During the past two weekends, three highly anticipated projects were launched on July 19, including two in the upscale Core Central Region (CCR): UpperHouse at Orchard Boulevard and the 348-unit The Robertson Opus. The third project is the executive condo, Otto Place, located in Tengah and consisting of 600 units.
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Jointly developed by UOL Group and Singapore Land Group, the 301-unit UpperHouse saw a remarkable uptake with 53.2% of the units being sold before 6pm on launch day. The average price per square foot (psf) achieved was $3,350. Buyers showed interest in all unit types, which range from one-bedroom plus study to four-bedroom suites. However, the most popular units were the two-bedroom premium plus study units, with 60 out of 67 units sold at prices ranging from $2.338 million to $2.72 million or $3,060 to $3,560 psf. While the three-bedroom premium units were the second most popular, with 33 out of 34 units being sold at prices ranging from $3.269 million to $3.781 million or $3,230 to $3,736 psf.
According to Anson Lim, UOL Group’s senior general manager of residential marketing, the development’s Bespoke Collection, comprising 31 four-bedroom suites with private lift and private carpark, also saw a healthy 30% take-up rate. A high-floor unit in this collection was sold at $7.66 million or $3,724 psf. The majority of buyers were locals, including Permanent Residents, and the mix consisted of both owner-occupiers and long-term investors, Lim adds.
Lim also notes that the Orchard Boulevard address, direct MRT access, efficient layouts, and attractive quantum for a development in this location were the key factors that appealed to buyers. Located at the corner of Orchard Boulevard and Grange Road in prime District 10, UpperHouse sits directly in front of the Orchard Boulevard MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line. It is also within a 1km radius of River Valley Primary School.
“The take-up rate at the private preview of UpperHouse at Orchard Boulevard is the strongest for a CCR new project since Watten House, which sold 57% of its 180 units when it was launched in November 2023,” says Kelvin Fong, CEO of PropNex. This luxurious development is expected to be in high demand due to its prime location and attractive prices.
UOL and Singapore Land Group secured the rights to the site through a government land sale (GLS) tender that ended on 1 February 2024 with the top bid of $428.28 million or $1,616 psf per plot ratio. According to Yvonne Tan, chief corporate and development officer at UOL Group, the price gap between the CCR and the Rest of Central Region (RCR) is now at its narrowest. “The price differential between freehold and leasehold high-end luxury products is also at its most attractive,” she observes.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, notes that the gap between the median psf of new homes in the CCR and RCR has narrowed from a high of 56.5% in 2018 to a mere 1.9% in the first half of 2025. He adds that there is potential for a strong upside once the gap between CCR and RCR home prices widens.
PropNex’s Fong points out that the average per square foot price achieved at UpperHouse at Orchard Boulevard is one of the most competitive prices for a new launch located near Orchard Road recently. He compares it to the average price for new freehold units sold at Park Nova across the road, which reached a high of $6,150 psf this year, while the resale price at Boulevard 88 averaged about $4,200 psf. Meanwhile, Cuscaden Reserve, also a 99-year leasehold development, fetched an average price of more than $3,100 psf for the resale units transacted in the first four months of 2025.
“UpperHouse is well-positioned to benefit from the upcoming master plan developments in the Paterson and Newton areas, as well as the revitalisation of Orchard Road,” says Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. Despite recent adjustments to the Seller’s Stamp Duty and multiple rounds of cooling measures, Chu notes that demand for high-end properties with strong fundamentals such as location, tenure, and developer reputation remains resilient, as these buyers tend to have a long-term investment view.
Recent flash estimates suggest that Singapore’s economy remained resilient with an estimated average year-over-year (y-o-y) growth of 4.2% in the first half of 2025. This has led some economists to revise their forecasts for the Singapore economy upward for 2025. “This may have bolstered confidence among homebuyers,” says Huttons’ Yip. “Furthermore, the 3-month SORA (Singapore Overnight Rate Average) has dipped below 2.0% in July 2025, lowering borrowing costs for buyers.”