The Marque @ Irrawaddy
Overview & Key Facts
The Marque @ Irrawaddy is a 48-unit freehold condominium occupying a quiet residential pocket along Shan Road in District 12, positioned on the Novena–Toa Payoh fringe — a corridor that has quietly benefited from the growth of the Novena medical cluster and the broader RCR regeneration story. With no branded developer on the record and a boutique scale that limits both prestige and amenity depth, this development competes on a single, durable proposition: freehold tenure at a PSF that undercuts comparable leasehold alternatives in the same submarket.
At an average transacted PSF of S$1,635, The Marque @ Irrawaddy sits essentially at parity with Eight Riversuites (S$1,642 psf) — except Eight Riversuites is 99-year leasehold. Against Gem Residences at S$1,832 psf (also 99-year) and Trevista at S$1,698 psf (also 99-year), the freehold discount becomes increasingly tangible. For buyers who understand that freehold assets carry a structural re-sale and financing advantage over leasehold equivalents, this pricing anomaly is the entire investment case in a single number.
The gross yield of 3.04% — driven by average rents near S$3,918 per month at an average price of S$1.6 million — is modest by Singapore standards but consistent with what a mid-RCR freehold boutique should generate. This is not a yield play. It is a capital preservation and freehold-premium story, and buyers who approach it as such will be less likely to be disappointed by the modesty of the amenities.
Location & Connectivity
Shan Road sits in one of District 12’s quieter residential backwaters — a cul-de-sac-adjacent street that feels insulated from the surrounding arterial traffic despite its proximity to the Novena and Toa Payoh nodes. For buyers seeking a private, low-traffic residential environment within reasonable MRT reach of the CBD, this address delivers that combination without demanding a premium for it.
The MRT access picture is better than the walkability score of 50/100 suggests. Novena MRT (NSL) is 0.65 km away, and Toa Payoh MRT (NSL) is 0.76 km — two stations on the same North-South Line, both reachable within a 10–12 minute walk in fair conditions. Neither qualifies as doorstep access, and the walk along Shan Road and Irrawaddy Road is not sheltered for most of its length. Residents who are MRT-reliant will benefit from the dual-station optionality, but should be prepared to factor in the walk or a short bus hop. From Novena, the CBD is approximately 15 minutes by train with no interchange.
The Novena medical cluster is the defining neighbourhood feature: Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Novena, and Farrer Park Hospital are all within a 10–15 minute walk or short cab ride. For healthcare workers, medical residents, and hospital administrators, this proximity can decisively tip the location calculus in favour of Shan Road over comparable RCR addresses.
Day-to-day retail and F&B is covered by Velocity @ Novena Square and Square 2 at United Square, both accessible from Novena MRT. Closer to home, the Toa Payoh HDB town centre — with its hawker centre, wet market, and neighbourhood shops — is under 10 minutes by bus. The Novena neighbourhood has been steadily upgrading its retail and lifestyle offer over the past decade, and the corridor benefits from ongoing investment tied to the Health City Novena masterplan.
Schools within 1 km are a genuine selling point: CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace at 0.86 km and Beatty Secondary at 0.89 km are the closest, with New Town Primary (0.97 km), CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) (1.02 km), St Joseph’s Institution (1.08 km), and the School of Science and Technology (1.06 km) rounding out a surprisingly strong school belt for a boutique development on a side street. Families prioritising Catholic school access — particularly CHIJ and SJI — will find the address more compelling than the walkability score implies.
Schools & Education
2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace | primary | Within 1 km |
| Beatty Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| New Town Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) | secondary | ~1.0 km |
| School of Science and Technology | jc | ~1.1 km |
| St. Joseph's Institution | secondary | ~1.1 km |
| Balestier Hill Primary School | primary | ~1.3 km |
| Pei Chun Public School | primary | ~1.4 km |
Facilities
At 48 units, The Marque @ Irrawaddy offers the standard boutique facility set: a swimming pool, a gym, and shared landscaped grounds. There is no tennis court, no function room, no concierge, and no resort-style amenity layer. This is a development where the land area goes to residential units rather than to facilities, and buyers should calibrate expectations accordingly.
The practical consequence for owner-occupiers is that residents who want regular pool use, gym access, and a reasonably quiet environment will find the facilities sufficient. Those who place high value on facilities breadth — multiple pools, BBQ pavilions, sky decks, co-working spaces — will be underserved and are better directed toward larger RCR developments such as Eight Riversuites or Gem Residences at a higher price point.
