Cosmo
Overview & Key Facts
Cosmo is a 45-unit freehold boutique condominium at 18 Guillemard Crescent, tucked into one of District 14’s quieter residential pockets where Mountbatten, Old Airport Road, and the Dakota/Aljunied corridor converge. Developed by Dakota Development Pte Ltd and completed in 2010, the project sits on a compact site that prioritises MRT-walkability over sprawling landscaping — a deliberate trade-off that defines the development’s investor-friendly character. With a maximum building height of around 13 storeys and just 45 units in total, Cosmo belongs to a specific niche of boutique freehold shoebox-and-compact developments that emerged along the Guillemard/Mountbatten strip in the late-2000s and early 2010s.
The unit mix skews decisively toward compact, rentable configurations — a median transacted price of roughly S$1,028,000 at an average PSF of S$1,830 implies typical units around the 560 sqft shoebox range, with studio, 2-bedroom, penthouse, and maisonette formats in the original mix. That sizing translates directly into the standout operational metric: 82 rental transactions in the tracked window against only 8 sales, with an average rent of S$2,936 and a 3.33% gross yield — genuinely strong numbers by current D14 boutique standards and materially above the ~2.0–2.5% typical of larger freehold peers in the wider RCR.
The ShiokNest composite score of 62/100 reflects the honest picture: the building is modestly facilitated, the land plot is tight, and en-bloc upside is limited at 45 units on a compact parcel. But the structural case is clear — a freehold title at S$1,830 psf sitting roughly 16% below the same-corridor leasehold benchmark Parc Esta (99-year, S$2,182 psf), paired with Mountbatten CCL at a 0.44 km doorstep walk and four MRT lines within 1.1 km. For the investor buyer who prioritises yield durability and MRT connectivity over facilities scale, Cosmo occupies a defensible value position in the RCR boutique freehold segment.
Location & Connectivity
Guillemard Crescent sits in a transport pocket that most buyers underestimate until they walk it. Mountbatten MRT (CC7, Circle Line) is approximately 0.44 km away — a genuine doorstep walk of under six minutes along a flat residential street, not the 10–15 minute “MRT walkable” claim that many D14 listings stretch. From Mountbatten, the Circle Line connects one stop south to Dakota and three stops to Paya Lebar interchange, giving residents single-transfer access to the East–West Line (Paya Lebar EW8), Downtown Line (Promenade CC4), and the North–South Line via Bishan. Aljunied MRT (EW9, East–West Line) is a secondary anchor at 0.80 km — a 10-minute walk across Sims Avenue — providing direct one-seat rides to Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar, and Outram Park without transfers.
The overlooked third node is Dakota MRT (CC8) at 0.86 km and Stadium MRT (CC6) at 1.00 km, followed by Kallang MRT (EW10) at 1.09 km. Four distinct MRT stations on two different lines are within a 1.1 km radius — a transport profile that very few boutique freeholds in Singapore can match, and one that materially improves both commute optionality for residents and rental desirability for tenants who value MRT choice. The Circle Line access to Buona Vista, Holland Village, and one-north via the western arc opens up tech-corridor employment without a transfer — a meaningful consideration for the research-sector tenant profile this corridor attracts.
For drivers, the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) and East Coast Parkway are both accessible within eight minutes via Sims Avenue, and the Nicoll Highway corridor provides rapid CBD access via Kallang. The Old Airport Road Food Centre — one of Singapore’s most iconic heritage hawker centres — is a seven-minute walk, and the wider Old Airport Road / Dakota Crescent stretch provides a dense mix of coffee shops, independent F&B, and the rejuvenating Dakota Crescent SIT-block heritage zone now undergoing sensitive redevelopment. Kallang Wave Mall, Leisure Park Kallang, and the Sports Hub precinct are a 10-minute bus ride; Paya Lebar Square and PLQ (NTUC FairPrice, cinema, food court) are within three MRT stops.
