Why Seletar Park Residence Underperformed—Despite Its District 28 Location And Large Unit Sizes

What is Seletar Park Residence’s ROI not telling us about this project?

At first glance, Seletar Park Residence appears to be a quiet achiever: a low unit-count development tucked into a peaceful landed enclave –  something that might combine the cost-efficiency of condo living with the experience of a landed area. But when you look at the numbers, the story is less reassuring. Since its launch in 2012, this 99-year leasehold condo has posted one of the lowest annualised returns among its peers, and gains have been rather flat. In this breakdown, we explore what’s really behind its subdued performance – from pricing psychology to EC competition – and we can see the full picture emerge by digging beyond just the ROI.

A Quick Summary of Seletar Park Residence

Seletar Park Residence is a 276-unit, 99-year leasehold condominium located in the quiet Seletar Hills enclave of District 28. Completed in 2015, it was positioned as an exclusive (low unit-count), low-density project, offering larger-than-average unit sizes. However, despite these qualities being in high demand, the project has seen relatively flat price growth over the years, with performance trailing many of its peers in the district and beyond.

Let’s take a quick look at Seletar Park Residence’s ROI:

0.74 per cent is a frankly dismal number; the values are close to unchanged despite a 12-year period. But is this typical of the projects within this district? Let’s see:

Seletar Park Residence has underperformed in both its own district as well as the broader market. 

Over the same 12-year period, 99-year leasehold condos in District 28 appreciated at an annualised rate of 2.27 per cent, while the islandwide average came in at a strong 4.94 per cent. This suggests that the issue isn’t with District 28 as a whole. 

Some might argue that the numbers are distorted by launch pricing, where developers of neighbouring projects may have priced units more aggressively, leading to stronger price growth on paper. To remove that variable, we’ve focused solely on resale transactions, which offer a clearer picture of actual market performance.

Unfortunately, it didn’t help. Even when we strip out developer pricing and look purely at resale transactions, Seletar Park Residence still trails far behind. 

From 2016 to 2024, its average annualised growth was just 1.35 per cent, compared to 6.48 per cent for other 99-year leasehold condos in District 28; and 4.06 per cent across Singapore.

So what happened? The only way to tell is to narrow things down further, and make a comparison against Seletar Park’s immediate neighbours. These would be:

Now we’re going to look at the performance of these neighbouring condos, starting from their respective launch dates: 

Seletar Park Residence has posted the lowest annualised growth since launch, among other 99-year leasehold developments in the area. However, when we look at the types of neighbouring projects, the problems become clear. 

The Topiary and, much later on, Parc Greenwich, are both Executive Condominiums (ECs). These are sold at much lower initial prices, as they’re intended as a form of sandwich-class housing. ECs have much more room for price growth in their fifth year, when they reach the Minimum Occupancy Period (MOP), and from the 10th year onward when they’re fully privatised. 

This doesn’t just make nearby private condos appear to appreciate more slowly; there’s a very real element of competition. Take, for instance, 2012, when The Topiary and Seletar Park Residence both began to record sales: at around $749 psf, The Topiary was much lower than Seletar Park’s $1,128 psf. For buyers who were eligible to purchase Topiary, deciding to buy Seletar Park Residence instead may have been a tough call. Certainly, by 2023, Topiary had already surpassed Seletar Park in price. 

Having another subsequent EC appear nearby (Parc Greenwich) will provide further competition in future, once it reaches its MOP. 

Now let’s compare resale transactions between Seletar Park and its neighbours

We’ll start from 2016 onward, as that’s when resale transactions began at Seletar Park:

We’re not too surprised to see the same pattern holds for resale-only transactions, as we’ve established the issue with the EC competition above. What’s striking, however, is that Seletar Springs Condominium, a much older project launched in 1997, outpaced both Seletar Park and The Topiary with an annualised growth rate of 4.7 per cent. But The Topiary, thanks to its strong head start, retains the lead at a 6.47 per cent ROI.

But perhaps certain unit types in Seletar Park Residences may have managed to buck the trend. 

It was, after all, marketed on the strength of its layouts. We’ll take a look, but for consistency, we’ll review resale transactions from 2017 to 2024, to avoid years where data was too limited.

1-bedroom units

At the start, one-bedders at Seletar Park Residence were priced above those at The Greenwich; but we can see their price performance failed to keep pace. From 2017 to 2024, Seletar Park’s one-bedders saw an annualised growth of just 1.92 per cent, compared to 3.51 per cent at The Greenwich.

