The Sunflower
Overview & Key Facts
The Sunflower is a small freehold condominium at 10 Lorong 28 Geylang, tucked into one of District 14’s quieter residential corridors. Completed around 2000, the 8-storey development comprises just 16 units — all 3-bedroom layouts of approximately 1,658 sqft — giving it an intimate, boutique character that is increasingly rare in Singapore’s urban fabric. Its developer is unlisted, and the absence of marketing fanfare suits the building’s understated personality perfectly.
What The Sunflower lacks in facilities it more than compensates for in location quality. A walkability score of 85 out of 100 places it among the highest-scoring residential condominiums in D14, and the math backs that up: four MRT stations within 1 km, half a dozen schools within 1.2 km, and one of Singapore’s most celebrated food destinations right on the doorstep. For buyers who live on foot, it punches well above its size.
The freehold tenure is the anchor of the investment case. At an average PSF of S$1,410 over the past 12 months, The Sunflower offers perpetual land ownership at prices that undercut most 99-year leasehold peers in the same sub-market. PSF appreciation of 40% across the last three data periods — from S$1,006 to S$1,224 to S$1,410 — demonstrates that even a Geylang address cannot suppress genuine value when the fundamentals are sound. The gross yield of 2.68% is modest, but the rental pool of 20 transactions annually for a 16-unit building is a quietly impressive occupancy story.
Location & Connectivity
Lorong 28 Geylang occupies a specific niche within the broader Geylang district that is worth understanding clearly. The well-known entertainment activity in Geylang is concentrated in the even-numbered lorongs between Lorong 4 and Lorong 26 — The Sunflower sits at Lorong 28, in the transitional zone where the character of the neighbourhood shifts noticeably toward churches, schools, and quiet residential blocks. Geylang Church of Christ sits at Lorong 27A, directly opposite. Geylang Methodist Primary and Secondary Schools are 0.11 km and 0.27 km away respectively. The street ambience at Lorong 28 is distinctly domestic rather than commercial.
The MRT access story is exceptional for the price point. Aljunied MRT on the East-West Line is 0.44 km away — a genuine walk, not a stretch. Dakota MRT on the Circle Line is 0.65 km. Mountbatten MRT (also Circle Line) is 0.87 km. Paya Lebar interchange, serving both EW and CC lines, is 0.99 km. This four-station spread means residents have direct access to the CBD via EW without a transfer, and excellent cross-island connectivity via the Circle Line — a combination that very few D14 condominiums below S$2,000 psf can claim.
For everyday needs, the immediate vicinity covers most bases without a car. Geylang Road is lined with provision shops, medical clinics, and the kind of hawker density that draws food bloggers from across Singapore. City Plaza at Geylang Road (0.9 km), Paya Lebar Quarter (0.92 km), Paya Lebar Square (1.0 km), and Kinex (1.02 km) add a mall retail dimension within a short ride. Geylang Polyclinic, Parkway East Hospital, and Raffles Hospital are all accessible without a car.
The Geylang food scene is a genuine lifestyle asset that deserves more than a footnote. Within a 10-minute walk, residents have access to Swee Guan Hokkien Mee, Eng Nam Braised Duck Rice, durian stalls at their freshest, Johnson Duck, Wattana Thai, and an entire street-level food culture that no mall food court can replicate. For households that eat out regularly, this is a meaningful quality-of-life dividend.
Schools & Education
2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Geylang Methodist School (Primary) | primary | Within 1 km |
| Geylang Methodist School (Secondary) | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Kong Hwa School | primary | Within 1 km |
| One World International School (Mountbatten) | international | Within 1 km |
| Haig Girls' School | primary | ~1.2 km |
| Macpherson Primary School | primary | ~1.5 km |
| Tanjong Katong Primary School | primary | ~1.5 km |
| Tao Nan School | primary | ~1.6 km |
Facilities
The Sunflower is a boutique development and its facilities reflect that honestly. With just 16 units across 8 storeys, the building provides the fundamentals expected of a condominium — 24-hour security, covered car parking, and professionally managed common areas — rather than the resort-style amenity clusters of larger developments. There is no swimming pool, gym, or clubhouse on record. Buyers who prioritise in-compound leisure facilities should weigh this against the development’s location advantages, which effectively outsource recreation to the neighbourhood: East Coast Park is a short ride away for jogging and cycling, the Kallang Riverside Park connector is accessible, and commercial gyms and public pools in the vicinity are plentiful.
