Evania

Overview & Key Facts

Evania is a compact freehold boutique condominium at 389 Upper Paya Lebar Road in District 19 — a quietly residential stretch that runs between the Serangoon and Bartley corridors in the Outside Central Region. Developed by Novelty Amber Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Novelty Land, and completed in 2012, the development comprises just 35 units across five low-rise floors, giving it a deliberate exclusivity that larger estate condominiums in the same district cannot replicate. The land parcel — approximately 27,000 sqft — is modest, but the low unit count translates directly into generous facilities-to-resident ratios and the kind of unhurried, low-traffic atmosphere that boutique freehold living in Singapore promises.

The unit mix spans 2-bedroom apartments (936–980 sqft), 3-bedroom configurations (990–1,453 sqft), and generously proportioned penthouses (1,636–2,303 sqft) — a range that positions Evania comfortably above the shoebox category while remaining well below the land area of a comparable landed property. The freehold title is the headline proposition in a district where several established 99-year leasehold competitors are already well into their lease-decay windows. For buyers prioritising perpetual tenure in the mature Serangoon–Hougang corridor, Evania offers an entry point that is structurally different from the leasehold alternatives at Florence Residences, Riverfront Residences, and Affinity at Serangoon.

At a 12-month average PSF of approximately S$1,539 and a gross yield of 2.44%, Evania sits at an interesting intersection: it is priced below the new-launch OCR premium (Chuan Park at $2,596 psf, Affinity at $1,698 psf) while offering freehold title and a tracked PSF appreciation trend from S$1,121 psf five years ago to approximately S$1,496 psf in the most recent period. The nine transactions recorded over the past year confirm thin but consistent liquidity for a 35-unit block — a typical pattern for boutique freehold condos that attract long-hold owner-occupiers rather than frequent flippers.

Location & Connectivity

Evania’s micro-location on Upper Paya Lebar Road places it in one of District 19’s more pragmatic residential pockets: not the glossy NEX-facing Serangoon Central hub, but a quieter in-between zone that benefits from proximity to both the Circle Line and the North East Line without the premium pricing of either corridor’s immediate catchment. Serangoon MRT (CC13/NE12) — an interchange serving both lines — is approximately 0.63 km away, achievable in around 12 minutes on foot via Serangoon Avenue 1. Bartley MRT (CC12) on the Circle Line is 0.86 km away, usable as an alternative for direct westbound CCL journeys without passing through Bishan. Kovan (NE13) at 1.30 km rounds out the station options for North East Line northbound commuters.

For drivers, Upper Paya Lebar Road connects efficiently to the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) via Upper Paya Lebar Road’s Paya Lebar interchange, and to the Kallang–Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) via the slip roads at Bartley Road. CBD travel time by car is 15–20 minutes outside peak hours — a reasonable commute that complements the MRT options rather than replacing them. The estate itself sits along a non-arterial stretch, meaning through-traffic is low and road noise is significantly less than properties fronting Upper Serangoon Road or Paya Lebar Road proper.

Daily amenities are comfortably serviced. NEX — one of the largest suburban malls in Singapore with supermarket, cinema, and 600+ retail units — is less than 15 minutes on foot or a short bus ride via Serangoon Central. The Heartland Mall Kovan is accessible by bus along the Upper Serangoon corridor for lighter shopping runs. Hawker centres are well-distributed: the Serangoon Garden Market and Food Centre and Chomp Chomp Food Centre are within a 10-minute drive, serving the Eurasian-influenced hawker repertoire that has made Serangoon Gardens one of Singapore’s most celebrated food enclaves. Bishan–Ang Mo Kio Park and the Serangoon Park Connector network provide accessible green space without a car.

Schools & Education

2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.

Facilities

For a 35-unit boutique development, Evania’s facilities package is notably complete. The ground level includes a swimming pool with wading pool, a gymnasium, BBQ pits, a reflective pool, a water jet corner, pavilion, and a children’s playground — a list that would be unremarkable in a 300-unit development but represents genuine generosity for a block of 35. The result is facilities that almost never need to be booked and are, by all resident accounts, consistently uncrowded. The 24-hour security coverage is a further differentiator versus older walk-up apartment conversions in the same street cluster that lack perimeter control.

“The pool is essentially private most of the time. On weekends you might see three or four families. For a condo in this price range and location, the facilities-to-resident ratio is one of the best I’ve encountered — you’re not queuing for the gym at 7am or the BBQ pit on Saturday evening.”

— Resident review via Singapore Expats, 2023

The trade-off is the absence of premium amenity tiers: there is no tennis court (despite some older listing data suggesting otherwise — floor area constraints make this unlikely), no clubhouse with function room, and no concierge services. Residents seeking an active recreation calendar or an address that doubles as a social infrastructure hub will find boutique living limiting. What Evania offers instead is space efficiency: the smaller resident population keeps all communal areas genuinely accessible, maintenance fees reasonable (estimated at S$300–400/month for a mid-tier unit), and the overall atmosphere calm rather than resort-busy.

Unit Sizes & Layout

Evania’s unit sizes hold up well against the new-launch OCR benchmark. The 2-bedroom units at 936–980 sqft are meaningfully larger than the 700–800 sqft that modern 2-bedroom releases in the same district typically offer. The 3-bedroom range (990–1,453 sqft) provides genuine room separation rather than the compressed layouts common in post-2015 developments. The penthouses at 1,636–2,303 sqft represent a significant scale step-up — effectively landed-adjacent space in a condo envelope, with private roof terraces that command the strongest per-unit premiums in the development. With only five floors and 35 units, a large proportion of units benefit from low-density orientation and relatively unobstructed outlooks across the Serangoon residential landscape rather than into adjacent towers.

