The Serra Residences
Novena / Bassein Road · Far East Organization
Singapore's largest private developer brings a 133-unit freehold boutique to Bassein Road, Novena MRT at 450m, Health City precinct as long-term backdrop, priced in the S$2,800 $3,000+ psf band where D11 freehold has earned its premium.
Location & neighbourhood
Bassein Road: the quieter side of Novena, with the MRT at a 6-minute walk.
Bassein Road sits in the residential fringe of Novena, quieter than the Balestier or Thomson Road frontage but still within the established CCR D11 address. The immediate neighbourhood is a mix of older freehold condos, conservation shophouses along Balestier Road, and the Novena medical cluster (Mount Elizabeth Novena, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Health City Novena). The Health City Novena integrated development, Singapore's most ambitious healthcare campus, anchors this sub-precinct as a long-term employment and connectivity node.
Novena Square (Velocity) and United Square (primarily office/medical) are at the MRT. Balestier Road F&B strip for local dining, Novena 328 Katong Laksa, and the Thomson Road food stretch are all within easy reach. Orchard Road is 1 MRT stop.
MRT & transport
- , Novena MRT (NS20, NSL), ~450m / ~6-min walk; NSL direct
- , Newton MRT (NS21/DT11), NSL + DTL interchange, ~820m / ~11-min walk
- , NSL to Orchard: 1 stop (~3 min); City Hall: 2 stops (~6 min)
- , DTL at Newton: Bugis, Botanic Gardens, one-north direct
- , CTE expressway: ~5 min to on-ramp via Thomson/Moulmein
The developer
Far East Organization: 55,000 Singapore homes and the country's largest private developer.
Far East Organization (founded 1960 by the late Ng Teng Fong, now run by Robert Ng and Philip Ng) has built an estimated 55,000 homes in Singapore, the largest private developer by units ever constructed. Their freehold boutique and luxury track record in CCR is specifically relevant here: Skyline @ Orchard Boulevard (D9/D10, transaction at S$5,371 psf in Feb 2026), Alba (D9, 8 Cairnhill Rise, 50 units luxury), Miro (D11, freehold, completed ~2014, the most direct comparable on Bassein Road / Novena), The Scotts Tower, and The Cairnhill.
Miro at D11 freehold is the most structurally comparable to Serra, same developer, same district, similar boutique scale. Far East's track record in the 100–150 unit freehold segment is clean. The company has the balance sheet depth to hold pricing firm through soft markets rather than discounting aggressively. Land cost for this site (private acquisition, not GLS) is not publicly disclosed.
Named D9 D11 FH track record
- , Skyline @ Orchard Blvd (S$5,371 psf, 2026)
- , Alba (D9, 50 units, luxury FH)
- , Miro (D11, FH, nearest Serra comparable)
- , The Cairnhill, The Scotts Tower (D9)
- , The Reserve Residences (D21, JV, integrated)
Unit mix & layouts
133 units from 1BR to 4BR, boutique scale, confirmed tenure, one tower.
Official floor plans not yet released as of April 2026. Based on pre-launch marketing collateral, the mix covers 1BR 4BR in a single boutique tower format. At 133 units, this is not a project with a diverse buyer base, it is a targeted product for buyers who specifically want D11 freehold at the Novena/Newton price point. Efficiency at boutique scale is typically above average, fewer units means less corridor waste and more design flexibility per unit.
Indicative pricing & PSF context
S$2,800 $3,000+ psf, in the middle of D11's freehold transaction band.
Indicative PSF (pre-launch)
S$2,800 $3,000+ psf
Not confirmed. Based on analyst extrapolation and D11 freehold comparable transactions. Official price list TBC at launch. Private site acquisition cost (not GLS), developer margin headroom is not verifiable.
D11 freehold resale benchmarks
- , Pullman Residences Newton (FH, TOP 2025): S$3,162 psf avg
- , Watten House (Shelford Rd, FH): S$3,118 $3,386 psf avg
- , 35 Gilstead (FH): ~S$2,845 psf
- , 10 Evelyn (FH, Newton): ~S$2,792 psf
- , Serra at S$2,800+ sits in the lower half of current D11 FH band, not expensive for freehold D11
Schools, amenities, connectivity
ACS Junior proximity and Health City Novena, two distinct demand drivers.
