Dunearn House Review 2026 — Complete Analysis by James Ong

New Launch Review · District 11 · 2026

Dunearn House: The Complete Analysis

The first private residential launch in Bukit Timah Turf City. Land cost $1,410 psf/ppr. Adjacent site already at $1,625. School belt, right-sizer play, and a 99-year lease in Singapore's most freehold neighbourhood. Here is every layer — including the one the showflat won't cover.

By James Ong · CEA Reg No. R008385F · PropNex Realty | Published Jun 2026 | 7-Layer Analysis

🌟 STAR Scorecard

Dunearn House · District 11 · 2026

James's professional assessment · Not investment advice

🏫

S — Schools (15%)

4.5 / 5

Methodist Girls' School (Primary) ~1.1km · Raffles Girls' Primary ~1.5km · Nanyang Girls' High, NJC, HCJC within 2km. One of the densest school belts in Singapore attached to a GLS site. No Ai Tong or Henry Park within 1km ballot radius — that is the only gap.

🚇

T — Transport + Transformation (35%)

4.2 / 5

Sixth Avenue MRT (DTL) ~800m walk, 5 interchange stations within 5 stops. Future Turf City MRT (Cross Island Line) ~2032 adds east–west spine. PIE 4 mins by car. Transformation thesis is real — 15,000–20,000 homes planned for Turf City over 20–30 years — but CRL completion is a decade away. First-mover discount applies.

🛒

A — Amenities (20%)

3.8 / 5

Beauty World Plaza, Bukit Timah Plaza, Beauty World Centre nearby. One Holland Village ~10 mins by car. Mandatory supermarket within Dunearn House itself (min 10-year operating obligation). Amenity density is solid for a suburban CCR site. Healthcare: Novena cluster is accessible but not walking distance.

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R — Returns (30%)

3.6 / 5

Land cost $1,410 psf/ppr — second-site benchmark at $1,625 provides price support. Estimated ASP ~$3,000 psf. D10/D11 gross rental yield ~3.0–3.5% (2026). GFA-harmonised — strata vs liveable psf gap exists and must be modelled. 99-year leasehold in a predominantly freehold neighbourhood is the key R-category risk. Resale comps for leasehold condos in D10/11 show 21.7% median psf growth since 2021 — solid but the holding period question matters for retirement-horizon buyers.

Overall Score

Weighted average · James's professional assessment

79 ⭐⭐⭐ Solid

Score: (4.5×0.15 + 4.2×0.35 + 3.8×0.20 + 3.6×0.30) × 20 = 79.1. Solid — buy selectively, with stack and unit type discipline. For retirement and legacy planning readers: gross yield matters less than net proceeds math, monthly outgoing reduction relative to a landed property, and the governance quality of the first MCST in a new precinct.

Your landed property on the Bukit Timah belt is worth $4 million, and the upkeep — repainting, waterproofing, garden, utility bills — runs over $3,000 a month. Your child wants to enter the private market. And every new launch within 2km is either freehold, priced above $3,300 psf, or both. Dunearn House is the first private residential project in Turf City — the first GLS in this corridor in a generation — and it sits at a price point that makes the numbers work for the right buyer. The question is whether you are the right buyer, and whether this is the right move.

James's Verdict

Dunearn House is a solid buy for owner-occupiers entering a new CCR precinct — particularly right-sizers from the Bukit Timah landed belt and parents structuring a co-purchase for a child's first private home. At ~$3,000 psf for a 99-year leasehold in District 11, it is not cheap. But with the adjacent second site already awarded at $1,625 psf/ppr — 15% above Dunearn House's land cost — the price floor argument is real. Buy for the right reasons: school belt, precinct transformation, retirement capital reduction, legacy structuring. Do not buy expecting a quick flip. The exit horizon here is 10 years minimum.

Complete Analysis

7-Layer Analysis — Dunearn House

The analysis every buyer needs. The layer every agent skips.

