Merawoods
Overview & Key Facts
Merawoods is a 305-unit condominium at 136–136C Hillview Avenue in District 23, completed in 1999 by CCL Properties (Hillview) Pte Ltd. It sits on a 999-year lease commencing from 1885 — one of Singapore’s colonial-era land grants that pre-dates the modern public housing era and is, for all practical purposes, treated as freehold by banks, CPF, and buyers alike. With roughly 859 years still remaining, the tenure concern that shadows so many Singapore condominiums simply does not exist at Merawoods.
The development comprises four 10-storey residential blocks arranged around a central facilities zone. At 305 units, it occupies a mid-size footprint that balances genuine community feel with a full facilities programme — swimming pool, gymnasium, tennis courts, BBQ areas, clubhouse, and landscaped grounds. Unit sizes are generous by Singapore standards, ranging from approximately 1,001 sqft for two-bedders to 3,907 sqft for the larger four-bedroom configurations, a reflection of the spatial norms that governed 1990s suburban condominium design before the era of shrinking floor plates arrived.
The Hillview corridor has been transformed by the opening of Hillview MRT station (DT3) on the Downtown Line, which placed a direct rail connection to the CBD within approximately 700 metres of the development. What was once a car-dependent enclave — pleasant but inconvenient without a vehicle — is now genuinely accessible for working households commuting to Marina Bay, Raffles Place, or Bugis. The DTL’s express run through Sixth Avenue and Newton puts the CBD within around 25–30 minutes from Hillview, a commute that would have seemed aspirational for this address a decade ago.
With an average transacted PSF of $1,355 overall and $1,483 in 2024–2025, Merawoods prices itself at a meaningful discount to newer launches along the Upper Bukit Timah corridor, while offering the nature access, greenery, and effective-freehold tenure that newer buyers find increasingly difficult to secure at any price in central Singapore districts.
Location & Connectivity
Merawoods occupies a leafy section of Hillview Avenue, a quiet residential road that winds through one of Singapore’s most distinctive low-density private housing enclaves. The Hillview and Dairy Farm area straddles the Upper Bukit Timah corridor — framed to the east by Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and to the west by the Dairy Farm Nature Park and Rail Corridor. This is a neighbourhood defined by mature tree cover, landed housing, and a pronounced sense of separation from the city’s density, making it a deliberate lifestyle choice for residents who prioritise greenery and quiet over walkable urban convenience.
Hillview MRT (DT3) on the Downtown Line is approximately 700 metres from the development — a 9-minute walk. The Downtown Line provides a single-interchange-free route to Botanic Gardens, Newton, Little India, Bugis, and Promenade, and connects to the Circle and North-South Lines at several interchange stations, giving residents flexible access to most of Singapore’s major employment and lifestyle destinations. Bukit Batok MRT (NS2) on the North-South Line is reachable by bus (service 177 or 963) as an alternative, offering connections north towards Yew Tee and Jurong East. For drivers, the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) are accessible within minutes.
Day-to-day retail is anchored by HillV2, the lifestyle mall immediately adjacent to Hillview MRT, which houses a Cold Storage supermarket, a cluster of F&B tenants including Joyden Canton Kitchen and several cafes, and a neighbourhood selection of personal services. The Rail Mall on Upper Bukit Timah Road — a heritage shophouse strip popular with cyclists and hikers finishing a Bukit Timah trail — provides an alternative dining and lifestyle precinct a short drive away. Beauty World Centre and the Upper Bukit Timah wet market serve as the more functional neighbourhood retail nodes, while Bukit Timah Plaza, Hillion Mall, and Lot One (Choa Chu Kang) are accessible for broader shopping.
Schools in the immediate area include Lianhua Primary School (within 1 km), Bukit Panjang Primary, and German European School Singapore at Dairy Farm. The Hillview cluster does not match the D15 density of schools-per-square-kilometre, but the proximity to respected primary schools and the international school option makes it serviceable for family buyers. The Hillview area’s population skews towards expatriate households and professionals, giving the neighbourhood a cosmopolitan residential character that the international school proximity both reflects and reinforces.
Schools & Education
2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bukit View Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Princess Elizabeth Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Huamin Primary School | primary | ~1.7 km |
Facilities
Merawoods offers a full facilities programme appropriate to its 305-unit scale and 1999 vintage. The development includes a swimming pool, gymnasium, tennis courts, BBQ pits, a clubhouse, children’s playground, and landscaped grounds, with 24-hour security and covered car parking. Four residential blocks are arranged to preserve sight-lines and greenery across the estate grounds, and the low-rise 10-storey profile gives the development a distinctly suburban, campus-like feel rather than the vertical density of newer high-rise condominiums.