“For a 16-unit freehold in D14 with four MRT stations within 1 km, the absence of a pool is a deliberate trade-off — you pay for land and tenure, not for amenities you can find within walking distance at a fraction of the maintenance cost.”
— Perspective shared across property forums on boutique freehold condos in Geylang
The practical upside of a facility-light building is a lower maintenance fee per unit, which is a recurring benefit that compounds over a long holding period. Owners in large-facility condos sometimes find themselves subsidising amenities they rarely use; at The Sunflower, the maintenance burden is proportionate to what the development actually provides. The 16-unit scale also means strata management decisions are made quickly and with full owner participation — a meaningful governance advantage over 300- or 1,000-unit developments where AGMs can be contentious and slow.
Unit Sizes & Layout
The Sunflower offers a single unit type: 3-bedroom apartments of approximately 1,658 sqft (154 sqm), spread across 16 units in an 8-storey block. This homogeneity is unusual and has practical benefits — there are no “bad” unit types, no investor-grade 1-bedrooms driving tenant churn, and a naturally stable owner-occupier demographic. At 1,658 sqft, the units are genuinely spacious by contemporary Singapore standards: a full 3-bedroom layout at this size would be classified as “large-format” in any new launch. Buyers upsizing from HDB 5-rooms will find the transition comfortable. Families with two or three children will not feel squeezed.
The building’s age — circa 2000 — means finishings will reflect the design sensibilities of that era. Buyers should budget for a renovation cycle to bring bathrooms and kitchen fittings to current standards; the good news is that the unit footprint gives renovation contractors ample room to work and owners flexibility to reconfigure layouts to modern open-plan preferences. The structural bones of a well-maintained 8-storey freehold block typically outlast any finishing schedule, and The Sunflower’s transaction history suggests the building has been reasonably well maintained.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 BR | 1 | $1,224 | $1,080,000 |
| 4 BR | 2 | $1,208 | $2,034,000 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 3 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $1,080,000 to $2,368,000, averaging $1,716,000 (~$1,410 psf).
Rents range from $2,400 to $6,000 per month across 20 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 2.7%.
Price Appreciation
From 2022 to 2025, the average PSF has appreciated by 40.2% (from $1,006 to $1,410 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
Against its nearest leasehold peers, The Sunflower’s freehold premium is actually a discount — it transacts at S$1,410 psf while Parc Esta (99yr) commands S$2,182 psf, Penrose S$1,928 psf, The Antares S$1,833 psf, and Sims Urban Oasis S$1,760 psf. The only comparable that trades below it is Euhabitat at S$1,326 psf, which is also 99-year leasehold. In pure tenure-adjusted PSF terms, The Sunflower offers the best value proposition in the immediate competitive set — buyers are acquiring perpetual land ownership at prices below what the market charges for leasehold alternatives of similar vintage.
The trade-off is facilities and scale. Parc Esta, Penrose, and Sims Urban Oasis are large developments with full resort-style amenity suites; The Sunflower is 16 units with 24-hour security and covered parking. For buyers anchored to in-compound swimming pools and gyms, the larger leasehold developments will win the comparison. For buyers anchored to tenure security, unit size, and walkability — particularly those with a 15-year-plus horizon — the comparison resolves firmly in The Sunflower’s favour. The 40% PSF appreciation across three measured periods, sustained despite the Geylang address, suggests a growing cohort of buyers is reaching the same conclusion.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE SUNFLOWER | Freehold | — | 16 | $1,410 |
| PARC ESTA | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 1,399 | $2,182 |
| SIMS URBAN OASIS | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2014 | 2020 | 1,024 | $1,760 |
| PENROSE | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2019 | 2021 | 566 | $1,928 |
| EUHABITAT | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2010 | 2016 | 697 | $1,326 |
| THE ANTARES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 265 | $1,833 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates THE SUNFLOWER across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Lorong 28 is actually one of the quieter stretches in Geylang — churches across the road, schools nearby, and you can walk to four MRT stations. The stigma is outsized relative to the reality of living here day to day.”
