Are Older One- and Two-Bedders in District 21 Holding Up Against the New Launches? We Break It Down

District 21 (D21) covers Upper Bukit Timah, Clementi Park, and Ulu Pandan, and it’s one of the most varied districts. D21 is really not easy to categorise because it has the full range of landed housing, boutique condos, some larger mass-market condos, etc. If there’s one thing they all have in common, it’s a good amount of green space and family-oriented amenities. 

For one- and two-bedders, D21 tends to draw a mix of investors and younger buyers. Investors are attracted by the rental potential from nearby educational institutions, while homeowners are drawn to the lower entry price compared to CCR districts, with a similar lifestyle setting.

The big question, however, is whether newer or older projects here are falling behind with age. In this article, we’ll break down the performance of older versus newer one- and two-bedders in D21 over the past decade, to help inform your buying or selling decisions.

To start, we’re focusing only on 99-year leasehold condos, as this is where the effects of lease decay are most significant. For this analysis, “new” refers to condo projects that are 20 years old or younger, while “old” refers to those beyond the 20-year mark.

We use 20 years as the dividing line for two reasons. First, it aligns with how long most condo projects tend to last; and most condos that go en bloc are between 19 and 24 years of age. Second, it’s consistent with how the market itself views ageing projects, as condos above 20 years are conventionally regarded as “older” by buyers.

For newer condos, we’ll include projects with leases starting from 1994 to 2014. For older condos, we’ll look at those with leases starting from 1993 and earlier. This ensures we’re tracking the same pool of projects over time.

Finally, we’ll use only subsale and resale transactions to avoid distortions caused by developer discounts.

First, let’s look at how condo projects have fared in D21 overall

Let’s start by looking at the overall performance of non-landed private properties in D21 (resale)

Over the past decade, resale condos in D21 appreciated at 4.44 per cent, which is noticeably higher than the islandwide average of 3.30 per cent. 

But since our focus is on how age affects property performance, it makes sense to narrow this further. 

So we’ll zoom in on the 99-year leasehold condos in D21, where age and lease length play a more direct role in determining value. Let’s see how these leasehold condos have performed over the past 10 years.

Leasehold projects here saw an annualised growth rate of 5.60 per cent, which is comfortably above the islandwide average of 4.25 per cent; so D21 leasehold projects are a strong performer in general. 

For completeness, let’s also take a look at how 999-year and freehold projects in D21 have performed over the same period. 

Just like the leasehold segment, 999-year/freehold projects in D21 have also managed to beat the overall market. Prices appreciated at an annualised 4.38 per cent versus 2.97 per cent islandwide.

However, our focus is on leasehold, as this is where age/lease decay can be expected to show the most tangible effects. So now let’s look at how newer versus older projects have performed in D21:

The difference is very small. Newer leasehold projects in D21 have recorded an annualised growth rate of 3.78 per cent, compared to 3.41 per cent for older developments; most investors would consider this negligible. 

That said, $PSF figures alone don’t always tell the full story. 

To get a clearer picture, let’s take a look at the average quantum (total price) transacted for new versus old projects in D21.

Looking at the total quantum, the picture shifts slightly. At first, older properties tended to have a higher quantum; but by 2024, we can see the trend reversed, with newer projects overtaking them.

Overall, newer developments saw a price increase of about 48 per cent over the 10-year period, compared to 27 per cent for older ones. 

To see why this might be happening, let’s look at specific unit types, starting with one-bedders.

1-bedroom units

Average $PSF

Because there were no transactions in certain years, we will look at the period from 2017 to 2023. 

We see that newer one-bedders recorded an annualised growth rate of 9.10 per cent, compared to 5.08 per cent for older units. In most years, new projects commanded a higher $PSF than their older counterparts, and it has generally widened over time.

So far, this suggests that buyers of smaller units are more sensitive to age: newer one-bedders in D21 appear to do better. 

But we can’t always get the full picture from $PSF alone, so let’s look at the actual quantum:

Average price

This is broadly similar to what we saw with $PSF. 

From 2017 to 2023, newer one-bedders rose from about $800,000 to $1.35 million – a 68.8 per cent increase. In the same period, older one-bedders went from around $634,000 to $824,000, or about 29.9 per cent growth.

So in terms of quantum as well, the gap between new and old one-bedders has widened sharply. New projects command a higher $PSF as well as higher overall prices. 

Let’s see if square footage is a factor in all of this 

Average size (based on units transacted)

Newer one-bedders in D21 actually appear to have larger average sizes than older ones. 

But a strong caveat to be clear here is the very limited transaction history to go by for one-bedder condos; if anything, we wouldn’t read too much into the data for this at this point. 

This is the total number of transactions we looked at: 

Unfortunately, this is not ideal. With so few one-bedroom transactions in D21, our figures should be taken with a pinch of salt. 

