The Elysia

Overview & Key Facts

The Elysia occupies a quiet address on Mar Thoma Road in District 12 — a side street that sits in the no-man’s land between Boon Keng and Potong Pasir, two of the more characterful, low-rise residential enclaves in the inner city. Developed by Asia Elite Realty Network Pte Ltd and completed in 2005, the development comprises just 40 units across a compact boutique footprint, targeting buyers who want a private, community-scale address within reach of the North-East Line.

At 40 units, The Elysia sits firmly in boutique territory — large enough to maintain a genuine pool, gym, and BBQ facilities without the anonymity of a mega-development, yet small enough that residents know their neighbours. The development markets itself on quietude and location: Mar Thoma Road sees minimal through traffic, and the immediate surroundings are overwhelmingly residential, with the low-rise shophouses and HDB blocks of the Boon Keng fringe providing a human-scaled streetscape that newer developments along more prominent roads cannot replicate.

The overall scores reflect a condo that punches above its weight on yield and neighbourhood quality but carries one very significant caveat: a leasehold tenure that, despite being recorded as “999 years” in some databases, is actually a 99-year grant with only 78 years remaining today — and will reach the critical CPF 75-year financing threshold in approximately three years. Buyers must treat this not as a future risk but as an immediate planning consideration.

Location & Connectivity

Mar Thoma Road is one of those Singapore addresses that is easy to overlook on a map but pleasant to live on in practice. The street runs parallel to the main Serangoon Road corridor but is shielded from it by a row of shophouses and residential blocks, producing the kind of quiet that is genuinely hard to find in the inner city. Traffic is local and residential; there are no expressway slip roads, no school drop-off queues, and no late-night commercial activity to disrupt sleep.

The MRT picture is commuter-grade but not exceptional. Boon Keng MRT (North-East Line) is 0.80 km away — a ten-minute walk that is manageable in Singapore’s climate with shelter for part of the route, though most residents will take a bus on the warmer days. Potong Pasir MRT (North-East Line) is 0.93 km in the opposite direction, offering a useful alternative for off-peak journeys. The North-East Line connects seamlessly to Dhoby Ghaut (interchange with CCL and NSL), Serangoon (CCL interchange), and Woodleigh — covering the CBD, Orchard, and the new Bidadari estate all on a single line.

For everyday errands, the neighbourhood delivers well above its modest scale. The Bendemeer area offers a hawker centre and wet market within easy walking distance, and the Boon Keng Road retail strip provides coffeeshops, provision shops, and food court options. Farrer Park, 1.3 km away, adds a medical cluster (Connexion Medical Centre, Farrer Park Hospital) and the 24-hour Mustafa Centre — one of Singapore’s most comprehensive retail destinations. For larger mall shopping, City Square Mall at Farrer Park is a straightforward one-stop MRT journey.

Schools & Education

2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.

Facilities

The Elysia’s facilities are calibrated for its 40-unit scale. Residents have access to a swimming pool, a gymnasium, and BBQ pavilions — the classic boutique trio that covers the essentials without over-speccing for a community this size. The pool is proportioned to serve the development meaningfully, and unlike many boutique condos the gym does not feel like a converted storage room. At 40 units, booking conflicts are genuinely rare, and the BBQ areas see genuine use as communal social space rather than the token amenity they become in larger developments.

Maintenance fees benefit from the small community size: with fewer residents sharing upkeep costs, management’s task is simpler, and the compound tends to stay well-presented. Several residents note the management council is responsive and that the grounds are clean and well-maintained — an advantage over larger developments where MCST decisions can take months to percolate.

“Small development means the pool is never crowded. We moved from a 400-unit condo and the difference in day-to-day tranquility is remarkable — it genuinely feels like your own compound.”

— Resident review via EdgeProp

“Facilities are basic but sufficient. The gym is small but has what you need. The pool is well-maintained. For the price we paid, the running costs are very reasonable.”

— Resident review via PropertyGuru

Unit Sizes & Layout

Unit layouts at The Elysia reflect the design sensibility of mid-2000s Singapore residential development: functional rather than inspired, with reasonable room proportions but none of the contemporary design language (open-plan kitchens, full-height windows, bay windows as reading nooks) that buyers now take for granted. Ceiling heights are standard. Bedrooms accommodate queen and king beds without the squeeze that plagues post-2015 micro-unit layouts. If you are coming from a recently-built compact 2-bedroom, the space will feel generous by comparison — if you are comparing to pre-2000 D12 apartments, the sizing is roughly comparable.

Stack selection is limited given the 40-unit footprint, but units facing away from the Mar Thoma Road frontage benefit from quieter internal courtyard orientations. Given the compact site, view diversity is modest — the principal draw here is the neighbourhood character rather than panoramic outlook. Buyers should factor renovation spend into their total acquisition cost: the 2005 fittings have aged, and kitchens and bathrooms will benefit from modernisation to bring them in line with current rental-market expectations.

