Hilbre28

Overview & Key Facts

Hilbre 28 is one of those small-format boutique condominiums that District 19’s landed-enclave streets occasionally produce: just 28 units across a single five-storey block on Hillside Drive, a quiet tree-lined road at the fringe of Kovan and Serangoon that feels a world removed from the arterial bustle of Upper Serangoon Road barely five minutes away. Developed by Development 72 Pte Ltd — the project vehicle associated with Catalist-listed Tee Land Limited — and completed in December 2018, the project was conceived as a resort-lifestyle boutique for owner-occupiers who want condominium privacy without the crowds of a large estate. At just 28 homes, the resident community here is more akin to a landed enclave than a typical mid-rise condo.

The tenure headline is almost uniquely favourable for a non-landed private residential development: a 999-year leasehold commencing 1 September 1876. With approximately 849 years remaining on the original grant, the practical distinction from freehold is negligible for any buyer’s planning horizon. It is a tenure profile that more closely resembles the landed titles on adjacent Hillside Drive than the 99-year leaseholds that dominate new launches across the OCR. For buyers who place capital preservation and intergenerational asset transfer above short-term yield, this is a meaningful structural advantage.

Unit configurations span two-bedroom (approx. 495 sqft) through five-bedroom penthouse (approx. 2,045–2,153 sqft), with the mid-range three-bedroom and four-bedroom stacks forming the core of the development. The design ethos deliberately strips out bay windows and planters — features that inflate gross floor area numbers while delivering zero liveable space — resulting in a net-to-gross ratio that buyers consistently cite as a tangible differentiator against peers of the same vintage. High-ceiling interiors, top-tier appliances, and contemporary finishes complete the resort-hotel aesthetic that Tee Land positioned against the boutique-condo segment of the Kovan/Serangoon corridor.

Location & Connectivity

Hillside Drive occupies a micro-location that is difficult to categorise simply as “Kovan” or “Serangoon.” It sits in a predominantly low-rise residential pocket bordered by private terraces and semi-Ds on both sides, connected to Upper Serangoon Road at one end and Pheng Geck Avenue at the other. The atmosphere is genuinely leafy and low-traffic — an unusual quality for a District 19 address that is nonetheless within 1.5 km of two MRT stations. For buyers who prioritise streetscape tranquillity over walk-to-MRT convenience, this trade-off is a feature, not a limitation.

The nearest MRT is Kovan (NE13, North East Line) at approximately 1.13 km — a 14–16 minute walk through residential streets, or a 5-minute bus or cycling ride. Serangoon MRT (NE12 / CC13), the major interchange node for both the North East and Circle Lines, is 1.28 km away. Serangoon offers one-seat rides to Dhoby Ghaut / Harbourfront via the NEL, and connects across the island via the Circle Line to Bishan, Lorong Chuan, Bartley, and ultimately Dhoby Ghaut. Neither distance is MRT-walkers’ territory, and residents who commute daily to the CBD will almost certainly drive to Kovan or Serangoon MRT, or take a 5-minute Grab. This is the honest transport picture for Hillside Drive — it is not a walk-to-MRT address.

For drivers, the location is more compelling. Upper Serangoon Road connects swiftly to the Central Expressway (CTE) at Braddell, and to PIE at Hougang. The CBD is under 20 minutes by car outside peak hours. Changi Airport via the TPE is under 25 minutes. This is fundamentally a driving household’s address, and the 31 carpark lots (28 residential + 3 visitor + 1 handicapped) for a 28-unit block means every household has a guaranteed space without competition.

Daily amenities are within easy reach. Kovan Heartland Mall is approximately 1.0 km away and covers supermarket (NTUC FairPrice), dining, and convenience retail. NEX at Serangoon (one of Singapore’s largest suburban malls, anchored by NTUC Finest, Cold Storage, and a full entertainment wing) is 1.4 km away. Kensington Square, a neighbourhood strip mall on Upper Serangoon Road, adds hawker, coffee shop, and clinic options at the sub-kilometre level. The nearby Serangoon Stadium area and Serangoon Garden Market round out the leisure and hawker landscape within a 10-minute radius.

