Still Mansions
Overview & Key Facts
Still Mansions occupies a quiet stretch of Still Road in District 15, tucked between the established Tanjong Katong residential enclave and the Joo Chiat heritage corridor. It is, in almost every measurable sense, the smallest private condominium in Singapore’s resale market: a freehold development comprising exactly two units. No developer branding. No showflat experience. No waiting list. Just two homes sitting on a freehold land parcel in one of the island’s most sought-after east-coast neighbourhoods.
Developments of this size — sometimes called “strata landed” in character if not in legal classification — are a product of Singapore’s historical small-plot redevelopment cycle. A landowner subdivides and redevelops a former detached or semi-detached plot into two private residential units, retaining freehold tenure. The result is something that behaves more like a private house than a condominium: no MCST-managed facilities, no shared pool, no management committee elections, and an ownership community small enough to fit around a dining table. Still Mansions sits squarely in this niche.
With just five recorded sales transactions across its entire history and an average transacted price of approximately S$1.4 million, Still Mansions trades at a significant PSF discount to the major new-launch neighbours in D15 — Grand Dunman, Emerald of Katong, The Continuum — which ask S$2,461–$2,790 psf. The freehold tenure is the defining asset; the near-total absence of on-site facilities and the extreme thinness of the resale market are the defining liabilities.
Location & Connectivity
Still Road sits at the quieter inland edge of the Tanjong Katong–Joo Chiat corridor, a neighbourhood that has evolved into one of Singapore’s most liveable middle-class enclaves. The area is walkable in the truest sense: Katong Square, i12 Katong, and the Parkway Parade regional mall are all within a 15-minute walk. The Joo Chiat stretch of Peranakan shophouses — with its bakeries, hawker stalls, and independent cafes — is similarly close. East Coast Park, arguably Singapore’s most beloved recreational green space, is about 1.5 km away and reachable by bicycle or a short drive.
The MRT picture changed materially with the opening of the Thomson-East Coast Line. Marine Terrace MRT (TEL) is approximately 550 metres from Still Road — a brisk but walkable 7-minute journey. Marine Parade MRT (TEL) is 730 metres in the other direction. The TEL connects directly to the Orchard–Newton corridor, Marina Bay, and via interchange at Outram Park to the rest of the network. For a development that predates the TEL, this is a meaningful retroactive upgrade to its connectivity profile.
For drivers, the ECP is the primary expressway, offering a clear run to the CBD in under 20 minutes in off-peak conditions. Changi Airport is roughly 25 minutes away. The location is squarely car-friendly while also increasingly transit-friendly — a combination that defines much of D15’s ongoing premium over east-coast peers further from the TEL.
Schools & Education
2 primary schools 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 | Within 1 km |
| Tanjong Katong Girls' School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| CHIJ (Katong) Primary | primary | Within 1 km |
| Broadrick Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| EtonHouse International School (Broadrick) | international | Within 1 km |
| Tao Nan School | primary | ~1.2 km |
| Canossa Catholic Primary School | primary | ~1.3 km |
Facilities
There is almost nothing to say about facilities at Still Mansions, and that is not a criticism — it is simply the reality of a two-unit freehold development. There is no shared pool, no gymnasium, no BBQ pits, no function rooms, no tennis court, and no management office. Residents who want resort-style amenities are buying the wrong product. What Still Mansions offers instead is the closest approximation to landed-house living that private condominium ownership can provide: your own entrance, minimal shared walls, no lift lobbies, no neighbour noise from above, and no MCST fees eating into your monthly budget.
“It’s basically a house. I don’t pay maintenance fees for a gym I never use. I have my own front gate, my own space. For the price, it’s the best decision I’ve made.”
— Resident review via PropertyGuru
The trade-off is absolute and must be fully understood before purchase. Buyers accustomed to condominium living — the pool, the gym, the round-the-clock security patrol, the concierge — will find Still Mansions austere by comparison. East Coast Park, just over a kilometre away, serves as the de facto recreational green space for residents. The neighbourhood’s own amenity density (coffee shops, hawker centres, parks, the Katong retail strip) partially compensates for the absence of on-site facilities, but it does not substitute for them.
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 5 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $1,200,000 to $1,650,000, averaging $1,401,600.
Rents range from $2,200 to $5,600 per month across 20 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.4%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2024, the average PSF has appreciated by 37.5% (from $1,052 to $1,446 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
The honest comparison for Still Mansions is not with Grand Dunman or Emerald of Katong — those are fundamentally different products at 70–90% PSF premiums with institutional-scale facilities and active resale markets. The closer analogy is the cluster of other freehold boutique developments in D15 reviewed on ShiokNest: 77 @ East Coast, La Mariposa, and J@63. All three are freehold, all three are small (sub-100 units), and all three occupy the same D15 niche. The critical difference is unit count: at 2 units, Still Mansions is an order of magnitude more illiquid than even these small boutiques, which have 10–30+ units and correspondingly thicker resale markets. If the freehold D15 boutique thesis appeals, La Mariposa or J@63 offer the same tenure and neighbourhood at meaningfully better liquidity, albeit with less of the pseudo-landed character.
