Westmont
Overview & Key Facts
Westmont is an eleven-unit strata cluster development on West Coast Road in District 5 — a boutique completed in 2010 by Macly Pte Ltd that occupies a rare 99-year leasehold strata-landed footprint in what is, otherwise, a corridor dominated by large leasehold apartment complexes and the sprawling Normanton Park mega-development. With a land area of approximately 1,443 sqm shared among eleven cluster houses, Westmont offers a distinctly different proposition from the typical D5 condominium: the lived experience of a landed home — private floors, direct-access parking, low-density community — bundled with shared pool and BBQ facilities.
The data picture is thin but directionally clear. Two rental transactions on record averaging S$6,000 per month (median S$6,000) position Westmont firmly in the upper-middle rental band for D5. Competitor benchmarks — Normanton Park at S$1,866 psf, Parc Clematis at S$1,885 psf, and Faber Residence at S$2,157 psf — provide context for a sub-market where the larger, better-connected projects command the bulk of transaction volume. Westmont trades on a different axis: quietness, format, and the rare option of cluster-house living without the cost or complexity of a full landed purchase.
The trade-off is immediate and significant: a ShiokNest composite score of 48/100 reflects a development where the car-dependent location, ageing 99-year lease with approximately 83 years remaining, and zero rail connectivity within practical walking distance compress the investment case materially. West Coast Road is not a commuter address. It is a quality-of-life address for households who drive, value space over connectivity, and are drawn specifically to the NUS – one-north – Science Park employment belt that rings this part of District 5.
Location & Connectivity
West Coast Road runs along the southern fringe of Clementi and West Coast in District 5, connecting the Pasir Panjang industrial corridor to the west with the Clementi residential cluster to the north and the Kent Ridge – NUS belt to the east. It is a broad arterial that carries substantial lorry and bus traffic, lined with a mix of conservation bungalows, cluster housing, private estates, and HDB towns within cycling distance — but not a street designed for pedestrians or public-transit users.
Rail access is the defining weakness of this address. The nearest MRT — Kent Ridge MRT (Circle Line, CC24) — is approximately 0.92 km from Westmont, and Haw Par Villa MRT (CC25) provides a second Circle Line option in the opposite direction. Neither station is within comfortable daily-commute walking distance on a West Coast Road pavement in Singapore’s heat and humidity — a 10–12 minute walk that most residents will replace with a car or bus. The walkability score of 22/100 is one of the lowest in D5; this is not a neighbourhood where errands, dining, or commuting on foot is a realistic default.
Where Westmont’s location genuinely delivers is proximity to the one-north innovation district, National University of Singapore (1.10 km), National University Hospital, and the Science Park I & II cluster that houses global biomedical, technology, and defence-tech employers. For academics, researchers, NUS faculty, and one-north professionals — a significant fraction of D5’s expatriate rental population — the 10–15 minute drive or bus ride to campus is genuinely convenient by Singapore standards, even if the rail gap is frustrating. West Coast Park is approximately 1.0–1.5 km south — a cycling route that offsets some of the neighbourhood’s walkability deficit with direct access to Singapore’s most underrated waterfront recreational belt.
Day-to-day retail is workable rather than convenient. West Coast Plaza at approximately 1.2 km and Clementi Mall at roughly 2.5 km (via Clementi MRT) cover groceries, F&B, and services, though neither is walkable from Westmont. Residents with cars will find the AYE on-ramp at Clementi Road gives them CBD access in 15–20 minutes off-peak.
Schools & Education
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| National University of Singapore | tertiary | ~1.1 km |
| Kent Ridge Secondary School | secondary | ~1.3 km |
| NUS High School of Mathematics and Science | jc | ~1.6 km |
| Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) | secondary | ~1.9 km |
Facilities
For an eleven-unit development, Westmont is unusually well-equipped. A 25-metre swimming pool, private jacuzzi, children’s playground, and barbeque pits — maintained across just eleven households — represents a level of facility provision that is genuinely rare at this scale. Most Singapore micro-boutiques abandon pool and recreational infrastructure entirely when unit counts drop below 20; Westmont’s developer evidently chose to build and fund these amenities, which meaningfully differentiates the development from the purely land-and-location plays that characterise boutique condominiums elsewhere.
The practical implication is higher monthly maintenance contributions relative to a no-facilities boutique: residents should budget S$400–600+ per month for a pool-owning eleven-unit MCST, versus S$150–300 for a bare-bones block. The facilities are a material selling point when competing for NUS faculty or research professionals who want the landed-home lifestyle without sacrificing a pool for their children.
“The pool for eleven families. You essentially have it to yourself most mornings. That was the deciding factor for us — the kids treat it as their private pool. You’d pay S$30,000 a year to maintain that privately in a landed house.”