Primary schools (within 1–2km)
- , Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) at 16 Winstedt Rd, TBC distance from Bassein Rd; ~1.5–2km (verify MOE)
- , Balestier Hill Primary, within 1–2km
- , St Joseph's Institution Junior, TBC
- , Confirm via MOE SchoolFinder before advising
Secondary & lifestyle
- , ACS (Barker Road), 2+ km
- , Singapore Chinese Girls' School (Secondary)
- , Novena Square (Velocity), 6 min walk via MRT
- , United Square, Novena Medical Hub
- , Balestier Road F&B, Thomson hawker strip
Healthcare (Health City Novena)
- , Mount Elizabeth Novena, ~10-min walk
- , Tan Tock Seng Hospital, ~1.5km
- , Health City Novena: Singapore's planned integrated health precinct, adds employment density to the sub-precinct over the 2030s
Investment thesis
Why someone would actually buy here.
Freehold tenure in a supply-thin CCR pocket
D11 freehold new launch supply is boutique-scale and thin: Watten House (180 units, nearing absorption), Pullman Residences (340 units, fully sold), Surrey 21 (38 units), Sanctuary @ Newton (38 units). Serra at 133 units enters a market with no large-format freehold pipeline competing directly. Scarcity supports pricing discipline.
Novena MRT at 450m + Newton interchange at 820m
A sub-500m walk to Novena NSL gives Orchard access in 3 minutes and City Hall in 6 minutes, a CBD commute time that most CCR addresses can't match. Newton MRT's DTL adds east-west flexibility within an 11-min walk. For both owner-occupiers and expat tenants, that commute profile commands a rental premium.
Far East Organization's price discipline
Far East typically holds pricing on boutique freehold projects rather than discounting to velocity. That approach compresses risk of under-cutting your own exit, you are less likely to see the developer flooding the market with discounted balance units below your purchase price. The flip side: don't expect fire-sale units if demand softens.
Health City Novena as a long-term demand anchor
Health City Novena is Singapore's most ambitious integrated healthcare campus, concentrating medical professionals, researchers, and biomedical industry workers in the sub-precinct through the 2030s. That demand cohort correlates strongly with the expat tenant and owner-occupier profile that sustains D11 premium pricing through economic cycles.
Risks & what to stress test
Where this could bite you.
Boutique scale = thin liquidity
133 units means ~13 transactions per year even if turnover is 10% annually. The bid stack on any given month is shallow, if you need to exit quickly (divorce, emigration, cashflow event), there may be limited buyers at your target price, and you may need to price to attract demand rather than waiting for it. CCR liquidity is lower than OCR mega-developments by definition.
Land cost opacity is a risk
This is a private site acquisition, not a GLS, Far East's cost basis is not public. If the land was acquired at a high price, the developer may need to price units at S$3,000+ to achieve adequate returns, which tests buyer appetite in a market where Pullman Residences (340 units, FH, fully sold) has already absorbed demand at S$3,162 psf average. Verify the price list carefully before committing at the upper end of the range.
ACS Junior catchment TBC
ACS Junior (at Winstedt Road) is a primary buyer motivation for some families, but the exact 1km/2km distance from 7 Bassein Road to 16 Winstedt Road is not confirmed. Road distance is ~1.5–1.8km, which may or may not translate to 1km ballot priority under MOE's straight-line measurement. Verify before advising ACS-focused families.
D11 is not a yield pocket
At S$2,900 psf on a 1,000 sqft unit (S$2.9M), renting at S$6,000/month = 2.48% gross yield. Net of MCST, property tax, vacancy: ~1.8–2.2%. Pullman Residences and similar D11 FH projects return similar yields. This is a capital preservation and modest appreciation play, not a yield compounding story. Model accordingly.
Winfred's take
The honest read.
The Serra Residences is a straightforward proposition: 133 units of Far East freehold in D11 at Novena MRT, priced in the middle of the D11 freehold band. Far East knows how to sell boutique CCR freehold, their track record at this scale and in this district is clean. The product will likely sell steadily through 2026–2027 without a launch-day sellout frenzy, because the buyer profile is specific: SC professionals who want a permanent freehold address near CBD, perhaps for ACS Junior proximity, perhaps for MNT medical professionals, perhaps simply because they want to own something that won't decay in value as the lease ticks down. That's a coherent, self-contained investment logic.
Who it doesn't suit: buyers who want OCR price points with CCR expectations, yield investors who need 3%+ gross (you won't get it here), and buyers who equate "boutique" with "easy to sell", 133 units means thin resale liquidity and you should plan for a 5–10 year hold minimum. Compare carefully with the resale options from Pullman Residences and Watten House before committing new-launch money at S$3,000 psf; both offer immediate occupancy and are already in the market at broadly comparable PSF levels.
Related reading
Book a Property Portfolio Analysis on The Serra Residences.
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