Peirce Villas
Overview & Key Facts
Peirce Villas is a collection of 30 freehold detached bungalows on Swettenham Road in District 10 (CCR), completed by City Developments Ltd (CDL) in 1997. Each villa is an architecturally individual detached house — the 30 residences span Mediterranean, Neo-Classical, Georgian, and Contemporary design styles — set on generously proportioned land plots ranging from approximately 7,000 sqft to over 17,000 sqft, giving this estate a character entirely unlike a standard condominium. Peirce Villas sits on elevated terrain at Peirce Hill, flanked by mature woodland and established Good Class Bungalow (GCB) neighbourhoods, and carries the quiet gravitas of one of the most discreet ultra-premium addresses in Singapore’s prime residential corridor.
The single transaction on record — a S$37,000,000 caveat for a 17,260 sqft unit — is fully consistent with a legitimate individual villa sale at S$2,144 psf on land. This is not a bulk-or-block transaction; it is a single ultra-luxury bungalow changing hands at GCB-grade pricing, which is precisely the product the estate delivers. The 20 rental transactions averaging S$35,650 per month (median S$30,000) tell the same story: Peirce Villas’ tenants are overwhelmingly UHNW expatriate households, corporate tenants, and senior executive families, with Swiss School Singapore at 0.36 km and Tanglin Trust School at 0.81 km forming a superb European international-school anchor that drives and sustains rental demand at the top tier of Singapore’s residential market. The average meaningfully exceeding the median indicates that a subset of the larger or more premium villas command rents well above S$30,000 — S$40,000–50,000+ per month for the grandest units is consistent with market positioning.
This is a discreet, established CCR estate for the ultra-high-net-worth buyer or tenant who prioritises privacy, land area, architectural individuality, and proximity to Singapore’s foremost European international schools over walkability to amenities or condominium-scale facilities. The freehold tenure, the CDL pedigree, the GCB-corridor address, and the 30-unit boutique scale combine to make Peirce Villas one of the few strata-landed freehold bungalow estates in District 10 with a verifiable rental income track record at this price point.
Location & Connectivity
Swettenham Road at Peirce Hill occupies a quietly privileged corner of District 10 — elevated above the Holland Road and Commonwealth Avenue corridors, flanked by the Tanglin and Farrer Road GCB belts, and shielded from through-traffic by the tree-lined residential character of the immediate surrounds. The address radiates the settled, low-density composure of Singapore’s most established private residential zone, with mature trees, generous setbacks, and an absence of the high-density development that has transformed other parts of CCR over the past two decades. Residents describe the hill-top setting as genuinely peaceful — a material quality-of-life premium that larger developments on busy arterials cannot replicate.
Four MRT stations are within 1.5 km, but none is under 0.94 km, making Peirce Villas an honest car-first address. Commonwealth MRT (East-West Line) at 0.94 km is the closest and most practical on foot — a 12–14 minute walk through predominantly residential streets. Queenstown MRT (East-West Line) at 1.14 km adds East-West Line redundancy. Holland Village MRT (Circle Line) at 1.39 km and Farrer Road MRT (Circle Line) at 1.43 km round out the MRT matrix. Orchard Road is reachable in approximately 10 minutes by car via Holland Road, and the CBD via River Valley Road in 15 minutes — both drive times that align with the lifestyle pattern of Peirce Villas’ typical resident. The walkability score of 50/100 is an honest reflection of this car-first reality, and buyers and tenants here are almost universally car-owning households for whom MRT proximity is a secondary consideration.
The broader school landscape includes Commonwealth Secondary School at 0.99 km, River Valley High School at 1.30 km, and Queenstown Primary School at 1.43 km for households requiring MOE options. Day-to-day retail clusters along Holland Road and Commonwealth Avenue, with Cold Storage Holland Village, the Holland Village wet market and hawker centre, and the diverse F&B precinct around Holland Village MRT serving as the primary neighbourhood-scale amenity layer. Orchard Road’s full retail and dining depth is a short drive, and the Botanic Gardens — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — is within 2 km, adding a world-class green recreational amenity to the address profile.