— Cluster house resident perspective on boutique pool access via PropertyGuru community reviews
The cluster-house format itself functions as a facility in its own right. Multiple levels, direct parking at the unit, and the separation of living and sleeping floors that is simply unavailable in apartment-format condominiums is what Westmont’s buyers and tenants are underwriting. The trade-off is that maintenance of the individual unit — roof, external walls, internal fittings — falls partly on the owner rather than a shared fund, as is the case with all strata-landed formats.
Neighbourhood Comparison
Westmont’s most direct comparison set is not the large apartment condominiums that dominate D5 volume — it is the handful of other cluster houses and boutique strata-landed developments along the West Coast Road – Clementi corridor. Within D5, Westmont competes for the same NUS-adjacent tenant profile as developments like Faber Residence (S$2,157 psf, older 99-year leasehold, closer to Clementi), though direct like-for-like comparisons are complicated by format differences.
Against the apartment benchmark: Normanton Park (S$1,866 psf, 99yr/2023, 1,840 units) is the dominant D5 reference point — a mega-development with full resort facilities, its own internal bus connection to Kent Ridge MRT, and a tenant base drawn from the same NUS – one-north employment corridor. Normanton Park’s scale advantages — better facility-to-cost ratios, stronger price-discovery liquidity, newer build, more unit types — are significant. The argument for Westmont over Normanton Park is purely format: cluster house versus apartment, eleven-unit community versus 1,840 units, and a development footprint that has no parallel at Normanton Park’s scale.
Parc Clematis (S$1,885 psf, 99yr/2020, 1,468 units) at Jalan Lempeng addresses the MRT gap more effectively — it is closer to Clementi EWL and has superior public transport options. For tenants or buyers who are transit-dependent, Parc Clematis is a structurally superior choice. For format-seekers who need cluster-house living and can absorb the MRT gap, Parc Clematis does not offer an equivalent product.
ELTA (S$2,556 psf, 99yr) represents the new-launch premium at the higher end of D5 and targets a different buyer entirely — one paying for newness and modern specifications rather than land-format exposure. The S$690 psf gap between ELTA and Normanton Park is itself a useful lens on how much the D5 market has moved since Westmont’s 2010 TOP.
The school angle is meaningful but secondary. NUS High School of Mathematics and Science at 1.64 km and Kent Ridge Secondary School at 1.30 km provide MOE options, while NUS itself at 1.10 km is directly relevant for families with tertiary-age children or academics managing both campus life and a family. Anglo-Chinese Independent School at 1.93 km adds an independent-school option for families evaluating that pathway. None of these institutions commands the balloting premium of a Tao Nan or RGPS, but for the NUS-affiliated household they are a genuine secondary benefit.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WESTMONT | 2010 | 11 | — | |
| LANDED HOUSING DEVELOPMENT | Freehold | 2021 | 156 | $1,837 |
| NORMANTON PARK | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2019 | 2021 | 1,840 | $1,866 |
| PARC CLEMATIS | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2019 | 2021 | 1,450 | $1,885 |
| ELTA | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2025 | 501 | $2,556 |
| FABER RESIDENCE | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2025 | 2025 | 399 | $2,157 |
Lease Decay Analysis
The 99-year lease runs from 2010, meaning approximately 16 years have already been consumed. Roughly 83 years remain — still comfortably within the range where most banks will offer full financing without restrictions.
| Year | Lease remaining | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (now) | ~83 years | Full bank financing available |
| 2040 | ~69 years | CPF usage still unrestricted for most buyers |
| 2049 | ~59 years | Approaching 60-year threshold — CPF limits begin for some |
| 2069 | ~39 years | Significant financing restrictions for next buyer |
| 2109 | Expiry | Lease reverts to state |
For a buyer purchasing today with a 10-year horizon (exit around 2036), the lease situation is essentially a non-issue — you’d be selling a property with ~73 years remaining, which is still very bankable. The risk profile changes for longer holds.
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates WESTMONT across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“We moved here from a standard Clementi condo because we wanted the house feel without buying a landed property. Three levels, a garden area, the pool — for a family with two kids under ten, this format is completely different from an apartment. The NUS bus takes me to the Faculty of Science in eight minutes. For us, the lack of an MRT is irrelevant.”
— NUS faculty resident perspective on cluster house living via PropertyGuru community reviews
“The community of eleven units is part of why we chose it. You know your neighbours. The pool never has a queue. The BBQ area is actually usable on weekends without booking three weeks in advance. After four years in a 500-unit condo in Clementi, the contrast is stark.”
— Long-term resident on boutique cluster community via Singapore Expats condo directory
“West Coast Park on weekends is the reason we stay. Cycling from the house to the park, along the waterfront, back through Pasir Panjang — it’s what Singapore outdoor life should be. The MRT gap doesn’t matter to us. We drive everywhere anyway.”