Part of the issue is the perception of value (or rather the lack of it). Seletar Park’s one-bedders are slightly more compact on average, and were launched at a higher price per square foot. 

That premium doesn’t seem to have translated into stronger resale demand. In fact, by 2024, the average price gap between the two had narrowed to just over $50 psf, despite Seletar Park’s units still commanding the higher price. We’ll have a better picture of this once we compare the absolute quantum below. 

2-bedroom units

Two-bedroom units at Seletar Park Residence posted the weakest growth of all projects, with just 0.56 per cent annualised appreciation from 2017 to 2024. While The Topiary is a simple case of EC advantage, we also see that even the much older Seletar Springs pulled off a respectable 4.06 per cent.

So why the drag?

One of the main reasons is sheer square footage. Seletar Park Residence has the largest average unit size at around 1,110 sq ft, compared to 921 sq ft at The Greenwich and just 753 sq ft at The Topiary. 

Ironically, these larger sizes were meant to be Seletar Park’s strength, but it also resulted in a higher quantum, which resulted in weaker price appreciation, and tougher sales. We’ll see more of this below.

3-bedroom units

We are seeing a similar pattern here, related to larger floor plates. In 2024, Seletar Park’s three-bedroom units averaged nearly $985 psf, translating to a quantum of roughly $1.79 million. In contrast, The Topiary averaged $1,424 psf but, due to the smaller size, still came in at a much lower quantum. 

Again, we’ll explain more below when we compare the exact quantum.

4-bedroom units

The pattern still holds: larger units than surrounding options, which drive the price point to less palatable levels. Seletar Park’s four-bedroom units average a massive 2,045 sq ft, equal to some penthouses today. This is likely to be quite unaffordable to the average buyer today, as we’ll see below.

Finally, here are the total prices (quantum) based on unit sizes, which we’ll compare to nearby condos:

Average 1-bedroom sizes (for units sold between 2016 and 2024)

Between 2016 and 2024, Seletar Park Residence’s average one-bedroom unit sold for $714,263, compared to $712,003 at The Greenwich. That’s only a marginal difference, but here’s the kicker: the average size at Seletar Park was smaller at 572 sq. ft., compared to 611 sq. ft. at The Greenwich. In other words, buyers were paying more money for less space at Seletar Park, thus leading to its weaker performance. 

As an added qualitative factor, rentability further contributed to Greenwich’s lead

According to some realtors we spoke to, The Greenwich has much higher rentability (note: many one-bedders are purchased as rental assets rather than for own-stay use.) 

Realtors noted that Greenwich is a mixed-use development with a Cold Storage downstairs, and direct bus access to both Yio Chu Kang MRT (NSL) and Serangoon MRT (NEL, CCL). So while Greenwich is not within walking distance of any MRT station, it’s more connected than it looks, which will draw tenants. 

Seletar Park Residence, meanwhile, is tucked deeper into the Seletar Hills landed enclave; this privacy was one of its main selling points. But while that’s nice for owner-occupiers, it’s much more of a hassle for tenants, who need to walk further to get to a connecting bus. 

Average 2-bedroom sizes (for units sold between 2016 and 2024)

From 2016 to 2024, Seletar Park’s two-bedders averaged $1.19 million, compared to $985,708 at The Greenwich and just $865,587 at The Topiary. By 2024, the pricing gap had widened further, with Seletar Park’s two-bedroom units transacting at $1.3 million, versus $1.14 million at The Greenwich and only $1.05 million at The Topiary.

That’s a $150,000 to $300,000 premium, depending on the comparison: a steep climb for buyers in District 28, and an example of how Seletar Park’s “big units” selling point has worked against it. 

Average 3-bedroom sizes (for units sold between 2016 and 2024)

Seletar Park Residence three-bedroom units are by far the largest among its peers, averaging a generous 1,814 sq ft That’s over 500 sq ft more than the average unit at The Greenwich, and more than 700 sq ft larger than those at The Topiary.

As you can predict by now, we’re going to say this is precisely the problem.

Between 2016 and 2024, the average price of a three-bedder at Seletar Park Residence was $1.84 million, significantly higher than The Greenwich ($1.48 million), The Topiary ($1.14 million), and even the much older Seletar Springs Condominium ($1.14 million).