The 2012 build vintage means interiors reflect contemporary — rather than current-premium — specifications: solid construction quality, functional kitchen and bathroom layouts, but ceiling heights and fittings that may feel dated against 2020s new-launch standards. Owner-occupiers considering a renovation should budget S$80,000–150,000 for a mid-tier refresh of a 3-bedroom unit, or S$180,000+ for a comprehensive overhaul including kitchen cabinetry, bathroom tiling, and flooring. The freehold title removes the lease-decay calculation from any multi-decade renovation investment, making this a sound commitment for long-hold buyers.

Pricing & Market Position

Based on 9 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $1,300,000 to $2,120,000, averaging $1,806,000 (~$1,539 psf).

Rents range from $2,430 to $6,200 per month across 20 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 2.4%.

Price Appreciation

From 2021 to 2025, the average PSF has appreciated by 33.4% (from $1,121 to $1,496 psf).

Neighbourhood Comparison

Within the District 19 leasehold landscape, Evania’s primary frame of reference is the large-format 99-year competitors along the Serangoon corridor. Affinity at Serangoon (1,012 units, 99-year from 2023, S$1,698 psf) offers a full resort-facilities package and a modern layout range — but the lease has already started running. Florence Residences (1,410 units, 99-year from 2021, S$1,743 psf) provides superior amenity diversity and a larger community, trading freehold permanency for newness. Riverfront Residences (1,472 units, 99-year, S$1,586 psf) sits at the Hougang riverfront with a competitive PSF, but again on a leasehold that has decades of depreciation already priced in. Against all three, Evania’s S$1,539 psf freehold looks increasingly defensible: the PSF gap has narrowed materially over the past five years as Evania’s appreciation trend has outpaced the leasehold peers’ price sensitivity to their shortening tenures.

The comparison that matters most for serious buyers is the long-horizon calculus. A 99-year leasehold condo purchased today at $1,698 psf will begin showing visible lease-decay pressure in 20–25 years — the window when HDB financing restrictions kick in, bank valuations soften, and the pool of eligible buyers narrows. Evania, on a freehold plot, faces no such structural headwind. Buyers with a 15–30-year holding horizon or a multigenerational gifting intent are buying fundamentally different assets when they choose Evania over a leasehold peer at a similar headline PSF. The right comparison for freehold buyers is not Florence Residences or Affinity, but other boutique freehold blocks in the same corridor — where supply is structurally constrained.

ShiokNest Scores

Our proprietary scoring system evaluates EVANIA across multiple dimensions.

What Residents Say

“Value for money, peaceful and accessible — those were my three criteria when I bought here, and Evania has delivered on all three. The pool is never crowded, the neighbours all know each other by name, and Serangoon MRT is a 12-minute walk. For a freehold condo at this price, I haven’t regretted it for a day.”

— Owner-occupier review via Singapore Expats

“Minimal facilities compared to the big estates, but that’s also the point — you’re not paying for a clubhouse you’ll use twice a year. The location is genuinely convenient for NEX, and the nearby schools make it a solid family address. My only gripe is that there are very few units, so whenever one comes up for sale it goes fast and asking prices hold firm.”

— Resident review via PropertyGuru

“We rented here before buying a unit in the same block. The neighbours are long-term owner-occupiers — very stable community. The road outside is not as quiet as a true cul-de-sac, but it’s nowhere near the noise you get fronting Paya Lebar Road itself. Chomp Chomp and Serangoon Garden Market are the real amenity anchors for us — walking distance to good food every evening.”

— Resident review via 99.co

Consistent themes across resident commentary: the boutique scale is a feature, not a compromise — residents value the community cohesion and uncrowded shared spaces. Location practicality (NEX access, hawker proximity, dual-MRT reach) is repeatedly cited as the development’s strongest attribute alongside the freehold title. The main friction point is low unit turnover: when a unit comes to market, it typically trades quickly and without meaningful price negotiation, which benefits sellers but requires buyers to move decisively.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Verdict

Evania occupies a niche that is easy to underestimate. On headline metrics — walkability score 65/100, investment score 61/100, ShiokNest composite 36/100 — it reads as an unspectacular mid-market OCR condo. The real proposition is more nuanced. This is a freehold boutique block in a school-dense, dual-MRT-interchange District 19 location, with a PSF trend that has appreciated approximately 37% over five years (S$1,121 to S$1,539 psf) and a facilities-to-resident ratio that most 35-unit competitors cannot match. For owner-occupiers who value quiet, low-density community living over resort-style amenity spectacle, Evania consistently delivers.

The weaknesses are specific and worth quantifying. The gross yield of 2.44% is below the OCR condo average of 3.0–3.5%, making pure income plays marginal without yield-enhancing strategies. The nine transactions per year at a 35-unit block represent reasonable but not high liquidity — buyers needing a fast exit in a down market may face 3–6 months to find a matched buyer. The en-bloc score of 34/100 reflects the structural difficulty of a 35-unit site achieving unanimous owner consensus on any collective sale proposal; historically, small boutique condos rarely achieve the vote thresholds required by Singapore’s en-bloc regulations.

The competitive positioning within District 19 is clear. At S$1,539 psf freehold, Evania is priced significantly below Chuan Park (S$2,596 psf, 99-year leasehold from 1984 — nearing lease fatigue), below Affinity at Serangoon (S$1,698 psf, 99-year), and below Florence Residences (S$1,743 psf, 99-year). The PSF discount reflects the boutique scale and 2012 vintage, not inferior location fundamentals. For buyers who weigh freehold tenure highly and can accept a smaller on-site community, Evania is one of the more fairly-priced freehold entries in the Serangoon corridor — a proposition that becomes progressively more attractive as neighbouring leaseholds continue their downward depreciation curve.