The pool is the development’s most well-regarded communal asset. At 305 units, the resident-to-pool ratio is comfortable, and pool usage outside weekend peak hours is described by residents as unhurried and relaxed — a contrast to the competition for lane space in larger projects. The tennis courts are well-maintained and see active use, consistent with the active-lifestyle demographic that the Hillview-Bukit Timah belt attracts. The gym facilities reflect the construction era — functional cardio and basic weights equipment rather than the boutique fitness-style set-ups that newer condominiums advertise — though residents seeking more serious training have Bukit Batok ActiveSG SportsCentre and private gyms in the Hillview-Beauty World cluster as accessible alternatives.
“Despite being over 20 years old, Merawoods has excellent upkeep. The grounds are lush and well-maintained, the pool is kept clean, and management is responsive. One of the best-run large condos in the Hillview area.”
— Resident review via 99.co
The development is now 26 years old, and the honest assessment is that common-area finishings — lobby aesthetics, walkway surfaces, the gym fit-out — reflect their vintage. What stands out in the resident feedback, however, is the consistency of maintenance quality relative to developments of comparable age. This reflects both a professionally managed MCST and an owners’ community that has maintained active upkeep investment in the estate over more than two decades. For a 26-year-old condominium, the benchmark question is not whether it looks new but whether it is functional, safe, and well-run — and by that measure, the feedback for Merawoods is consistently positive.
Unit Sizes & Layout
Merawoods offers one of the more generous unit size ranges among D23 condominiums. The development provides 18 floor plan types across three bedroom categories: two-bedroom units from approximately 1,001–1,119 sqft (93–104 sqm), three-bedroom units from approximately 1,346–2,067 sqft (125–192 sqm), and four-bedroom configurations from approximately 1,938–3,907 sqft (180–375 sqm). These are meaningfully larger than the equivalent categories in new launches — a two-bedroom at Merawoods would comfortably exceed the floor area of a three-bedroom in a typical post-2015 project.
Transaction data confirms the bedroom composition in practice: the resale pool is dominated by three-bedroom units (average transacted PSF $1,331, average area 1,237 sqft) and four-to-five-bedroom configurations (average 1,475–2,054 sqft). Two-bedroom units change hands less frequently but attract steady rental interest at $3,275 per month on average, three-bedrooms command approximately $4,184 per month, and four-bedroom units achieve around $5,703 per month — reflecting the strong demand from larger expatriate and professional households in the Hillview corridor.
Unit layouts from this era reflect a 1990s Singapore suburban design sensibility: practical rectangular configurations with separated living and dining zones, full-length bedrooms with built-in wardrobe provision, utility rooms, and in larger units, multiple bathrooms and separate wet/dry kitchen designs. The enclosed kitchen configuration is typical of this era and suits families with serious cooking use. Ceiling heights are standard at approximately 2.7 metres. The absence of open-plan living is a design characteristic of vintage rather than a deficiency — many buyers in this price range consider the enclosed-kitchen and separated-room format functionally superior to the open-plan layouts marketed as features in newer, smaller units.
Given the development’s age, resale units are likely to carry either original finishings from the 1999 build or earlier renovation cycles that are themselves now 10–15 years old. Kitchens and bathrooms will typically benefit from updating, and buyers should budget $70,000–$120,000 for a comprehensive renovation of a three-bedroom unit to current standards — higher for larger configurations. The structural fabric of a well-maintained 1999 condominium is generally sound, and the CCL Properties build quality from this era carries no widespread structural concerns on record. Renovation costs at Merawoods should be treated as cosmetic modernisation rather than remediation of underlying defects.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 BR | 25 | $1,331 | $1,647,516 |
| 4 BR | 4 | $1,382 | $2,030,750 |
| 5 BR | 6 | $1,437 | $2,946,000 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 35 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $1,080,000 to $3,238,000, averaging $1,913,911 (~$1,512 psf).
Rents range from $2,000 to $7,000 per month across 220 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 2.3%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2026, the average PSF has appreciated by 30.8% (from $1,151 to $1,506 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
Merawoods’ most direct peer group within the Hillview corridor consists of same-era or nearby developments sharing the D23 address and Hillview Avenue character. The Linear at Hillview Rise (99-year, ~130 units, ~2014 TOP) is a newer, smaller-scale development with a fresh lease but significantly less unit space and a higher PSF than Merawoods at current pricing. For buyers who prioritise tenure longevity, Merawoods wins; for those who want newer finishings without renovation work, The Linear is the alternative. The Floravale (999-year, ~495 units) is a closer comparator on tenure — also 999-year leasehold, also Hillview-corridor — but with a larger unit count and different pricing profile.