Against the new-launch D15 cohort, the comparison is starker still. The Continuum (freehold, 816 units, ~S$2,790 psf) is the natural freehold competitor: genuinely resort-scale facilities, a proper resale market, and a developer-backed ecosystem — at nearly double the PSF. Amber Park (freehold, 592 units, ~S$2,540 psf) offers SCDA-designed architecture and strong MRT access. For buyers who need freehold but also need liquidity, both are the rational choice. Still Mansions is for the buyer who has considered all of this and still prioritises the intimacy of a two-unit holding over everything else.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STILL MANSIONS | Freehold | — | 2 | — |
| 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 | $2,461 |
| AMBER PARK | Freehold | 2021 | 592 | $2,540 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates STILL MANSIONS across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Very private, very quiet. The neighbourhood has everything — food, schools, East Coast Park, now the MRT. I’ve lived here for eight years and I have no plans to move.”
— Long-term resident via EdgeProp
“Great for own-stay. Freehold in D15 at this price is almost impossible to find. But don’t buy if you need a pool or gym — there’s nothing here except the two units and the gate.”
— Buyer review via PropertyGuru
“Selling took a long time. The buyer pool for something this small is tiny. Priced it right and it moved eventually, but be patient.”
— Former owner via 99.co
The sentiment pattern across the handful of reviews that exist for Still Mansions is consistent: strong satisfaction among long-term own-stay residents who appreciate the quiet, the freehold tenure, and the neighbourhood quality, paired with candid warnings about the illiquidity and the absence of amenities. No one buys Still Mansions for the facilities or the MCST experience. They buy it because they want freehold land in D15 and are willing to trade market depth for it.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure — one of the best in class for long-term capital preservation
- District 15 address: Tanjong Katong/Joo Chiat/East Coast Park within reach
- Marine Terrace TEL MRT at 550m — significant connectivity upgrade post-opening
- Marine Parade TEL MRT at 730m — dual-station access to Thomson-East Coast Line
- Pseudo-landed ownership experience — minimal shared spaces, near-zero communal noise
- PSF at meaningful discount to D15 new-launch benchmarks (~S$1,446 vs S$2,461–$2,790)
- 3.43% gross yield — respectable return for freehold D15 asset
- Telok Kurau Primary and four other schools within 1 km (Canadian Intl, TKGS, CHIJ Katong, Broadrick)
- No MCST fees for facilities you may never use
- Strong 37% PSF appreciation trajectory over available data window
- Only 2 units in the entire development — extreme illiquidity risk
- Five total recorded sales transactions — resale market is effectively non-existent
- Zero on-site facilities: no pool, no gym, no security patrol, no concierge
- No active MCST — building maintenance is entirely owner-driven
- Investment score 39/100, ShiokNest score 29/100 — quantitative models penalise thin liquidity heavily
- Developer unknown — no brand equity or warranty ecosystem
- Pre-purchase structural survey strongly recommended given age and no active management
- En-bloc potential 34/100 — two-unit strata title makes collective sale almost impossible without 100% owner consensus
- Extremely limited comparable transaction data makes accurate valuation difficult
Verdict
Still Mansions is a deeply niche product that will appeal to a very specific buyer. If you want freehold tenure in District 15 at a meaningful PSF discount to the new-launch benchmarks, want a living experience that approximates landed-house ownership without the landed price tag, and genuinely do not need or want on-site facilities, Still Mansions delivers all three. The TEL connectivity has materially improved the investment case. The gross yield of 3.43% is respectable for a freehold asset. The neighbourhood — Tanjong Katong, Joo Chiat, East Coast Park — needs no introduction to Singapore buyers.
The counterargument is equally strong. Liquidity is essentially non-existent. The investment score of 39/100 and ShiokNest score of 29/100 reflect the analytical reality that thin trading volumes, the absence of comparable transactions, and the total lack of facilities drag the quantitative case down significantly. For an investor who needs to be able to exit in a defined window — three years, five years, ahead of a life event — this is the wrong product. The market for a two-unit freehold development is narrow even in a buoyant D15 environment. In a cooling market, it could be single-digit-buyer narrow.
The buyer for Still Mansions is essentially one of two profiles: a very long-term own-stay buyer who values the pseudo-landed experience and the freehold land component above liquidity and facilities, or a sophisticated investor willing to accept illiquidity risk in exchange for freehold tenure at a meaningful discount to the D15 mass-market. For anyone else, the new-launch neighbours — Grand Dunman, Emerald of Katong, The Continuum — offer far more conventional risk-adjusted propositions, albeit at a 70–90% PSF premium.