Ivory

Overview & Key Facts

Ivory is a quietly distinguished freehold boutique development tucked along Ceylon Lane in District 15 — one of Singapore’s most coveted residential corridors, running between the Old Katong belt and the Geylang fringe. Completed in 2010 and developed by Hume Development Pte Ltd, the 20-unit project occupies a compact 5-storey block on a land parcel that most developers today would struggle to assemble freehold in this postcode. With unit counts in the low double digits, Ivory sits firmly in the boutique category — a scale of development that is increasingly rare in D15 as consolidation pushes toward the mega-launches that now define the district’s new supply.

The unit mix spans 2-bedroom apartments (around 872 sqft), 3-bedroom layouts (roughly 1,012–1,044 sqft), and penthouse units stretching up to 1,959 sqft. These are genuinely usable sizes by Singapore standards — the 3-bedroom configurations in particular deliver floor areas that new-build equivalents rarely match below S$2,500 psf in D15 today. The development’s amenities are deliberately modest — BBQ pavilion, gym, and jacuzzi — reflecting a philosophy that in a neighbourhood as amenity-rich as Katong, the street is the clubhouse.

EdgeProp transaction records show Ivory trading at around S$1,200–1,354 psf in recent years, with a median sale price around S$1,350,000 across just 10 recorded transactions. That psf is a significant discount to both the leasehold mega-launches now reshaping D15 (Grand Dunman, Emerald of Katong) and the freehold peers in the Amber-Katong corridor. For buyers who understand freehold land scarcity in this postcode, Ivory’s pricing relative to its tenure looks compelling — though the thin liquidity means buyers must carry some patience on exit.

Location & Connectivity

Ceylon Lane sits at the heart of one of Singapore’s most characterful residential precincts. The immediate neighbourhood is a palimpsest of Peranakan shophouses, boutique eateries, independent cafes, and established community infrastructure: Tanjong Katong Girls’ School is 290 metres from the lobby, Broadrick Secondary is 360 metres, and Tao Nan School (one of the most sought-after primary schools for PSLE performance) is 520 metres away. For families navigating Singapore’s primary school priority registration system, Ivory’s address within 1 km of these institutions is a material purchasing consideration.

The honest caveat is MRT access. All nearby stations — Eunos (0.98 km), Paya Lebar (1.06 km), Tanjong Katong (1.08 km), and Marine Parade (1.14 km) — sit beyond the 800-metre mark that most Singapore buyers treat as the threshold for comfortable walking. In practical terms, residents rely on the dense bus network along Marine Parade Road and Tanjong Katong Road (services 10, 14, 32, 36 connect to the CBD in 15–20 minutes), or short rides via Grab to Paya Lebar interchange for East-West and Circle Line connections. The upcoming Tanjong Rhu MRT on the Circle Line extension, approximately 1 km away, will improve the connectivity picture when it opens.

For drivers, the East Coast Parkway (ECP) and Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) are accessible within minutes, delivering CBD commute times of 10–15 minutes off-peak. East Coast Park is a 10-minute cycle down to the beachfront — a lifestyle asset that D15 residents price in heavily. Stacked Homes’ East Coast district guide consistently highlights this ECP corridor as one of the strongest long-term land holds in Singapore for owner-occupiers valuing neighbourhood character alongside capital preservation.

Schools & Education

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

Facilities

Ivory’s facilities are deliberately minimal: a BBQ pavilion, a compact gym, and a jacuzzi. There is no full lap pool, no tennis court, and no resort-scale clubhouse — a conscious trade-off for a 20-unit boutique that keeps maintenance fees lean and avoids the booking-calendar friction that plagues over-facilitated mega-developments. The absence of a swimming pool is the most common resident reservation, though several units feature private roof terraces or oversized balconies that partly offset this.

The counter-argument is entirely about location: within 500 metres of Ivory sit multiple hawker centres, the Katong V retail cluster, yoga studios, and the sprawling recreational infrastructure of East Coast Park (cycling, rollerblading, beach volleyball, seafood restaurants). In a neighbourhood this dense with lifestyle amenities, residents who buy into D15’s character tend to use on-site facilities less than buyers at car-dependent OCR projects anyway.

“We don’t miss the big pool at all. The neighbourhood is the amenity. Ceylon Lane itself has better food than most condo clubhouses in Singapore.”

— Resident review via PropertyGuru, 2024

Unit Sizes & Layout

Ivory’s unit mix offers genuine size advantages over today’s D15 new-launches. The 3-bedroom layouts at 1,012–1,044 sqft compare favourably against equivalent configurations in Grand Dunman (~990 sqft) and Emerald of Katong (~990–1,033 sqft), while pricing at roughly 50–55% of those projects’ psf. Penthouse units range up to 1,959 sqft across two storeys, with private rooftop space — a configuration that is vanishingly rare in boutique freehold D15 stock. 99.co floor plan data shows these penthouse configurations with dual living zones, ideal for multigenerational households or buyers wanting work-from-home separation.

