Versailles
Overview & Key Facts
Versailles sits on Hemmant Road in District 15 — a quiet residential pocket tucked between Mountbatten and Dakota, two minutes’ walk from the East Coast spine but far enough off the main arterials to feel insulated. Developed by Adamas Development Pte Ltd and completed in 1994, it is a small freehold project of 55 units that has aged into the kind of low-density Katong enclave that newer launches in the area cannot replicate.
The naming is deliberate. The development leans into a classical European motif — ornate façade detailing, mansard-inspired roof lines, and a more decorative aesthetic than the glass-and-aluminium boxes that dominate D15 today. Whether you find it charming or dated is a matter of taste, but the architectural identity is unmistakably distinct from Grand Dunman or The Continuum a short drive away.
At 55 units across a single low-rise block, Versailles is firmly in boutique territory. The buyer profile skews local and long-tenure: predominantly Singaporean owner-occupiers who value freehold tenure, school proximity, and the absence of mega-condo crowding. With an average PSF of S$1,609 versus S$2,461–S$2,790 at the surrounding new launches, the value differential is striking — though it comes with the trade-offs you would expect from a 1994 project.
Location & Connectivity
Versailles is a comfortable 420 m walk to Dakota MRT on the Circle Line — about a 5 to 6-minute stroll along well-shaded pavements. Paya Lebar MRT interchange (East-West and Circle Lines) sits 720 m away, putting two MRT stations within a 10-minute walk. For a freehold boutique in this part of D15, that level of transport connectivity is genuinely uncommon, and it’s the single biggest reason the development scores 85/100 on walkability.
Drivers fare just as well. The ECP is a 3-minute drive away, putting the CBD within roughly 12 minutes off-peak. The KPE entry at Sims Avenue is similarly close. Orchard Road via Mountbatten Road sits at around 15 minutes in light traffic, and Changi Airport is reachable in 18 minutes via the ECP. Suntec, Marina Bay, and Paya Lebar Quarter are all under 10 minutes by car.
For everyday errands, Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ) and PLQ Mall are a 10-minute walk away, anchored by a FairPrice Finest, a Kopitiam food court, and a comprehensive F&B lineup. SingPost Centre and Singapore Post Centre Mall sit directly above Paya Lebar MRT. Old Airport Road Food Centre — arguably the best hawker centre in the country — is a 7-minute walk in the opposite direction, with Dunman Food Centre and the Geylang Serai wet market also within reach.
School-wise, the catchment is exceptional. Kong Hwa School (360 m), Geylang Methodist School Primary (510 m), Haig Girls’ School (590 m), and Tanjong Katong Primary School (940 m) all fall within the coveted 1 km P1 balloting radius, with Tao Nan School just over the line at 1.01 km. For Singaporean families chasing primary school options, the cluster within walking distance is one of the strongest in the East.
Schools & Education
4 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Geylang Methodist School (Secondary) | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Kong Hwa School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Geylang Methodist School (Primary) | primary | Within 1 km |
| Haig Girls' School | primary | Within 1 km |
| One World International School (Mountbatten) | international | Within 1 km |
| Tanjong Katong Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Tao Nan School | primary | ~1.0 km |
| Broadrick Secondary School | secondary | ~1.1 km |
Facilities
This is the section where Versailles shows its age and its size. As a 55-unit boutique, the facility set is intentionally compact: a swimming pool, a small wading pool for children, a basic gymnasium, a BBQ pit, and a 24-hour security guardhouse with covered carpark. There is no clubhouse, no tennis court, no function room, no spa, and no children’s playground beyond the pool deck. Reviews on PropertyGuru consistently flag this as the development’s biggest weakness against newer projects in the same district.
“The pool is well-maintained and you almost never have to share it — that’s the upside of a 55-unit condo. But if you’re used to the gyms and tennis courts at newer developments, you’ll feel the gap immediately. We use the ActiveSG facilities at Wilkinson Road for tennis and badminton.”
— Resident review via EdgeProp
The flip side is that maintenance fees stay reasonable — a meaningful consideration in a market where mega-condos can charge S$500+ monthly to fund their resort facilities. Bookings for the BBQ pit are first-come-first-served and generally easy to secure, even on weekends. For households who treat their condo as a quiet base rather than a recreation hub — and who are comfortable using nearby ActiveSG centres or paying for external gym memberships — the lean facility set is a feature, not a bug.
Unit Sizes & Layout
Versailles unit sizes reflect 1990s design conventions, which in this context means generously proportioned by today’s standards. The mix runs across 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom, and 4-bedroom configurations, with the bulk of inventory in the 3-bedroom band. Typical 3-bedroom layouts span around 1,300 to 1,500 sqft — comfortably 30 to 40% larger than equivalent units at Grand Dunman or Tembusu Grand, where 3-bedrooms now hover around 950–1,050 sqft. Median transacted price sits at S$1,780,000, putting absolute quantum well below the S$2.4M+ ask for similarly bedroomed units at the new launches.
Layouts are functional rather than efficient by modern standards — expect proper rectangular living and dining halls, separate enclosed kitchens (not the open-galley layouts now standard), and bathrooms that are larger but plumbed in their original 1994 configuration. Most units come with two stack orientations: facing the internal pool deck (quieter, slightly darker) or facing Hemmant Road (more light, modest road noise). There are no units with bay window or planter intrusions, which means usable floor area is genuinely usable.
