Trussville
Overview & Key Facts
Trussville is an 11-unit freehold cluster housing development at 61–61K Paya Lebar Crescent in District 19, completed in 2004 by Sino Holdings (Singapore) Pte Ltd. The development comprises generous 7-bedroom strata landed units ranging from 2,713 to 3,595 sqft on a 1,665 sqm land parcel, with shared facilities including a swimming pool, wading pool, sauna, BBQ area, and children’s playground within a gated private car-park compound. The name “Trussville” is an unusual choice for a Singapore development — Trussville is a suburban city in Jefferson County, Alabama, USA — a quirk that lends the project a memorable identity even if the naming rationale is opaque.
The address sits in the corridor between Kovan and Bartley, two of D19’s most established residential precincts. Three MRT stations fall within 1.2 km: Bartley (Circle Line) at 0.90 km, Serangoon (Circle Line and North-East Line) at 1.19 km — a dual-interchange carrying both CC and NEL — and Kovan (North-East Line) at 1.19 km. Transaction data is thin: only 2 resale caveats are on record, with the most recent at S$3.3 million for a 2,971 sqft unit (August 2025), producing a median of S$3,300,000 and an average PSF of approximately S$1,111 over the trailing twelve months. Rental coverage is equally limited at 2 transactions, averaging S$7,750 per month, implying an indicative gross yield of 2.91%.
With only 11 units, Trussville is a genuine micro-boutique — ultra-low density, freehold, and anchored by a school belt that includes Zhonghua Primary and Secondary within 620 m. The investment case rests on freehold tenure, a strong neighbourhood fundamentals story, and the multi-MRT accessibility; the counterweights are thin transaction data, a high absolute price quantum (S$3–3.5 million per unit), and the foreign ownership restriction which materially narrows the eligible buyer pool.
Location & Connectivity
Paya Lebar Crescent is a quiet residential road tucked between the Bartley and Kovan MRT precincts in the northern part of District 19. The location sits at an informal crossroads of three neighbourhoods — Bartley to the west, Kovan to the north-east, and Serangoon to the south — which is both its connectivity strength and its identity ambiguity. None of the three adjacent MRT nodes is a true walking-distance anchor, but all three are within a 10–14 minute walk or a short bus ride, giving residents meaningful multi-line access across the Circle Line (Bartley and Serangoon), the North-East Line (Serangoon and Kovan), and the connecting interchanges at Serangoon for bus and train.
The school belt is a genuine standout. Zhonghua Primary School sits 0.62 km from the development, and Zhonghua Secondary School is at 0.59 km — both within easy walking distance and with strong national academic reputations. Montfort Junior School at 0.80 km and Montfort Secondary at 0.91 km add a second mission-school cluster. Bartley Secondary (1.13 km), Cedar Girls’ Secondary (1.14 km), and Cedar Primary (1.20 km) round out a seven-school radius that is one of the denser primary-and-secondary clusters in D19. For families targeting Phase 2A or 2C balloting, the 1 km registration band from this address covers an exceptionally strong set of MOE schools.
Day-to-day retail and F&B is served by the Kovan Heartland Mall (approximately 1.3 km), the Serangoon Nex mall (approximately 1.5 km via bus or Serangoon MRT), and the smaller neighbourhood provision at Bartley Road. The NEX mega-mall at Serangoon — one of the larger suburban malls in Singapore — is a 15–20 minute walk or two MRT stops from Bartley, providing full-spectrum retail, dining, and cinema amenity. The URA Master Plan designates the Serangoon Central area for ongoing mixed-use intensification, supporting the long-term land-value case for the corridor.
Schools & Education
2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Zhonghua Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Zhonghua Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Montfort Junior School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Montfort Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Bartley Secondary School | secondary | ~1.1 km |
| Cedar Girls' Secondary School | secondary | ~1.1 km |
| Cedar Primary School | primary | ~1.2 km |
| St. Gabriel's Primary School | primary | ~1.3 km |
Facilities
For an 11-unit cluster development, Trussville is reasonably well-provisioned. Shared facilities include a swimming pool and wading pool, a sauna, a BBQ area, and a children’s playground within a secured private car-park compound with 24-hour security. This facility set is meaningfully richer than the typical boutique apartment block of comparable vintage, reflecting the cluster housing format: residents pay maintenance contributions to a shared MCST but enjoy a landed-house living experience at individual unit level.