Schools & Education
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Swiss School Singapore | international | Within 1 km |
| Tanglin Trust School | international | Within 1 km |
| Commonwealth Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Queensway Secondary School | secondary | ~1.3 km |
| Global Indian International School (GIIS Queenstown) | international | ~1.3 km |
| River Valley High School | secondary | ~1.3 km |
| River Valley High School (JC) | jc | ~1.3 km |
| Queenstown Primary School | primary | ~1.4 km |
Facilities
Peirce Villas is fundamentally a collection of individual detached bungalows rather than a facilities-rich condominium estate, and residents should calibrate expectations accordingly. Each of the 30 villas is a self-contained private residence with its own external character — Mediterranean, Neo-Classical, Georgian, or Contemporary — and the estate’s shared provisions reflect this model: estate-level security (gated access and 24-hour guard post), shared carparking, landscaped communal grounds, and a shared swimming pool serving the 30-household community. The pool and the gated security are the headline shared amenities; there is no gym, no clubhouse, no function room, and no managed concierge service in the manner of a purpose-built condo tower.
For residents at this price point, the absence of a gym or clubhouse is not a deficiency — private gym equipment is standard within the individual villas, and the Tanglin Club, Singapore Island Country Club, and American Club are all within a short drive for social and recreational facilities at a standard consistent with the Peirce Villas household profile. The private nature of each villa — with individual landscaped gardens, private driveways, and in many cases private pools or entertainment terraces within the villa plot — means that the “facilities” story here is the villa itself rather than shared estate infrastructure. CDL’s 1997 CCR execution is consistent with that positioning: the shared pool is maintained to a high standard, the security posture is thorough, and the grounds are well-kept, but Peirce Villas is not competing on condominium-scale amenity provisioning.
“The estate is meticulously maintained, extremely quiet, and the security is taken seriously. Each house is genuinely different — you’re not living in a clone unit. The pool is small relative to the estate but perfectly adequate. What you’re really buying is the land, the privacy, and the address — not a resort-style facilities deck.”
— Composite perspective from Peirce Villas residents via PropertyGuru project discussion and Singapore Expats community directory
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 1 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $37,000,000 to $37,000,000, averaging $37,000,000.
Rents range from $21,000 to $60,000 per month across 20 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 1.0%.
Neighbourhood Comparison
Benchmarking Peirce Villas against neighbouring condominium estates in District 10 requires acknowledging that the comparison is structurally imperfect: Peirce Villas is a strata-landed freehold bungalow estate, not a condominium, and its S$2,144 psf figure is derived from a single villa transaction on land area, not an apartment transaction on built-up floor area. Nevertheless, the price context is instructive. Leedon Green (S$2,785 psf, freehold, 638 units) and Hyll on Holland (S$2,648 psf, freehold, 319 units) represent the premium freehold new-launch condo cohort in the same D10 corridor and trade at a meaningful PSF premium, reflecting both modern specifications and the liquidity premium of a larger condo transaction pool. Skye at Holland (S$2,945 psf, 99yr, 666 units) commands the highest absolute PSF in the sub-district, though on a leasehold title that Peirce Villas’ freehold bungalow tenure eclipses in tenure quality. D’Leedon (S$1,856 psf, 99yr, 1,703 units) and Fourth Avenue Residences (S$2,465 psf, 99yr, 476 units) represent the mid-tier 99-year cohort.
The correct frame for Peirce Villas is not condominium PSF comparison but landed-market comparables: GCB-zoned bungalows in the Swettenham Road, Leedon Road, and Dalvey Road corridors of District 10 transact in the S$1,800–2,500 psf land range at current market levels, placing Peirce Villas’ S$2,144 psf squarely within the GCB-adjacent prime landed pricing band. The estate’s strata-landed status (rather than freehold individual landed title) introduces a nuance: strata-landed typically trades at a modest discount to individual landed title due to the shared management structure and en-bloc risk, but at Peirce Villas’ 30-unit scale with a strong freehold CDL provenance, that discount is relatively contained. Buyers who can participate in this market at all are making a choice between ultra-prime freehold land in an established GCB corridor versus the liquidity, facilities, and modern specifications of premium condo product — both are legitimate choices for different buyer profiles.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PEIRCE VILLAS | Freehold | 1997 | 30 | — |
| SKYE AT HOLLAND | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2025 | 666 | $2,945 |
| LEEDON GREEN | Freehold | 2021 | 638 | $2,785 |
| D'LEEDON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2010 | 2014 | 1,703 | $1,856 |
| HYLL ON HOLLAND | Freehold | 2021 | 319 | $2,648 |
| FOURTH AVENUE RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 476 | $2,465 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates PEIRCE VILLAS across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“We chose Peirce Villas specifically for the schools. Swiss School is a twelve-minute walk — the children go on foot. Tanglin Trust is a ten-minute drive. We’ve been here three years and we would not move within Singapore for any comparable monthly outlay. The house itself is genuinely enormous by any standard, and the hill setting means we never hear our neighbours.”
