875 units. Mixed-use. GFA harmonised. ~$2,370 psf. Chencharu Close is the largest District 26 GLS to date — and on 8 May 2026, Yishun 10 was rezoned for residential redevelopment 2km north. The corridor is firing on all cylinders. Here's whether Chencharu deserves your CPF.
The GLS tender for Chencharu Close closed on 11 September 2025. Evia Real Estate and Gamuda paid approximately $980 psf per plot ratio for a 317,000 sq ft North region site — the largest residential GLS parcel awarded in District 26 to date. If you're an AMK, Bishan, or Yishun HDB upgrader watching this corridor, this is the launch that defines the next benchmark. Here's the complete picture.
Where Is Chencharu Close?
Chencharu Close is in the Chencharu residential estate — Yishun's newest planning precinct, bounded by Yishun Avenue 5 to the north and Sembawang Road to the west. The GLS site is approximately 700m from Khatib MRT (NS14) on the North-South Line — one stop south of Yishun, with a direct 25-minute run to Orchard.
Site Map — Chencharu Close in Context · Illustrative · Not to scale
Six Launches, Six Price Records — The D26 Corridor Story
Every single D26 GLS since 2021 has cleared at a higher psf than the one before it. That's not luck — it's a corridor with genuine structural demand and a Government masterplan pushing it forward. Here's the full sequence:
Breaking (8 May 2026): Yishun 10 Is Being Rezoned — Great News for Chencharu Buyers
URA gazetted a proposed Master Plan 2025 amendment on 8 May 2026 to rezone 51 Yishun Central 1 — the Yishun 10 / GV Yishun site — from purely Commercial to Residential with Commercial at 1st Storey, GPR 3.0. Owner Frasers Property confirmed it is looking to "unlock redevelopment value." Savills estimates 90–100 private residential units and ~2,780 sqm of commercial space.
Why does this matter for Chencharu buyers? Frasers Property — which manages Northpoint City next door and has the deepest North Singapore market knowledge of any developer — chose to redevelop a 34-year cultural landmark rather than hold it for yield. That is institutional conviction in the same HDB upgrader demographic driving Chencharu's demand. Between 2026 and 2029, approximately 3,500 HDB flats in Yishun and Sembawang are expected to fulfil their MOP (ERA Singapore, December 2025). The October 2025 BTO exercise in Yishun was oversubscribed across the board — including in the Chencharu estate itself. The catchment is real and it's growing.
GFA Harmonised — Every Square Foot You Pay For Is Floor You Can Walk On
Pre-harmonisation condos like Lentor Modern or Hillock Green included ~40–50 sqft of non-liveable AC ledge in their quoted strata area. At $2,370 psf, that would cost you ~$95,000–$118,000 for space you can't stand in. Under harmonisation, that charge disappears. Compare Chencharu's psf only against other harmonised launches — Lentor Mansion (2024), Lentor Central Residences, Springleaf Residence — not against pre-2023 projects. The numbers tell a different story when you're comparing like-for-like.
Is $2,370 PSF Justified? Here's the Honest Maths
Working backwards: Evia + Gamuda paid ~$980 psf ppr. Add construction ($400–$500 psf) plus developer overhead — breakeven lands at ~$1,975 psf. Apply 20% developer margin → ~$2,370 psf ASP. Against the harmonised-only comparable set, that's a 5–10% premium over Lentor Central Residences, consistent with what every prior D26 launch has commanded over its predecessor.
(H) = GFA Harmonised. Harmonised-to-harmonised comparison only.
On the macro side, UOB's January 2026 research forecasts SORA reaching 1.32% by end-2026. For buyers on floating-rate mortgages, the difference between 3.5% and 2.8% SORA on a $1.2M loan over 25 years is roughly $300–$400 per month — real money in a household budget. And the private property price index has gained for 9 straight years, with D26 broadly tracking or outperforming it throughout (URA REALIS, PropNex Research).