One specific consideration: the development is low-rise, so there are no skyline views or premium high-floor stacks to bid up. The trade-off is that all units enjoy a fairly equal experience — nobody has a meaningfully better unit than anyone else, which keeps the price spread within the development tight and makes resale comparables easier to read.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 BR | 2 | $1,471 | $1,029,000 |
| 2 BR | 1 | $1,495 | $1,110,000 |
| 3 BR | 1 | $1,606 | $1,780,000 |
| 4 BR | 4 | $1,387 | $2,076,500 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 8 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $968,000 to $2,430,000, averaging $1,656,750 (~$1,609 psf).
Rents range from $1,600 to $5,600 per month across 85 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 2.0%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2026, the average PSF has appreciated by 25.9% (from $1,275 to $1,606 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
Within D15, Versailles plays in a different league from the new launches. Grand Dunman (S$2,537 psf, 99-year leasehold from 2022, 1,008 units) and Tembusu Grand (S$2,461 psf, 638 units) offer fresh leases, mega-condo facilities, and contemporary unit layouts — but at psf premiums of 53–73% over Versailles. The Continuum (S$2,790 psf, freehold, 816 units) is the closest tenure-comparable but charges a 73% premium for the newer build, larger facility set, and more prestigious address.
The honest framing: a buyer choosing between Versailles and Grand Dunman is choosing between freehold-plus-renovation at S$1.78M and 99-year-leasehold-turn-key at S$2.5M+ for a smaller unit. Amber Park (S$2,540 psf, freehold, 592 units) is the more direct comparable on tenure but sits closer to the East Coast and asks a 58% premium for the better address and brand. For pure school catchment with freehold and walkable MRT, Versailles is the budget pick — nothing in the immediate area matches the value-per-square-foot proposition.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VERSAILLES | Freehold | 1994 | 55 | $1,609 |
| GRAND DUNMAN | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2022 | 2023 | 1,008 | $2,537 |
| EMERALD OF KATONG | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2023 | 2024 | 846 | $2,640 |
| THE CONTINUUM | Freehold | 2023 | 816 | $2,790 |
| TEMBUSU GRAND | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2022 | 2023 | 638 | $2,461 |
| AMBER PARK | Freehold | 2021 | 592 | $2,540 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates VERSAILLES across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Lived here 8 years. Quiet, never crowded, neighbours are mostly long-term owners who know each other. Walk to Dakota in 5 minutes, walk to PLQ for groceries, walk to Old Airport Road for hawker food. The location is genuinely hard to beat at this price point.”
— Resident review via EdgeProp
“Facilities are very basic — pool and a tiny gym, that’s about it. If you want resort-style amenities, this isn’t the place. We chose it for the freehold tenure and the Kong Hwa catchment for our daughter, and we’ve been happy with that trade-off.”
— Resident review via PropertyGuru
“Some units need full renovation — we spent close to S$130k on ours. Bathrooms and kitchen were original 1994. Once renovated, the unit feels modern and the layout works much better than the new launches we viewed at Tembusu Grand.”
— Resident review via EdgeProp
The pattern across reviews is consistent: residents accept the facility limitations as the price of getting freehold tenure, low-density living, school catchment, and Dakota MRT walkability at a meaningfully lower psf than the new launches. The development functions less as a lifestyle product and more as a quiet, well-located residential base — which suits the owner-occupier profile that dominates its buyer mix.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure — no lease-decay risk
- Walkable to Dakota MRT (420 m) and Paya Lebar interchange (720 m)
- Strong P1 school catchment — 5 schools within 1 km incl. Kong Hwa & Tanjong Katong Primary
- Significant psf discount vs new launches (~36–42% cheaper)
- Spacious 1,300–1,500 sqft 3-bedroom layouts
- Low-density boutique scale — only 55 units, never crowded
- Walking distance to PLQ Mall and Old Airport Road Food Centre
- Reasonable maintenance fees due to compact facility set
- Geylang Park Connector access for cycling and jogging
- En-bloc potential — small unit count + freehold parcel in gentrified district
- Minimal facilities — pool + small gym only, no tennis/clubhouse/function room
- Older fixtures — most units need S$80K–S$150K renovation
- 1994 build shows age externally; classical façade is polarising
- Below-average gross yield (2.02%) — weak rental investment case
- No high-floor stacks or skyline views (low-rise development)
- Investment score only 40/100 — limited capital appreciation tailwind
- No children's playground or dedicated play areas on site
Verdict
Versailles makes the most sense for one specific buyer profile: a Singaporean family with primary-school-age children who want freehold tenure, school catchment, and walkable MRT access without paying new-launch psf. At S$1,609 psf average against S$2,461–S$2,790 psf at the surrounding new condos, the value differential is too large to ignore — even after factoring in renovation spend and the meaningfully smaller facility set. For a 1,400 sqft 3-bedroom freehold within Kong Hwa primary catchment, Versailles is one of the cheapest entries in the district.
The investment case is harder to make. The 2.02% gross yield is below the D15 average and well below comparable yields in city-fringe locations like Mattar or Aljunied. The 40/100 investment score reflects this — capital appreciation has been steady (averaging around S$1,500–S$1,609 psf over the last 12 months) but won’t outpace the new launches that draw most of the institutional and HNW buying interest. For a pure rental investor, this is not the right asset.
The 61/100 en-bloc score is the wildcard. At 55 units on a freehold parcel in a now-thoroughly-gentrified part of D15, Versailles has the right ingredients for collective sale interest in the next economic up-cycle — small unit count makes consensus easier, freehold tenure removes lease-decay risk, and the surrounding land values have run hard. It’s not a near-term certainty, but it is a meaningful tail-risk upside that owner-occupiers shouldn’t entirely ignore.