— Westmont resident on waterfront lifestyle access via 99.co community discussion
The recurring theme across community feedback for Westmont and the broader West Coast Road cluster-house segment is consistent: residents choose this address deliberately, knowing the MRT gap, and value the format and neighbourhood quality over transit convenience. The one-north and NUS employment catchment provides a self-selecting tenant profile — professionals with employer transport allowances or own-vehicle arrangements who prioritise living space, low density, and park access over commute convenience.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Cluster house format — multi-storey private living not available in apartment condominiums at this price point
- Boutique pool (25m) and jacuzzi shared among only 11 units — effectively semi-private access
- BBQ facilities and children's playground in a low-density, quiet community
- NUS at 1.10 km — exceptional proximity for academics, researchers, and NUS-affiliated families
- West Coast Park cycling access ~1.0–1.5 km south — one of Singapore's best waterfront recreational corridors
- One-north, NUS High School, Kent Ridge Secondary, ACI all within 2 km — strong knowledge-economy tenant catchment
- Direct bus connections to NUS, NUH, one-north, Clementi MRT, Jurong East — reduces MRT dependency for bus-comfortable tenants
- Low-density 11-unit community — neighbours are known, shared facilities are uncrowded
- AYE access gives CBD reach in 15–20 minutes off-peak by car
- Competitive rental position: S$6,000/month cluster house vs equivalent standalone landed options at 2–3x the entry cost
- Walkability score 22/100 — one of the lowest in D5; car ownership is a practical requirement, not a convenience
- No MRT within comfortable walking distance — Kent Ridge CC24 is 0.92 km on a busy arterial; Haw Par Villa CC25 is the alternative
- 99-year leasehold with ~83 years remaining — drops below 75 years in ~8 years, below 60 years in ~23 years; CPF and financing constraints tighten progressively
- Only 2 rental transactions on record — price discovery is extremely thin; no resale caveat data available for robust valuation
- Higher maintenance fees than zero-facility boutiques — pool and jacuzzi across 11 households means significant per-unit MCST contribution
- Strata-landed format: internal maintenance (roof, fittings, finishes) partly owner-managed — unlike apartment condos with full sinking-fund coverage
- Limited retail walkability — West Coast Plaza ~1.2 km, Clementi Mall ~2.5 km; grocery runs require a vehicle
- Thin tenant pool: S$6,000/month cluster house appeals primarily to NUS/one-north professionals — vacancy risk if the employment anchor weakens
- No resale comparables on record — exit pricing is opaque and subject to negotiation without transaction history support
- Development completed 2010 — original fittings and common-area infrastructure are 15+ years old; a full refresh may be overdue
Verdict
Westmont is a highly specific product for a highly specific buyer, and the ShiokNest score of 48/100 does not capture the full picture for the tenant it is actually designed for. The composite score correctly penalises car-dependency (walkability 22/100), ageing 99-year lease (~83 years remaining), and the absence of practical rail access — these are real structural constraints that affect a broad range of buyers. For the NUS academic, biomedical researcher, or one-north professional who owns a car, travels internationally, and wants to give their family a landed-lifestyle experience at a fraction of the cost and complexity of a full landed purchase, Westmont’s score understates its livability.
The investment case is harder to construct. At an average rent of S$6,000 per month, the gross yield depends entirely on the entry price — and with minimal resale transaction data on record, price discovery is difficult. Against D5 apartment peers: Normanton Park (S$1,866 psf, 1,840 units, excellent facilities), Parc Clematis (S$1,885 psf, 1,468 units, Clementi MRT proximity), and the newer ELTA (S$2,556 psf) all offer superior MRT access, deeper market liquidity, and clearer price-discovery mechanisms. For a pure yield investor, these larger apartment projects are more tractable. Westmont’s investment appeal is for buyers who value the format — cluster house, low density, pool — above connectivity metrics, and who are prepared to accept thinner transaction data and a lease that begins its meaningful depreciation curve within a decade.
The NUS – one-north rental thesis is Westmont’s strongest structural defence. The corridor’s tenant pool — foreign academics, senior researchers, biomedical and tech professionals on relocation packages — has historically been less MRT-dependent than the mass-market renter, more focused on space and school proximity, and more comfortable in D5 addresses that require car ownership. S$6,000 per month for a cluster house with a private pool, 1.1 km from NUS, and minutes from West Coast Park is a genuinely competitive offer for that segment. As long as NUS, NUH, and the one-north employers remain anchored to this corner of Singapore, Westmont’s rental floor has structural support.
The honest verdict: buy or rent here if you own a car, value space over transit, work within 3 km of the unit, and are comfortable with an eleven-unit community and an 83-year lease horizon. Do not buy here as a pure investment or as a primary residence for a transit-dependent household. The walkability score of 22/100 is not an abstraction — it is the lived reality of this address, and no amount of NUS proximity changes the 0.92 km walk to the nearest MRT.