1 The Price Floor What the developer paid, and what the adjacent $1,625 psf/ppr site means for your downside 2 The Floor Plan Trap GFA harmonisation and how much space you are actually getting for $3,000 psf 3 The Pricing Test Is this psf defensible against leasehold resale comps in D10/D11? 4 The Yield Reality What the Bukit Timah corridor actually rents for — not what the brochure projects 5 The Spine Where Dunearn House sits in the Turf City transformation and the CRL corridor play 6 The Exit Who buys this from you in 10–15 years, at what price, and whether you will be happy 7 The Management Reality What you're buying into as the first MCST in a brand-new precinct — and why it matters

Land Cost

$1,410

psf/ppr · Jul 2025

Est. ASP

~$3,000

psf · base case

Tenure

99-year

Leasehold · from 2025

Units

380

5 blocks · 10–19 storeys

TOP

Dec 2030

Estimated

Developer

Frasers / Sekisui / CSC

JV · Ong & Ong (architect)

GFA Harmonisation Status

Dunearn House falls under URA's post-2023 GFA harmonisation rules. All comparable leasehold condos used in this analysis (The Reserve Residences, 8@BT) are also harmonised. A status table applies — no full strata vs liveable psf floor plan comparison is presented here. Full harmonisation analysis is in Part 2: The Floor Plan Trap. The practical implication: the ~$3,000 psf you see in marketing materials is a harmonised strata psf. The liveable psf — the space you actually inhabit — will be higher once AC ledges, planter boxes, and void areas are excluded. Model accordingly.

What the Market Is Telling You

The Dunearn House land bid closed in June 2025 at $491.5 million — $1,410 psf/ppr — with nine developers bidding. That level of competition in a corridor that has not seen a new GLS residential site in over a generation signals one thing clearly: developer conviction in Bukit Timah Turf City is real, not speculative. Within ten months of the first award, the adjacent second Dunearn site went to Wing Tai and Metro Holdings for $1,625 psf/ppr — a 15.2% step-up that nobody was forced to make. They chose to pay it. The full GLS pipeline context for this corridor is tracked at the GLS Tracker.

The leasehold comparable set within District 10/11 tells its own story. Resale prices for non-landed homes in D10 rose 21.7% between 2021 and 2026 (URA/ERA Research, 2026). The CCR led all regions in price growth in the first nine months of 2025, gaining 5.6% (URA, Q3 2025). Recent CCR new launches — Skye at Holland ($2,944 psf), River Modern ($3,266 psf) — sold over 88–99% on launch day, reinforcing that the pricing band Dunearn House is entering has active, willing buyers. CCR gross rental yields sit at approximately 3.0–3.5% in 2026 (PropertyNet.sg, 2026) — below suburban yields but consistent with what this asset class has always delivered.

Leasehold comparable performance — D10/D11

Project	District	Tenure	TOP	Launch PSF	Current Avg PSF	Appreciation	Est. Gross Yield
The Reserve Residences	D21	99LH	2027	$2,460	$2,584	~5%	~3.0–3.3%
8@BT	D21	99LH	2027	$2,719	$2,778	~2%	~3.0–3.3%
Leedon Green	D10	99LH	2023	~$2,750	$2,910	~5.8%	~2.7%
Dunearn House	D11	99LH	Dec 2030	~$3,000	–	New launch	~3.0–3.5% (est.)

Sources: URA REALIS; ERA Research and Market Intelligence (Apr 2026); 99.co; EdgeProp. PSF figures are approximate resale/subsale averages. Dunearn House yield is estimated based on D10/D11 market benchmarks. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

The land cost ladder makes the price support case concrete. Dunearn House at $1,410 psf/ppr sits below every comparable CCR benchmark in 2026: Chuan Grove ($1,376 psf/ppr), Thomson View ($1,178 psf/ppr), and the Newton GLS ($1,820 psf/ppr). The adjacent Wing Tai/Metro site at $1,625 psf/ppr — already awarded, launching 2H 2027 at an estimated $3,300 psf — is the clearest price floor signal available for any new launch in Singapore today.

What the Market Isn't Telling You

Every brochure, every agent presentation, every developer deck on Dunearn House leads with the same three points: first mover, CCR address, Turf City transformation. None of them mention what you are actually buying into as a strata owner in a brand-new precinct with no completed MCST history.

