The Peak
Overview & Key Facts
The Peak occupies one of Singapore's most coveted residential perches — a forested hilltop on Pepys Road in District 5, where the Telok Blangah ridge meets the Southern Ridges. Completed in 1988, this freehold enclave of just 20 oversized units has quietly aged into a jewel of the old-guard residential establishment: off the radar of mass-market buyers yet well known to the city-state's most discerning property families. Four-bedroom homes spanning roughly 4,300 to 5,500 sq ft are the norm here, and the median transaction price of $7.8 million speaks to the calibre of residents who call this address home.
The development is spread across four low-rise blocks of no more than three storeys, embedded within mature secondary forest and adjacent to the heritage battle site of Pasir Panjang inside Kent Ridge Park. From the upper floors and terraces, residents enjoy sweeping southward views across the strait towards Sentosa and Labrador Nature Reserve — a panorama of sea, sky, and greenery that is simply impossible to replicate in any newer development on flat land. In an era of 1,000-unit mega-projects, The Peak operates as the architectural antithesis: a hushed, private community where neighbours know one another by name.
For the right buyer — one who prizes absolute privacy, raw land area, and freehold tenure on a heritage address — The Peak represents a category of asset that Singapore has largely stopped building. Its low yield and modest transactional volume are not weaknesses; they are a direct consequence of the profile of its owners, who seldom sell, and when they do, are in no rush.
Location & Connectivity
Pepys Road is among Singapore's most exclusive residential streets, a narrow ridge-top lane that winds through the forested flanks of Telok Blangah Hill at elevations that feel removed from the city even when the CBD is just 15 minutes away by car. The address places residents immediately adjacent to Kent Ridge Park and the Southern Ridges trail network — arguably Singapore's finest urban nature corridor — with Labrador Nature Reserve and Labrador Park MRT just 1.3 km down the hill. The forested buffer is not incidental; it is structural, and long-term owners value it accordingly.
Day-to-day connectivity is straightforward for a car-owning household: the Ayer Rajah Expressway feeds directly onto the West Coast Highway, placing the CBD within a 15-minute drive and the one-north business cluster within 10. Pasir Panjang MRT (Circle Line, CC26) is the closest station at 0.57 km, though the steep gradient makes a walk challenging — most residents drive or take a short taxi ride. The Holland Village eating and lifestyle belt is under 8 minutes by car, and VivoCity is roughly the same distance in the opposite direction via West Coast Highway.
Families with school-age children benefit from proximity to Dulwich College Singapore (1.4 km), one of the city's most prestigious international schools, as well as easy access to NUS, NUH, and the one-north biomedical cluster. Alexandra Primary is the nearest national primary school at 1.35 km, and Queenstown Primary at 1.65 km provides a backup option within 2 km for primary school registration purposes.
Southern Ridges — A Backyard Like No Other
Residents of The Peak can access the Southern Ridges trail from the edge of the development — a 10 km nature corridor linking Kent Ridge Park, Hort Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park, and Mount Faber. The hilltop address means morning walks through secondary forest with city and sea views are a daily reality, not a weekend excursion. No other Singapore residential address offers this combination of ridge-top elevation, mature forest, and CBD proximity.
Schools & Education
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Alexandra Primary School | primary | ~1.4 km |
| Dulwich College (Singapore) | international | ~1.4 km |
| Queenstown Primary School | primary | ~1.7 km |
| Crescent Girls' School | secondary | ~1.7 km |
| Queensway Secondary School | secondary | ~1.8 km |
| Global Indian International School (GIIS Queenstown) | international | ~1.8 km |
Facilities
For a 1988 development of 20 units, The Peak provides a considered suite of communal amenities: a swimming pool, wading pool, jacuzzi, gymnasium, squash court, BBQ pits, function room, and covered car parking with 24-hour security guardhouse. The scale is appropriately intimate — these are not the sprawling facilities of a 500-unit resort condo, but private, uncrowded spaces used by a close-knit community of fewer than two dozen households. Maintenance standards have historically been high, reflecting the financial profile of the ownership base and the active management of the management corporation.
The development lacks some modern-era amenities now considered standard in new launches — there is no tennis court, no co-working lounge, no concierge service, and no EV charging bays in the original specification, though individual owners have made upgrades within their own units. Those seeking resort-hotel facilities should look elsewhere; those who value functional, well-maintained private spaces within a quiet, low-density setting will find The Peak's offering more than adequate.
The facilities at The Peak are a product of their era — practical, private, and immaculately kept. In a 20-unit development, the pool is always yours. That's a luxury no 1,000-unit condo can match at any price.
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 3 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $5,600,000 to $8,300,000, averaging $7,233,333.
Rents range from $8,800 to $18,000 per month across 12 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 1.7%.
