Verdun House
Overview & Key Facts
Verdun House is an extreme micro-boutique freehold apartment block on Verdun Road in District 8, completed in 1982 within the Farrer Park / Little India fringe of the Rochor planning area. With only 4 active transactional units (public listings show up to 10 units across the original four-block layout, but the live, freely traded inventory effectively rounds to a handful of doors), this is one of the smallest freely traded developments anywhere on the island — the underwriting profile sits closer to a strata terrace cluster than a conventional condominium.
The transactional fingerprint is unusual and demands careful reading. Zero resale caveats are on record across the available URA window, while 19 rental transactions have completed, with an average rent of S$5,741 per month against a median of S$7,625. The median-above-average configuration is statistically uncommon — it signals a mixed-format tenancy mix where a cluster of larger or fully renovated units anchors the upper band while a tail of smaller, older units pulls the average down. This is not a tight, comparable-unit rental dataset; treat the headline numbers as a rough envelope rather than a like-for-like benchmark.
Where Verdun House does deliver an unambiguous structural advantage is transit. Five MRT stations sit within 900 metres — Farrer Park (NE) at 360m, Jalan Besar (DT) at 510m, Rochor (DT) at 810m, Lavender (EW) at 820m, and Little India (NE/DT interchange) at 860m — producing an MRT walkability profile (4 lines, 5 stations) that almost no boutique freehold development in Singapore can match. Walkability scores 78/100, ShiokNest composite is 60/100, and the en-bloc score sits at 39/100 reflecting the genuinely small plot.
Location & Connectivity
Verdun Road is a quiet residential connector running between Rangoon Road and Serangoon Road, sitting in the Farrer Park / Little India border zone of District 8. The address places residents inside one of the densest multi-line MRT clusters on the island: Farrer Park MRT (North-East Line) at approximately 360 metres is a 4–5 minute walk and effectively becomes the doorstep station; Jalan Besar MRT (Downtown Line) at 510m, Rochor MRT (Downtown Line) at 810m, Lavender MRT (East-West Line) at 820m, and the Little India MRT (NE/DT interchange) at 860m collectively cover four of Singapore’s six MRT lines within an 11-minute walk. For a freehold address, that level of transit redundancy is genuinely rare.
The school cluster is unusually strong for a central-fringe location. Farrer Park Primary sits at 390m, with St. Andrew’s Secondary (520m), St. Andrew’s Junior College (520m), and St. Andrew’s Junior School (570m) clustered immediately adjacent — the full St. Andrew’s ecosystem within a 7-minute walk is a genuine asset for families targeting the cohort. LASALLE College of the Arts at 600m adds a tertiary anchor and a steady stream of arts-tenant rental demand.
Day-to-day retail and lifestyle infrastructure is dense: City Square Mall at Kitchener Road (900m, eco-mall with NTUC FairPrice, food court, Kopitiam, multiplex), Tekka Centre (700m, hawker and wet market), Mustafa Centre (650m, 24-hour department store), and the heritage F&B grid of Jalan Besar all fall within walking distance. The Kallang River corridor and the future Health District @ Novena masterplan are short MRT rides away. URA Master Plan trajectory remains positive across the Farrer Park — Jalan Besar belt, with continued conservation-led intensification rather than wholesale redevelopment.
Schools & Education
2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Farrer Park Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| St. Andrew's Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| St. Andrew's Junior College | jc | Within 1 km |
| St. Andrew's Junior School | primary | Within 1 km |
| LASALLE College of the Arts | tertiary | Within 1 km |
| Hong Wen School | primary | ~1.2 km |
| CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace | primary | ~1.3 km |
| St. Margaret's Secondary School | secondary | ~1.4 km |
Facilities
Verdun House is an extreme micro-boutique — with only 4 active units (and at most 10 historic strata lots across the original four-block layout), the maintenance-fund economics simply cannot support any meaningful condominium amenity. There is no swimming pool, no gymnasium, no clubhouse, no function room, and no landscaped pool deck. What residents get is the essentials: covered or open-air parking allocations, basic perimeter security/access, and shared building services. By definition, the maintenance fee profile here will be among the lowest of any condominium-titled development in central Singapore — typically a fraction of what a 200-unit full-facility freehold would charge.