By 2024, this gap widened further. A Seletar Park three-bedder transacted at a staggering $2.28 million, compared to just $1.57 million at The Greenwich and $1.42 million at The Topiary. That’s a $360,000 to $700,000 premium, depending on which project you compare it to.

While most buyers do love space, this may be striking the ceiling in the Seletar area. 

Average 4-bedroom sizes (for units sold between 2016 and 2024)

Seletar Park Residence’s four-bedroom units averaged $2 million in 2024, the highest among its neighbours. That’s roughly $150,000 to $300,000 more than units at Seletar Springs Condominium and The Topiary. But here’s the surprise:

Despite being the priciest, Seletar Park’s four-bedders are not the largest. At 1,462 sq ft, they’re actually smaller than Seletar Springs’ spacious 2,061 sq ft units. Even The Topiary’s 4-bedders are only slightly smaller at 1,350 sq ft; but these alternatives came in over $300,000 cheaper on average. 

So as of now, we can see two of these issues: competition from much lower-priced ECs, and units that are too big and drive up the quantum. Next, let’s compare absolute profit for these different projects:

Seletar Springs Condominium

The Greenwich

Seletar Park Residence

The Topiary

Among its neighbours, Seletar Park Residence recorded the lowest average gains for profitable transactions at $112,413, and the lowest average ROI at just 9.1 per cent. The Topiary tops the charts, but that’s just the EC advantage again (besides the higher average gains of $430,937, you’ll notice The Topiary only had one losing transaction; it’s very rare to lose money on an EC).

Seletar Park’s average loss for unprofitable transactions (–$41,467) wasn’t the worst, though. Greenwich suffered deeper average losses (–$98,719), and a nearly 1:1 ratio of winning versus losing sales. But regardless, it does show that Seletar Park struggled to deliver meaningful upside, and how bigger doesn’t always mean better (except perhaps in a purely homeowner sense, without concern for returns.)

What if we compare Seletar Park Residence only to projects that launched in the same year? 

This time, we’ll do away with location, and just compare Seletar Park to other new launches at the same time. This might also do away with its EC problem:

Even now, Seletar Park Residence trails its peers that launched in 2012, with 0.67 per cent growth. Note that these were all private condos. However, we should also note that the launch timing of this particular cohort wasn’t great – 2012 was the year before a market peak (2013), after which cooling measures placed tremendous downward pressure on the market. But even among this slow-moving cohort, Seletar Park’s performance wasn’t stellar. 

Finally, let’s look at a floor plan comparison:

To explore whether layout could be affecting demand, we’ll compare Seletar Park Residence to projects with similar average unit sizes. Given that The Topiary is the closest in age and generally more affordable, we’ll refer to its layouts for comparison where applicable. Where The Topiary doesn’t have a similar sized unit for comparison, we’ll use the next closest project.

One-bedder units 

Seletar Park Residence – 582 sq ft

The Greenwich – 614 sq ft

Seletar Park has an interesting feature that we rarely see: a vanity is placed outside the bathroom, running parallel to the built-in wardrobe. This creates a quasi walk-in wardrobe that leads into the bathroom. Whilst unique, we’re not sure how buyers today will react to it.

The balcony is also larger at Seletar Park: it stretches from the living area to the bedroom, while the one in The Greenwich lines just the living/dining area. This can go either way: those who like big balconies will enjoy it, but some buyers consider balconies a waste of valuable floor space, especially in a space-scarce one-bedder. 

This aside, The Greenwich one-bedder is split into wet and dry kitchens, with the wet kitchen enclosed. It’s quite rare for a one-bedder to have both kitchen types, which gives an edge to Greenwich. 

One thing that some buyers may not like, however, is the need to go into the bedroom to use the bathroom (this is true for both condos.) But overall, this comparison is more of a win for Greenwich due to the clever kitchen layout. Also note that Greenwich has a household shelte,r whilst Seletar Park does not.

2-bedroom units

Seletar Park Residence – 797 sq ft

The Topiary – 753 sq ft

While The Topiary offers a single standard layout and size for its two-bedroom units, Seletar Park Residence provides a few variations, of which the 797 sq ft layout is the smallest. We’ll use that for comparison as it’s the closest in size. 

Both are two-bedroom, two-bathroom units, but Topiary features a dumbbell layout: both bedrooms flank the living room, thus mitigating the need for corridor space. This is considered more efficient by most buyers today, which gives it an edge over Seletar Park.