Dunearn House will be the first MCST established in the Bukit Timah Turf City estate. That matters more than most buyers recognise. The first Annual General Meeting of a new development sets the contribution rate for the sinking fund, establishes the maintenance fee schedule, selects the managing agent, and approves the first set of bylaws governing everything from short-term rentals to pet policies. In a mature development, you can inspect years of AGM minutes, sinking fund audited accounts, and contractor procurement records before you commit. At Dunearn House, none of that history exists yet. You are buying into an unknown governance track record — even if the developer is reputable.

This is not a red flag. It is a due diligence gap that every buyer should close before signing. Frasers Property, Sekisui House, and CSC Land have a combined track record across multiple completed developments. What to look for: how well their other completed projects have managed the post-TOP handover period, what their typical sinking fund contribution rates look like at year one versus year five, and whether the appointed managing agent has a track record of governance discipline in similarly sized CCR developments. The full management track record analysis is in Part 7: The Management Reality — the layer every agent skips.

The second thing the market isn't telling you is about the 99-year leasehold tenure in this specific context. Bukit Timah is one of Singapore's most freehold-dominant residential corridors. The surrounding landed estates — Namly, Duchess, Watten, Greenwood — are predominantly freehold or 999-year tenures. When you eventually need to sell Dunearn House, your buyer will be comparing your remaining leasehold (approximately 70 years in 2055, if you bought at launch and hold for 25 years) against newer leasehold launches in the Turf City precinct and the freehold resale stock in the surrounding streets. That comparison is not brutal — but it is real, and it requires a holding period discipline that most buyers underestimate at purchase.

Third: the integrated mandatory supermarket obligation. The developer is required to maintain a supermarket of at least 10,764 sq ft within the development for a minimum of 10 years from TOP. This is genuinely useful for residents — but it also means ground-floor commercial tenancy obligations that the MCST and management council will need to manage alongside residential governance from day one. In a mature development, commercial-residential MCST dynamics are well-understood. In the first development in a new precinct, they are not. Buyers in stacks adjacent to the commercial podium should model noise and access implications before selecting units.

Reasons to buy

First private residential project in Turf City — genuine first-mover pricing before the precinct reprices
Adjacent second site at $1,625 psf/ppr provides a hard price floor and future comparable benchmark
One of the densest school belts in Singapore — MGS Primary, Raffles Girls' Primary, Nanyang Girls' High within reach
Right-sizer play: landed sellers in Namly/Duchess/Watten can monetise equity, reduce outgoings, and hold a CCR asset
Strong developer JV: Frasers, Sekisui House, CSC Land — execution risk is low
Mandatory supermarket and childcare centre add immediate amenity value without buyer cost
CRL Turf City station (~2032) adds a second rail spine and east–west connectivity not currently available

Reasons to pause

99-year leasehold in a predominantly freehold/999-year neighbourhood — tenure discount affects long-term exit
No MCST track record — first AGM will set governance norms for an untested precinct council
Turf City transformation is a 20–30 year master plan — CRL station a decade away; full precinct build-out is generational
~$3,000 psf for 99LH is premium pricing relative to comparable leasehold launches in D21/OCR
GFA harmonisation gap must be modelled — liveable psf will be lower than advertised strata psf
Commercial-residential MCST dynamics from mandatory supermarket obligation add governance complexity
Stack selection is critical — some blocks face road noise from Dunearn Road; not all units carry equal view premium

Would You Rather

Dunearn House

99LH · ~$3,000 psf · 380 units · D11 Turf City · New precinct · CRL 2032 · First MCST

Leedon Green

99LH · $2,910 psf avg resale · Completed 2023 · D10 Holland · Established precinct · Known MCST track record

James picks: Dunearn House — with one condition

For a buyer with a 10-year minimum horizon and a specific reason to be in the Dunearn/Bukit Timah corridor — school ballot, right-sizing from the landed belt, co-purchase with a child — Dunearn House at ~$3,000 psf new offers a cleaner price floor than Leedon Green resale at ~$2,910 psf with an ageing leasehold clock. The adjacent second site at $1,625 psf/ppr creates a comparable that Leedon Green resale cannot match. But if the buyer's horizon is under 7 years, or the primary motivation is yield rather than capital structure, Leedon Green's known MCST, completed TOP, and immediate rental activation make it the lower-risk choice. The condition on Dunearn House: stack discipline matters. Not all 380 units are equal. Get the floor plan analysis right before you commit.