Schools & Education
1 primary school within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| One World International School (Mountbatten) | international | Within 1 km |
| Geylang Methodist School (Primary) | primary | Within 1 km |
| Geylang Methodist School (Secondary) | secondary | Within 1 km |
| Kong Hwa School | primary | ~1.2 km |
| Haig Girls' School | primary | ~1.6 km |
| Tanjong Katong Primary School | primary | ~1.8 km |
| Hong Wen School | primary | ~1.9 km |
| Tao Nan School | primary | ~2.0 km |
Facilities
Cosmo’s facilities package is appropriately scaled for a 45-unit boutique, which is to say modest but sufficient. The development provides an infinity lap pool, a pool deck, a small gymnasium on the second floor, a BBQ area, a children’s play area, and covered car park for residents with 24-hour security. There is no tennis court, no function room, no concierge, and no clubhouse — buyers expecting resort-style infrastructure should look at 200+ unit freehold peers further east (Parc Esta, Amber Park) or accept a materially higher per-square-foot entry cost.
The honest resident sentiment across listing platforms is consistent: the pool is small, accommodating perhaps one to four swimmers comfortably, and residents often report using it with near-empty availability — which is either a charming boutique feature or a functional constraint depending on lifestyle priorities. The second-floor gymnasium is compact and single-room, suitable for a brisk workout but not a full training session. A genuine critique from a resident review flagged “only one lift at the lobby” — something to verify at site visit, particularly for buyers planning to move furniture or who live on upper floors. Counterbalancing this, Old Airport Road Food Centre at seven minutes’ walk and East Coast Park at roughly 2 km function effectively as the development’s extended amenity footprint: for residents who prefer their leisure infrastructure outside the building, the Mountbatten corridor delivers substantially more than the boutique footprint could ever internalise.
“Lovely condo and away from the hustle-bustle of the city yet only a 10–15 minute MRT ride to Dhoby Ghaut and CBD. The small pool is almost always empty, the gym works for a quick session, and the location is genuinely convenient.”
— Resident review aggregated via 99.co
The facilities rating reflects this trade-off honestly. Cosmo is not a lifestyle-destination development — it is a utility-first freehold shoebox building with the bare essentials executed cleanly. That framing matters because it aligns with the actual tenant profile the building serves (single professionals and young couples renting 500–700 sqft units near the Circle Line), and it explains why the facilities modesty has not materially damaged the yield performance.
Unit Sizes & Layout
Cosmo’s original unit mix spans studio, 2-bedroom, penthouse, and maisonette configurations, but the transacted data points decisively toward the compact end: an average sale price of roughly S$954,750 and a median of S$1,028,000 at an average PSF of S$1,830 implies typical units in the ~500–600 sqft shoebox-to-compact-1BR band. This is unambiguously an investor-format building — the sizing, the pricing point, and the 82 active rental transactions against only 8 sales in the tracked window all confirm the same story: Cosmo exists primarily as a rental investment vehicle, and its unit economics are optimised for that role.
At median S$1,028,000, the Absolute Sum Quantum is well below the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (IRAS ABSD ratesABSD) remission triggers that anchor the 99-year leasehold shoebox segment, keeping Cosmo accessible to Singapore-Citizen first-property buyers and second-property investors without crossing the psychological $1.1M–1.2M boundary where affordability resistance sharpens. For investor-buyers, the compact format means the 3.33% gross yield translates into approximately S$35,200 in annual rental income on a ~S$1.06 million purchase — a cash-flow profile that, paired with the freehold title, is one of the stronger operational positions in the D14 boutique market at current 2026 rates.
The 2010-vintage interiors will show their age in un-renovated units — kitchen appliances, bathroom fittings, and air-conditioning systems are approaching the 15-year replacement cycle. Buyers should budget S$35,000–70,000 for a full refurbishment on a 550 sqft unit (kitchen, two bathrooms, fresh paint, LED conversion, aircon replacement) — a figure that is entirely reasonable relative to the $200,000–$350,000 premium that a newly-completed 99-year shoebox in the same corridor would command. Crucially, the freehold title means this renovation investment is not eroded by lease decay; on a 99-year leasehold shoebox with 60–70 years remaining, the same renovation has a visible depreciation curve. That is the core investment-math argument for Cosmo over its newer leasehold peers.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 BR | 3 | $1,655 | $670,000 |
| 1 BR | 3 | $1,527 | $1,019,333 |
| 2 BR | 2 | $1,809 | $1,285,000 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 8 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $645,000 to $1,300,000, averaging $954,750 (~$1,830 psf).