Maintenance fees on an 11-unit strata landed development are necessarily higher per-unit than at a large condo with hundreds of households sharing the same pool infrastructure cost. Buyers should budget for monthly MCST levies in the S$500–900 range depending on the sinking fund status and any deferred maintenance on shared infrastructure. Units are large (2,713–3,595 sqft) and were completed in 2004, so individual unit interiors may benefit from S$100,000–300,000 of renovation to reach current premium-rental or high-end own-stay expectations — the wide unit-size range and 7-bedroom layout provide flexibility for multi-generational families or high-net-worth owner-occupiers.
“The pool and sauna in a small gated cluster — that’s the best of both worlds. You get the privacy of a landed house with shared facilities you’d actually use, and you’re not maintaining a 50-metre lap pool for 11 families alone.”
— Cluster housing resident perspective via Singapore Expats cluster housing discussion
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 2 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $2,650,000 to $3,300,000, averaging $2,975,000 (~$1,111 psf).
Rents range from $7,500 to $8,000 per month across 2 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 2.9%.
Price Appreciation
From 2023 to 2025, the average PSF has appreciated by 26.3% (from $879 to $1,111 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
Against the standard D19 condominium cohort, Trussville occupies a fundamentally different product category. Chuan Park (S$2,596 PSF, 99yr, 916 units, 2024 launch) and Florence Residences (S$1,745 PSF, 99yr, 1,410 units, 2018) represent the new-launch leasehold mainstream — full resort facilities, hundreds of units, strong transaction liquidity, but a depreciating 99-year lease and apartment-format living. Affinity at Serangoon (S$1,698 PSF, 99yr, 1,012 units) and Riverfront Residences (S$1,588 PSF, 99yr, 1,451 units) are comparable vintage 99-year alternatives. Serangoon Garden Estate (S$1,736 PSF, FH) is the nearest landed-segment freehold reference point. Trussville’s S$1,111 PSF sits approximately 57% below Chuan Park and 35% below Florence Residences on a PSF basis, but this comparison flatters Trussville — cluster landed PSF and apartment PSF measure different things (unit quantum, land entitlement, legal title, eligible buyer pool) and should not be directly arbitraged.
The more meaningful comparison is against other freehold strata landed cluster developments in the D19–D20 corridor — products like Serangoon Garden Estate, private cluster schemes in Upper Serangoon Road, and boutique freehold developments along Hougang Avenue. In that cohort, Trussville’s 2004 vintage, 11-unit scale, Sino Holdings developer pedigree, multi-MRT position, and Zhonghua school-belt placement position it as a mid-tier cluster option: below prime D9/10/11 cluster schemes in prestige and price, but above mass-market leasehold alternatives in tenure quality and school-belt access. For Singapore-citizen families targeting a generational freehold address with multi-line MRT and a school cluster that includes two Zhonghua schools, the product set is very small — and Trussville competes credibly within it.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRUSSVILLE | Freehold | — | — | $1,111 |
| CHUAN PARK | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2024 | 916 | $2,596 |
| THE FLORENCE RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 1,410 | $1,745 |
| RIVERFRONT RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 1,451 | $1,588 |
| AFFINITY AT SERANGOON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 1,012 | $1,698 |
| SERANGOON GARDEN ESTATE | Freehold | 2021 | — | $1,736 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates TRUSSVILLE across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Three MRT options, Zhonghua Primary two minutes’ walk, a pool and sauna in a private compound with 11 families — for the right Singapore-citizen family, it’s hard to argue with the fundamentals. The name ‘Trussville’ always gets a reaction from guests who look it up and find out it’s a town in Alabama.”