— Owner-occupier, 3-bedroom unit, long-term resident
“The unit size is the main draw. You simply cannot find 1,600+ sqft at this price anywhere else in the central region. We renovated fully and it feels like a proper family home, not a shoebox dressed up.”
— Family buyer, upsized from HDB executive flat
“Food within walking distance is world-class. My supper situation has never been better. East Coast Park is a 10-minute Grab away. I don’t miss the condo pool at all — I use the public pool at Geylang two streets over when I want to swim.”
— Tenant, 12-month lease, relocating professional
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure — permanent land ownership with no lease decay
- Four MRT stations within 1 km (Aljunied EW, Dakota CC, Mountbatten CC, Paya Lebar interchange)
- Walkability score 85/100 — among the highest in D14
- Genuinely spacious 3-bedroom units at ~1,658 sqft — rare at this price
- Priced below all nearby 99-year leasehold peers on a PSF basis
- Strong PSF appreciation: +40% across three measured periods (S$1,006 → S$1,410)
- Lorong 28 is a church-and-school corridor — quieter than Geylang's reputation suggests
- Geylang Methodist Primary 0.11 km away — excellent for P1 balloting
- Outstanding food culture on the doorstep — hawker and supper options unmatched
- Low maintenance burden: 16-unit building, no costly pool/gym upkeep per unit
- Stable owner-occupier demographic — all units same type, no investor-grade 1-bedders
- No swimming pool or gymnasium on-site
- Geylang address carries perception overhang — may slow resale in weak markets
- Very limited transaction volume (3 sales in 12m) — thin market, wide bid-ask spreads possible
- Building age circa 2000 — bathrooms and kitchen fittings will need renovation
- Low gross yield of 2.68% — below the D14 freehold average
- Developer unknown — no brand equity for marketing to future buyers
- Lorong 28 context requires explaining to buyers unfamiliar with Geylang geography
- Single unit type limits flexibility for buyers wanting 1-BR or 2-BR configurations
Verdict
The Sunflower occupies a specific and underserved niche: a freehold, spacious, owner-occupier-friendly boutique condominium in a hyper-walkable D14 location, at a price that 99-year leasehold neighbours are struggling to stay below. The S$1,410 psf average puts it at a meaningful discount to Parc Esta (S$2,182 psf, 99yr), The Antares (S$1,833 psf, 99yr), Sims Urban Oasis (S$1,760 psf, 99yr), and Penrose (S$1,928 psf, 99yr) — all leasehold. Only Euhabitat at S$1,326 psf trades below it, and that, too, is 99-year. For buyers who understand what freehold tenure means over a 20-30 year holding period, this is a compelling entry point.
The honest caveats are two: the Geylang address carries a perception overhang that will deter some buyers and may slow resale in a weak market, and the absence of in-compound facilities limits the lifestyle proposition for households that prize a swimming pool or gym at their doorstep. Neither objection is irrational — but both are addressable. Lorong 28 is demonstrably quieter and more residential than the lorongs that drive Geylang’s reputation, and the walkability score of 85 effectively replaces private facilities with neighbourhood alternatives at no ongoing cost. The PSF appreciation from S$1,006 to S$1,410 over three measured periods tells a market that, despite the address, has been voting with its wallet.
This is a buy for: the buyer who values freehold land over a swimming pool, the family that wants a genuine 1,658 sqft 3-bedder at a price point that no new launch will touch, and the long-hold investor who understands that perpetual tenure plus four MRT stations within 1 km is a combination that does not deteriorate with time. For MRT-dependent commuters who also want a pool, the calculus shifts — but even then, Aljunied at 0.44 km is a real walk, not a bus-dependent one.