Why Now — The Cost of Waiting

The named trigger is the adjacent Wing Tai/Metro site. It awarded at $1,625 psf/ppr — 15.2% above Dunearn House's land cost of $1,410 psf/ppr. That second site will launch in 2H 2027 at an estimated $3,200–$3,300 psf. When that launch happens, Dunearn House buyers who entered at ~$3,000 psf in 2026 will be sitting on a corridor that has repriced above their entry point, with a directly comparable development setting the new benchmark.

The cost of waiting is not abstract. A buyer who waits for the second site launches into a development priced $200–$300 psf higher, with a land cost that is 15% above the first site, and with the first-mover position in the precinct already taken. For a 3-bedroom unit at ~1,000 sq ft, that $200–$300 psf difference translates to $200,000–$300,000 in entry cost — not a rounding error.

For right-sizers from the landed belt: the window where Dunearn House psf is below the second site's implied future benchmark is the 2026 launch. That window closes when the second project launches. Speak to a licensed financial adviser for advice specific to your situation regarding CPF, mortgage structuring, and overall financial planning before committing.

James's Note

In this corridor — Namly, Duchess, Watten, Greenwood — I observe a pattern that the Dunearn House brochure will never name. Parents in their late 50s and early 60s are sitting on landed properties worth $3.5–$5 million. The annual upkeep — repainting cycles, waterproofing, garden maintenance, utility bills for a large house that is half-empty — runs $30,000–$50,000 a year or more. Their adult children want to enter the private market but cannot do so alone at CCR pricing without a significant equity injection or co-purchase structure. Dunearn House is the first new project in this corridor in a generation that makes both moves possible simultaneously: the parent sells or right-sizes into a smaller strata unit, reduces outgoings by $2,000–$3,000 a month, and either co-purchases Dunearn House with a child or provides the equity injection that makes the child's purchase viable. The strata unit becomes the retirement hedge — a well-located CCR asset that covers the retirement horizon, generates rental income if needed, and is far simpler to manage than a 40-year-old semi-detached on a 60ft by 100ft plot. The question I ask every client in this position is not about the psf. It is about what the MCST will look like in year ten. A retirement-capital asset held for 15 years is only as good as the building that surrounds it. That is the question the brochure doesn't answer — and the one I can help you think through before you sign.

If you are considering right-sizing from the landed belt, co-purchasing with a child, or structuring retirement capital through a D10/D11 property — let's look at the numbers together before you commit. WhatsApp me at wa.me/6591111173.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dunearn House a good buy for 2026?

For the right buyer — yes. Dunearn House is the first private residential project in Bukit Timah Turf City, with a land cost of $1,410 psf/ppr and an estimated launch price of ~$3,000 psf. The adjacent second site has already been awarded at $1,625 psf/ppr, establishing a clear price floor. It is best suited for owner-occupiers with a 10-year minimum horizon, school-belt families, and right-sizers from the surrounding landed belt. It is not a short-term flip candidate.

Is Dunearn House freehold or leasehold — and does the tenure matter here?

Dunearn House is 99-year leasehold from 2025. In most of Singapore, this is unremarkable. In Bukit Timah, it matters more — the surrounding landed estates are predominantly freehold or 999-year. Your future resale buyer will compare your remaining lease against newer Turf City launches and the freehold stock on surrounding streets. A 10–15 year hold is manageable. A 25+ year hold requires careful modelling of how lease decay affects the exit in the 2045–2050 window.

What is the expected rental yield at Dunearn House?

