Suites At Bukit Timah

Overview & Key Facts

Suites at Bukit Timah is a compact freehold development by Fragrance Realty Pte Ltd — one of Singapore’s most prolific volume developers, with over 33 projects island-wide — tucked along Jalan Jurong Kechil in District 21’s Upper Bukit Timah enclave. Completed in 2015, the 74-unit development occupies a mixed-use footprint with residential apartments above ground-floor commercial shophouses, placing residents within 320 metres of Beauty World MRT station on the Downtown Line — a genuine walk-to-train convenience in one of Singapore’s most desirable greenery-adjacent corridors.

Fragrance Realty’s signature formula is evident here: maximise the land yield by mixing compact 1-bedroom units (from just 344 sqft) with a small number of larger 2- and 3-bedroom layouts, wrap it in a freehold tenure at a sub-$700k entry price, and plant it close to a transport node with a credible growth story. The formula has proven effective for the yield-oriented investor segment. With a gross yield of approximately 4.45% — among the stronger readings in District 21 — the numbers make a straightforward case to the landlord audience.

The freehold tenure is the single most differentiating factor in the D21 competitive set. In a district increasingly dominated by 99-year leasehold launches (The Reserve Residences, Nava Grove, Pinetree Hill) priced north of S$2,400 psf, Suites at Bukit Timah’s freehold status combined with an average transacting psf of S$1,869 represents a structural pricing gap that freehold-conscious buyers and investors continue to find compelling.

Location & Connectivity

The location anchors the entire investment thesis. At 0.32 km from Beauty World MRT (DT5) on the Downtown Line, most residents reach the station in three to four minutes on foot — a meaningfully different daily experience than the 800m-plus walks common at many District 21 condos. The Downtown Line connects directly to Botanic Gardens interchange (CC line), Newton interchange (NSL), Bugis interchange (EWL), and Bayfront interchange (CCL), allowing CBD commuters to reach Raffles Place in under 25 minutes without a transfer.

The broader Beauty World precinct is undergoing one of Singapore’s more ambitious neighbourhood transformations. URA’s master plan envisions a “green urban village” anchored by an integrated transport hub with ~700 residential units, 150 serviced apartments, 20,000 sqm of retail and offices, an air-conditioned bus interchange, a new market & hawker centre, indoor sports hall, and community library — all connected via underground link to the existing Beauty World MRT concourse. The Reserve Residences (launched 2023) at the corner of Jalan Anak Bukit and Upper Bukit Timah Road is the anchor catalyst project. For Suites at Bukit Timah, which sits within 350 metres of this activity node, the master plan represents a material neighbourhood upgrade already underway.

For drivers, the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) and Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) are accessible within five minutes, connecting to Orchard Road in 15–20 minutes and the CBD in under 30 minutes during off-peak hours. The Kranji Expressway (KJE) to Woodlands and the Causeway is similarly convenient. District 21 psf values rose approximately 28% over three years to 2025 — the second-steepest appreciation rate in Singapore — a signal of how the market is pricing in the precinct’s trajectory.

Schools & Education

Facilities

Suites at Bukit Timah is a compact development with a correspondingly focused facilities offering: a swimming pool, a fitness corner and gymnasium, a children’s playground, a BBQ pavilion, covered and open car parking, and 24-hour security. At 74 units in a single block, the facilities feel appropriately scaled — the pool is never crowded, and the gym caters to the working professional demographic that defines the tenant base here. There is no tennis court, clubhouse, or resort-style amenity layer, and buyers should set expectations accordingly.

The trade-off is the mixed-use street-level activation. Ground-floor commercial shophouses give the development a townhouse-like street presence and mean that residents can reach a coffee shop, convenience store, or food stall without leaving the block. The Beauty World area’s broader F&B scene — the original Beauty World hawker centre, the cluster of zi char restaurants along Cheong Chin Nam Road, and the cafes colonising the Hillview and Toh Yi Drive stretches — effectively extends the amenity footprint beyond what the on-site facilities suggest.

“Facilities are modest but perfectly functional for a single professional. What I didn’t expect is how much I use the food options right below the block. Beauty World area has some fantastic zi char and the hawker nearby is great for breakfast.”

— Resident review via PropertyGuru, 2024

Unit Sizes & Layout

The unit mix at Suites at Bukit Timah spans an unusually wide size range across 27 floor plan types: 1-bedroom units start at just 344 sqft and run to 431 sqft, while 2-bedroom units range from 893 to 1,066 sqft and 3-bedroom configurations reach up to 1,195 sqft. The smallest 1-bedroom units are firmly micro-apartment territory — comparable in footprint to a studio hotel room — and are primarily investor stock, generating rents of S$2,300–2,800/month against capital values around S$640,000–700,000. The larger 2- and 3-bedroom units offer genuinely liveable proportions and appeal to small families, expatriate tenants at the nearby Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and owner-occupiers who value freehold tenure in a green precinct.