Further along the Upper Bukit Timah corridor, The Reserve Residences at Beauty World (99-year, 732 units, 2028 expected TOP) represents the new-launch benchmark for this address cluster, transacting at $2,400+ PSF. Like all recent new launches, it offers a fresh 99-year lease, contemporary finishings, and a maximised facilities deck, but at a cost roughly 60% higher than Merawoods on a PSF basis. For buyers who can extend their budget and who do not prioritise the 999-year tenure, the new launch provides modernity; for buyers who want permanent tenure at a value price point, no new launch in D23 can compete with the Merawoods land-grant position.
Within D23 more broadly, The Hillier (99-year, 528 units) and Kingsford Hillview Peak (99-year, 512 units) represent the leasehold mid-tier in the area. Both are newer than Merawoods, with more contemporary facilities and finishings, but both carry depreciating 99-year leases. At similar or higher PSF levels to Merawoods, buyers are paying for newness while accepting an asset that begins the lease-decay clock from TOP date. Merawoods’ 999-year tenure, all else being equal, represents a fundamentally different risk-adjusted ownership proposition.
The clearest structural trade-off Merawoods offers is versus any freehold equivalent in the $1,300–$1,600 PSF range. Genuine freehold condominiums at this PSF in Singapore are essentially limited to older developments in fringe districts or leasehold conversions. For a 999-year leasehold at Merawoods, treated as freehold by all practical financing and CPF measures, the distinction between “freehold” and “999-year” is academic. Buyers who previously disqualified Merawoods as “leasehold” on database filters may be filtering incorrectly — the asset behaves as a permanent-tenure property in every practical dimension.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MERAWOODS | 999 yrs lease commencing from 1885 | 1999 | 305 | $1,512 |
| SOL ACRES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2014 | 2018 | 1,327 | $1,383 |
| MIDWOOD | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 564 | $1,731 |
| LUMINA GRAND | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2022 | 2024 | 512 | $1,515 |
| DAIRY FARM RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 460 | $1,659 |
| THE BOTANY AT DAIRY FARM | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2022 | 2023 | 386 | $2,053 |
Lease Decay Analysis
The 99-year lease runs from 1999, meaning approximately 27 years have already been consumed. Roughly 72 years remain — still comfortably within the range where most banks will offer full financing without restrictions.
| Year | Lease remaining | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (now) | ~72 years | Full bank financing available |
| 2029 | ~69 years | CPF usage still unrestricted for most buyers |
| 2038 | ~59 years | Approaching 60-year threshold — CPF limits begin for some |
| 2058 | ~39 years | Significant financing restrictions for next buyer |
| 2098 | 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 ~62 years remaining, which is still very bankable. The risk profile changes for longer holds.
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates MERAWOODS across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Best large condo development in the Hillview area. Despite being 20+ years old, Merawoods stands out with excellent upkeeping and very green, lush grounds. Management is very responsive and the community is friendly. The nature access — Bukit Timah is practically at the doorstep — is something no new launch can offer.”
— Resident review via 99.co
“Quiet and peaceful neighbourhood. Good for families who want space — the units are huge compared to what you get in newer condos. Hillview MRT has changed everything; we barely use the car for work now. Pool is well-maintained and almost never crowded.”
— Tenant review via PropertyGuru
“We bought Merawoods specifically for the 999-year tenure. At the price we paid, the land tenure alone justifies it. The kids love being close to Bukit Timah — we hike on weekends and the whole family gets proper outdoor time. Not for everyone but perfect for us.”
— Owner review via EdgeProp
“Older condo but extremely well-run MCST. The grounds are genuinely better maintained than most newer condos I’ve seen. 999-year lease means we can use full CPF and maximum loan. The expats in the block love the nearby trails. Good for both families and professionals.”
