Dunearn House: Why It Could Benefit Most from Turf City's Redevelopment
Today, let's take a deep dive into Dunearn House, one of the most interesting launches to come along in a while. Why? Because it is the very first private residential plot to be released within the Bukit Timah Turf City transformation. That combination of a brand new masterplan sitting inside one of Singapore's most established, most prestigious neighbourhoods is genuinely rare. Let's find out why I think Dunearn House could benefit most from everything that is about to happen around it.
Dunearn House: An Introduction
Dunearn House is a District 11 development sitting right along Dunearn Road, in the heart of the Bukit Timah stretch. It is a 99-year leasehold project with roughly 380 units, which is a comfortable, low-density count for a plot of this size.
The unit types run from 2-bedroom all the way to 4-bedroom premium plus study. There are no 1-bedrooms here, and no 5-bedroom penthouses either. So the developer has clearly shaped this project around genuine homes rather than shoebox investment units.
The development is made up of five blocks. You have two taller 19-storey towers, marketed as the Pinnacle Collection, and three 10-storey blocks that form the Luxury Collection. You get a basement car park and full condo facilities on the ground, including a proper full-sized tennis court. At 19 storeys, these towers are likely to be among the tallest residential blocks along this particular stretch of Bukit Timah, which is quite something for the area.
Developer Track Record
Dunearn House is a joint venture between Frasers Property, Sekisui House, and CSC Land Group, with Ong & Ong as the architect. That is a serious line-up.
Frasers Property needs no introduction locally. Sekisui House is one of Japan's largest homebuilders, and their involvement usually signals a strong focus on build quality and thoughtful detailing. CSC Land, the property arm of China State Construction, has been steadily active in the Singapore market. When you put three developers of this calibre together on a plot this prestigious, you can expect the execution to match the address.
Location: The Bukit Timah Turf City Transformation
Here is where things get exciting. Dunearn House is the first residential plot to be launched inside the Bukit Timah Turf City redevelopment, and this is not just another empty patch of land being filled in. This is a proper, once-in-a-generation transformation of a place many Singaporeans have real memories of.
The government has announced that Turf City will eventually hold roughly 15,000 to 20,000 new public and private homes, built out gradually over the next 20 to 30 years. Importantly, this brings public housing to Bukit Timah for the first time in close to 40 years. When HDBs come into an area, it tells you the government is committing serious funding and infrastructure to the space, and that matters for long-term value.
What I love is that they are not wiping the slate clean. URA is studying 27 buildings and structures across the estate, with 22 heritage buildings proposed for conservation, including both of the former Turf Club grandstands. If you remember Turf City for the horse racing, or like me, for the weekend trips and the seafood, that history is being kept alive and turned into community spaces.
The whole estate is being planned as a car-lite 10-minute neighbourhood. The idea is simple. Your MRT, shops, parks, and community facilities should all be within a 10-minute walk, or a 5-minute cycle. It reminds me a lot of the thinking behind the Marina South transformation, just dropped into a much more mature and leafy setting.
On the greenery front, Bukit Timah is already blessed. The Rail Corridor, the roughly 24km green spine, runs right through this part of Singapore, and the wider park connector network eventually links you to the 36km Coast-to-Coast Trail that stretches from Jurong Lake Gardens all the way to Coney Island. If you genuinely love nature and greenery, this is a part of town that delivers.
Connectivity: The Two-Line Advantage
Location-wise, Dunearn House is about as prime as the Bukit Timah stretch gets. You are within a short walk, roughly 500 metres, to Sixth Avenue MRT on the Downtown Line, so public transport is sorted from day one.
But here is the part that gets me excited for the future. Turf City will also be served by a second line, the Cross Island Line, via the upcoming Turf City station, which is targeted to open around 2032. So this estate is set to enjoy both the Downtown Line today and the Cross Island Line tomorrow. That kind of dual-line connectivity, in an already established area, is not something you find easily.
Along the Downtown Line you also have King Albert Park, Tan Kah Kee, and Botanic Gardens all within easy reach. For drivers, the site faces Dunearn Road and offers quick access to the PIE and the BKE, so getting into town or across the island is straightforward.
What's Inside Dunearn House
The unit mix tells you exactly who this project is for. Roughly 46% of the units are 2-bedroom or 2-bedroom plus study, with the balance made up of 3-bedders and 4-bedders. That skew towards the smaller and mid-sized units, in an own-stay heavy location, suggests the developer is leaning into right-sizers and families who want to plant roots in Bukit Timah.
Facilities are comprehensive. You get a 50-metre lap pool, a wellness pool, a kids pool, a gym, a steam room, and that full-sized tennis court. There is also a nice differentiation built into the blocks, with the Pinnacle and the Luxury collections giving buyers a bit of choice in positioning.
Land Price and Indicative Pricing
Let's talk numbers. The JV secured the Dunearn Road plot at S$491.45 million, which works out to about S$1,410 PSF per plot ratio. The tender closed in June 2025 and drew nine bids, with CDL coming in second at around S$1,360 PSF per plot ratio. That is a gap of just 3.7%, which tells you the land was keenly contested but the bidding stayed disciplined.
To be clear, that S$1,410 is the land rate, not the selling price. Analysts have pencilled in a break-even of roughly S$2,558 PSF, and expected launch pricing lands around S$2,900 to S$3,100 PSF, with the more bullish estimates going a little higher. My own sensing is that the developer likely starts from around S$2,900 PSF, which would put a compact 3-bedroom in the region of S$2.7 million.