I've tracked every D26 GLS since Lentor Modern. The corridor's price escalation has been measured and demand-driven — not speculative froth. At 875 units, Chencharu is a volume play. Watch the Phase 1 launch strategy: if they open at $2,200–$2,250 psf and step up, that's a developer managing absorption smartly. On a $1.6M 3-bedder, a 3–5% Phase 1 discount is $48K–$80K. That delta matters — and it's often available to buyers who register early.
The Mixed-Use Edge — And the Questions Most Agents Won't Ask at the Showflat
- Maintenance fee allocation: Commercial operators contribute MCST levies, but the split of shared costs — lifts, carparks, security, landscaping — is set in the strata plan, not the brochure. Request the proposed management agreement before you sign.
- Sinking fund dynamics: Under BMSMA, contributions are proportional to share values. High commercial GFA can dilute residential sinking fund obligations — a financial positive for owners. Ask the developer for the proposed share value schedule at the showflat.
- Commercial tenancy risk: F&B operators bring delivery traffic, exhaust, and late-night hours. Ask specifically: which residential floors sit directly above commercial units, and will commercial lots be sold or retained? Developer-retained commercial can be stabilising — or contentious — depending on management philosophy.
Who Should Be at the Front of the Queue?
- AMK / Yishun HDB upgraders hitting MOP in 2025–2026
- Families wanting walkable F&B and services on the doorstep
- Long-horizon holders (10+ years) comfortable with 99-year leasehold in a developing precinct
- Household income above $120K who can service a $1.5M+ loan
- Yield investors — gross yield ~2.0–2.3% at $2,370 psf is below financing cost
- Short-term flippers — SSD Year 1 = 16%; deeply uneconomical
- Buyers needing TOP by 2028 — expect 2030–2031
- Those who need a fully established neighbourhood at move-in
How Chencharu Stacks Up — Full D26 Pipeline
| Project | Status | ASP psf | Units | H? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lentor Mansion | Launched 2024 | ~$2,156 | 530 | ✅ |
| Lentor Central Residences | Launched 2024–25 | ~$2,100–2,250 | 475 | ✅ |
| Lentor Gardens Residences | Launched Apr 2026 | ~$2,050 | 500 | ✅ |
| Chencharu Close This review | Est. Dec 2026 | ~$2,370 | 875 | ✅ |
| Upper Thomson Rd Parcel A | Est. Jan 2027 | ~$2,503 | 595 | ✅ |
| Yishun 10 (Frasers) | Rezoning May 2026 | TBC ~$2,500+ | ~90–100 | ✅ |
James's Verdict: Buy, Watch, or Wait?
The private property index has gained for 9 straight years. D26 has tracked or outperformed it every year. The Yishun 10 rezoning adds another institutional confidence signal to a corridor that has been delivering since 2021. GFA harmonisation means every psf you pay at Chencharu is genuinely usable floor area. The fundamentals are intact and improving.
875 units at $2,370 psf in a developing precinct still requires patience. Go in with a clear hold horizon and an exit plan that doesn't depend on the first 12 months of trading. The buyers who do well here are the ones who commit early and hold confidently.
Thinking About Chencharu Close or Any D26 Launch?
I'm James Ong, a CEA-licensed property consultant with PropNex Realty and over a decade of residential estate management experience — from ECs to ultra-luxury condominiums. I understand not just how to buy a condominium, but what it costs and takes to run one. A perspective almost no property agent in Singapore can offer, especially for a mixed-use, GFA-harmonised launch like Chencharu.
WhatsApp James: 91111173- URA — Proposed Amendment to Master Plan 2025, 51 Yishun Central 1, 8 May 2026
- URA GLS Programme — Confirmed List & Reserve List 2025/2026
- URA — GFA Harmonisation Circular, 1 September 2022; Implementation 1 June 2023
- UOB Global Economics & Markets Research — Outlook 2026 (15 January 2026)
- Savills Singapore — Alan Cheong commentary on Yishun 10, The Straits Times, May 2026
- ERA Singapore — 1H 2026 GLS Programme Press Release (December 2025)
- PropNex Research — District 26 Transaction Data 2022–2026
- URA REALIS — Lentor Corridor Caveats 2022–2026
- BCA — Construction Cost Benchmark 2025
- BMSMA — Sinking Fund & MCST Governance Framework