Rents range from $1,800 to $4,000 per month across 82 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.3%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2025, the average PSF has appreciated by 19.1% (from $1,537 to $1,830 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
Cosmo occupies a distinct position in the D14 boutique freehold segment, and the peer comparison sharpens both its strengths and its constraints. The closest direct-substitute project is Parc Esta (1,274 units, 99-year from 2018, S$2,182 psf) — a much larger and newer leasehold development one MRT stop east. Parc Esta offers resort-scale facilities (multiple pools, full gymnasium, function rooms, tennis courts) and the developer-warranty cushion of a 2021 completion, but at a ~19% psf premium on a 99-year lease that has already begun depreciating. For a 550 sqft comparison unit, Parc Esta transacts around S$1.2M versus Cosmo at S$1.0M — a S$200K quantum gap that buys newer facilities but loses the freehold title. The lease-adjusted-value calculation tilts toward Cosmo over a 20+ year hold.
Sims Urban Oasis (1,024 units, 99-year from 2014, S$1,760 psf) is the other major leasehold peer in the corridor. It sits at a 4% psf discount to Cosmo but is 99-year leasehold from 2014, meaning the lease is approaching the 88-year-remaining mark where lease-decay discount curves begin to steepen. Cosmo’s freehold title is the decisive advantage in this head-to-head. Penrose (566 units, 99-year from 2019, S$1,928 psf) is a newer leasehold at a 5% psf premium to Cosmo — again, freehold versus leasehold is the structural argument in Cosmo’s favour despite Penrose’s newer facilities and condition.
Euhabitat (748 units, 99-year from 2010, S$1,326 psf) and Antares (265 units, 99-year from 2018, S$1,833 psf) complete the RCR leasehold peer set. Euhabitat’s S$500 psf discount reflects its further-east Bedok North position and larger strata — a different product targeting different buyers. Antares is at psf parity with Cosmo but 99-year leasehold from 2018 — again, Cosmo’s freehold title carries meaningful lease-adjusted weight. Stacked Homes’ freehold-versus-leasehold analysis models the holding-period divergence in detail and supports the structural case for Cosmo over similar-psf leasehold alternatives.
The honest trade-off is that Cosmo is not competing on facilities, scale, or newness — it is competing on tenure, MRT catchment, and yield durability. Buyers optimising for lifestyle-amenity infrastructure will prefer Parc Esta or Penrose; buyers optimising for freehold land title, strong rental demand, and multi-line MRT access should give Cosmo serious consideration at the current S$1,830 psf entry.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COSMO | Freehold | 2010 | 45 | $1,830 |
| PARC ESTA | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 1,399 | $2,182 |
| SIMS URBAN OASIS | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2014 | 2020 | 1,024 | $1,760 |
| PENROSE | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2019 | 2021 | 566 | $1,928 |
| EUHABITAT | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2010 | 2016 | 697 | $1,326 |
| THE ANTARES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2018 | 2021 | 265 | $1,833 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates COSMO across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Lovely condo and away from the hustle-bustle of the city yet only a 10–15 minute MRT ride to Dhoby Ghaut and CBD. A small swimming pool accommodates 1–4 people but I’ve hardly seen anyone using it so it’s mostly empty, a small gym on the 2nd floor where you can have a quick workout is nice too. Overall, it is very conveniently located and great to live at.”
— Resident review via 99.co
“A very small swimming pool that can accommodate only 1 or 2 swimmers at a time. No function room. Only 1 lift at the lobby — that’s my main gripe. Otherwise the MRT access is genuinely excellent — Mountbatten is basically at the doorstep, and Aljunied is a 10-minute walk if the Circle Line has any issues.”
— Resident review via PropertyGuru
“We rent here because the commute works — one stop to Dakota, four stops to Paya Lebar interchange, or I can walk to Aljunied for the East–West Line. Old Airport Road hawker centre is 10 minutes on foot. For a single professional or a young couple without kids, it’s a hard place to beat at this price point.”