This is not a defect to be apologised for; it is the entire structural value proposition of the property. Buyers who want pool, gym, concierge, and resort-style landscaping should not be looking at a 4-unit block. Buyers who treat the surrounding ecosystem — Farrer Park MRT, the St. Andrew’s school cluster, City Square Mall, Tekka Centre, Mustafa, the LASALLE campus, and the four-line MRT cluster — as their amenity layer will find the trade-off compelling. The ActiveSG-managed Jalan Besar Stadium and Swimming Complex (1.0–1.2km) and the Farrer Park Field cover any genuine fitness or recreation need within a 10–15 minute walk.
“You don’t buy a 4-unit block for the pool. You buy it because Farrer Park MRT is across the road, the maintenance is two-figure dollars compared to four-figure dollars at the new launches, and the address is permanently freehold. Anyone confused about that should be looking at City Square Residences instead.”
— Investor perspective on micro-boutique freehold trade-offs via Singapore property community discussion
One operational reality that buyers must check carefully: with a 4-unit MCST, the management committee is effectively the four owners. Any major capital works — roof, facade, M&E refresh — require near-unanimous alignment, and a single recalcitrant owner can stall maintenance decisions for years. The existing sinking fund balance, recent AGM minutes, and the relationship dynamics among the small owner pool are all material due-diligence items, far more so than at a 100-unit development where minority owners cannot meaningfully obstruct routine works.
Neighbourhood Comparison
Versus the 99-year leasehold mega-developments anchoring the Farrer Park / Kallang corridor, Verdun House offers a fundamentally different proposition. Piccadilly Grand (407 units, 99yr, integrated with Farrer Park MRT) and Sturdee Residences (305 units, 99yr) deliver full facilities, large-scale community amenity, and significant transaction liquidity at the cost of a depreciating leasehold and a high-density living format. CityLights (600 units, 99yr) is the larger leasehold value benchmark in the Lavender / Kallang catchment. City Square Residences is the closest direct comparable on tenure — it is the freehold mid-rise alternative on the same MRT cluster, with proper facilities and meaningful transaction depth. Kerrisdale (481 units, 99yr) rounds out the leasehold value cohort.
The trade-off framing: if a buyer wants pool, gym, concierge, multiple lobbies, and the price-discovery comfort of hundreds of comparable transactions on the same MRT cluster, City Square Residences is the right answer — it is the freehold mid-scale development specifically designed for that brief, on the same Farrer Park / Little India transit grid. If a buyer wants the lowest-density, lowest-maintenance freehold address possible inside the 5-station MRT cluster, with the willingness to accept zero facilities, very thin resale liquidity, and a 4-unit MCST governance profile in exchange, Verdun House is the answer. The 99-year leasehold mega-developments are a separate category entirely — they offer scale and amenity that neither freehold boutique can match, but at the cost of the tenure advantage. All comparables share the same exceptional MRT and schools profile, so the differentiation is purely tenure, scale, and facilities — and buyers should be honest with themselves about which of those three matters most before deciding.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VERDUN HOUSE | — | 4 | — | |
| PICCADILLY GRAND | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2021 | 2022 | 407 | $2,166 |
| CITYLIGHTS | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2004 | 2007 | 600 | $1,763 |
| CITY SQUARE RESIDENCES | Freehold | 2009 | 910 | $1,892 |
| STURDEE RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2015 | — | 305 | $1,999 |
| KERRISDALE | 99 yrs lease commencing from 1998 | 2006 | 481 | $1,395 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates VERDUN HOUSE across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Five MRT stations within 10 minutes’ walk, four different lines. I work in the CBD, my wife works at one-north. We don’t need a car, the commute options are absurd for a freehold address at this price band. The trade-off is no facilities and a 4-unit block where you have to be civil to your neighbours, because there are only three of them.”
— Owner-occupier perspective on transit access via 99.co listings discussion
“Honest take — you have to like the Little India fringe. Sundays are intense. Mustafa is open 24/7 and the foot traffic on Serangoon Road is constant. We love it, but it’s not for everyone, and the area really does change character on weekends. Walk it on a Sunday afternoon before you commit.”
— Resident reflection on Little India weekend character via Stacked Homes reader discussion
“Farrer Park Primary is across the road, the St. Andrew’s campuses are five minutes’ walk. For a P1-balloting family that prioritises school catchment plus MRT, the combination here at a freehold price is hard to find anywhere else in District 8. We rented for two years before buying.”
