Radiance @ Bukit Timah
Overview & Key Facts
RADIANCE @ BUKIT TIMAH is a 17-unit freehold strata cluster terrace development tucked along Yuk Tong Avenue in District 21 — one of Singapore’s most celebrated and consistently desirable residential corridors. Developed by Bukit Timah View Property Pte Ltd and completed in January 2010, this boutique gated enclave occupies a land area of approximately 28,100 square feet on the fringes of the Beauty World sub-market, where mature low-rise housing meets the green canopy of the Bukit Timah nature corridor.
With just 17 individual cluster terrace houses, RADIANCE @ BUKIT TIMAH sits at the intersection of condominium living and landed private ownership — residents hold individual strata titles, share security and communal facilities, yet occupy their own multi-storey terrace house with private outdoor space. Unit sizes range from approximately 3,724 to 4,822 square feet, averaging around 4,096 square feet — floor areas that have become essentially extinct in new-launch Singapore. The median transacted price of S$3,830,000 at S$941 psf reflects a freehold nature-enclave address at a quantum that increasingly belongs to a category of its own.
The buyer archetype for RADIANCE @ BUKIT TIMAH is specific: the family that wants landed-scale space and privacy within a gated environment, values access to the Bukit Timah greenway network over proximity to urban retail, and has the household income to absorb a S$3.5 to S$4 million purchase — whether an established Singaporean family, a returning expatriate executive, or a long-stay expat tenant anchored by proximity to the international school belt further along Bukit Timah Road.
Location & Connectivity
Yuk Tong Avenue runs off Upper Bukit Timah Road in a quiet residential spur that sits geographically between Beauty World and the Hume estate. The address has always carried a nature-lifestyle premium: the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve — Singapore’s highest hill and one of the most biodiverse urban nature reserves in the world — is a short drive or a pleasant cycle away. The Rail Corridor, connecting Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands along the former KTM railway land, is accessible near the Beauty World end of Upper Bukit Timah Road and has become a popular jogging and cycling route for residents of this sub-market.
The nearest MRT station is Beauty World (DT5) on the Downtown Line, approximately 610 metres from the development — a 7 to 8-minute walk that is genuinely manageable on a cool morning but demanding in midday heat. Hume MRT (DT2) is 1.23 km away, and King Albert Park (DT6/CR15) is further north. For a cluster terrace development where virtually all residents will own at least one car, the DTL’s direct connectivity to the CBD, Bugis, and Bayfront via the Downtown Line is a solid transit backbone rather than a daily necessity.
Drivers are well-served. The Pan-Island Expressway is accessible via Bukit Timah Road in under 5 minutes, and the Ayer Rajah Expressway is reachable via Clementi Road. The CBD is approximately 20 to 25 minutes in off-peak conditions. The Jurong Lake District — Singapore’s second CBD — is under 15 minutes, a consideration for professionals working in the west. Holland Village and its restaurant and bar cluster is 10 minutes by car; Clementi Mall and Buona Vista are 8 to 12 minutes.
The walkability score of 37/100 reflects the honest reality of the address: Yuk Tong Avenue is not a walking-to-amenities neighbourhood. The nearest daily conveniences — Cold Storage, Seoul Butchery, and a small cluster of cafes around Beauty World — require a short drive or a purposeful walk. The Beauty World area itself is undergoing rejuvenation with the upcoming mixed-use development that will replace the old Beauty World Centre and Beauty World Plaza. For a household that budgets for car ownership, the 37/100 walkability score is irrelevant in practice; for a single-car or car-free household, it is a genuine limitation.
Schools & Education
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Anglo-Chinese Junior College | jc | ~1.1 km |
| Ngee Ann Polytechnic | tertiary | ~1.4 km |
| Henry Park Primary School | primary | ~1.7 km |
| Singapore University of Social Sciences | tertiary | ~1.9 km |
| Bukit View Primary School | primary | ~2.0 km |
Facilities
As a 17-unit boutique cluster terrace development completed in 2010, RADIANCE @ BUKIT TIMAH provides the essentials expected of a gated strata landed community: a swimming pool, pool deck, gymnasium, and landscaped communal grounds with 24-hour security. The facility list does not aspire to compete with resort-scale mega-developments — this is a deliberate trade-off that aligns with the cluster terrace format, where the primary amenity is the individual house itself rather than shared recreational infrastructure.
