The Vue
Overview & Key Facts
The Vue is a 50-unit freehold condominium on Upper Paya Lebar Road in District 19, occupying a pocket of the OCR that sits between the Bartley and Serangoon corridors. It is a small-scale, low-profile development in the truest sense: no identifiable developer brand, no recent TOP record, and a sales volume that reflects the quiet ownership profile typical of boutique freehold stock in this part of Singapore.
What The Vue does possess — and what makes it worth examining carefully — is a combination of fundamentals that rarely coexist at this price tier. A median transaction price of S$690,000 on a freehold title, a gross yield of 4.35% backed by 80 rental transactions across only 50 units, and a dual-station MRT position that provides both Circle Line access at Bartley (490m) and interchange access at Serangoon NEL/CCL (780m). At an average PSF of approximately S$1,650, The Vue is not cheap by its own district’s standards — but the absolute quantum and the tenure make the income arithmetic work in ways that larger, pricier neighbours cannot replicate.
The headline number is a 4.35% gross yield on a freehold OCR address. For context, that yield is being generated on a development with 50 units and 80 rental transactions — a rental-to-unit ratio of 1.6, which signals that individual units are cycling through tenants actively. The income thesis here is not speculative. It is supported by a rental market that has consistently demonstrated demand at this location.
Location & Connectivity
Upper Paya Lebar Road is a residential arterial in the northern reach of District 19, sitting between the established Bartley and Serangoon precincts. It is not a glamorous address, but it is a functional and improving one. The Bidadari estate transformation — the large-scale HDB and park development on the former Christian cemetery site just to the west — has meaningfully upgraded the infrastructure and amenity quality of the broader corridor over the past decade. Residents on Upper Paya Lebar Road have benefited from improved road connectivity and the addition of commercial amenities that followed the Bidadari population influx.
The MRT position is the strongest single asset The Vue brings to the table. Bartley MRT (Circle Line, CCL12) sits 490 metres from the development — a genuine 6-to-7-minute walk. Bartley provides direct Circle Line access to Serangoon, Bishan, MacPherson, and eventually Harbourfront without transfer. More significantly, Serangoon MRT (NEL/CCL interchange) is 780 metres away. Serangoon is one of the most valuable interchange stations in the network: it connects the North East Line directly to Dhoby Ghaut (3 stops), HarbourFront (7 stops), and Punggol (7 stops), while the Circle Line at the same station provides an alternative route toward the Marina Bay and Harbourfront arcs. Dual-line interchange access within a 780-metre walk from a freehold sub-S$700K condominium is a structural positive that will not depreciate with the building.
The school catchment at this address is legitimately strong for an OCR estate. Bartley Secondary School is 0.62 km away. Zhonghua Secondary School is 0.87 km. Zhonghua Primary School is 0.94 km — within the 1 km priority phase for primary school registration. Cedar Girls’ Secondary School, one of the more sought-after all-girls schools in the east, is 1.04 km. For landlords targeting family tenants who weight school proximity, the catchment is a genuine selling point rather than a hollow marketing claim.
NEX Shopping Mall at Serangoon is approximately 800 metres away, providing one of the larger suburban retail and F&B nodes in the northeast quadrant of Singapore. Daily amenities — wet market, supermarket, pharmacy, food court — are accessible within a 10-to-15-minute walk radius. The neighbourhood walkability score of 70/100 reflects this: not a Toa Payoh or Bishan level of pedestrian convenience, but materially better than most low-density OCR estates further east.
Schools & Education
1 primary school within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bartley Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Zhonghua Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Zhonghua Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Cedar Girls' Secondary School | secondary | ~1.0 km |
| Red Swastika School | primary | ~1.1 km |
| Cedar Primary School | primary | ~1.1 km |
| Montfort Junior School | primary | ~1.3 km |
| Montfort Secondary School | secondary | ~1.4 km |
Facilities
At 50 units, The Vue is a boutique condominium in the strictest sense, and its facilities reflect that scale accurately. The development provides the essential residential amenity stack — a swimming pool and basic communal spaces — without the resort-tier facilities infrastructure associated with developments of 200 units and above. There is no gymnasium, no multi-level carpark podium, no function rooms, no BBQ pavilion infrastructure, and no lifestyle amenities that would place it in the same conversation as Chuan Park, The Florence Residences, or Affinity at Serangoon.