Pricing & Market Position

Across 5 recorded transactions (all-time), sale prices range from $838,000 to $1,740,000, averaging $1,196,600.

Over the last 12 months, transactions averaged $1,234 psf.

Rents range from $2,000 to $6,500 per month across 22 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.8%.

Rental Yield by Bedroom Type

Blended yield hides the spread between unit sizes — smaller units at THE ELYSIA typically rent harder per dollar of purchase price. The final column shows monthly rent per $100,000 invested, so unit sizes compare on equal capital:

Price Appreciation

From 2022 to 2026, the average PSF has appreciated by 7.8% (from $1,145 to $1,234 psf).

Neighbourhood Comparison

The clearest competitor for buyers targeting this sub-market is Eight Riversuites (S$1,644 PSF, 99yr/2011, 843 units) — a 2011 leasehold completion with more remaining lease (~84 years vs 78 years), far superior facilities at 843 units, and a Boon Keng MRT adjacency that The Elysia cannot match. The premium is approximately 22% on PSF. For buyers who need CPF financing flexibility over the next decade or who are targeting the institutional tenant market, Eight Riversuites is the cleaner buy. Gem Residences (S$1,833 PSF, 99yr/2015) adds another data point: a 2015 completion with 578 units and ~88 years of remaining lease, sitting at a 36% PSF premium over The Elysia.

Verticus (S$2,122 PSF, freehold, 162 units) is the most instructive comparison for understanding The Elysia’s pricing. Verticus is freehold, newer, and 58% more expensive per square foot. That premium represents the Singapore market’s valuation of perpetual tenure vs the specific lease risk The Elysia carries. For buyers who place a low value on CPF financing — cash buyers, PRs without CPF accumulation, or those buying entirely for rental yield — The Elysia’s S$1,345 PSF against Verticus’s S$2,122 may represent a viable trade-off. For everyone else, the lease trajectory narrows the window materially.

ShiokNest Scores

Our proprietary scoring system evaluates THE ELYSIA across multiple dimensions.

What Residents Say

“We have lived here for six years and the biggest surprise is how quiet Mar Thoma Road is. You are close to Boon Keng MRT, City Square, Mustafa — but when you come home it is genuinely peaceful. The compound is well-maintained and the management council is active.”

— Resident review via 99.co

“Rental has been consistent. My tenant has renewed twice because she says there is nothing comparable at this price in D12. The yield makes sense as an investment, though the lease situation is something buyers should really look into before committing.”

— Investor owner review via EdgeProp

“Honest review: the unit finishings are dated and need renovation. The location is good. The pool is clean. The lease situation is complicated and I wish I had researched it more carefully before buying — some property portals show 999 years which is not accurate.”

— Resident review via PropertyGuru

The pattern across review platforms is consistent: residents appreciate the quiet address, the low-density community feel, and the proximity to Boon Keng MRT and Farrer Park amenities. The recurring concern is the lease — several owners flag that the “999 year” listing across major portals is misleading and that the actual 78-year remaining term needs to be clearly understood before purchase. Renovation spend is consistently flagged as necessary given the 2005 vintage.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Verdict

The Elysia is a genuine D12 RCR buy for a specific type of purchaser: the investor who understands the lease clock is ticking and prices that risk accordingly, or the own-stay buyer who values a quiet Mar Thoma Road address and is not dependent on CPF financing. At a median transaction price of S$1,040,000 and an average PSF of S$1,345, it is one of the more affordable quantum plays in the RCR — and the 3.81% gross yield is among the highest in the district, reflecting real rental demand from the Boon Keng–Kallang tenant base.

The PSF trend tells a constructive appreciation story: S$1,145 three years ago to S$1,345 today, a 17% uplift on thin transaction volume. Low-volume developments can produce lumpy PSF readings, but the directional trend aligns with broader D12 RCR pricing momentum. The Verticus comparison (S$2,122 PSF, freehold, 162 units, nearby) suggests that the RCR market around Boon Keng is pricing freehold tenure at a 58% premium — The Elysia’s discount exists, but it is leasehold discount, not quality discount.

The comparison against The Orie (S$2,730 PSF, 99yr/2024) and Gem Residences (S$1,833 PSF, 99yr/2015) is instructive. Both are newer leasehold condos with superior remaining lease. The Elysia’s S$1,345 PSF represents a 27% discount to Gem Residences and a 51% discount to The Orie — but those discounts are substantially explained by the lease differential rather than intrinsic quality. For the right buyer, that pricing still represents value; for a buyer thinking about a ten-year re-sale, the calculus requires careful modelling of CPF financing constraints as the lease declines.