The Nassim
Overview & Key Facts
The Nassim occupies a whisper-quiet cul-de-sac off Nassim Hill in District 10 — an address that requires no further elaboration for Singapore’s property cognoscenti. With only 55 units spread across low-rise blocks set amid curated tropical landscaping, it is among the most discreet residential propositions in the entire city-state. In a market where most luxury condominiums compete on scale and spectacle, The Nassim competes on restraint.
The development sits within what is broadly termed the “embassy belt” — the arc of Nassim Road, Nassim Hill, and Nassim Rise where foreign embassies, high commissions, and diplomatic residences have occupied generous colonial-era land parcels for decades. The Nassim’s immediate neighbours include the Embassy of France and several other diplomatic missions, which accounts for both the exceptional security environment and the permanent preservation of the low-rise character of surrounding plots. High-rise development in this zone is effectively prohibited by URA’s planning parameters, meaning residents enjoy guaranteed unobstructed sky and greenery — a rarity at this price point anywhere in Singapore.
With an average transaction price of S$13.5 million per unit across recorded sales, The Nassim belongs to a very small cohort of Singapore strata developments where purchase decisions are driven not by yield mathematics but by the irreplaceable scarcity of the address itself. The buyer profile is predominantly C-suite executives, regional principal families, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals who require privacy, proximity to the Orchard belt’s international schools and medical facilities, and the prestige of an address that every Singapore-literate counterpart will immediately recognise.
Location & Connectivity
The Nassim’s location argument begins and ends with one number: 0.08 km to Napier MRT on the Thomson-East Coast Line. Eighty metres is not a “short walk” — it is effectively within the station’s entrance canopy. In practice, residents step out of their lobby, cross a short sheltered path, and are inside the paid zone of a modern, deep-level TEL station within two minutes. For an ultra-luxury development, this is an extraordinary connectivity coincidence: Napier TEL places residents two stops from Orchard (where the TEL intersects the North-South Line), and four stops from Stevens (interchange with the Downtown Line), opening up the entire network without a single transfer step in any direction that matters.
For drivers — and the majority of The Nassim’s residents do maintain at least one car — the address is no less compelling. Orchard Road is a two-minute drive. The CBD via Orchard Boulevard and CTE is under 15 minutes outside peak hours. The Botanic Gardens, Tanglin Club, and the Gleneagles-Camden medical corridor are all within a three-minute radius. Changi Airport via PIE is approximately 30 minutes in clear traffic conditions. There is essentially no destination in Singapore that cannot be reached from The Nassim in under 40 minutes by car.
The immediate precinct is defined by embassies, consulates, and lushly landscaped compound walls, which means The Nassim benefits from near-total absence of street-level retail noise. The nearest meaningful amenities are along Tanglin Road and Orchard Road — a short drive or a brisk 10-minute walk. Cold Storage at Nassim Hill Shophouses, the Tanglin Mall food court, and the full Orchard Road retail belt are within easy reach for daily errands. The Nassim is not a “walk to the kopitiam” address; it is an address built for those who have moved beyond that consideration.
Schools & Education
2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Methodist Girls' School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Methodist Girls' School (Primary) | primary | Within 1 km |
| Chatsworth International School (Orchard) | international | Within 1 km |
| Tanglin Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| ISS International School (Paterson) | international | Within 1 km |
| ISS International School (Preston) | international | Within 1 km |
| Nanyang Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Nanyang Girls' High School | secondary | ~1.2 km |
Facilities
Fifty-five units is a scale that permits something most large condominiums cannot deliver: the sensation that the facilities are genuinely yours alone. The Nassim’s amenity suite is calibrated to that scale — a full-length lap pool and resort pool, gymnasium, function pavilion, and landscaped garden terraces that never feel oversubscribed. The emphasis is on quality of materials and maintenance standards rather than sheer quantity of facilities. There is no indoor badminton dome or karaoke suite here; the positioning is the private club model rather than the mega-resort model.
The landscaping deserves particular mention. The grounds are maintained to a standard consistent with the surrounding diplomatic estates, with mature rain trees and tropical plantings that soften the boundary walls and create genuine green depth. Residents describe the compound as feeling more like a hill-station garden bungalow cluster than a condominium. At 55 units on what is a generously-sized land parcel relative to unit count, the plot ratio leaves room for this kind of spatial breathing. Maintenance fees reflect the labour-intensive standards of the address; this is not a development where owners optimise for monthly outgoings.
“You never see more than a handful of people at the pool or gym at any given time. The facilities are always pristine — it feels like a private estate, not a condominium. That is precisely what we paid for.”
— Resident review via EdgeProp
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 4 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $8,500,000 to $20,000,000, averaging $13,500,000.
Rents range from $13,250 to $65,000 per month across 52 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 1.9%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2022, the average PSF has appreciated by 17% (from $3,986 to $4,664 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
The nearest meaningful comparators within District 10 are developments with fundamentally different propositions. Skye at Holland (S$2,945 psf, 99-year, 666 units) and Hyll on Holland (S$2,648 psf, freehold, 319 units) offer more accessible price points with genuine Holland Road lifestyle credentials, but neither competes on the Nassim Hill address premium, the embassy-belt planning protection, or the MRT proximity of The Nassim. Leedon Green (S$2,784 psf, freehold, 638 units) is perhaps the closest philosophical peer on the freehold-luxury-low-density axis, but sits in a different sub-market near Farrer Road rather than the core embassy belt.
