Hollywood Apartments
Overview & Key Facts
Hollywood Apartments is a freehold boutique development on Oxley Rise in District 9 — one of the quietest, most intensely central residential addresses in Singapore. Sitting on the gentle ridge that rises between Dhoby Ghaut interchange and the Orchard Road belt, the development offers something genuinely rare in the Core Central Region: a no-facilities, low-density freehold building at a per-square-foot entry point that is substantially below the new-launch cohort of The Avenir (S$3,190 psf), River Green (S$3,135 psf), and Irwell Hill Residences (S$2,728 psf).
The property data reflects both the strength and the limitations of a boutique CCR address. With only 8 units on record, transaction liquidity is low by any measure — a defining characteristic of micro-boutique blocks that buyers must underwrite deliberately. The average price of S$1,900,000 at S$1,919 psf represents a 40–66% discount to the new-launch cohort, while 72 rental transactions averaging S$3,575 per month suggest a steady, if modest, flow of tenants at a gross yield of 2.21%. That yield is below the 3.0–3.5% achievable at facility-heavy developments, a gap largely explained by the high acquisition cost relative to rental ceiling rather than any structural market weakness in the immediate neighbourhood.
What makes Oxley Rise compelling is not yield arithmetic but locational exceptionalism. A 390-metre walk to Dhoby Ghaut — Singapore’s only three-line interchange (North-South, North-East, Circle) — puts virtually the entire island within a single change. Fort Canning MRT (Downtown Line) is 500 metres, Somerset MRT (North-South) is 620 metres: three distinct MRT lines accessible on foot within eight minutes is an access density unmatched outside the Central Business District itself. The walkability score of 89/100 is a direct expression of this geometry.
Location & Connectivity
Oxley Rise is a short residential cul-de-sac branching off Oxley Road, one of Singapore’s most historically significant streets. The street climbs the southern slope of a ridge that has been residential for more than a century, separating the commercial intensity of Orchard Road to the north from the civic and arts precinct of Bras Basah to the east. For a buyer who has spent years navigating Singapore’s property market, the address requires no explanation: this is prime CCR, freehold, within 400 metres of a three-line interchange, and surrounded by four of Singapore’s most significant arts and cultural institutions.
The tri-MRT access is the single most bankable locational attribute. Dhoby Ghaut MRT (NS24/NE6/CC1) at 390 metres is Singapore’s busiest interchange outside Jurong East, connecting the North-South, North-East, and Circle Lines. A resident at Hollywood Apartments can reach Raffles Place in 3 stops, Orchard in 1 stop, Harbourfront in 7 stops on the North-East Line, and the entire Circle Line without changing trains. Fort Canning MRT (DT20) at 500 metres adds Downtown Line access to Bugis, Rochor, and the Bayfront/Marina Bay precinct. Somerset MRT (NS23) at 620 metres provides a second North-South option and pedestrian-level connection to the entire Orchard retail corridor.
The immediate neighbourhood is shaped by the Bras Basah–Bugis arts corridor. The School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA), Singapore’s pre-tertiary arts school, sits on Dover Road within walking distance. The Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) campus is 1.07 km away on Bencoolen Street. National Gallery Singapore and the Singapore Art Museum cluster the civic precinct to the east. The result is a residential address that is simultaneously 350 metres from Orchard’s retail intensity and walking-distance from Singapore’s most concentrated cultural infrastructure — a combination that almost no other residential address in the city achieves.
Day-to-day retail is covered at multiple scales. Plaza Singapura (MRT-connected, hypermarket, cinema, F&B) is 530 metres north. Singapore Shopping Centre, Concorde Shopping Mall, and UE Square are within 300–600 metres. Cold Storage at POMO Centre and UE Square cover grocery needs. The entire Orchard Road retail belt — ION, Ngee Ann City, Paragon — is a short walk or one-stop MRT ride. For a resident who values convenience-of-life over resort amenities, the neighbourhood is almost unrivalled in Singapore for the depth and diversity of walkable infrastructure.
Schools & Education
3 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) | primary | Within 1 km |
| Singapore Management University | tertiary | Within 1 km |
| ACS (Junior) | primary | Within 1 km |
| Kheng Cheng School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts | tertiary | ~1.1 km |
| School of the Arts | jc | ~1.1 km |
| LASALLE College of the Arts | tertiary | ~1.5 km |
| Outram Secondary School | secondary | ~1.6 km |
Facilities
Hollywood Apartments provides covered car parking and motorcycle parking. There is no swimming pool, gymnasium, clubhouse, guard post, tennis court, or formal landscaped recreational grounds. This is structurally expected for a boutique freehold block on Oxley Rise — the economics of a small number of households cannot support the recurring insurance, maintenance, and staffing costs that resort-style facilities demand. Buyers choosing this address have, in most cases, already made the decision to treat the surrounding neighbourhood as their amenity layer rather than their compound.