In terms of kitchen design, Seletar Park Residence has an open kitchen integrated with the dining area, while The Topiary features an enclosed kitchen. While open kitchens have been the trend for some time, we do feel more buyers today are going back to enclosable cooking spaces.

As with its one-bedroom unit, Seletar Park Residence places the bathroom vanity outside the bathroom, running parallel to the built-in wardrobe. 

3-bedroom units

Seletar Park Residence – 1,292 sq ft

The Topiary – 1,055 sq ft

Both developments offer a variety of three-bedroom layouts. Seletar Park, as mentioned, was built to be larger; so the smallest of its three-bedders start at 1,292 sq ft. 

One of the most noticeable differences is the balcony design: Seletar Park Residence features a long balcony that stretches from the living area across all three bedrooms, offering direct access from each room. In contrast, The Topiary’s balcony is confined to the living area. While some may see the extended balcony as inefficient use of space, this particular style of balcony, designed to maximise the view, may be forgivable or tolerated in a unit of this size. In fact, we’d say it’s an advantage over Topiary, where space is also taken up by a balcony; but it only stretches across the living area. 

The living and dining areas in Seletar Park Residence share a combined space, whereas The Topiary keeps them segregated. Both kitchens are enclosed and come with a utility area and WC, though The Topiary has the added bonus of a yard. All three bedrooms in both units are large enough to fit a double bed. 

For these two layouts, we don’t think one is significantly better than the other; but Seletar Park is bigger in raw square footage.

Four-bedroom units

Seletar Park Residence – 1,378 sq ft

The Topiary – 1,367 sq ft

Seletar Park Residence once again has larger average units, with its smallest four-bedder starting at 1,378 sq ft. As with the three-bedders, we see the characteristic balcony stretching from the living area across three of the bedrooms, providing an excellent landscape view.

In contrast, The Topiary provides two separate balconies, one in the living/dining area and another attached to the master bedroom. This is definitely less preferable as space is still taken up by the balconies, but lacks the same kind of visual impact. 

Both units have combined living and dining spaces. This time, Seletar Park Residence features an enclosed kitchen as well, like Topiary, and they both include a utility area, yard, and WC, The Topiary’s kitchen still takes the edge though, as it’s further split into wet and dry zones.

Topiary also adds a powder room near the living area, which is a nice touch for larger units that can afford the space. As for bedroom sizes, three of the four rooms in both layouts can comfortably accommodate a double bed, while the fourth is more suited to a single bed. 

We’d prefer Topiary, specific to this smallest four-bedder in Seletar Park.

Overall conclusion:

Seletar Park Residence shows that bigger doesn’t always mean better, in terms of returns. From the perspective of pure owner-occupancy, it may have a qualitative edge: it’s got a high degree of privacy in a tranquil enclave, and low unit count. It’s also more spacious, but it still lags significantly behind comparable developments.

While Seletar Park’s generous floor plans might appeal to homebuyers, they translate into a larger upfront cost, and buyers in this area leaned toward more affordable options like The Topiary. Also related to this is the issue of Seletar Park’s unit mix: 

Between 2010 and 2013, during this brief era, there was a trend of purchasing smaller condo units as investments and this accounts for the high percentage of one-bedders in Seletar Park Residence (close to three-quarters of the units are one and two-bedders). This is less favourable to families, and it doesn’t help that, as seen above, they were priced higher than the surrounding options. 

Finally, from word on the ground, we’ve been told that maintenance could be improved for this project (this can be a bit subjective though, and may change depending on the current management.) 

Does that mean it’s a “bad” project? Not really – it depends on your main intention. If you’re happy to trade returns for space, peace, and a low-unit count living experience, it can work for you. But if you’re primarily an investor, Seletar Park is a tough choice. 

The challenge with evaluating condo performance isn’t always about headline price trends. Sometimes, it’s about understanding the deeper context of buyer demand, unit mix, and positioning.

Too many buyers are drawn in by spacious layouts or boutique appeal, only to realise later that factors like nearby EC competition or pricing misalignment can drag down long-term returns. We hope this breakdown gave you a clearer lens for identifying these patterns before committing.

At Stacked, we’ve applied this exact approach, blending price performance data with ground sentiment, to help hundreds of buyers avoid costly assumptions and find better-aligned homes.

Curious how these principles apply to your own property search or investment strategy? Let’s chat.

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