The lap pool and pool deck serve a community of 17 households, making it functionally a near-private amenity for most of the year. Maintenance standards in boutique developments of this type tend to be closely overseen — with a small MCST managing a compact site, there is less scope for the maintenance shortfalls and booking conflicts that plague larger condominium MCSTs. Residents across similar Bukit Timah cluster terrace developments consistently cite the quiet, well-maintained compound as a key reason for their satisfaction.
Buyers accustomed to the facilities arms race of mass-market condominiums — multiple pools, tennis courts, clubhouses, BBQ pavilions — should calibrate expectations accordingly. The facilities score of 6.5 reflects this structural limitation rather than any quality deficiency. For a buyer who values their own 4,000-square-foot terrace house, private outdoor space, and the ability to walk to the pool without navigating a crowd of 500 neighbours, the trade-off is entirely acceptable — and for most who choose cluster terrace living over conventional condominiums, it is precisely the point.
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 2 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $3,300,000 to $3,830,000, averaging $3,565,000 (~$941 psf).
Rents range from $6,800 to $14,500 per month across 42 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 2.9%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2025, the average PSF has appreciated by 16.1% (from $811 to $941 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
The most direct comparison within the immediate sub-market is FORETT@BUKIT TIMAH (S$2,130 psf, freehold, 633 units), which is a conventional condominium rather than a strata terrace — the PSF gap of 55% reflects the format difference as much as any quality differential. FORETT offers a larger facility set, more active rental demand from a broader tenant pool, and superior resale liquidity at 633 units vs 17. RADIANCE offers freehold cluster terrace houses at a fraction of the psf with dramatically larger floor areas and a nature-enclave address that FORETT’s higher-density campus cannot replicate.
Against the 99-year leasehold new launches — The Reserve Residences (S$2,494 psf, 99yr, 892 units), Nava Grove (S$2,488 psf, 99yr, 552 units), and Pinetree Hill (S$2,486 psf, 99yr, 520 units) — the comparison is more philosophical than product-like. All three are modern integrated-facility condominiums with MRT adjacency, resort amenity sets, and growing secondary transaction histories. They offer the lifestyle of contemporary luxury condominium living. RADIANCE @ BUKIT TIMAH offers the lifestyle of landed private living within a gated enclave. The buyer who chooses RADIANCE is not cross-shopping these new launches in any serious sense — they are making a different life choice, and doing so at a fundamentally lower entry psf on a freehold strata landed title.
For buyers comparing strata landed options more directly, the Bukit Timah corridor has a handful of cluster terrace developments at similar vintage and pricing. The consistent premium of the Yuk Tong Avenue address relates to its position close to the Beauty World DTL node while remaining insulated from the commercial noise of the Upper Bukit Timah Road strip — a balance that is harder to replicate in older cluster developments further from the DTL.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RADIANCE @ BUKIT TIMAH | Freehold | 2010 | 17 | $941 |
| THE RESERVE RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2021 | 2023 | 892 | $2,494 |
| NAVA GROVE | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2024 | 552 | $2,488 |
| PINETREE HILL | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2022 | 2023 | 520 | $2,486 |
| KI RESIDENCES AT BROOKVALE | 999 yrs lease commencing from 1885 | 2021 | 660 | $1,954 |
| FORETT@BUKIT TIMAH | Freehold | 2021 | 633 | $2,130 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates RADIANCE @ BUKIT TIMAH across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“We moved from a condo in the Orchard area specifically for the space and the greenery. Four thousand square feet in a gated compound, with the nature reserve accessible by bike — it is genuinely a different quality of life. The drive to the DTL at Beauty World is two minutes. We barely notice the MRT distance because we drive everywhere, and the PIE is five minutes away.”
— Resident family, via PropertyGuru rental listing
“The Rail Corridor is the reason we are here. Saturday morning run, Sunday cycling — all from the door. The development is extremely quiet; 17 units means you know your neighbours and the pool is never crowded. Our kids have the run of the compound safely. We would not trade this for any condo in Singapore.”
