The Amarelle
Overview & Key Facts
The Amarelle is a pocket-sized freehold development tucked along Lim Ah Woo Road, a short residential spur off Tanjong Katong Road in District 15. Completed in 2010 and developed by the boutique-scale ECCO Properties, the project is classic “shophouse-era” infill: just 60 units arranged over a compact hillside plot, sitting quietly between the Old Airport Road food belt, the Tanjong Katong conservation strip, and the Paya Lebar Quarter office cluster.
At 60 units, The Amarelle is squarely in boutique territory — a fraction of the size of nearby mega-launches like Grand Dunman (1,008 units) or Tembusu Grand (638 units). That scale translates to a single-block, low-rise silhouette, a compact but functional pool-and-gym deck, and the kind of resident familiarity that larger developments cannot replicate. There are no retail tenants, no multi-zone landscaping, and no resort-style amenity spread; the brief was clearly a well-sited freehold home, not a lifestyle statement.
The buyer profile reflects that. Transaction data shows a slow, steady resale cadence — 13 sales over the life of the development and a rental pool of nearly 100 leases — pointing to a mix of long-hold owner-occupiers and investor-landlords leasing to tenants working in Paya Lebar, the CBD, and the Kallang-Paya Lebar corridor. Median resale pricing sits around S$1.34 million and median rent near S$3,600/month, producing a gross yield of ~3.2%: respectable for a freehold boutique in the RCR, though not in the top tier of the district.
Location & Connectivity
Location is The Amarelle’s strongest and most under-appreciated card. Paya Lebar MRT — an interchange serving both the East-West Line and Circle Line — is roughly 510 metres away via Tanjong Katong Road, a flat 6–7 minute walk. That is genuinely walkable by Singapore standards and delivers direct rail access to Raffles Place, Bugis, Dhoby Ghaut, MacPherson, and the eastern heartland in a single transfer at most. Dakota MRT (CCL) is a secondary option at 660 m, and Tanjong Katong MRT on the new Thomson-East Coast Line sits 1 km south, giving residents a future third rail link toward Marina Bay and Orchard.
For drivers, the development sits within easy reach of three expressways. The PIE is a short spur via Paya Lebar Road, the KPE entrance is across Sims Avenue, and the ECP is accessible through Mountbatten Road — putting Changi Airport at 15 minutes, the CBD at 10–12 minutes off-peak, and the East Coast beaches at a similar distance. The flexibility of having multiple expressway options is a structural advantage of the Paya Lebar/Katong catchment.
Day-to-day convenience is handled by one of Singapore’s densest food and retail strips. Old Airport Road Food Centre — one of the most celebrated hawker centres on the island — is a 10-minute walk or 3-minute drive. Paya Lebar Quarter and SingPost Centre sit on top of the MRT station with FairPrice Finest, Kopitiam, cinemas, and an office-commuter F&B belt. Tanjong Katong Road itself is a walkable row of cafes, provision shops, and the long-standing Tanjong Katong Complex. Katong I12 and Parkway Parade are a short drive east.
Schools & Education
5 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kong Hwa School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Haig Girls' School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Geylang Methodist School (Secondary) | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Geylang Methodist School (Primary) | primary | Within 1 km |
| Tanjong Katong Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Tao Nan School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Broadrick Secondary School | secondary | ~1.0 km |
| EtonHouse International School (Broadrick) | international | ~1.0 km |
Facilities
Expect the facility deck to match the scale of the development, not the ambitions of a mega-condo. The Amarelle offers the boutique-standard set: a lap pool, a small sun deck, a compact gymnasium, BBQ pits, a function room, and landscaped walkways. There is no tennis court, no indoor sports hall, no kids’ waterplay, and no onsen — and at 60 units, that is exactly what buyers should expect. The upside of low density is that the pool is rarely crowded, the gym is effectively private, and BBQ pit booking is competitive but never lottery-grade.
“Quiet freehold, nice quiet street. The facilities are basic but the pool is almost never crowded — great for families who just want somewhere to swim without queueing. Don’t come here expecting a clubhouse.”
— Resident review via PropertyGuru
Maintenance fees scale with unit size and sit in the mid band for a boutique freehold — the 60-unit base has to amortise lift, pool, and security costs across fewer households, which is a structural feature of boutique living. Prospective buyers should budget on the higher side per-sqft relative to mega-condos, but accept that in return they get lower density, more parking headroom, and minimal facility contention.
Unit Sizes & Layout
The Amarelle’s unit mix skews toward compact two- and three-bedroom layouts typical of late-2000s boutique D15 projects — efficient, boxy, and designed around a central utility spine rather than extravagant balconies. Floor plates are modest compared to the generous 1,000+ sqft two-bedders of an earlier generation, but noticeably larger than the 600–650 sqft two-bedroom shoebox that became the market default after 2014. Most stacks enjoy either Lim Ah Woo Road or internal pool outlooks; blocks at the rear face the Tanjong Katong landed enclave, a view that is unlikely to be obstructed given the conservation character of the neighbouring plots.
