The Asana
Overview & Key Facts
The Asana is a boutique freehold development at 17 and 19 Queen’s Road in District 10, tucked between the Botanic Gardens conservation belt and the Good Class Bungalow enclaves of Cornwall Gardens and Ridout. Completed in 2019 and developed by Aurum Land — the residential arm of Woh Hup Holdings and winner of Best Boutique Developer (Singapore) 2015 — it comprises just 48 units across two 5-storey blocks.
At a time when D10 is dominated by 600-to-1,700-unit mega-launches (D’Leedon, Leedon Green, Hyll on Holland), The Asana is a deliberate counterweight: a low-density, low-rise sanctuary with fewer than one neighbour per floor. The scale is intimate, the lift core is shared by only a handful of families, and the common areas retain a quiet, private-residence quality that mass-market developments cannot replicate at any price.
The proposition is not volume or marquee facilities — it is tenure, postcode, and privacy. Freehold land 450 metres from Botanic Gardens MRT, 500 metres from the UNESCO-listed Singapore Botanic Gardens, and inside the unrestricted-zoning perimeter that bankers, diplomats, and landed owners treat as Singapore’s most defensible core. For buyers who value scarcity over square footage, that positioning does most of the work.
Location & Connectivity
Queen’s Road is one of the quieter lanes inside the Bukit Timah–Tanglin wedge. Botanic Gardens MRT (DT9/CC19 interchange) sits 450 metres away — a genuine 6-minute walk via a shaded pavement — giving residents direct access to both the Downtown Line and the Circle Line without a transfer. Tan Kah Kee (DT8) is 630 metres the other direction, and Farrer Road (CC20) is 650 metres south, meaning three MRT stations are within walking distance. For a boutique freehold in D10, that is an unusually strong transit profile.
Drivers benefit from equally strong road geometry. The PIE is a 3-minute slip-road entry via Farrer Road, Orchard is 8 minutes via Napier or Holland Road, and the CBD is 15–18 minutes in off-peak traffic. Dunearn Road and Bukit Timah Road bracket the site, giving multiple escape routes at rush hour — a genuine advantage over developments wedged onto single-access arterial stretches.
Daily errands lean toward the premium end of the spectrum. Cold Storage and Jasons at Cluny Court, the Dempsey F&B enclave, and Holland Village are all within a 5-minute drive. The Singapore Botanic Gardens gate is a 7-minute walk, offering residents one of the city’s only UNESCO World Heritage parks as a de facto extension of the garden. For families, the Green Corridor and Rifle Range Nature Park are a short drive away.
Schools & Education
1 primary school within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| German European School Singapore | international | Within 1 km |
| Raffles Girls' Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| National Junior College | secondary | Within 1 km |
| National Junior College | jc | Within 1 km |
| Hollandse School | international | ~1.0 km |
| Nanyang Girls' High School | secondary | ~1.1 km |
| Chatsworth International School (Bukit Timah) | international | ~1.1 km |
| Nanyang Primary School | primary | ~1.3 km |
Facilities
At 48 units on two 5-storey blocks, The Asana cannot and does not try to match the facility breadth of its mega-launch neighbours. What it offers instead is a curated set of amenities designed for low-contention, high-quality use: a 50-metre lap pool, a children’s splash pool, a jacuzzi, a sky garden on the roof, a yoga pavilion, an indoor gym, a tea garden, the Garden of Light, a Serenity Lounge, and a function room. Every facility is bookable with near-zero waiting — the 48:1 resident-to-facility ratio is the point.
The 50-metre pool is the standout. Finding a full-length lap pool in a 48-unit boutique is rare in Singapore — most developments this size cap out at a 25m or even a splash-only configuration. Residents report being able to swim uninterrupted almost any evening. The rooftop sky garden offers skyline views toward Botanic Gardens and the Good Class Bungalow canopies, a quiet retreat that larger developments cannot replicate because their roofs are consumed by MEP plant.
The trade-offs are what you would expect at this scale. There is no tennis court, no function hall suitable for large parties, no clubhouse with billiards or karaoke, and no dedicated indoor sports facility. For buyers who see a condo primarily as a leisure resort, a 1,145-unit development like The Minton or a 638-unit Leedon Green will feel richer. For buyers who simply want an uncrowded pool at 7pm, The Asana will feel luxurious.
Unit Sizes & Layout
The unit mix is deliberately compact and investor-friendly. Type A 1-bedroom units begin at 398 sqft, with 2-bedroom configurations in the 600–800 sqft band and 3-bedroom stacks at 900–1,100 sqft. Penthouse units at the top of each block offer larger footprints with private roof terraces. Current resale pricing sits in the S$2,510–3,324 psf band, with recent-year PSF trending between $2,315 and $2,712 based on property data.
Layouts are efficient rather than generous — this is a boutique built for the D10 entry-price ceiling, not for families who need extensive walk-in storage or dual-key flexibility. Floor-to-ceiling glazing and full-width balconies are standard, which lift the perceived volume of the compact footprints considerably. Finishings are a meaningful step above mid-market: German kitchen appliances, imported bathroom fittings, and timber flooring in the bedrooms.
