attract informed buyers. CDL’s development pedigree, the genuinely generous unit sizes versus modern new-launch norms, the facilities-to-resident ratio, and — above all — the triple-MRT within 1 km and the Haig Girls’ Primary at 0.15 km form a combination that is effectively impossible to replicate today. The 51-unit scale imposes real constraints on facility breadth, and the 2.71% gross yield is unspectacular for pure income investors — but neither of these is the primary proposition. The value case is capital preservation and long-run appreciation in a freehold title that cannot be replicated, in a neighbourhood with deepening transit infrastructure and sustained owner-occupier demand.

The PSF trajectory tells the story clearly: from approximately S$1,427 psf five years ago to S$1,815 psf on the current 12-month average — a 27% appreciation against a broader D15 market that has itself re-rated strongly since the Tanjong Katong TEL commissioning in 2023. The ShiokNest profitability score of 82/100 confirms this pattern; the en-bloc score of 52/100 is credible for a 51-unit freehold plot in a prime D15 location, though any collective sale would require extraordinary owner alignment given the ownership structure of a boutique tower. Buyers should treat en-bloc potential as an option, not a certainty.

Against the surrounding new-launch competition — Grand Dunman ($2,537 psf), Emerald of Katong ($2,640 psf), and The Continuum ($2,790 psf, freehold) — Emery Point’s $1,815 psf represents a 35–54% PSF discount to new-launch pricing in the same corridor. This is in part a vintage discount (2003 build, original fittings in un-renovated units) and in part a recognition that new-launch buyers pay a premium for contemporary finishes and full lifestyle facilities. For buyers prepared to allocate renovation budget, the arithmetic of entering a 2003 CDL freehold at a significant PSF discount to new-launch neighbours, in the same school catchment and MRT coverage zone, is compelling.