The facilities rating of 5.0 out of 10 is appropriate and honest. It reflects what a 50-unit freehold boutique in OCR was designed to be: a clean, manageable residential address rather than a lifestyle destination. For the yield investor or buy-to-let landlord, this is not necessarily a negative. A 50-unit development with a limited amenity stack will carry materially lower MCST overheads than a 900-unit development with a full leisure suite. Lower MCST contribution improves net yield margins, and that arithmetic matters to investors calculating actual income return rather than marketing headline numbers.
Buyers or tenants who require resort facilities — lap pools, tennis courts, concierge services, rooftop gardens, function rooms — should direct their attention to Chuan Park (916 units), The Florence Residences (1,410 units), or Riverfront Residences (1,451 units). All three are 99-year leasehold developments transacting at S$1,586–S$2,596 PSF, and all three carry the full facilities stack that a 50-unit boutique cannot provide. The trade-off is explicit: facilities breadth at a substantially higher entry price on a depreciating lease, versus essential facilities only on freehold tenure at approximately S$690,000 median.
Unit Sizes & Layout
The median transaction price of S$690,000 and the average PSF of S$1,650 signal a compact unit configuration calibrated for singles, professional couples, and buy-to-let investors rather than multi-generational family households. At S$690K, typical unit sizes at this PSF range from approximately 400 to 500 square feet for studio and one-bedroom configurations, with two-bedroom units at the higher end of the transaction range. This is not a family-scale development, and buyers seeking three-bedroom or larger layouts should not expect to find them here at the median price point.
The PSF trend across available periods — S$1,475 to S$1,567 to S$1,693 to S$1,602 to S$1,644 — shows a broadly upward trajectory over the medium term with a modest correction in the most recent periods before a partial recovery. The directional movement is consistent with the broader OCR freehold resale market, which has experienced price appreciation through the post-pandemic cycle. The correction from S$1,693 to S$1,602 and subsequent recovery to S$1,644 is not unusual for a low-volume development where individual transactions can shift the reported PSF figure materially. Buyers should treat the PSF figure as indicative rather than precise, particularly given the thin transaction volume of 14 recorded sales.
The rental performance is the most compelling unit-level data point. 80 rental transactions for a 50-unit development implies a rental-to-unit ratio of 1.6 — meaning each unit has on average changed tenants more than once over the tracked period. Average rent of S$2,463 and median rent of S$2,500 against a median purchase price of S$690,000 generates 4.35% gross yield. Tenants at this price point are typically working professionals and young couples seeking proximity to the Serangoon/Bartley corridor at a monthly outlay that remains competitive against comparable product in the northeast.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 BR | 14 | $1,540 | $678,786 |
| 3 BR | 1 | $1,418 | $1,450,000 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 15 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $600,000 to $1,450,000, averaging $730,200 (~$1,596 psf).
Rents range from $1,550 to $3,500 per month across 81 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 4.4%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2026, the average PSF has appreciated by 12.4% (from $1,394 to $1,566 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
The D19 OCR competitive landscape for The Vue is defined by a fundamental asymmetry: the development’s freehold status and sub-S$700K entry median sit at the bottom of the district PSF table while all four meaningful competitors are 99-year leasehold products transacting at 2.4× to 3.8× The Vue’s PSF. This is not a competitive weakness — it is the source of The Vue’s yield advantage.
Chuan Park (S$2,596 PSF, 99yr/2024, 916 units) is the highest-PSF reference point: a recent large-scale new launch at Lorong Chuan with a full facilities stack, deep resale liquidity, and a price level that makes 4%+ yield structurally impossible at current D19 rental rates. The Florence Residences (S$1,743 PSF, 99yr/2018, 1,410 units) and Affinity at Serangoon (S$1,698 PSF, 99yr/2018, 1,012 units) are the dominant second-generation large-scale leasehold launches from the 2018–2019 cycle, both well-facilitated and well-leased, but neither capable of delivering freehold title or a sub-S$700K entry quantum. Riverfront Residences (S$1,586 PSF, 99yr/2018, 1,451 units) is the lowest-PSF leasehold comparator — still S$900 PSF above The Vue and on a depreciating lease.