Schools & Education

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

Facilities

For a 28-unit development, Hilbre 28 punches well above its weight on facilities. The full list — lap pool, aqua gym, pool deck, yoga deck, gymnasium, clubhouse, function room, children’s playground, BBQ pavilion, and guardhouse — would be respectable in a 150-unit mid-size condo. In a boutique of this scale, it means the facilities are perpetually available: peak-hour pool queue? Non-existent. Gym with all machines occupied? Structurally impossible. Residents moving here from large estates frequently cite guaranteed facility availability as an unexpectedly high quality-of-life upgrade, particularly for families who have previously experienced weekend pool crowding or gym booking battles.

“Coming from a 500-unit estate in Tampines, I thought I’d miss the bigger pool and tennis courts. What I didn’t anticipate was how much I’d value having the pool entirely to myself on a Saturday morning. The facilities-to-resident ratio here is genuinely exceptional.”

— Resident feedback via PropertyGuru, 2023

The trade-offs are straightforward. There are no tennis or squash courts, no indoor basketball, no sky terrace or rooftop elements — facilities that buyers of larger estates or newer mixed-use projects may consider baseline expectations. The function room capacity is limited by the boutique scale: hosting large gatherings means being realistic about capacity. The children’s playground is modest. These are structural limitations of the 28-unit format, not deficiencies in Tee Land’s specifications — and buyers choosing Hilbre 28 are implicitly choosing the boutique lifestyle over facility breadth.

Unit Sizes & Layout

The unit mix at Hilbre 28 is unusually wide for a 28-unit block: two-bedroom units at approximately 495 sqft, three-bedrooms across 807–861 sqft, four-bedrooms at 1,410 sqft, and five-bedroom penthouses spanning 2,045–2,153 sqft. This range — from compact investor-grade two-bedder to full-floor penthouse — gives the development an atypical buyer breadth. The two-bedroom units at 495 sqft are tight by most standards (and tighter still relative to the 2015–2018 market’s small-unit norms), but the deliberate removal of bay windows and planters means the space is actually usable rather than visually inflated. Three-bedroom units at 807–861 sqft occupy the sweet spot: functional family configurations with bedrooms that can comfortably fit queen beds, wardrobes, and a study corner.

The four-bedroom and penthouse units are the development’s flagship products, and the specs justify the positioning: at 1,410 sqft for the four-bedder and over 2,000 sqft for penthouses, these are genuinely spacious by Singapore new-launch standards. High ceilings amplify the spatial impression. Top-tier fitting and finishing — specified above the typical OCR mid-market level — reduce the renovation burden for incoming owners. One practical note: the single block, five-storey format means no dramatic sky views and no floor-height premium on upper units worth paying significantly more for — buyers should assess by unit orientation rather than floor level.

Pricing & Market Position

Based on 9 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $800,000 to $2,530,000, averaging $1,484,222.

Rents range from $2,000 to $4,500 per month across 21 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.1%.

Price Appreciation

From 2021 to 2024, the average PSF has appreciated by 11.4% (from $1,452 to $1,617 psf).

Neighbourhood Comparison

Within the District 19 condominium landscape, Hilbre 28 competes on a different axis from its higher-traded peers. Chuan Park (S$2,596 psf), the major new launch at Lorong Chuan, offers a 916-unit mega-estate with full resort facilities, direct Lorong Chuan MRT connectivity, and strong rental liquidity — but at a PSF that prices out many upgrader buyers and on a 99-year lease. Affinity at Serangoon (S$1,698 psf) and Florence Residences (S$1,743 psf) similarly offer large estate scale with competitive PSFs and better MRT proximity, but again on 99-year leases. Riverfront Residences (S$1,586 psf) at Hougang, while cheaper per square foot, represents a completely different trade-off: 1,472 units at a Sengkang/Hougang boundary address with a 99-year lease.