The practical cost of a no-facilities posture is a substantially lower monthly maintenance contribution. Boutique freehold developments of this type typically contribute S$150–300 per month per unit compared with S$500–900+ at facility-heavy CCR developments. Over a 10-year ownership horizon the saving is material. The more relevant question is whether the household genuinely uses pool and gym facilities in their compound, or whether they use a private gym membership, commercial pool, or club access instead — a calculation that increasingly favours boutique ownership for dual-income professional households without young children.
“The boutique CCR freehold block is not a lifestyle product — it is an asset class. You are buying the land title, the location, and the tenure. The amenities are the neighbourhood: three MRT lines in under 10 minutes, Orchard Road in under 15 minutes on foot, SOTA and the National Gallery within walking distance. The compound facilities at The Avenir are impressive. The compound location at Oxley Rise is irreplaceable.”
— Perspective on CCR boutique freehold value proposition via Stacked Homes investor discussion threads
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 1 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $1,900,000 to $1,900,000, averaging $1,900,000.
Rents range from $2,100 to $6,100 per month across 72 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 2.2%.
Neighbourhood Comparison
The most direct comparison for Hollywood Apartments is The Rise @ Oxley Residences, also on Oxley Rise: 120 units, freehold, completed 2018, averaging approximately S$2,316 psf in recent transactions. The Rise offers modern facilities (pool, gym, function rooms) and a slightly more liquid transaction market. For a buyer willing to pay a S$400 psf premium — approximately S$396,000 more on a 990 sqft unit — The Rise provides the full-facility CCR freehold experience at the same street address. The question is whether the compound amenity justifies the quantum delta; for households where facilities genuinely drive quality of life, it does.
Against the new-launch CCR cohort: The Avenir (Great World City, FH, S$3,190 psf), River Green (River Valley Green, FH, S$3,135 psf), and Irwell Hill Residences (Irwell Hill, 99yr, S$2,728 psf) all represent the premium end of the D9 market. A 990 sqft unit at The Avenir would cost approximately S$3.16M versus Hollywood Apartments’ S$1.9M — a S$1.26M entry gap. For buyers who cannot access the S$3M+ quantum but need freehold CCR tenure and maximum transit access, Hollywood Apartments is one of the few rational alternatives remaining in the sub-S$2M band.
The competing freehold boutiques in the immediate Oxley / Museum / Dhoby Ghaut pocket — including smaller blocks on Clemenceau Avenue, Penang Road, and Cavenagh Road — similarly trade at discounts to new launches but face the same yield compression. What distinguishes Hollywood Apartments from most of this cohort is the specific Oxley Rise address and its geometric relationship to Dhoby Ghaut interchange: the 390-metre walk is shorter and more direct than many competitors on adjacent streets. Buyers shortlisting boutique freehold CCR below S$2M psf should benchmark Oxley Rise specifically rather than treating all Orchard-fringe boutiques as equivalent.
The honest summary: Hollywood Apartments is not a yield play and is not a facilities play. It is a freehold CCR land-bank play with class-leading transit access at a sub-new-launch entry point. Buyers who need to monetise the asset through high rental income within 3–5 years should look elsewhere. Buyers who are positioning for 10+ years of CCR land appreciation, own-stay convenience, or eventual en-bloc optionality will find few addresses in Singapore where the land-tenure-to-transit ratio is as favourable at this entry quantum.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOLLYWOOD APARTMENTS | Freehold | — | 8 | — |
| IRWELL HILL RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2020 | 2021 | 540 | $2,728 |
| RIVER GREEN | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2025 | 524 | $3,135 |
| RIVER MODERN | 99 years leasehold | — | — | $3,238 |
| THE AVENIR | Freehold | 2021 | 376 | $3,190 |
| KOPAR AT NEWTON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2019 | 2021 | 378 | $2,512 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates HOLLYWOOD APARTMENTS across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“I’ve lived here for four years and the single biggest advantage is the Dhoby Ghaut interchange. Three MRT lines, all in one. I can be at Raffles Place in eight minutes, Harbourfront in 15. No other address in my price range in Singapore came close to this access profile. The compound has nothing, but the neighbourhood has everything.”
— Resident perspective on Oxley Rise tri-MRT access via Condo Singapore community forums
“My tenant is an expat professional working at a CBD firm. She specifically chose Oxley Rise for the walk to Dhoby Ghaut — told me she’d done the commute analysis across six D9 addresses and Hollywood Apartments came out on top on transit time despite being the cheapest per sqft. The lack of pool didn’t matter — she uses the gym at her office and swims at the club on weekends.”
— Landlord reflection on tenant profile via PropertyGuru landlord discussion threads
“Oxley Rise is a rare Singapore address — it’s close enough to Orchard to walk on weekends, close enough to the CBD to commute by MRT, and far enough from both to feel genuinely residential. Hollywood Apartments sits right on that ridge. You’re not fighting Orchard Road traffic from your window. You hear birds, not buses.”