Unit Sizes & Layout
Unit configuration details for The Marque @ Irrawaddy are consistent with RCR boutique developments from the same era: a modest range of 2- and 3-bedroom layouts designed for family occupancy rather than investment-optimised shoebox sizing. Floor plates in developments of this scale and vintage typically deliver reasonable natural light and cross-ventilation, particularly in units that face away from the road frontage.
The RCR buyer profile for a freehold boutique on Shan Road trends toward families and professionals who value the neighbourhood quality and school proximity over absolute unit size. Layouts are likely to offer functional separation between living and bedroom areas rather than the open-plan compression of post-2015 builds, which for families with school-age children represents a genuine liveability advantage.
Stack selection in a 48-unit development is relatively straightforward. Units oriented away from Shan Road toward the interior of the development will be quieter and may benefit from greener immediate views. West-facing units should be assessed for afternoon sun exposure, particularly in upper-floor units where solar heat gain is more pronounced.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 BR | 9 | $1,550 | $1,343,432 |
| 3 BR | 5 | $1,668 | $1,785,600 |
| 4 BR | 3 | $1,279 | $2,090,000 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 17 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $1,150,000 to $2,650,000, averaging $1,605,229 (~$1,635 psf).
Rents range from $2,500 to $5,800 per month across 52 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.0%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2025, the average PSF has appreciated by 22.6% (from $1,303 to $1,597 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
The Marque @ Irrawaddy’s competitive positioning is defined by the freehold-versus-leasehold PSF comparison. At S$1,635 psf freehold, it sits at a meaningful discount to most of the District 12 and RCR leasehold peers on a tenure-adjusted basis, and approximately at parity on a raw PSF basis. The most instructive comparison is Eight Riversuites at S$1,642 psf — a 843-unit 99-year leasehold development. On headline PSF, the two are nearly identical. Adjusting for tenure, The Marque @ Irrawaddy is structurally cheaper: a 99-year leasehold asset is a depreciating instrument, while a freehold asset is not.
Verticus at S$2,122 psf (freehold, 162 units) provides the clearest like-for-like benchmark: a newer freehold boutique in the same general D12 corridor. The S$487 psf premium Verticus commands over The Marque @ Irrawaddy reflects newer construction, presumably superior finishings, and likely better developer branding — but whether that premium is justified depends entirely on whether the buyer values those attributes over the lower entry cost of the older freehold alternative.
The Orie at S$2,730 psf (99-year, 2024 completion, 52 units) is a newer launch benchmark. Against The Marque @ Irrawaddy’s S$1,635 psf, the gap of S$1,095 psf on a leasehold versus freehold basis underscores why older freehold boutiques in the RCR continue to attract serious buyers who are comfortable with older finishings in exchange for tenure advantage and lower quantum.
- The Orie: S$2,730 psf — 99yr/2024, 52 units, newest benchmark in the corridor.
- Verticus: S$2,122 psf — freehold, 162 units, newer build with stronger developer positioning.
- Gem Residences: S$1,832 psf — 99yr/2015, 578 units, larger complex with full facilities.
- Trevista: S$1,698 psf — 99yr/2008, 590 units, mature leasehold with established community.
- Eight Riversuites: S$1,642 psf — 99yr, 843 units, near-identical PSF but leasehold tenure.
- The Marque @ Irrawaddy: S$1,635 psf — freehold, 48 units, quieter pocket, Novena fringe.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE MARQUE @ IRRAWADDY | Freehold | — | 48 | $1,635 |
| THE ORIE | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2025 | 52 | $2,730 |
| EIGHT RIVERSUITES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2011 | 2016 | 843 | $1,643 |
| GEM RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2015 | — | 578 | $1,838 |
| TREVISTA | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2008 | — | 590 | $1,702 |
| VERTICUS | Freehold | 2021 | 162 | $2,122 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates THE MARQUE @ IRRAWADDY across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
The Marque @ Irrawaddy’s boutique scale keeps its online review footprint limited. The feedback that does exist — across property forums and listing agent commentary — skews toward appreciation of the quiet residential environment, the school proximity, and the freehold status, with the primary reservation being the facilities modesty and the MRT walk distance.