Price Appreciation
From 2022 to 2024, the average PSF has appreciated by 17% (from $1,285 to $1,503 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
Buyers considering The Peak will inevitably encounter the large-scale leasehold projects clustered along the Clementi and West Coast corridor: Normanton Park (1,840 units, 99-year, $1,866 PSF), Parc Clematis (1,450 units, 99-year, $1,885 PSF), and the newer ELTA ($2,557 PSF, 2024) and Faber Residence ($2,156 PSF, 2025). These are structurally different products — high-density towers with resort facilities and strong rental demand — and the comparison should be made clearly: they are not substitutes for The Peak, but alternatives if the primary driver is yield, liquidity, or lifestyle amenity. A buyer choosing between Normanton Park and The Peak is not making a price-per-square-foot decision; they are choosing between two entirely different ways of living in Singapore.
The more meaningful peer set for The Peak is along the Pepys Road ridge itself — Pepys Hill Condominium and the handful of GCB-adjacent freehold sites in the same micromarket — and the broader category of established freehold enclaves in D5 and D10 with unit sizes above 4,000 sq ft. Against this set, The Peak's combination of freehold status, ridge-top elevation, proximity to the Southern Ridges, and sub-$1,600 PSF pricing represents genuine relative value. The trade-off is illiquidity: when you need to exit, you will wait for the right buyer.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE PEAK | Freehold | 1988 | 20 | — |
| LANDED HOUSING DEVELOPMENT | Freehold | 2021 | 156 | $1,842 |
| NORMANTON PARK | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2019 | 2021 | 1,840 | $1,866 |
| PARC CLEMATIS | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2019 | 2021 | 1,450 | $1,888 |
| ELTA | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2025 | 501 | $2,556 |
| FABER RESIDENCE | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2025 | 2025 | 399 | $2,158 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates THE PEAK across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
"We've lived here for twelve years and turned down three en-bloc offers. The moment you drive through the gate and the city noise drops away, you remember why. Nowhere else in Singapore gives you this — freehold, forested, and 15 minutes from Raffles Place."
— Long-term owner-occupier, resident since 2012
"The unit sizes are what drew us from a bungalow. We got more space, a pool downstairs, and we don't have to worry about garden maintenance the way we did with a landed property. The Southern Ridges trail is five minutes on foot — we're out there every weekend."
— Expat family, relocated from landed property in Upper Bukit Timah
"You don't really understand The Peak until you've stood on the terrace at dusk and watched the container ships moving through the strait below Labrador. It's a completely different experience of Singapore. The PSF sounds reasonable for what you get — the challenge is that it almost never comes to market."
— Property professional and former resident, D5 specialist
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure — permanent land ownership with no lease decay
- Pepys Road ridge address — one of Singapore's most prestigious and irreplaceable residential locations
- Exceptional unit sizes: 4,349–5,543 sq ft, among the largest in any Singapore condo outside super-prime districts
- Panoramic sea, city, and greenery views from upper units and terraces
- Immediate access to Southern Ridges trail network and Kent Ridge Park
- Ultra-low density (20 units) — private, uncrowded facilities and a genuine community feel
- Strong capital preservation record — freehold land on the Telok Blangah Hill ridge appreciates structurally over time
- Good MRT access for a hilltop address — Pasir Panjang CC26 at 0.57 km
- Proximity to Dulwich College Singapore, NUS, NUH, and one-north cluster
- En-bloc potential (61/100) — freehold hilltop site attractive to developers at the right price point
- Very low rental yield at 1.7% — not suitable as a yield-generating investment asset
- Extremely illiquid: fewer than one transaction per year on average, exit requires patient marketing
- Low walkability score (42/100) — steep hill makes day-to-day errands on foot impractical
- High absolute entry price ($7–11M) — narrows buyer pool to ultra-HNW segment
- 1988 vintage means significant renovation costs likely for incoming owners
- Limited modern amenities vs. new-launch peers (no concierge, no EV charging, no tennis court)
- MRT access requires descent from the hill — most residents are car-dependent
- Small development means any MCST disputes or renovation decisions require consensus among a very small group of owners
Verdict
The Peak is not a condo you buy for yield or liquidity. With a gross yield of just 1.7% and an average of less than one transaction per year, it operates entirely outside the logic of investment spreadsheets. What it offers instead is singular: freehold tenure on one of Singapore's last great hilltop residential addresses, 5,000 sq ft of genuine living space, a forest-and-sea outlook that cannot be replicated, and membership in a community small enough that your neighbours are friends rather than strangers. These are assets that do not depreciate.
For ultra-high-net-worth buyers seeking capital preservation in a tangible asset — particularly those with a family requiring multi-generational space, a home that accommodates entertaining at scale, or a preference for privacy that no new-launch project can provide — The Peak deserves serious consideration. The $1,500 PSF entry point for freehold D5 hilltop land, compared against leasehold mass-market projects in the same precinct trading above $1,800 PSF, reflects a relative value case that is unusually compelling on a per-square-foot basis, even if the absolute quantum ($7–11M) narrows the eligible buyer pool considerably.
The watch points are clear: walkability is limited, MRT access requires a car or rideshare for the steep descent, rental income will not service a large mortgage, and the 1988 vintage means modernisation costs are a real consideration for incoming owners. En-bloc potential at 61/100 is real for a 20-unit freehold site on prime Pepys Road ridge land, but collective agreement among high-net-worth owner-occupiers notoriously difficult to achieve. Buy here with a minimum five-year horizon and a lifestyle-first mindset.