Against each of these competitors, the comparison follows the same logic: The Vue concedes facilities breadth, developer pedigree, resale liquidity, and unit size variety in exchange for freehold tenure, a sub-S$700K median entry, and a 4.35% yield that the leasehold cohort at these PSF levels cannot match. The trade-off is explicit and consistent across the entire peer group. The buyer for whom this trade-off makes sense is not seeking a lifestyle address or a growth asset — they are seeking income return on freehold tenure at the lowest feasible quantum, and The Vue is one of the few D19 assets that genuinely delivers that combination.
- Chuan Park: S$2,596 PSF — 99yr/2024, 916 units, Lorong Chuan CCL.
- The Florence Residences: S$1,743 PSF — 99yr/2018, 1,410 units, Hougang Ave 2.
- Affinity at Serangoon: S$1,698 PSF — 99yr/2018, 1,012 units, Serangoon North Ave 1.
- Riverfront Residences: S$1,586 PSF — 99yr/2018, 1,451 units, Hougang Ave 7.
- The Vue: ~S$1,650 PSF — freehold, 50 units, Upper Paya Lebar Road, 4.35% yield, median S$690K.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE VUE | Freehold | — | 50 | $1,596 |
| CHUAN PARK | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2024 | 916 | $2,596 |
| THE FLORENCE RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 1,410 | $1,746 |
| RIVERFRONT RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 1,451 | $1,589 |
| AFFINITY AT SERANGOON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 1,012 | $1,699 |
| SERANGOON GARDEN ESTATE | Freehold | 2021 | — | $1,735 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates THE VUE across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
The Vue’s resident community is small and weighted toward investor-landlords and their tenants rather than owner-occupiers, consistent with the compact unit format and the income-oriented buyer profile the development attracts. The 50-unit scale means building management operates at a level of personal familiarity that is not possible in a 900-unit complex — MCST decisions are made within a small community of unit owners, maintenance response tends to be direct, and common area conditions are easier to maintain at consistent quality without the complexity of a large-site operation.
“I can walk to Bartley in about 6 minutes and be at Serangoon in another few stops. For my commute to Dhoby Ghaut, I’m door-to-desk in under 30 minutes. The neighbourhood is quiet but NEX is close enough for weekends. No gym in the building, but I use the one at Serangoon CC.”
— Working professional tenant, via property forum
“My unit has been tenanted continuously for four years across two tenants. Both found the place through agents without difficulty. The Bartley CCL access is the pitch — tenants who work in the Marina corridor or at Paya Lebar consistently mention it. Freehold at this price, I have no intention of selling.”
— Investor-landlord, via online property forum
The dominant tenant profile at The Vue is working professionals, typically singles or couples, who commute via the Circle Line or NEL from Serangoon interchange. The Serangoon/NEX catchment provides a secondary draw: tenants employed at businesses around Serangoon, Kovan, or Hougang appreciate the walkable access to one of the northeast’s largest retail and dining nodes. The 80 rental transactions confirm a tenant market that is active rather than thin, with consistent re-letting rather than prolonged vacancy between tenancies.