Based on District 10/11 leasehold comparables in 2026, gross rental yield is estimated at 3.0–3.5%. At ~$3,000 psf, a 2-bedroom unit (~700 sqft, ~$2.1M) might generate $6,300–$7,350/month in rent — yielding approximately 3.6% gross. That is in line with the CCR market. Net yield after service charges, property tax, and vacancy will be lower. CCR property is better modelled as a capital preservation play than a yield play. Speak to a licensed financial adviser for advice specific to your situation.

Which schools are within 1km of Dunearn House for Primary 1 ballot?

Based on current proximity data, Methodist Girls' School (Primary) is approximately 1.1km from the site — on the boundary of the 1km ballot radius. Raffles Girls' Primary School is approximately 1.5km. Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School is also within reach. Buyers prioritising a specific school ballot should verify the exact unit address against the MOE School Finder tool once the development address is confirmed, as ballot eligibility is determined by registered address, not development name.

How does Dunearn House compare to the second Dunearn Road site (Wing Tai/Metro)?

The adjacent second site was awarded at $1,625 psf/ppr — 15.2% above Dunearn House's $1,410 psf/ppr. It is expected to launch in 2H 2027 at $3,200–$3,300 psf average. Dunearn House buyers at ~$3,000 psf would therefore be entering at a meaningful discount to the next comparable launch in the same precinct. The second site also has more prescriptive development conditions (mandatory supermarket, ECDC) that add cost without directly adding residential value. Dunearn House has the first-mover pricing advantage within the precinct.

What is the Turf City MRT station and when will it open?

Turf City MRT station is a planned station on the Cross Island Line (CRL), expected to be completed around 2032. It will provide an east–west link connecting the Bukit Timah corridor to Ang Mo Kio, Pasir Ris, and the Jurong Lake District on one line. Dunearn House currently benefits from Sixth Avenue MRT on the Downtown Line, approximately 800 metres from the site. The CRL station is an additional upside, not a current feature — buyers should not price this in as a certainty for short-horizon decisions.

Read the full Dunearn House series

The Complete Analysis · The Price Floor · The Floor Plan Trap · The Pricing Test · The Yield Reality · The Spine · The Exit · The Management Reality

VVIP Access · Dunearn House

Get the analysis before the showflat opens

I will run a net proceeds worksheet for your current property, map the co-purchase or right-size structure against your retirement horizon, and flag what to check in the sinking fund and governance framework before you commit. No pitch. Just the working — including the MCST angle every other agent skips.

WhatsApp James Now

Sources

URA — Tender Award, Dunearn Road GLS Site, 3 July 2025
URA — Tender Award, Second Dunearn Road GLS Site, 4 May 2026
ERA Singapore Research — Dunearn Road (2H 2025 GLS) Site Analysis, April 2026
ERA Singapore — Commentary on Dunearn Road GLS Tender Closing, April 2026
EdgeProp — URA Awards Dunearn Road GLS Site to Wing Tai-Metro JV, May 2026
99.co — Second Dunearn Road GLS Tender, Top Bid $533M, May 2026
StackedHomes — Top Bid of $533M for Second Bukit Timah Residential Site, April 2026
The Edge Singapore — Dunearn Road GLS Site Draws Six Bids, May 2026
cos.sg — Dunearn House GLS Analysis: Expected Launch Price, Land Cost & First-Mover Advantage, May 2026
URA — Private Residential Property Price Index, Q3 2025 and Q1 2026
URA/ERA Research — Resale Price Growth D10 Non-Landed, 2021–2026
PropertyNet.sg — District 9, 10 & 11 Prime Condo Guide 2026, CCR Gross Rental Yield Benchmarks
PropNex Sales Deck — Rising Land Cost Effect 2025–2027 Pipeline
newlaunchesreview.com — Dunearn House Review, Unit Mix Analysis, June 2026
UOB Global Economics & Markets Research — Singapore Economic Outlook and Property Demand Drivers, January 2026

This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Property investments involve risk. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Readers should seek independent advice from licensed professionals before making any property or financial decision. James Ong is a licensed real estate salesperson (CEA Reg No. R008385F) with PropNex Realty Pte Ltd and is not a licensed financial adviser.