Now let’s look into the specific one-bedder projects involved:

New

Old

We can see that one of the clear reasons for Southaven – the newer project – costing more is simply down to its larger size. But let’s look at transactions over the past decade:

From 2017 to 2023, Southaven I one-bedders appreciated at an annualised 9.10 per cent, compared to 5.08 per cent for Sherwood Tower. 

That said, the limited number of transactions means the sample size is too thin to draw sweeping conclusions. The only takeaway is that newer one-bedders, like those at Southaven I have shown stronger growth; and this can’t be considered representative, as the transactions are specific to these two projects. 

We would normally want to look at rental yields as well, as they could reflect investor demand; but as there have been rental transactions in Sherwood Tower over the past year, we can’t compare yields.

Perhaps the two-bedroom units will be more revealing:

2-bedroom units

Average $PSF

Over the past decade, older two-bedders in D21 outpaced newer ones, with an annualised growth rate of 4.01 per cent versus 3.35 per cent. This is quite unusual, as newer projects generally have the advantage when it comes to appreciation.

Over the years, the $PSF gap between old and new two-bedders has narrowed. While newer projects still tend to command a higher $PSF, we can see that by 2024, the gap stood at just $96 psf: much closer than earlier peaks.

This points to strong resilience in the older two-bedders, which continue to defy lease decay.

Now let’s examine the same units in terms of average quantum:

Average price

Over the past decade, the price gap between new and old two-bedders has narrowed, but older units still cost slightly more on average: as of 2024, older two-bedders averaged about $1.52 million, compared to $1.51 million for newer ones.

Gains-wise, newer two-bedders rose by about 42.5 per cent, while older ones climbed by 38.5 per cent. So while the percentage gain was higher for newer projects, the older two-bedders are still more expensive in absolute price. 

Let’s see if this is a matter of spaciousness:

Average size (based on units transacted)

The data shows that older two-bedders in D21 are notably larger than their newer counterparts. Even in years where the gap narrowed, older units still averaged at least 70 to 100 sq ft more.

This size premium is why older two-bedders have consistently higher average prices, despite lower $PSF. This may explain the resilience of older leasehold condos, as they provide more space. 

Here are the total number of transactions we looked at: 

Now let’s look a the specific projects for these transactions

New

Old

Among the newer projects, Le Wood and High Oak Condominium bring down the overall average: both transacted at lower prices than Pine Grove, which happens to be the most affordable of the older developments. 

The key difference is size: Pine Grove units are much larger at around 1,324 sq ft on average, which naturally pushes up their overall quantum.

At the same time, Cavendish Park, an older condo, posted one of the highest average $PSF among all the projects, second only to the newer Gardenvista. This shows that not all older developments lag behind newer ones; some can still achieve very competitive $PSF levels.

Overall, while older two-bedders in D21 cost more on average, it’s clear that this is influenced by the mix of projects involved. 

Some newer developments are priced lower due to smaller sizes or less premium positioning, while certain older projects continue to punch above their weight in both $PSF and quantum.

With that in mind, let’s examine how these individual projects have performed over the past 10 years, the newer ones in bold for easier comparison.

Since there are no transactions in certain years, we’ll focus only on those with transactions in both 2014 and 2024. 

From this comparison, the newer two-bedders have generally outperformed the older ones over the decade. While there are notable variations based on size (see above), the market does show some aversion to lease decay. 

That said, pricing alone doesn’t tell the full story. To round out the picture, let’s also consider rental performance. 

Newer two-bedders generated higher rental yields than the older ones, but this is predictable because the older ones are larger and tend to be pricier. Gross yield is (rental income / total price), so a higher quantum unit will suppress yields. 

That said, when we compare certain developments with broadly similar average prices, the newer projects show an edge. For example, The Raintree versus Astor Green.

The Raintree commands a higher monthly rent despite being in the same price band as Astor Green, suggesting that rental demand can tilt toward newer developments. This is also not entirely surprising, as many newer units also tend to have newer renovations in the unit, newer facilities, etc. 

Conclusion

For one-bedders, the data is unfortunately a bit limited; but from what we do see, newer projects have pulled ahead. That’s not only in $PSF but also in overall prices, with the gap widening over time. 

For two-bedders, however, older projects still hold their ground. While newer developments showed higher percentage gains over the decade, older units remain more expensive on average. Nonetheless, the resistance to lease decay shows it’s not easy to go wrong with a D21 condo; even if you happen to pick an older leasehold one. 

On the rental front, yields skew higher for newer two-bedders, but this is mostly a function of lower quantum rather than stronger rentability.

Overall, it’s fair to say that smaller units in D21 lean toward newer projects, even though older ones retain their values surprisingly well. So pick new if you can, but don’t be too worried about age, even for the leasehold units. 

In part two, we’ll be looking at the performance of three- and four-bedders in D21, units that are preferred by family units rather than investors. Let’s see if there’s a strong reaction to lease decay when more buyers are owner-occupiers rather than investors. 

If you’d like to get in touch for a more in-depth consultation, you can do so here.