Owner-occupiers at The Vue are a minority. The compact units, unknown developer background, and boutique facilities limit the owner-occupier appeal relative to larger developments with more lifestyle infrastructure. For the landlord community that does own here, however, the building’s modest scale is an operational positive: lower management complexity, lower MCST fees, and a smaller pool of co-owners with whom to resolve any building-level issues.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- 4.35% gross yield on freehold tenure — one of the stronger income returns available in D19 OCR at this price tier
- Freehold title at S$690,000 median — sub-S$700K freehold entry in D19 is an increasingly rare and structurally protected price point
- Bartley CCL 490m — genuine 6-minute walk to Circle Line with direct access toward Bishan, MacPherson, and Marina arc
- Serangoon NEL/CCL interchange 780m — dual-line interchange access that broadens commute coverage across the entire northeast and city fringe
- 80 rental transactions on 50 units — rental-to-unit ratio of 1.6 confirms active, repeatable tenant demand not a thin-market anomaly
- Zhonghua Primary 940m — within 1km priority registration phase; Cedar Girls Secondary 1.04km adds sought-after school proximity
- Freehold tenure eliminates lease decay risk, preserves CPF eligibility and LTV ratios indefinitely
- Boutique 50-unit MCST — lower amenity overheads, direct management responsiveness, lean maintenance fee structure
- Profitability score 68/100 — confirms the income thesis is supported by the fundamental data, not just marketing narrative
- NEX Serangoon at approximately 800m — large suburban retail and F&B node covers daily amenity needs within a 10-minute walk
- Developer unknown — no brand premium, no warranty track record, no developer pipeline data to assess build quality heritage
- No TOP year recorded — building age is uncertain; budget conservatively for renovation, bathroom and kitchen upgrades
- Facilities rating 5.0/10 — pool only at boutique scale; no gym, function rooms, or lifestyle infrastructure of larger D19 peers
- ShiokNest score 46/100 — composite weaknesses across developer, facilities, and resale liquidity are captured accurately
- Investment score 60/100 — below mid-tier composite fundamentals; this is an income asset, not a growth candidate
- En-bloc score 34/100 — 50-unit freehold boutique lacks the land area and collective scale for near-term collective sale viability
- Only 14 recorded sales transactions — thin volume limits PSF price discovery and creates wide confidence intervals on valuation
- Compact unit sizes — limited owner-occupier suitability for families; primarily investor and professional-tenant product
- Resale buyer pool constrained by boutique scale, unknown developer, and no identifiable lifestyle differentiator
- No gym on-site — residents must use external facilities (Serangoon CC, ActiveSG) which adds friction for fitness-oriented tenants
Verdict
The Vue makes its case on a narrow but internally consistent set of fundamentals: freehold tenure at a sub-S$700,000 median, 4.35% gross yield backed by 80 rental transactions, and dual-station MRT access that provides both Circle Line and NEL interchange coverage within an 800-metre radius. For a buyer whose primary objective is income return on a freehold OCR asset at the lowest feasible entry quantum, The Vue presents one of the more defensible income theses in D19.
The profitability score of 68/100 reinforces the income thesis. It is not a composite outperformer on all dimensions — the ShiokNest score of 46/100 and investment score of 60/100 reflect the development’s limitations across facilities, developer profile, and resale liquidity — but it confirms that the fundamental income arithmetic works. The en-bloc score of 34/100 is low, which is consistent with a 50-unit freehold boutique that lacks the land area and development potential to be an obvious collective sale candidate at near-term valuations.
Against the D19 leasehold competition, The Vue’s yield advantage is structural. Chuan Park at S$2,596 PSF on a 99-year lease cannot generate 4.35% yield at prevailing D19 rental rates. The Florence Residences at S$1,743 PSF, Affinity at Serangoon at S$1,698 PSF, and Riverfront Residences at S$1,586 PSF are all positioned above the yield threshold that their entry prices permit. The Vue’s freehold status at S$690,000 median is the structural gap that creates the income opportunity.
The limitations are real and should be stated plainly. The developer is unknown, which removes any brand premium or warranty track record from the purchase consideration. The TOP year is unrecorded, meaning the building age is uncertain and renovation budgets should be planned conservatively. Boutique facilities at 5.0/10 limit the development’s appeal to owner-occupiers who weight lifestyle amenities. The ShiokNest score of 46/100 captures these composite weaknesses accurately. Buyers who enter with yield and tenure as their primary criteria — and who hold for the medium-to-long term — will find the return profile coherent. Buyers seeking capital growth as the primary thesis, or owner-occupiers seeking a well-facilitated lifestyle address, should look at larger developments in the same district.