Interior finishings are mid-market — solid, serviceable, and very much of their 2010 vintage. Many units have been refurbished by long-hold owners over the past decade, and resale shoppers will find meaningful variance in condition between “original” and “renovated” units. PSF in the last 12 months has averaged around S$1,748, with a clear uplift from the S$1,401 level recorded in earlier years — a trajectory consistent with broader District 15 appreciation rather than anything unit-specific.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 BR | 5 | $1,621 | $913,978 |
| 2 BR | 5 | $1,503 | $1,381,200 |
| 3 BR | 2 | $1,560 | $1,665,000 |
| 4 BR | 1 | $1,733 | $2,500,000 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 13 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $828,888 to $2,500,000, averaging $1,331,222 (~$1,748 psf).
Rents range from $1,900 to $6,500 per month across 97 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.2%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2025, the average PSF has appreciated by 24.8% (from $1,401 to $1,748 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
The peer set in District 15 splits cleanly along tenure and scale lines. Amongst leasehold mega-launches, Grand Dunman (S$2,537 psf, 99-year from 2022, 1,008 units) and Tembusu Grand (S$2,462 psf, 99-year, 638 units) sit at roughly a 40–45% premium psf over The Amarelle but offer modern unit efficiencies, resort-scale facilities, and immediate MRT adjacency at Dakota/Mountbatten. Emerald of Katong (S$2,640 psf) slots into the same camp further east.
On the freehold side, Amber Park (S$2,538 psf) and The Continuum (S$2,790 psf) command a substantial premium thanks to their larger scale, branded developers, and recent TOP dates. The Amarelle’s value case is not trying to compete with those — it is offering a freehold anchor at a fraction of the psf, at the cost of facility breadth and marketing cachet. For buyers who rank tenure and MRT walkability above clubhouse amenities, that trade is a reasonable one; for buyers who value scale, prestige, or strong resale velocity, a newer leasehold with a bigger unit base will likely make a better fit.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE AMARELLE | Freehold | 2010 | 60 | $1,748 |
| 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 | $2,462 |
| AMBER PARK | Freehold | 2021 | 592 | $2,544 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates THE AMARELLE across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Walk to Paya Lebar MRT in 6 minutes, three hawker centres within 15 minutes, and no crowds at the pool on weekends. For a small freehold in D15 it’s genuinely hard to beat on the fundamentals.”
— Resident review via EdgeProp
“Facilities are quite limited — basically just a pool and a small gym. If you’re comparing with bigger condos nearby you’ll feel the gap. But that’s the trade-off for the quieter environment.”
— Resident review via PropertyGuru
“Tanjong Katong Road can get busy during school hours because of Kong Hwa and Haig Girls’, so factor in that window. Otherwise, very peaceful freehold street.”
— Resident review via 99.co
The pattern across review platforms is consistent with what one would expect of a 60-unit freehold boutique: residents value the quiet, the walkability, and the freehold title; they flag limited facilities and light resale liquidity. Management feedback has been neutral-to-positive, with no significant defect or governance issues surfaced in public reviews. Overall, the resident sentiment is the textbook profile of a “settled” boutique — steady, uneventful, and unlikely to disappoint a buyer who knew what they were signing up for.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure in District 15 — rare and capital-preserving
- 6–7 minute walk (~510 m) to Paya Lebar MRT interchange (EWL + CCL)
- Inside 1 km of Kong Hwa School and Haig Girls' School
- Old Airport Road Food Centre within a 10-minute walk
- Paya Lebar Quarter, SingPost Centre, Katong I12 all within 10–15 min
- Access to PIE, KPE, and ECP — 10–15 min to CBD and Changi
- Low-density 60-unit boutique — quiet, uncrowded facilities
- Gross yield ~3.2% — respectable for freehold in RCR
- Median psf (S$1,748) materially below new-launch peers (S$2,400+)
- Rear stacks face landed enclave — view protection
- Limited facility deck — pool, gym, BBQ only (no tennis, no clubhouse)
- Thin resale liquidity — 60 units means long wait times on exit
- Interior finishings reflect 2010-era mid-market positioning
- Higher maintenance fees per sqft vs larger developments
- Tanjong Katong Road traffic during school drop-off hours
- No retail or F&B within the development
- Unit sizes smaller than freehold boutiques from earlier vintages
- Capital appreciation tracks D15 index — no outperformance catalyst
- Small unit count limits community facilities and events
Verdict
The Amarelle is a quietly attractive proposition for a specific buyer profile: someone who wants freehold tenure in District 15, values a walkable MRT interchange, and is willing to trade facility breadth for low density and a strong school catchment. At a median psf well below the S$2,400–S$2,790 levels commanded by new launches in the same sub-market (Grand Dunman, Tembusu Grand, Emerald of Katong, The Continuum), the entry price is a fraction of the cost — and the freehold title removes the lease-decay headwind that will increasingly weigh on leasehold comparables as they age.
The flip side is liquidity and headline appeal. With only 60 units and a rental pool under 100 leases, resale exits can take time — this is not a development you buy expecting to flip within three years. Capital appreciation has been solid but not spectacular, tracking the broader D15 index rather than leading it, and the absence of resort facilities means The Amarelle will never win a bidding war against a Grand Dunman on marketing glamour.
For a freehold own-stay buyer with a 10-year-plus horizon, a car, and a preference for value over prestige, the calculus is compelling. For an investor focused on tenant-pulling power and 5-year exit optionality, a newer leasehold in the same catchment may be the better trade. The honest verdict: a good home at a fair price, with little downside and modest upside — the boutique freehold equation in one sentence.