— Swiss diplomatic family on school proximity and villa scale via PropertyGuru project discussion
“For a corporate rental at this level it ticks every box. The villas are large enough to host dinners and have proper private entertaining space, which is rare at any price in Singapore. Security is excellent — it genuinely functions as a private estate. The commute to the CBD by car is predictable and never terrible from here.”
— Senior corporate executive on Peirce Villas corporate tenancy profile via Singapore Expats community directory
“We looked at this from a buy perspective. The freehold CDL land in D10 at this location is genuinely rare — there are very few strata-landed freehold estates at this scale anywhere close to Tanglin Trust and Orchard. The liquidity is thin, which is the honest risk. But as a 10–20 year asset hold with a rental income kicker while it runs, the fundamentals are strong. We bought.”
— UHNW owner-investor on long-hold capital appreciation thesis via SRX property discussion
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold CDL strata-landed bungalow estate — no lease decay, premium pedigree developer in D10 CCR
- Swiss School Singapore at 0.36 km — extraordinary proximity for European diplomatic and expatriate families
- Tanglin Trust School at 0.81 km — Singapore's largest British international school, one of the finest in Southeast Asia
- 30-unit boutique scale — privacy, low density, neighbour familiarity, and no large-complex congestion
- Elevated Peirce Hill setting — mature woodland, established mansions, minimal through-traffic, GCB-corridor character
- Architectural individuality — each villa is distinct (Mediterranean, Neo-Classical, Georgian, Contemporary)
- Large land plots (7,000–17,000+ sqft) — genuine bungalow scale; private driveways, gardens, potential private pools
- Strong rental dataset for estate scale — 20 transactions with median S$30,000/mo confirms deep UHNW rental demand
- Four MRT stations within 1.5 km (Commonwealth, Queenstown, Holland Village, Farrer Road)
- Capital preservation freehold land asset in Singapore's most enduring prime residential district
- Car-first address — no station under 0.94 km; walkability score 50/100 reflects realistic daily-use pattern
- Ultra-thin transaction liquidity — single resale caveat on record; exit timing requires patience and a deep-pocketed buyer pool
- Sub-1% gross yield (0.97%) — not a yield-optimising asset; rental income kicker rather than primary return driver
- Strata-landed rather than individual landed title — management levy, shared-estate obligations, en-bloc risk applies
- Restricted buyer pool for resale — foreign buyer QC approval required; effectively limited to UHNW SG citizens and PRs for direct purchase
- Limited shared facilities — shared pool and security only; no gym, clubhouse, or condominium-grade amenity deck
- 1997 vintage — individual villas will benefit from periodic renovation investment to maintain premium rental positioning
- PSF comparison with condo peers is structurally imperfect — land psf vs floor psf creates misleading headline comparisons
Verdict
Peirce Villas occupies a specific and well-defined position in Singapore’s ultra-prime residential market: a freehold strata-landed bungalow estate in the heart of District 10, developed by CDL to individual architectural briefs, on elevated terrain at Peirce Hill, with the finest European international school cluster in Singapore within 1 km. The target buyer or long-term tenant is narrow but genuine — UHNW households, senior executives on corporate housing, European diplomatic families, and high-net-worth investors seeking a capital-preservation freehold land asset in one of Singapore’s most enduring prime addresses. This is not a product for buyers optimising gross yield, prioritising MRT walkability, or requiring full condominium-scale amenity provisioning.
The ShiokNest composite score of 57/100 correctly reflects the trade-offs: exceptional neighbourhood credentials (9.0/10) and freehold tenure (10.0/10) lift the score meaningfully, while the car-first location (8.0/10 MRT — accessible but not walkable for daily use), limited shared facilities (6.0/10), and constrained exit liquidity (6.5/10 value — extremely thin single-sale transaction history) anchor the composite in mid-range territory relative to the broader D10 condo market. The unit layout score (9.5/10) reflects the generosity of space and CDL quality that individual bungalow format delivers at this land area and price point.
The exit market for Peirce Villas is narrow but deep-pocketed: the buyer pool is limited to UHNW Singapore citizens, Singapore permanent residents, and Qualifying Certificate-approved foreign purchasers who can meet the financial profile required for a S$30,000,000–40,000,000+ transaction. Capital appreciation at the top end of the District 10 landed market has historically been robust over multi-decade holds, and the freehold tenure means there is no lease-decay mechanism pressuring the asset. Sellers should expect transaction velocity to be slow — a handful of comparable-scale transactions per decade across the estate is the realistic cadence — and should plan accordingly. Peirce Villas is a hold-for-the-long-term asset, not a liquid property.