“We chose this over Eight Riversuites specifically because it’s freehold. The price difference was minimal and we wanted something we could hold for the long term without watching a lease clock. Shan Road is genuinely peaceful.”
— Owner-occupier, via property forum
“My tenant works at Tan Tock Seng and renewed twice without negotiation. The Novena medical cluster demand is real — healthcare workers in this area are reliable tenants and they pay on time. Not the highest rent in the market, but very stable.”
— Investor-landlord, via online forum
The resident profile appears to split between families attracted by the school belt (CHIJ, SJI, Beatty Secondary) and investors running the Novena medical cluster rental thesis. Both groups report that the small development scale translates into a quiet, low-friction living environment where MCST issues are manageable and neighbour familiarity is higher than in large-scale complexes. The consistently cited negatives are the walk to the MRT and the limited nearby amenities — complaints that are inherent to the Shan Road location rather than to the development itself.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure at near-identical PSF to 99-year leasehold Eight Riversuites (S$1,642 psf)
- Two NSL stations within 800m — Novena 0.65km and Toa Payoh 0.76km
- Novena medical cluster within reach — strong tenant demand from healthcare professionals
- Strong school belt: CHIJ OLQP, SJI, Beatty Secondary, New Town Primary all within 1.1km
- Quiet residential pocket on Shan Road — low traffic, private atmosphere
- No lease depreciation risk — freehold asset suitable for multi-generational hold
- Boutique scale (48 units) means simpler MCST management and lower communal congestion
- 3.04% yield from stable Novena-adjacent tenant base
- Freehold discount vs. Verticus (S$2,122 psf) and The Orie (S$2,730 psf) provides entry headroom
- PSF pullback to S$1,597 represents reasonable re-entry point within long-run freehold appreciation arc
- No branded developer — boutique build quality requires independent due diligence
- Low walkability (50/100) — Shan Road lacks nearby hawker, supermarket, or convenience cluster
- Neither MRT is doorstep — 0.65km to Novena, 0.76km to Toa Payoh, no sheltered walkway
- Modest facilities: standard pool and gym only, no resort amenities
- PSF pullback from S$1,722 to S$1,597 — short-term capital performance uncertain
- 3.04% yield is unexciting — not a rental income maximisation play
- Very small development (48 units) — thin secondary market liquidity
- No branded developer presence means lower aspirational appeal to some buyer profiles
- Older finishings likely require renovation budget for own-stay buyers
- En-bloc score of 39 — limited collective sale optionality given boutique scale and freehold tenure
Verdict
The Marque @ Irrawaddy’s investment thesis rests on one durable fact: it is a freehold asset in the RCR corridor, transacting at approximately the same PSF as nearby leasehold alternatives. That pricing relationship — where freehold and 99-year leasehold are at near-parity — should not persist indefinitely. Freehold assets in Singapore’s RCR have historically commanded a 10–20% premium over leasehold equivalents on a PSF basis, and the fact that The Marque @ Irrawaddy is currently trading near Eight Riversuites’ leasehold PSF represents either a value opportunity or a market judgement about boutique quality and developer brand. Buyers who believe in the long-run freehold premium will find the entry point compelling; those who weight developer brand and facilities heavily may prefer the leasehold peers.
The 3.04% gross yield is honest but unexciting. This is not a development to buy for rental income maximisation — the price quantum of S$1.6 million places it in a bracket where rental returns are naturally suppressed relative to lower-quantum RCR assets. The rental demand from the Novena medical cluster provides a stable and relatively high-quality tenant base, which supports rental consistency if not rental yield.
The PSF pullback from S$1,722 to S$1,597 in the most recent transacted period warrants acknowledgement rather than alarm. This trajectory tracks closely with the broader RCR resale market normalisation following the 2022–2023 peak, and there is no project-specific reason to treat it as a signal of structural distress. Long-hold freehold buyers who are not dependent on near-term re-sale optionality should view the current price as a reasonable entry point within a multi-decade hold framework.
The walkability limitation at 50/100 is real. Shan Road is a quiet address, and the absence of a hawker centre, supermarket, or convenience cluster within a comfortable walk means car ownership or regular bus use is a practical necessity rather than a preference. Buyers who are fully car-free and MRT-reliant should stress-test their comfort with the 10–12 minute walk to either Novena or Toa Payoh station before committing.