Interior specifications reflect the 2010 vintage — quality marble-effect tiles, solid-core wardrobes, and kitchen fittings that read slightly dated against 2025 standards. Most un-renovated units will benefit from a bathroom and kitchen refresh (budget S$40–60k for a mid-range update). Stack orientation is important: units facing Ceylon Lane get the leafy streetscape but some road noise; rear-facing stacks are quieter but have closer sight lines to neighbouring buildings. Higher floors on all stacks receive better cross-ventilation, a material comfort factor given the absence of a pool for outdoor cooling.

Pricing & Market Position

Based on 10 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $850,000 to $2,218,000, averaging $1,368,100.

Rents range from $1,850 to $5,300 per month across 21 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.5%.

Price Appreciation

From 2021 to 2024, the average PSF has appreciated by 7.2% (from $1,236 to $1,325 psf).

Neighbourhood Comparison

The D15 competitive set has been dramatically repriced by the mega-launch cycle of 2022–2025. Grand Dunman (99-year, 1,008 units) trades at ~S$2,537 psf; Emerald of Katong (99-year, 846 units) at ~S$2,640 psf; The Continuum (freehold, 816 units) at ~S$2,790 psf; and Amber Park (freehold, 592 units) at ~S$2,538 psf. Against this backdrop, Ivory’s ~S$1,200–S$1,354 psf represents roughly half the cost per square foot of its freehold peers — a compression that reflects the development’s age, thin liquidity, and MRT distance, but not its land quality or school catchment.

The honest comparison is this: buyers choosing between Ivory and The Continuum are not choosing between equivalent products. The Continuum delivers resort-scale facilities, 816 units of liquidity, and a 2025 interior specification. Ivory delivers boutique community, superior per-sqft floor area, a materially lower absolute entry quantum, and freehold land in the same postcode at half the psf. For a family buying a 3-bedroom at S$1.35M freehold versus S$2.5M+ for a comparable freehold D15 new-launch, Ivory’s total cost of ownership over a 15-year hold is a structurally different proposition — one that Stacked Homes’ value analysis notes is under-appreciated by buyers anchored to psf as the primary metric.

ShiokNest Scores

Our proprietary scoring system evaluates IVORY across multiple dimensions.

What Residents Say

“The neighbourhood is exceptional. Ceylon Lane, Tanjong Katong Road, East Coast Park — everything you need is within a short walk or cycle. The condo itself is quiet and the community feels genuinely close-knit at 20 units.”

— Owner-occupier review via PropertyGuru, 2024

“No pool is the main drawback. But honestly, if you live in D15 you’re buying the district, not the facilities. East Coast Park is 10 minutes by bicycle and the hawker food around here is better than any condo catering.”

— Resident review via EdgeProp, 2025

“MRT is the honest weakness — we rely on buses and Grab. But the schools nearby are why we bought here. Three primary schools within 700 metres and Tao Nan is one of the best in Singapore.”

— Family buyer via 99.co, 2025

Resident feedback is consistent across platforms: the neighbourhood quality, school catchment, and boutique community atmosphere earn strong marks, while MRT walkability and the absence of a swimming pool are the two recurring compromises residents acknowledge at the point of purchase. The thin unit count means second-hand anecdote is limited, but EdgeProp’s rental data (21 transactions, median rent S$3,900) indicates a tenant base paying a D15 neighbourhood premium rather than a convenience premium.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Verdict

Ivory is a property that rewards patient, conviction-driven buyers rather than momentum chasers. Its freehold land in the Ceylon Lane corridor is genuinely scarce — the D15 pipeline is overwhelmingly 99-year leasehold (Grand Dunman, Emerald of Katong, Tembusu Grand), making the handful of surviving freehold boutiques increasingly difficult to replace. For buyers who understand Singapore’s land tenure dynamics and are buying for multi-decade ownership, the psf discount relative to leasehold peers at S$2,400–S$2,790 is a structural advantage that compounds over time.

The investment case is more nuanced. With only 10 total sales on record, exit liquidity is genuinely thin — buyers need to price in a longer marketing period. The MRT gap (all stations beyond 800 m) is a persistent overhang that penalises Ivory in automated comparisons and tenant shortlisting, even though the bus connectivity and neighbourhood depth compensate meaningfully in practice. The 3.47% gross yield is respectable for D15, but tenant selection will skew toward families with school-age children or lifestyle buyers rather than transit-first young professionals.

For the right buyer — a family prioritising school-zone positioning in a freehold address, an investor seeking yield from a freehold D15 asset at boutique pricing, or a downsizer who values the Katong lifestyle over resort facilities — Ivory offers a combination that is increasingly hard to replicate as new supply in this postcode trends toward large-scale leasehold. The holding case is long; the lifestyle case is immediate.