The most common buyer criticism — reflected in 99.co listing reviews — is that bedrooms in the smaller typologies feel tight, particularly the 398 sqft 1-bedders where the combined living-bedroom envelope leaves little room for reconfiguration. Buyers should visit the actual unit type before committing; showflat-only impressions can mislead at this size.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 BR | 2 | $2,597 | $1,034,444 |
| 1 BR | 8 | $2,413 | $1,456,236 |
| 3 BR | 1 | $2,235 | $2,310,000 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 11 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $988,888 to $2,310,000, averaging $1,457,161.
Rents range from $2,000 to $6,700 per month across 84 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.3%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2024, the average PSF has appreciated by 5.2% (from $2,315 to $2,435 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
Inside D10, The Asana competes on a different axis to its headline neighbours. Leedon Green (638 units, freehold, S$2,784 psf) offers comparable tenure with far richer facilities and larger unit types, but at a meaningful premium and with the mega-development feel that The Asana specifically avoids. Hyll on Holland (319 units, freehold, S$2,648 psf) is closer to Holland Village retail but further from an MRT. D’Leedon (1,703 units, 99-year from 2010, S$1,855 psf) offers ~35% lower entry psf but carries the leasehold clock and the density that mega-developments entail.
The cleanest way to frame the choice: buyers who want freehold + boutique privacy + MRT walk pick The Asana; buyers who want freehold + facilities + scale pick Leedon Green; buyers who want the lowest psf in the catchment and accept leasehold pick D’Leedon. Each is internally coherent — the question is which trade-off you weight most. For a 1- or 2-bedroom buyer focused on tenure and location rather than amenity depth, The Asana’s 48-unit scale is a feature, not a limitation.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE ASANA | Freehold | — | 48 | — |
| SKYE AT HOLLAND | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2025 | 666 | $2,946 |
| LEEDON GREEN | Freehold | 2021 | 638 | $2,785 |
| D'LEEDON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2010 | 2014 | 1,703 | $1,858 |
| 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 THE ASANA across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Nice environment and neighbourhood, very private and quiet. The pool is underused which is a genuine luxury in Singapore. But the rooms in the smaller units are tight — know what you are buying before you commit.”
— Resident review via PropertyGuru
“Walking distance to Botanic Gardens MRT and the actual gardens. For the location and freehold tenure this is hard to beat at the size. Just don’t expect a resort-style condo with lots of facilities.”
— Resident review via EdgeProp
The recurring themes across listing-portal reviews and broker commentary are consistent: residents genuinely enjoy the privacy and low contention on facilities, the MRT and Botanic Gardens proximity is universally praised, and Aurum Land’s build quality has held up well through the first 5–7 years post-TOP. Criticism clusters around unit size in the smaller typologies and the scarcity of large-scale amenities — both of which are structural features of the product rather than execution flaws.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure in premium D10 Botanic Gardens micro-location
- Genuine 6-minute walk to Botanic Gardens MRT (DT/CC interchange)
- Three MRT stations within 750m walking distance
- 48-unit boutique scale — near-zero contention on all facilities
- Raffles Girls' Primary School within 1 km (P1 priority catchment)
- German European School literally next door (0.07 km)
- 7-minute walk to UNESCO Singapore Botanic Gardens
- 50-metre lap pool — unusually generous for a 48-unit development
- Built by Aurum Land (Best Boutique Developer Singapore 2015)
- Surrounded by Good Class Bungalow enclaves — protected outlook
- Premium entry pricing (S$2,510–3,324 psf) — not a value play
- Compact unit sizes; 1-BR starts at 398 sqft
- Thin resale liquidity — only 48 units, few comparables
- Limited facilities vs mega-launches (no tennis, no clubhouse)
- Gross yield ~3.3% — respectable but not investor-grade
- Small function room unsuitable for large gatherings
- Low unit count means minimal anonymity from neighbours
- Road noise on front-facing stacks toward Queen's Road
Verdict
The Asana is a niche product with a clear buyer. If you want freehold tenure inside the Botanic Gardens MRT catchment, an RGPS-eligible postcode, a short walk to the UNESCO gardens, and the privacy of a 48-unit development — you will pay S$2,500+ psf for it, and this is the shortlist you will end up on. The alternatives at this price band are almost all 99-year leasehold (Leedon Green being the notable exception but at a 10%+ premium) or are in weaker micro-locations.
The honest caveats are two. First, this is not a value play — at S$2,500–3,300 psf you are paying full freight for the postcode and the tenure, and the gross yield at ~3.3% is respectable but not exciting. Second, the boutique scale means thin secondary-market liquidity — with only 48 units, resale comparables are sparse and transactions can take longer to close than in a 600-unit development. A sale listed at a stretch price may sit for months before the right buyer surfaces.
For own-stayers who intend to hold for 10–20 years, neither concern should be disqualifying — the freehold tenure compounds quietly, the MRT walk is genuinely short, and the neighbourhood is not going to degrade. For investors with a 5-year horizon, the combination of thin liquidity and full-priced entry makes this a harder case to underwrite; a larger development at lower psf will likely deliver better total return.