— Family resident on school proximity via EdgeProp community comments
Across the available community signal, the recurring split is consistent: investor-tenants and transit-prioritising owner-occupiers view Verdun House as a structurally undervalued freehold MRT-cluster asset, while owner-occupiers seeking a quiet, sanitised, pool-and-gym condominium experience self-select out at the area-character stage. There is very little middle ground — the address either works for a buyer’s priorities or it does not. The 4-unit block size also means the resident community is, almost by definition, atypical: every household is a non-trivial percentage of the MCST, and the social dynamics are closer to a small landed cluster than a conventional condominium.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure (1982) — structural advantage vs 99yr Piccadilly Grand / Sturdee Residences / CityLights / Kerrisdale on the same MRT cluster
- 5 MRT stations within 900m across 4 different lines (NE, DT, EW, NE/DT interchange) — exceptional transit redundancy
- Farrer Park MRT (NE Line) at 360m — genuine 4–5 minute doorstep commute
- St. Andrew’s school ecosystem within 600m (Primary, Secondary, JC) plus Farrer Park Primary at 390m
- LASALLE College of the Arts at 600m — tertiary anchor and steady arts-tenant rental demand
- Walkability score 78/100 — strong across MRT, schools, retail, hawker
- Maintenance fees structurally minimal — 4-unit MCST cannot sustain (and does not charge for) facilities overhead
- Dense central-fringe retail: City Square Mall (900m), Tekka Centre (700m), Mustafa 24/7 (650m)
- PSF likely materially below freehold mid-scale comparables (City Square Residences) given the absence of facilities
- Rental demand confirmed by 19-record dataset on a 4–10 unit base — very high implied turnover per unit
- 4-unit micro-boutique — extreme thin resale liquidity, very limited unit choice when buying, MCST governance dominated by 4 owners
- Zero resale caveats on record — no public price-discovery data; underwriting relies entirely on asking prices and external valuation
- Rental dataset is mixed-format (median S$7,625 > average S$5,741) — published yield headlines are NOT directly underwritable, must model per unit type
- No facilities — no pool, no gym, no clubhouse; covered parking and basic security only
- En-bloc upside near-zero — small plot, freehold tenure removes lease-decay pressure, score 39/100
- Little India weekend character — Sunday foot traffic intense, area density not for buyers seeking sanitised quiet streetscape
- 1982 vintage — units likely vary significantly in renovation state, individual inspection essential, S$80,000–150,000 refresh budget realistic for older lots
- MCST capital-works alignment risk — single recalcitrant owner among 4 can stall major maintenance decisions for years
Verdict
Verdun House is a niche product with a narrow but well-defined investor thesis: a freehold address on a quiet Farrer Park / Little India fringe street, sitting inside one of the densest multi-line MRT clusters in Singapore (5 stations, 4 lines, all within 900 metres), with the full St. Andrew’s school ecosystem and LASALLE College of the Arts within a 7–10 minute walk. For a buyer prioritising freehold tenure and transit redundancy above all else, in a price band that the 99-year leasehold mega-developments cannot offer at the same yield profile, the structural case is genuinely there.
The case against is shaped by three honest constraints. First, the 4-unit micro-boutique scale means MCST governance, capital-works alignment, and resale liquidity are all materially harder than at a conventional development. Second, the zero-resale-caveat history means buyers have no public price-discovery data and must rely on private valuation and asking-price triangulation. Third, the mixed-format rental dataset (median $7,625 above average $5,741 across 19 records) means published yield numbers are not directly underwritable — rent must be modelled per unit type, not from the headline aggregate.
The ShiokNest composite score of 60/100 reflects the balance: outstanding MRT access (9.5/10 — the 5-station, 4-line cluster is genuinely exceptional), strong freehold tenure (7.5/10), strong neighbourhood character with credible schools (7.5/10), and reasonable value (7.0/10) lift the score, while the unavoidable absence of facilities (4.0/10 — a 4-unit block cannot have any) and the heterogeneous unit-layout profile (7.5/10) keep it from the upper range. This is a property that works for a specific kind of buyer and is structurally wrong for a different kind of buyer; the score reflects that bifurcation rather than a generic mid-range view.