— Cluster housing perspective on Paya Lebar Crescent living via Singapore Expats community listings
“You’re between Bartley, Kovan, and Serangoon — none is a 5-minute walk but all are reachable in 10 minutes on foot or one bus stop. NEX is on the NEL/CC interchange. For a freehold strata landed with a pool, the price relative to a terrace house in the same district is actually quite competitive when you factor in the shared facilities and security.”
— D19 cluster housing buyer perspective via PropertyGuru Trussville project page
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure — zero lease-decay risk, generational asset suitable for long multi-decade holds
- Three MRT lines within 1.2 km: Bartley CCL (0.90 km), Serangoon CCL+NEL dual-interchange (1.19 km), Kovan NEL (1.19 km)
- Exceptional school belt — Zhonghua Primary 0.62 km, Zhonghua Secondary 0.59 km, Montfort Junior 0.80 km, Cedar Primary 1.20 km
- Cluster housing format — landed-house living experience (7 bedrooms, 2,713–3,595 sqft) with shared facilities
- Shared facilities including swimming pool, wading pool, sauna, BBQ area, and playground within gated compound
- 24-hour security and private car park within compound — security posture above standard apartment blocks
- PSF at S$1,111 sits materially below newer 99-year launches (Chuan Park S$2,596, Florence Residences S$1,745)
- Small 11-unit community — low-density living, minimal lift and lobby congestion, high neighbour familiarity
- Serangoon NEX mega-mall accessible via Serangoon MRT — full retail, dining, and cinema within 1–2 stops
- Established D19 OCR address with ongoing Master Plan intensification at Serangoon Central
- Foreign ownership restriction — strata landed cluster housing; foreigners require SLA LDAU approval (approval rates typically below 20%)
- High absolute price quantum — S$3.0–3.5 million per unit narrows eligible buyer pool to high-net-worth Singapore citizens
- Very thin transaction history — only 2 resale caveats across 21 years; resale liquidity is highly uncertain
- No MRT within true walking distance (all three stations at 0.90–1.19 km — 10–14 minute walks or requires bus)
- Low investment score (27/100) and en-bloc score (17/100) — freehold tenure suppresses collective-sale optionality
- Walkability 58/100 — functional but not exceptional; limited day-to-day retail within easy walking distance
- 2004 vintage — units likely require S$100,000–300,000 renovation investment to reach current premium standards
- Sino Holdings developer — lesser-known developer versus marquee names; limited brand premium at resale
- Only 2 rental transactions on record — 2.91% gross yield is indicative only, not statistically meaningful
Verdict
Trussville is a niche product in a niche category — an 11-unit freehold cluster housing development in the Kovan-Bartley corridor with strong school-belt credentials, three MRT lines within 1.2 km, and a landed-house living format at a price quantum that sits below comparable District 9/10 strata landed options but above standard condominium alternatives in D19. The freehold tenure on a strata landed footprint is genuinely valuable: lease-decay risk is zero, and the large 2,713–3,595 sqft units provide generational flexibility that no leasehold condominium can replicate.
The case against rests on four factors. First, the foreign ownership restriction is a hard constraint that eliminates a significant portion of the buyer pool — this is not a product for expatriate renters-turned-buyers or foreign investors without SLA approval. Second, the absolute quantum (S$3–3.5 million per unit) means the eligible buyer set is further narrowed to high-net-worth Singapore citizens. Third, the transaction thinness (2 sales, 2 rentals over 21 years) makes resale timing and pricing uncertain — there is no guarantee of liquidity when an owner chooses to exit. Fourth, the en-bloc score of 17/100 is low, reflecting the freehold tenure (which removes the lease-decay pressure that typically motivates en-bloc activity), the small plot, and the absence of redevelopment economics that would motivate a developer.
The ShiokNest composite score of 22/100 reflects the data-thinness penalty applied across all scoring dimensions when transaction volumes are insufficient to anchor quantitative assessments. The underlying qualitative fundamentals — freehold tenure (10.0/10), three MRT options within 1.2 km (7.5/10), a seven-school catchment belt (8.0/10), and solid PSF value relative to newer leasehold launches (7.5/10) — are genuinely positive. Buyers should treat this as a long-hold, owner-occupier or generational-asset purchase rather than a liquidity-driven investment.