The Bliss
Overview & Key Facts
The Bliss occupies a quiet stretch of Race Course Road in District 8, at the northern fringe of the Little India conservation belt — a micro-boutique condominium of just seven units completed in 2013 by LR Properties Pte Ltd. With a freehold tenure and a sub-$1M entry price at $1,356 psf, it represents one of the most yield-accretive freehold addresses in the RCR for income-focused investors.
The development is as intimate as Singapore’s private residential market gets. Seven homes. No sprawling clubhouse. No lap pool. What it offers instead is something that most mega-condos cannot buy: direct proximity to three MRT lines — the North East Line at Farrer Park (370 m), the North East Line and Downtown Line interchange at Little India (490 m), and the Downtown Line at Jalan Besar (610 m) — all within a 650 m radius. At $1,356 psf freehold with a 5.04% gross yield and sub-$1M median pricing, The Bliss makes a compelling case that boutique does not have to mean compromise.
The surrounding neighbourhood punches well above its modest footprint. Race Course Road is a heritage corridor lined with conserved shophouses, Tamil restaurants, and the Singapore Turf Club’s former grounds. The LASALLE College of the Arts campus sits 380 m away, anchoring a creative and arts community that has steadily shaped the precinct’s character over the past decade. For buyers who value neighbourhood texture over granite countertops, this address delivers.
Location & Connectivity
The Bliss’s single most compelling attribute is its MRT access. Farrer Park MRT (NE8) is 370 m away on the North East Line — a roughly five-minute walk that most residents can manage without breaking a sweat even in the Singapore heat. From Farrer Park, trains reach Dhoby Ghaut interchange in five minutes and HarbourFront in under 20. The NEL is one of the most fully underground, air-conditioned, and reliable lines in the network.
Little India MRT (NE7 / DT11) at 490 m doubles the line access: the Downtown Line from Little India reaches Bugis in two stops, Chinatown in four, and Bayfront (Marina Bay Sands) in five. This dual-line interchange within walking distance is a genuine rarity for a freehold address at this price point. A third station, Jalan Besar (DT22), sits 610 m south and adds further Downtown Line coverage, while Rochor (DT13) at 690 m provides additional options toward Bencoolen and Bugis.
For errands, the neighbourhood is walkable in a way that few RCR addresses can claim. Mustafa Centre — Singapore’s legendary 24-hour department store — is under 10 minutes on foot, stocking everything from groceries to electronics to gold jewellery. The Little India Arcade, Tekka Market (wet and dry goods, hawker centre), and a dense concentration of Indian, Thai, and fusion eateries are all within the same radius. City Square Mall is minutes away on foot for mainstream retail and a Cold Storage supermarket.
LASALLE College of the Arts at 380 m is a functional daily landmark: its ground-floor café and campus environment draw a creative, international crowd that has meaningfully shaped the vibrancy of the immediate precinct. The McNally Street – Dickson Road – Race Course Road triangle has evolved into a boutique dining and lifestyle corridor, with wine bars, independent cafés, and heritage shophouses adding character that new-build precincts typically lack.
Schools & Education
2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| LASALLE College of the Arts | tertiary | Within 1 km |
| Farrer Park Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| St. Andrew's Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| St. Andrew's Junior College | jc | Within 1 km |
| St. Margaret's Secondary School | secondary | Within 1 km |
| St. Andrew's Junior School | primary | Within 1 km |
| St. Margaret's Primary School | primary | ~1.0 km |
| CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace | primary | ~1.1 km |
Facilities
Seven units means seven neighbours — and it also means minimal communal facilities. Buyers who need a lap pool, a fully equipped gym, or a clubhouse should look elsewhere. The Bliss offers the essentials of a private residential address — secured access, car park, and the private amenity of freehold ownership — but does not attempt to replicate the resort model that characterises larger developments.
This trade-off is explicit and should be priced into any purchase decision. A buyer comparing The Bliss against Piccadilly Grand (407 units, 99-year leasehold, $2,166 psf) or City Square Residences (910 units, freehold, $1,892 psf) is comparing a boutique address with a community hub. The Bliss costs roughly 29% less per square foot than City Square Residences — a freehold-to-freehold comparison — and that gap largely reflects facilities, scale, and brand recognition.
One underappreciated offset: Farrer Park — a public green space with open lawns, exercise equipment, and a short walk from the development — effectively serves as a shared outdoor amenity for the neighbourhood. The SAFRA Toa Payoh club (fitness, pool, sports) is accessible for eligible members within a short cab or bus ride.
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 1 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $905,000 to $905,000, averaging $905,000.
Rents range from $2,400 to $4,300 per month across 10 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 5.0%.
Neighbourhood Comparison
District 8 offers a diverse competitive set. Piccadilly Grand ($2,166 psf, 99-year leasehold, 407 units, 2021) is the newest entrant — a fresh-lease mass-market development with full facilities and brand-new finishings, at a 60% psf premium over The Bliss. For buyers who need amenities and prefer a newer lease with a liquid secondary market, Piccadilly Grand is the natural alternative.