The direct case for Hilbre 28 over these peers rests on two arguments. First, the tenure: 999 years from 1876 versus 99-year leaseholds from 2017–2023. Over a 15–20 year holding period, lease decay on the 99-year peers begins to register in bank valuation haircuts and secondary market liquidity constraints; for Hilbre 28, this is structurally irrelevant. Second, the boutique exclusivity: buyers who have experienced the crowding dynamics of a 400–1,000 unit estate and found them at odds with their lifestyle are the natural Hilbre 28 buyer — and at S$1.3–1.6 million median pricing, the absolute quantum is accessible relative to 4-bedroom units in the larger estates. The liquidity trade-off is real, but for owner-occupiers with a long-horizon view, it is the lesser concern.

ShiokNest Scores

Our proprietary scoring system evaluates HILBRE28 across multiple dimensions.

What Residents Say

“We specifically wanted something small and quiet after years in a large estate. Hilbre 28 delivers exactly that. The pool is ours every morning, the neighbours know each other by name, and Hillside Drive is so peaceful that it barely feels like a D19 address in terms of pace.”

— Owner-occupier via PropertyGuru, 2024

“MRT distance is the one honest trade-off. It’s not a walk-to-MRT address — I drive to Kovan every day. But I factored that in before buying, and everything else about the development — the quality of finish, the size of the four-bedroom unit, the quiet street — has exceeded expectations.”

— Resident feedback via 99.co, 2024

“The 999-year leasehold was the deciding factor for us. We were comparing against a 99-year condo at a similar PSF, and the tenure difference simply could not be rationalised away. In 30 years’ time, the leasehold depreciation on a 2018-vintage 99-year condo will be measurable — on Hilbre 28 it will be functionally zero.”

— Buyer review via PropertyGuru, 2023

Resident sentiment across review platforms is consistent: the boutique scale and 999-year tenure are the two lead buying reasons, and both are consistently validated post-purchase. The MRT distance is the one shared caveat, but buyers who accepted it at the point of purchase rarely revisit it as a regret — it’s priced in and managed with a car or short bus ride. The development’s thin transaction record is itself a signal: owners are not selling, which is a reasonable proxy for satisfaction.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Verdict

Hilbre 28 is a boutique proposition with a narrow but well-defined buyer target. For owner-occupiers who want genuine condominium privacy — not the performance of it in a 300-unit estate — alongside a 999-year tenure that effectively mirrors freehold, a leafy enclave streetscape, and facilities that are permanently uncrowded, it delivers on its promise. The property data reflects a development that has held its value quietly: transacted prices running from approximately S$1,452 to S$1,617 psf over the past four recorded periods show steady appreciation in line with the broader D19 OCR market, without the volatility spikes of higher-profile launches.

The weaknesses are concentrated and specific. Neither Kovan nor Serangoon MRT is walkable at under 800m — both sit at 1.1–1.3 km, which is a bus or short drive rather than a walk for daily commuters. The gross yield of 3.12% is serviceable for Singapore but modest for an OCR asset at this price quantum. The 21 total rental transactions on record signal a relatively thin rental market — this is an owner-occupier’s development more than a landlord’s. And with only 9 resale transactions in the database, secondary market liquidity is limited: buyers who need to exit quickly may face a slower sales timeline than they’d encounter at a more heavily traded peer like Chuan Park or Florence Residences.

Against its District 19 peers, the PSF picture tells an interesting story. Chuan Park at S$2,596 psf and Affinity at Serangoon at S$1,698 psf are newer large-estate developments carrying commensurate premiums. Riverfront Residences (S$1,586 psf) and Florence Residences (S$1,743 psf) offer larger communities, more MRT-proximate addresses, and higher unit counts — at the cost of the boutique exclusivity that defines Hilbre 28. For buyers who are genuinely indifferent to the crowd, the 999-year tenure advantage and enclave character of Hillside Drive are compelling at Hilbre 28’s current pricing.