The Serra Residences at $3,120 psf: what Novena's recorded sales say
Far East's freehold Novena launch is priced in line with recent launches nearby, but well above what the homes around it resell for. Here's what the record shows.
Desmond Teng, founder of Reva · · 5 min read
Far East Organization opens sales on 16 October 2026 for The Serra Residences, a single 28-storey tower of 133 freehold homes on Bassein Road in Novena. The guide price starts at $3,120 psf; the developer's example, a 710 sq ft two-bedroom-plus-study, starts at about $2.22 million.
Is that a lot for Novena? There are two ways to answer, and they give different pictures. Against other new launches nearby, the price is in line. Against what the area's existing homes resell for, it is far higher. Neither comparison alone tells you whether the price is right, but together they show what a buyer is paying for.
How it compares with other launches
The table shows the nearest freehold launch and the four still selling in 2025 or 2026, out of 13 within 1.5 km with sales on record since August 2021. They sold in different years, with homes of different sizes.
| Launch | Distance (km) | New sales (years) | Typical size (sq ft) | Median price (psf) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neu at Novena | 0.4 | 14 (2021–23) | 1,195 | $2,589 |
| Sanctuary@Newton | 1.1 | 36 (2023–26) | 1,023 | $2,691 |
| Enchanté | 1.2 | 25 (2022–25) | 1,087 | $2,811 |
| 32 Gilstead | 1.2 | 14 (2024–26) | 4,209 | $3,455 |
| Pullman Residences Newton | 1.4 | 240 (2021–25) | 667 | $3,091 |
New sales recorded by URA, and the years they span. "Typical" is the median.
What stands out:
- Pullman Residences Newton sold mostly smaller homes, at a median $3,091 psf, just below The Serra's starting price.
- 32 Gilstead's higher $3,455 psf comes from 14 very large homes of about 4,200 sq ft, a different kind of purchase.
- Neu at Novena, 400 metres away, sold for less, at $2,589 psf, but in 2021 to 2023, before launch prices rose.
Across District 11, freehold launches sold at a median of $3,008 to $3,226 psf in each year from 2023. The Serra's guide price sits inside that range.
How it compares with the homes around it
Freehold condos within 1 km of the site resold at a median $1,794 psf between September 2025 and August 2026, across 317 sales in 108 developments. The Serra's starting price is about 74% higher, and since $3,120 psf is where its prices begin, the gap for most of its homes will be wider.
Each bar is the median of a calendar year's recorded sales. Each year's launches are different projects with different home sizes, so the bars move with that mix as well as with prices.
That gap is not, by itself, a mark against The Serra. In District 11, freehold launches have sold for 44% to 61% more per square foot than freehold resales in every year since 2021. Many homes around Bassein Road are older, and newer ones resell closer to launch prices: Fyve Derbyshire, 800 metres away, launched in 2022 at a median $2,543 psf, and its seven resales from October 2025 to August 2026 went for a median $2,456.
How land prices shape launch prices
Developers price new homes against today's land, not what they paid years ago. Far East bought this site in 2010 for about $122 million, or $848 psf per plot ratio, according to EdgeProp. In June 2026, the government's Peck Hay Road site, 1.9 km away, sold for $1,865 psf per plot ratio, on a 99-year lease.
By Reva's estimate, a project there needs at least $2,023 psf to cover its land and building: the land price spread over the saleable area, plus about $280 psf to build a medium-quality condo (Rider Levett Bucknall's 2026 figure, low end). Financing, fees, marketing, taxes and profit come on top, so this is a floor, not a developer's breakeven.
Across 34 launches on government land sold from 2021 to 2025, launch prices typically came in at about 1.86 times that floor. If Peck Hay Road follows the pattern, it would launch at roughly $3,500 to $4,000 psf, above The Serra's starting price, on a 99-year lease. That is a pattern, not a forecast.
What else is coming nearby
Within 2 km of the site, Reva's records (read on 20 September 2026) show:
- The Orie, Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, 1.9 km: 777 homes, already selling.
- Peck Hay Road, 1.9 km: about 315 homes; land sold in June 2026.
- Kitchener Link, 1.7 km: about 145 homes, on the Reserve List, sold only if a developer applies.
The Orie is another launch to compare with today; Peck Hay Road's price will be the next marker for the area.
What the entry home takes
The 710 sq ft two-bedroom-plus-study at about $2.22 million (710 sq ft at $3,120 psf is $2,215,200, which the developer rounds), for a Singapore citizen buying a first home with no other loans:
| Down payment (25%) | $555,000: at least $111,000 in cash, the rest in cash or CPF |
|---|---|
| Buyer's Stamp Duty | $80,600, in cash or CPF |
| Legal fees | about $3,000 |
| Paid upfront, in total | about $638,600 |
| Bank loan (75%) | $1,665,000 |
| Monthly instalment | about $7,950, over 30 years at 4% |
| Household income banks look for | about $14,450 a month |
Banks test a loan at 4% interest or more and cap repayments on all loans at 55% of gross monthly income. The 75% loan needs a term of 30 years or less, ending by age 65; otherwise the limit is 55%, with at least 10% in cash. Your actual rate may be lower, and each bank assesses each borrower.
If you already own a home, a citizen buying a second one pays 20% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty, $444,000 here, at purchase. A married couple with at least one citizen, buying in joint names, can have it refunded if they sell their first home within six months of The Serra's completion, expected in late 2030. A loan still on your current home also lowers what the bank will lend.
What the numbers mean for buyers
The Serra is priced in line with recent freehold launches around it, and well above the homes that already stand there. That alone does not make it overpriced, but it does mean paying considerably more to enter a new development than to buy into the neighbourhood's existing homes.
The question is whether the purchase works for you, now and when you sell. How much cash and CPF will you need? What will you repay each month? And what would you need to sell for, years from now, just to break even?
Reva's sell-and-buy check works through those numbers with your own figures: your current home, your loan, your CPF and the condo you have in mind. It works for any condo with recorded sales, including the launches above.
How we did it
We used URA's records of private home sales from August 2021 to August 2026, read on 20 September 2026: freehold condos and apartments in postal District 11, and within 1 km and 1.5 km of 7 Bassein Road. Each figure is a median, which a change in the mix of homes sold can move on its own. The guide price and example home are Far East Organization's. Download the data.
Sources: URA private residential transactions, Government Land Sales results and pipeline (Q2 2026); Far East Organization (2 October 2026); EdgeProp; Rider Levett Bucknall; IRAS. Reva gives information, not advice, and is not a licensed estate agent or financial adviser.