City Square Residences ($1,892 psf, freehold, 910 units) is the closest like-for-like freehold comparison. It is significantly larger, offers full condo facilities, and has an established resale and rental market. The 39% psf premium over The Bliss reflects scale, facilities, and brand equity. For investors who value liquidity and lifestyle completeness, City Square Residences is the safer freehold bet.
Sturdee Residences ($1,999 psf, 99-year leasehold, 305 units, 2015) and Citylights ($1,763 psf, 99-year leasehold, 600 units, 2004) round out the leasehold options. Both are leasehold assets at 47–50% psf premium over The Bliss — a gap that only makes sense if the buyer specifically values their scale, facilities, and lease profile over yield and freehold tenure.
The yield comparison is equally instructive. At 5.04% gross, The Bliss outperforms all D8 comparables by a meaningful margin. City Square Residences typically yields 2.8–3.2% at current pricing. The additional yield at The Bliss represents the market’s liquidity premium — compensation for the thin secondary market — and for a long-term hold investor, that yield gap compounds into a substantial income advantage over time.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE BLISS | Freehold | 2013 | 7 | — |
| PICCADILLY GRAND | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2021 | 2022 | 407 | $2,166 |
| CITYLIGHTS | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2004 | 2007 | 600 | $1,763 |
| CITY SQUARE RESIDENCES | Freehold | 2009 | 910 | $1,892 |
| STURDEE RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2015 | — | 305 | $1,999 |
| KERRISDALE | 99 yrs lease commencing from 1998 | 2006 | 481 | $1,395 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates THE BLISS across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
Publicly available resident feedback for The Bliss is sparse — a natural consequence of its seven-unit footprint. Listings on PropertyGuru and 99.co reflect strong demand from tenants and investors, with the walkability to Farrer Park MRT consistently cited as the development’s headline attribute.
“Super convenient location — I can walk to Farrer Park MRT in under five minutes and Little India in under ten. The neighbourhood has changed a lot with new cafés and restaurants opening on Dickson Road. Very liveable for someone who works in the city.”
— Tenant feedback, Race Course Road D8
“Don’t expect any facilities — it’s a boutique block. But the location is unbeatable if you rely on MRT. Mustafa is open 24/7 and Tekka Market is right there for fresh produce. I’ve recommended it to colleagues at LASALLE.”
— Former tenant, expatriate community
The consensus across available feedback is that residents accept the facilities trade-off willingly in exchange for the MRT and neighbourhood amenity density. The Little India – Race Course Road corridor is one of Singapore’s most genuinely walkable urban environments for daily errands, and that operational convenience partially substitutes for the in-compound amenities a larger development would provide.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- 5.04% gross yield on freehold D8 asset — exceptional for RCR
- Farrer Park NE8 MRT just 370 m away — genuinely walkable in 5 minutes
- Three MRT lines within 650 m (NEL + DTL via Little India, DTL via Jalan Besar)
- Sub-$1M entry price ($905,000) — rare freehold D8 access below the million-dollar threshold
- Freehold tenure — no lease decay, generational wealth transfer possible
- LASALLE College of the Arts at 380 m — strong expat and creative-professional tenant pool
- Mustafa Centre (24h), Tekka Market, and Little India hawker density all walkable
- District 8 RCR positioning — strong rental demand from CBD, Bugis, and Biopolis workers
- 39% psf discount to City Square Residences for same freehold D8 status
- Low-maintenance boutique living — no large MCST, no pooled facility disputes
- Only 7 units — essentially no on-site facilities (no pool, no gym, no function room)
- Extremely thin secondary market — one resale on record, price discovery very difficult
- Race Course Road ambient noise — traffic and weekend nightlife activity
- Micro-boutique MCST — any one difficult neighbour has outsized impact
- No facilities whatsoever means full reliance on public parks and commercial gyms
- LR Properties boutique developer — no brand equity in secondary-market buyer searches
- Older 2013 finishings — likely needs renovation spend to meet current tenant expectations
- Single-staircase micro block — no stack variety or unit-view differentiation to speak of
Verdict
The Bliss is not for everyone — and it knows it. A seven-unit freehold boutique on Race Course Road with minimal facilities and a 5.04% gross yield is a specialist instrument, not a mass-market product. The buyer it suits is narrow but real: an income-focused investor who wants freehold tenure in the RCR, is comfortable with thin secondary-market liquidity, and values MRT walkability above all else.
For that profile, the numbers are hard to argue with. Freehold status in District 8. Three MRT lines within 650 m. A median rent of $3,800/month. Entry price below $1M. A gross yield of 5.04% on a non-decaying freehold asset. These are not numbers you see together very often in Singapore’s residential market.
The risks are equally clear. Only one resale on record means almost no price discovery. No facilities means the asset attracts a specific tenant type — typically urban professionals and expatriates who value location over amenities. The Race Course Road corridor carries some ambient noise from traffic and, on weekend nights, from the neighbourhood’s food and nightlife strip. And at seven units, any management disputes or MCST dysfunction have an outsized impact.
The competing freehold option in the district — City Square Residences at $1,892 psf — offers 910 units, full facilities, and an established secondary market, at a 39% psf premium. Whether that premium is worth paying depends entirely on how much weight a buyer puts on liquidity and lifestyle amenities versus yield and raw freehold value. The Bliss makes its case for the latter with unusual conviction.