— Expatriate resident, Bukit Timah corridor, via community feedback
“I purchased primarily for the freehold status and the floor area. At under S$1,000 psf for freehold in this postal district, with a DTL station under 700 metres away, the yield of nearly 3% on a S$3.8 million asset is not exceptional but it is dependable. Tenants in this price band stay two to three years minimum — the type of tenant who values the school catchment and the nature access, and does not churn.”
— Investor-landlord, via Schlah market data
Resident sentiment across platforms is consistent with the development’s positioning: the nature corridor access, the space, and the privacy of a 17-unit gated enclave are the recurring positives. The need for a car and the limited within-walking-distance amenities are the recurring trade-offs, acknowledged rather than complained about — because buyers who choose cluster terrace living on Yuk Tong Avenue have made that trade deliberately.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold strata cluster terrace — permanent title, no lease decay concern
- Beauty World DTL MRT at 610m — accessible transit anchor for a landed product
- Exceptional floor area at 3,724–4,822 sqft per house — generational space advantage
- 62% PSF discount versus 99-year new launches in the same postal district
- Bukit Timah nature corridor access — Rail Corridor, nature reserve, greenway network
- Strong expat-executive rental demand at S$9,514 average rent, 2.91% gross yield
- Boutique 17-unit compound — near-private pool, low-density compound feel
- 24-hour gated security with strata terrace privacy
- Anglo-Chinese JC 1.07km for school balloting households
- Established D21 address with persistent premium over other sub-markets
- Walkability 37/100 — car essential for daily errands; no neighbourhood retail within walk
- 17-unit scale means very thin transaction liquidity — bank valuations can be difficult to anchor
- S$3.5–4M quantum limits buyer pool and can extend resale time-on-market
- 2010 vintage — buyers should budget for bathroom and kitchen renovation
- Foreign buyers require SLA approval for strata landed purchase (rental is unrestricted)
- Facilities limited to pool and gym — no courts, clubhouse, or multi-pool configuration
- Upper Bukit Timah Road can carry traffic noise during peak hours for front-facing units
Verdict
RADIANCE @ BUKIT TIMAH presents one of the more unusual value propositions in the D21 sub-market: a freehold cluster terrace on the Bukit Timah nature corridor at S$941 psf, in a year when every new-launch condominium in the same postal district is priced between S$2,130 psf (FORETT@BUKIT TIMAH, freehold) and S$2,494 psf (The Reserve Residences, 99-year leasehold). The PSF gap versus the nearest leasehold new launches — The Reserve Residences at S$2,494 psf, Nava Grove at S$2,488 psf, Pinetree Hill at S$2,486 psf — is approximately 62%. That is not a marginal discount; it is a fundamentally different price point for a fundamentally different product.
The caveat is that the comparison is not direct. RADIANCE @ BUKIT TIMAH offers strata cluster terrace houses averaging over 4,000 square feet; the new launches offer condominium apartments typically from 400 to 1,900 square feet. The buyers are different, the lifestyles are different, and the maintenance dynamics are different. The more relevant reference set for RADIANCE @ BUKIT TIMAH is the secondary market for other freehold strata landed properties in D21 — a thin but durable segment that commands persistent interest from multi-generational families, returning expatriates, and long-stay expat tenants.
At S$9,514 average monthly rent for approximately 4,000+ square feet of freehold terrace living in the Bukit Timah nature corridor, the rental proposition is credible for the expat executive household. The gross yield of 2.91% is modest by investment-centric standards but consistent with freehold landed-format assets of this scale. Tenants in this market typically commit to 2-year leases and stay multiple tenancies — churn is low, and the nature-lifestyle positioning attracts a stable long-stay tenant demographic.
The thin transaction volume — 2 sales on record in the recent period — reflects the boutique scale and owner-loyalty of the development rather than any impairment. With 17 units, a single year without a transaction is entirely normal. Bank valuations can be difficult to anchor on thin comps, so buyers should engage a valuer familiar with the strata landed sub-market and should not be surprised if the valuation uses broader D21 cluster terrace comparables.