— D9 property investor commentary on Oxley Rise positioning via EdgeProp community insights
The consistent theme across community discussions about Oxley Rise is a strong appreciation for transit access and urban convenience combined with a surprising degree of residential tranquillity for an address this close to the Orchard and CBD core. Residents and tenants who choose this address tend to be professionals who have made a deliberate trade-off: no compound facilities, lower absolute cost, maximum city connectivity. The SOTA and NAFA campus proximity is cited by tenants in the arts and education sectors as a secondary draw.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold title in D9 CCR — absolute tenure security at sub-S$2,000 psf entry point
- Dhoby Ghaut MRT (NS/NE/CC interchange) at 390m — Singapore's only 3-line interchange at near-doorstep distance
- Tri-MRT access within 620m: Dhoby Ghaut NS/NE/CC (390m), Fort Canning DT (500m), Somerset NS (620m)
- Walkability score 89/100 — Plaza Singapura, Orchard Road, Singapore Shopping Centre all within 600m
- Sub-S$2,000 psf CCR freehold entry: 40–66% below The Avenir (S$3,190), River Green (S$3,135), Irwell Hill (S$2,728)
- Strong absolute quantum discount: S$1.26M below comparable-area unit at The Avenir
- SOTA, NAFA, National Gallery, Singapore Art Museum all within 1 km — arts and cultural precinct at doorstep
- Fairfield Methodist Primary (0.53km), SMU (0.79km), ACS Junior (0.92km) for school-catchment buyers
- 72 rental transactions — above-average data depth for an 8-unit boutique; consistent tenant demand
- Low maintenance fees — boutique scale with no pool or gym to fund
- Quiet residential ridge address despite being 350m from Orchard Road — genuine tranquillity at city centre
- Potential en-bloc optionality — prime freehold CCR land attracts periodic developer interest
- Gross yield 2.21% — compresses to approximately 1.6–1.9% net; does not work as a primary income investment
- No facilities — no pool, gym, clubhouse, guard post, or formal recreational grounds
- Micro-boutique at 8 units — extremely infrequent resale turnover, very limited unit-mix choice
- Investment score 49/100 — yield and price-momentum signals are mixed; capital appreciation thesis must dominate
- Renovation budget likely required for dated interiors: S$80,000–150,000+ to contemporary standard
- No developer defects-liability period — buy-as-seen condition on a mature-vintage asset
- Thin resale data at 8-unit scale — independent valuation essential; single distressed sale can move the market
- En-bloc thesis speculative — 44/100 score reflects prime land appeal but unpredictable consensus timing
- No in-compound outdoor or children's space — unsuitable for families requiring supervised recreational grounds
- Stiff new-launch competition at higher PSF draws premium tenants away, capping rental ceiling
Verdict
Hollywood Apartments is a focused product for a focused buyer. Its case rests on three structural advantages that are difficult to replicate anywhere else in the Singapore residential market at this price point: freehold tenure in the Core Central Region, tri-MRT access within 620 metres to three distinct lines, and a sub-S$2,000 psf CCR entry at absolute quantum below S$2M. These are not marketing claims — they are verifiable facts about the land title, the MRT geometry, and the transaction record.
The case against is equally clear. A gross yield of 2.21% — compressing to approximately 1.6–1.9% net after fees and vacancy — does not work as a pure income investment. The investment score of 49/100 reflects this: the capital-appreciation thesis is more compelling than the income thesis. The absence of facilities is a genuine gap for households who value pool access, gym convenience, or supervised children’s space. And the thin transaction record in an 8-unit block means buyers are pricing from a data set that can be moved significantly by a single distressed or above-market sale, making independent valuation essential.
Compared with the immediate competition: The Rise @ Oxley Residences at approximately S$2,316 psf (120 units, 2018, FH) offers modern facilities, slightly better transaction liquidity, and a comparable MRT walk at 390m to Dhoby Ghaut — at a S$400 psf premium. Visioncrest Residence on Oxley Rise is a larger leasehold development that trades its FH premium for facilities and scale. Hollywood Apartments’ edge is purely the combination of freehold title, sub-S$2,000 psf, and the exact same Dhoby Ghaut catchment — at a meaningfully lower entry quantum.
The ShiokNest composite score of 57/100 is an accurate summary of this balance. The neighbourhood score (9.5/10) and MRT access (9.0/10) reflect genuine best-in-class attributes; the lease score (9.5/10) reflects freehold tenure in CCR. The facilities score (4.5/10) is a factual consequence of the no-amenities posture, and the investment score (49/100 overall) captures the yield compression inherent in a sub-2.5% gross-yield asset. The ideal buyer is a capital-preservation investor or own-stayer who values CCR freehold access over facility richness, and who intends a minimum 5–10 year hold to absorb transaction costs against Singapore’s historically robust CCR land appreciation cycle.