— Resident comment via SRX
The pattern across review sources is consistent: residents are strongly positive about the tenure security, space generosity, nature access, and estate maintenance quality. The recurrent theme is that Merawoods “punches above its age” — the physical estate is better presented than comparable developments from the same era due to sustained MCST investment. The opening of Hillview MRT is cited repeatedly as a quality-of-life inflection point. Criticisms, where they appear, relate to the limited walkable retail outside HillV2 and the dated interior finishings of older units — both predictable for a 1999 development and neither a structural concern. No recurring safety, structural, or management failure issues appear across the review base.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- 999-year lease from 1885 — effectively freehold; no lease decay risk, full CPF usage, maximum loan tenures at any future sale
- Direct access to nature: Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Dairy Farm Nature Park within 15-minute walk — irreplaceable amenity
- Hillview MRT (DT3) approximately 700m away — Downtown Line direct to Botanic Gardens, Newton, Bugis, Marina Bay
- Generous unit sizes (1,001–3,907 sqft) — larger than equivalent bedroom-count new launches in the area
- Strong PSF appreciation: $1,151 in 2021 to $1,513 in 2025 — 31.5% increase over four years
- Well-maintained estate: consistently praised resident feedback for MCST responsiveness and grounds upkeep
- Full facilities package: pool, tennis courts, gym, BBQ, clubhouse — practical coverage for 305-unit scale
- Nature-lifestyle demographic: quiet, established community with active-living character (hikers, cyclists, trail runners)
- Significant space-per-dollar advantage vs new launches — three-bedders average 1,237 sqft at ~$1,355 PSF
- HillV2 mall and Cold Storage within 10-minute walk of Hillview MRT for daily essentials
- Walkability score 43/100 — area is car-dependent for many daily errands beyond HillV2; not a walkable urban precinct
- Investment score 55/100 and gross yield ~2.97% — not a yield-optimised asset; rental returns are modest relative to price
- Development is 26 years old — kitchens, bathrooms, and common areas will need renovation budget ($70,000–$120,000 for 3BR)
- En-bloc score 37/100 — 999-year leasehold sites carry weaker developer incentive for collective sale than expiring 99yr leases
- Limited school catchment prestige — does not match D15 or D10 top-primary-school proximity clusters
- Neighbourhood retail is sparse outside HillV2 and Rail Mall — weekend car or taxi still needed for broader errands
- Bukit Batok/Hillview area lacks the café, dining, and nightlife density of D15, D10, or central districts
- CCL Properties (Hillview) is a relatively low-profile developer — less brand recognition than UOL, City Dev, or Far East Organization
- Shioknest score 42/100 — reflects walkability and yield constraints for a broad buyer audience
Verdict
Merawoods’ investment case is anchored by two structural advantages that are genuinely rare in Singapore’s resale market: effectively freehold tenure and direct nature access. The 999-year lease from 1885 removes the lease decay risk that depresses resale liquidity and CPF accessibility for 99-year leasehold peers. Banks price this correctly — there is no financing haircut, no CPF usage restriction, and no future horizon at which the asset becomes structurally harder to sell. For buyers who have been burned by or are wary of Singapore’s leasehold depreciation dynamic, Merawoods sidesteps the concern entirely.
Capital appreciation has been steady if not spectacular. PSF has risen from $1,151 in 2021 to $1,513 in 2025 — a 31.5% increase over four years. This outperforms the broader D23 market’s 2021–2025 trajectory and reflects the Hillview corridor’s re-rating following DTL connectivity and increasing interest in nature-proximate living. The investment score of 55/100 is moderate, constrained by a gross yield of around 2.97% at current prices and a walkability score of 43/100 reflecting the car-dependence outside the immediate HillV2 radius. This is not a rental yield play; it is a capital preservation and lifestyle-quality asset with a freehold equivalent tenure floor.
En-bloc probability sits at 37/100 — below average. The low score reflects the reality that 999-year leasehold sites carry less urgency for collective sale than developments with expiring 99-year leases. Developers acquiring a 999yr site at collective sale prices must still make the replacement development economics work without the narrative of “expiring lease” that accelerates consent. With 305 units, achieving the 80% owner consent threshold requires 244 agreeing owners, which is manageable by Singapore standards, but the developer premium incentive is weaker than at comparably-aged 99yr developments. En-bloc is a plausible scenario in a strong land market but should not be priced in as a driver of returns.
The primary trade-off at Merawoods is walkability and convenience. The surrounding Hillview area, while scenic and desirable, is not a walkable precinct in the Katong or Tiong Bahru sense. Grocery runs without a car require a bus or a walk to HillV2. The school catchment, while adequate, does not deliver the elite school proximity that drives the premium for D15 condominiums. For residents who rely entirely on public transport and demand urban-level convenience, Hillview requires adjustment. For those with a vehicle or who value green living over retail density, this is the point.
Merawoods is the right answer for a buyer asking: “How do I get effectively freehold tenure, generous unit sizes, direct nature access, and a DTL commute to the CBD — without paying the CCR freehold premium?” For families seeking space, greenery, and tenure permanence at a value D23 price point, it earns a strong recommendation. For yield-optimising investors or households that need dense urban walkability, the trade-off requires careful consideration.