The single-block configuration and the north-to-south orientation of Jalan Jurong Kechil means most units have a clear aspect — units on higher floors enjoy leafy views toward the Bukit Timah hill corridor rather than dense urban housing. Avoid the lowest floors on the street-facing side if noise from commercial activity and Jalan Jurong Kechil traffic is a concern; upper floors on the same stack are materially quieter and capture more of the greenery view premium.

Pricing & Market Position

Based on 10 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $635,000 to $1,038,888, averaging $752,489 (~$1,869 psf).

Rents range from $1,600 to $4,050 per month across 193 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 4.5%.

Price Appreciation

From 2021 to 2025, the average PSF has appreciated by 14% (from $1,640 to $1,869 psf).

Neighbourhood Comparison

The District 21 competitive field breaks into two distinct price tiers. The new-launch leasehold cluster — The Reserve Residences (~S$2,494 psf), Nava Grove (~S$2,487 psf), and Pinetree Hill (~S$2,485 psf) — offers fresher leases, resort-scale facilities, and developer-brand confidence, but at roughly S$600–700 psf premium over Suites at Bukit Timah and on 99-year tenure. Forett@Bukit Timah (~S$2,130 psf freehold) and KI Residences at Brookvale (~S$1,953 psf, 999-year) sit in the mid-tier, offering better facilities and larger unit counts at a psf premium. Against all of these, Suites at Bukit Timah trades at a roughly 20–55% psf discount — the price of a smaller developer brand, a compact facilities package, and a micro-apartment unit floor.

The honest comparison is this: Suites at Bukit Timah is not a lifestyle product competing with The Reserve Residences. It is a yield and tenure vehicle for investors who understand that freehold condos at sub-$700k entry, 320 metres from an MRT station, in a precinct with a documented government uplift narrative, are difficult to replicate in Singapore’s current land market. The URA master plan tailwind is the same for all D21 condos, but freehold owners capture 100% of any capital appreciation — there is no lease decay working against them over a 10–20 year hold.

ShiokNest Scores

Our proprietary scoring system evaluates SUITES AT BUKIT TIMAH across multiple dimensions.

What Residents Say

“The MRT distance is the main reason I chose this over other condos in the area. Three minutes on foot, and I can be anywhere on the Downtown Line. For a rental investment, the yield has been consistently above 4%, which beats most of my other Singapore property positions.”

— Investor landlord review via 99.co, 2025

“Location and freehold status are unbeatable at this price point. The 1-bedder is small, but the Beauty World food scene and the nature parks compensate. I do wish the gym was larger — it gets crowded with just a handful of people using it simultaneously.”

— Owner-occupier review via PropertyGuru, 2024

“Solid rental yield but the unit sizes on the 1-bedroom are genuinely small. Good for a single professional or couple without much clutter. The commercial units below bring foot traffic but also some noise on weekend evenings.”

— Resident review via EdgeProp, 2025

Strengths & Weaknesses

Verdict

Suites at Bukit Timah is a development that divides buyers cleanly by objective. For the yield-focused investor buying a compact freehold unit in a BTL (buy-to-let) strategy, it makes a well-structured case: freehold tenure at S$1,869 psf, 4.45% gross yield, 320 metres to an established DTL interchange, a stable tenant pool drawn from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, ACJC, and the area’s expatriate professional community, and a neighbourhood master plan that puts long-term capital value tailwinds behind the position. For this buyer, the compact unit size and modest facilities are irrelevant — tenants are paying for location and tenure, not the gym.

For the owner-occupier, the verdict is more nuanced. The smaller 1-bedroom units are functionally tight for full-time residence, but the 2- and 3-bedroom layouts offer a genuinely comfortable freehold home in one of Singapore’s most appealing green residential corridors, at a per-unit price roughly S$1.5–2m below what new-launch neighbours command. The Bukit Timah nature parks, park connectors, and the coming Beauty World precinct upgrade make the neighbourhood one of the more pleasant places to live in the mid-ring.

The key risk to flag is developer reputation and build quality. Fragrance Realty is a volume developer whose projects consistently prioritise land yield and unit count over architectural ambition or premium finish. Buyer and tenant reviews across platforms flag that specifications are functional rather than luxurious, and that some maintenance and finishing issues surfaced in earlier years post-TOP. Prospective buyers should inspect a unit carefully and budget for cosmetic refreshes if purchasing older stock. Compared to institutional-developer peers — CapitaLand, CDL, UOL — the finish expectation gap is real, though not unusual for this price tier.