Fourth Avenue Residences (S$2,465 psf, 99-year) offers Sixth Avenue MRT adjacency but with a leasehold tenure at a PSF level roughly 47% below The Nassim — an entirely different buyer profile. The honest comparison for The Nassim is not with its District 10 condominium neighbours but with the handful of ultra-prime strata peers in Districts 9 and 10: Sculptura Ardmore, Les Maisons Nassim, Cuscaden Reserve, and 21 Angullia Park. In that peer set, The Nassim’s freehold tenure, 0.08 km MRT distance, and sub-100-unit scale are genuinely competitive advantages.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE NASSIM | Freehold | — | 55 | — |
| SKYE AT HOLLAND | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2025 | 666 | $2,945 |
| LEEDON GREEN | Freehold | 2021 | 638 | $2,784 |
| D'LEEDON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2010 | 2014 | 1,703 | $1,855 |
| 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 NASSIM across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“The address speaks for itself. We have lived in developments across Ardmore, Cuscaden, and now Nassim Hill — the quality of neighbour here is the most consistent we have experienced. There is an unspoken understanding among residents about discretion and quiet enjoyment.”
— Long-term owner-occupier, via PropertyGuru
“Napier MRT is genuinely at the doorstep — we use it for the school run to Chatsworth and for weekend trips to Orchard. I did not expect to use the MRT at this price point but the TEL has made it very practical. The station itself is beautifully designed and never crowded.”
— Resident review via EdgeProp
“My only reservation is the very limited transaction history — it makes refinancing conversations with bankers slightly more involved. But the asset has been rock-solid through every cycle I have held it through, and the embassy belt does not change. Location permanence is real here.”
— Investor-owner review via 99.co
The pattern across platform reviews is notably more uniform than for most residential developments — reflecting both the homogeneity of The Nassim’s buyer profile and the absence of the facility-booking frustrations, management turnover, or noise complaints that characterise reviews of mass-market condominiums. When residents do note concerns, they converge on two themes: the thin secondary market (few available units at any time, making re-entry after exit difficult) and the maintenance fees, which reflect the labour-intensive standard of a boutique ultra-luxury development rather than a volume-efficiency cost base.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure — full intergenerational asset permanence
- Napier TEL 0.08 km — closest private condo to any TEL station in Singapore
- Embassy belt address: Nassim Hill carries maximum Singapore residential prestige
- URA planning constraints protect the low-rise, green character of all surrounding plots
- Ultra-boutique scale: 55 units ensures genuine privacy and uncrowded facilities
- S$678 psf appreciation recorded across tracked period (~S$2M+ per 3,000 sqft unit)
- Robust institutional rental demand: S$25,501/month average from embassy/MNC tenants
- Methodist Girls' School (Primary) 0.34 km — elite primary school within walking distance
- Chatsworth International 0.45 km and ISS International 0.67 km for expatriate families
- Acoustic and visual separation from urban footfall — compound surrounded by diplomatic estates
- Ultra-illiquid secondary market: only 4 recorded sales transactions on file
- 1.85% gross yield — explicitly not a yield play; capital appreciation drives the case
- Maintenance fees calibrated to boutique ultra-luxury standard, not volume-efficiency
- No developer listing — strata corporation management; governance transparency varies
- Daily convenience retail requires a short drive — not a walk-to-kopitiam address
- Thin comparable transaction base complicates bank refinancing valuations
- Entry threshold (S$13M+ average) restricts buyer and tenant pool for eventual exit
- Limited unit release pipeline — re-entry after exit can be difficult given infrequent listings
Verdict
The Nassim is not a development that can be evaluated on conventional yield or PSF-momentum metrics, and any attempt to do so misses the point. At S$13.5 million average and a 1.85% gross yield, this is explicitly a capital-preservation and lifestyle asset in the same conceptual category as a Good Class Bungalow on Nassim Road itself — except it offers freehold tenure, an 80-metre walk to a TEL station, a maintenance team, and a physical footprint that suits a mobile international lifestyle rather than a permanent Singapore-based family requiring a garden.
The PSF appreciation trajectory tells its own story: S$3,986 psf moving to S$4,664 psf in the tracked period represents a S$678 psf uplift — which on a notional 3,000 sqft unit equates to S$2 million in additional value. This is not an asset class for buyers seeking 4–5% yields or monthly rental income benchmarks. The 52 rental transactions at S$25,501 average monthly confirm a robust institutional-grade rental market serving embassies, multinational executive relocations, and regional family offices — but the rental story is secondary to the ownership narrative.
The one genuine concern is illiquidity. With only 4 recorded sales transactions, price discovery at The Nassim is extremely thin. Comparable transactions may be months or years apart, and valuations rely heavily on distressed-comparable methodology from a very small reference set. For buyers who may need to liquidate within a five-year window, this illiquidity premium must be factored explicitly into the acquisition calculus. For buyers with a 10-year-plus horizon and the financial flexibility to hold through cycles, The Nassim represents one of the most defensible addresses in Singapore’s freehold residential market.