— Tenant review via EdgeProp
The consistent pattern across resident and tenant accounts is that Cosmo’s location does the heavy lifting — the 4-line MRT catchment, Old Airport Road F&B density, and straightforward commute to both the CBD and Paya Lebar/Tampines employment clusters are the recurring praise points. The facilities are consistently flagged as modest but adequate — residents who value the pool and gym infrastructure of larger developments are vocal about the limitations, while residents who treat the condo as a well-located private home with quiet amenities tend to rate the boutique scale as a feature rather than a bug. The single-lift constraint is the one specific complaint that recurs across multiple reviews and is worth factoring into purchase decisions for upper-floor units.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure — $1,830 psf vs Parc Esta 99-year at $2,182 psf (~16% structural discount) with superior title
- Mountbatten MRT (Circle Line) 0.44km — genuine doorstep walk under 6 minutes on a flat residential street
- 4 MRT stations within 1.1km (Mountbatten CCL, Aljunied EWL, Dakota CCL, Stadium CCL) — rare 2-line catchment
- Documented 3.33% gross yield on 82 live rental transactions — materially above ~2.0–2.5% boutique average
- Compact median $1.028M entry — below ABSD-remission anxiety thresholds for SC first-property buyers
- PSF trend confirms re-pricing: $1,537 → $1,564 → $1,808 → $1,788 → $1,830 with stable consolidation
- One World International School 0.21km — expat-school doorstep anchors rental demand for international families
- Old Airport Road Food Centre 7-minute walk — one of Singapore's iconic heritage hawker centres
- Freehold shoebox format is structurally scarce post-2012 cooling measures and 2018 minimum-area rules
- Renovation investment not eroded by lease decay (critical advantage vs 99-year peers for long holds)
- Facilities are modest — small pool (1–4 swimmers), compact 2nd-floor gym, no function room, no tennis
- Single lift at the main lobby — a recurring resident complaint, verify for upper-floor purchases
- Investment score 63/100 — thin sales liquidity (8 sales vs 82 rentals) constrains quick exits
- En-bloc score 45/100 — 45-unit freehold site on compact land has structurally limited collective-sale upside
- 2010 vintage — M&E systems (common aircon, lifts, plumbing) approaching sinking-fund replacement window
- No concierge or 24-hour clubhouse — purely utility facilities, not a lifestyle destination development
- Guillemard Crescent is residential-quiet but compact — limited internal greenery and landscaping
- Boutique scale means lower marketing visibility — buyers outside D14 may need to actively seek it out
Verdict
Cosmo is a focused, clearly-positioned investment property rather than a mixed-use family home, and its ratings reflect that reality honestly. The structural strengths are freehold tenure, Mountbatten Circle Line at 0.44 km, a 4-line MRT catchment within 1.1 km, and a documented 3.33% gross yield on 82 live rental transactions — a combination that very few compact boutique freeholds in Singapore can match at the current S$1.03M median entry point. The PSF trend — S$1,537 → S$1,564 → S$1,808 → S$1,788 → S$1,830 — shows a sharp step-up between 2022 and 2024 and then stable consolidation at the new level, indicating the market has already re-priced Cosmo upward but has not yet pushed it into momentum-trade territory.
Against the closest leasehold peer, Parc Esta (99-year from 2018, S$2,182 psf), Cosmo’s S$1,830 psf freehold represents a 16% discount while holding a structurally superior title. Against Sims Urban Oasis (99-year 2014, S$1,760 psf) Cosmo is a modest 4% premium, but the tenure delta again favours Cosmo over a 15–25 year horizon as the Sims Urban Oasis lease continues to decay. Against Penrose (99-year 2019, S$1,928 psf) and Antares (99-year 2018, S$1,833 psf), Cosmo is at parity on psf but freehold versus leasehold — an unambiguous structural advantage that lease-adjusted-value models show compounds meaningfully over multi-decade holds.
The weaknesses are equally real. The investment score of 63/100 reflects the thin sales market — 8 sales versus 82 rentals in the window means exit liquidity is genuinely constrained, and buyers needing to sell within a compressed timeframe may face material bid-ask spreads. The en-bloc score of 45/100 is low-probability: a 45-unit freehold site with compact land area has structurally limited collective-sale upside, and buyers should not underwrite en-bloc as part of the investment thesis. The 2010 vintage means the next major sinking-fund call for aging M&E systems (common-area aircon, plumbing, lift overhaul) is in the foreseeable future — verify sinking-fund balance and AGM minutes before committing.
For the right buyer — the Singapore-Citizen investor buying for rental income on a 10–20 year horizon, or a young-couple-owner-occupier who values MRT access and Old Airport Road lifestyle over resort-scale facilities — Cosmo remains one of the more defensible freehold-shoebox plays in the D14 corridor. The URA Master Plan for the Mountbatten/Dakota corridor shows continued residential intensification, further supporting the rental-demand thesis.