Now here is a detail I find reassuring. The adjacent second Dunearn Road plot was awarded later at about S$1,625 PSF per plot ratio, which is roughly 15% higher on land cost. That gives Dunearn House a genuine first-mover advantage. You are entering at the lower land cost of the two, with a pricier neighbour set to launch above you and reset the benchmark.
I always caution that a lower land price does not guarantee you a fat profit. It does not work that way. But it gives you a comfortable buffer, and it tells you your entry price should hold up well against whatever launches next in the precinct.
How It Compares
To sense-check whether Dunearn House is fairly priced, let's look at the closest resale neighbours.
Fourth Avenue Residences, the Allgreen 99-year leasehold project right by Sixth Avenue MRT, launched back in 2018 and 2019 at around S$2,300 to S$2,400 PSF. In August 2025, a compact unit of about 947 sqft there transacted at roughly S$2.69 million, which is around S$2,850 PSF. So if Dunearn House brings a brand new compact 3-bedder in at about S$2.7 million, you are essentially matching an older 99-year leasehold neighbour on quantum, while getting a fresh lease and a front-row seat to the Turf City transformation.
Royalgreen, also by Allgreen but freehold, is another useful reference. Its larger 4-bedders have been changing hands in 2025 at roughly S$3.79 to S$4.0 million. That is a helpful anchor if you are looking at the bigger layouts.
If you want a sense of where prestige pricing can go, look at Watten House in the same District 11, which launched at an average of around S$3,230 PSF and even set a district price record. And over in River Valley, River Modern by GuocoLand launched in early 2026 at an average of around S$3,266 PSF. When you consider that Bukit Timah arguably carries even more prestige than River Valley, a Dunearn House starting from around S$2,900 PSF starts to look very fair, not undervalued and not overpriced, but fairly priced for what the market is doing.
Floor Plan Highlights
We always come down to which layouts stand out. The developer offers 2, 3, and 4-bedroom variations, and here are the ones worth a closer look.
2-Bedroom Plus Study (Corner Unit)
The standout on the 2-bedroom side is the 2-bedroom plus study, which comes as a corner unit. Being on the corner means extra windows and proper cross ventilation, which is exactly what buyers looking to right-size want. I can see a lot of retirees and empty nesters gravitating to this. They do not need a huge amount of space, but they do want light, air, and a well-planned layout. The larger corner stacks here deliver that beautifully.
3-Bedroom (872 sqft)
For those entering on a tighter budget, the smallest 3-bedroom at 872 sqft is more livable than the size suggests. Even at this footprint, you still get a bomb shelter for storage, a window in the kitchen, and two common bedrooms at a full 9 square metres each on a post-harmonised basis. That is genuinely bigger than many post-harmonised layouts today, where common rooms are often shrinking to 8.2 or 8.8 square metres. You do sacrifice a little in the living area, but for a small family with one or two kids, this is a very sensible, very livable home.
4-Bedroom (1,184 sqft)
If I had to pick a unit for myself, it would be the 1,184 sqft 4-bedroom, for two reasons.
First, supply and demand. If you look at the nearby resale options like Fourth Avenue Residences and Royalgreen, there simply are not many 4-bedders floating around on the market. At the time of the video, there were hardly any listed for resale nearby, and the few that exist tend to be significantly larger and pricier. That scarcity gives a well-sized 4-bedroom here a strong resale position down the road.
Second, the layout itself. This one gives you landscape, lengthwise living, but crucially it also has depth, not just width. That combination is what makes a living space actually feel generous rather than just wide. And if you do not need a dry kitchen, you could hack it down and fold that space into the living area. For an own-stay home in a location like this, that flexibility is really attractive.
Own Stay or Investment?
My verdict, and honestly the verdict of everyone on our team when we discussed it: own stay.
This is not a project you buy purely for the numbers, and I think it would be unfair to judge it as if 80% of buyers will be investors chasing yield. For me, the appeal is the centrality paired with the calm. You are near town, near the Botanic Gardens, near everything, yet you are in a quiet, leafy, prestigious pocket. And because Dunearn House sits by the main road, getting out to where you need to be, especially onto the expressway, is quick and fuss-free.
There is also an emotional layer to this one that is hard to put a price on. So many of us grew up going to Turf City, and to see the government preserve the grandstands, weave in all that greenery, and build a proper 10-minute neighbourhood around it, that is genuinely special. It feels like a lifestyle location without the crowds you would get somewhere like Orchard.
No right, no wrong. If you are a pure yield investor, this might not top your list. But if you want a prestigious, family-friendly home in an area that is about to be transformed while still standing on a proven track record, Dunearn House is a very compelling story.
Final Thoughts
Dunearn House brings together a rare set of strengths. It is the first private residential launch in the Bukit Timah Turf City transformation, backed by a strong three-way developer JV, sitting in an established prestige location with an unbeatable education belt, dual MRT-line connectivity on the way, and a land cost that gives it a first-mover pricing advantage over the plot next door.
The preview is set to run from 10 July, with the booking day expected around the weekend of 24 and 25 July. If you are thinking about the 2-bedroom corner for right-sizing, or the 4-bedroom for a family home with strong resale positioning, those are the layouts I would watch most closely.
If you'd like a personalised analysis on whether Dunearn House is the right fit for your own-stay or investment needs, don't hesitate to reach out. Let's explore the possibilities together!