28 Screened. 7 Pass. NoMa (D14) Leads at 3.58%.

28 Screened. 7 Pass. NoMa (D14) Leads at 3.58%.

23 June 2026

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I almost skipped NoMa. Geylang-adjacent D14, an address that triggers the "tenant profile" reflex before you even check the numbers. Then I looked at the build year: 2023. Freehold. And the comps pool the screen pulled — 795 D14 resale transactions — prices NoMa at a 5.4% premium to the district median, which is exactly where a three-year-old freehold should sit relative to 2010s-era stock trading around it.

No BUY signals today. 28 listings screened, 7 cleared the 3.2% floor, one clears HOLD. The entire shortlist is compressed between 3.22% and 3.58% — tight range, meaningful spread in what explains the discount on each name.

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The Screen

Buy box: Freehold or leasehold resale condo, D09/D10/D11/D14/D15, $750K–$1.2M, ≥500sqft, MRT ≤800m, net yield ≥3.2%

Failed: 21 listings fell below the 3.2% net yield floor — primary culprits were asking PSFs above the district median without sufficient rental uplift to compensate, particularly across D10 and D09 listings where $1,100–$1,200psf entry prices compressed gross yields below 4.0% before costs.

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Deep-Dive: NoMa

3.58% net yield | Freehold | D14 | 640m to CC8 Dakota MRT

NoMa completed in 2023 on Geylang Road, a boutique freehold development in the stretch of D14 between the Dakota and Aljunied MRT corridors. It surfaces today as the only HOLD in a 28-listing screen — the yield gap to the next name (28 Imperial at 3.39%) is 19 basis points, which is meaningful when compressed between 3.2% and 3.6%.

The Numbers

The $4,000/month assumption is drawn from URA Q2/2026 rental caveats for the immediate D14 sub-market (n=103). That's a live, reasonably sized sample. The comp pool for the PSF check is broader — 795 resale transactions from Dec 2021 to Mar 2024, dominated by The Antares (99yr leasehold), which trades at $1,940–$2,163psf on a similar footprint. NoMa at $1,629psf ($999,999 ÷ 614sqft) sits 5.4% above the D14 median of $1,545psf — but given freehold tenure against a comp pool that mixes in leasehold stock, the premium is defensible.

Stress-test the rent down by 10% to $3,600/month: net yield compresses to 3.10%, which falls below HOLD. The yield at asking is not fat enough to absorb a material rent correction — this is a fair-value entry, not a distressed one.

Why This Works

• 2023-built freehold under $1M. New-ish freehold stock at sub-$1M is scarce. Most 2020+ completions in D14 are leasehold (The Antares, The Woodleigh Residences). NoMa's tenure is the structural differentiator.
• CC Line access. CC8 Dakota at 640m (8 min walk) connects to Paya Lebar interchange and Botanic Gardens directly — materially better tenant pool than Geylang's Lorong addresses further north in the district.
• Rental depth in D14. 103 URA rental transactions in Q2/2026 alone for this sub-market gives confidence the $4,000 assumption isn't a single outlier. Comparable freehold 1-bedders in the 600sqft range are transacting at $3,800–$4,200.
• Pipeline is manageable in D14. Unlike D15 (2,296 units incoming from Grand Dunman, Continuum, Emerald of Katong, Meyer Blue) or D09 (1,694 units), D14 has no major new supply completing near-term that directly competes at this price point.

The Honest Risks

1. D14 Geylang stigma caps tenant ceiling. The Lorong area is not NoMa's immediate neighbourhood, but Geylang Road address still screens out some corporate relocation tenants who receive agent-managed shortlists by district. Expect a slightly longer void period than a comparable D15 or D11 address — build 10–12% vacancy into your personal model rather than the 8% used here.
2. PSF sits above the D14 resale median. At $1,629psf, NoMa is priced above the broader D14 median of $1,545psf on a 795-transaction base. This is rational given freehold tenure, but it limits upside repricing — you're buying at fair value, not at a discount. Capital appreciation from this entry requires general D14 appreciation, not re-rating from an undervalued base.
3. Small development, low liquidity. Boutique freehold completions in D14 trade infrequently. Exit timeline on a resale should be assumed at 6–9 months, not 3. This is a hold-for-income thesis, not a flip.

Verdict

HOLD at 3.58%. The math works as a freehold income asset at sub-$1M, the rental depth is real, and the supply picture in D14 is cleaner than D15. But you are not buying at a discount — the entry PSF is above the district median — and the yield does not have enough buffer to absorb a meaningful rent correction. Proceed if the freehold tenure is load-bearing in your hold thesis. If you're yield-maximising without a tenure requirement, wait for a 4%+ BUY signal or negotiate $960K–$970K to push the yield above 3.70%.

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The Rest of the Shortlist

28 Imperial Residences (D14) — 3.39%, $999,999, 743sqft, 760m EW9 Aljunied The largest unit on the shortlist at 743sqft and the only one with a meaningful PSF discount: the screen flags –21.3% vs the D14 resale median. That gap is explained partly by a 2013 build year, partly by the Aljunied corridor sitting north of the more liquid Dakota pocket. Rent assumption is $3,850/month on n=40 — thinner sample than the other D14 names. The size is a genuine advantage for family tenants; the MRT distance at 760m is at the edge of the buy box. Freehold tenure keeps this on the watchlist. Fails HOLD by 11 bps.

Vibes @ East Coast (D15) — 3.33%, $930,000, 581sqft, 550m TE27 Marine Terrace D15 freehold at sub-$1M with a 550m walk to the Thomson-East Coast Line. The rent assumption ($3,475/month, n=132 — strongest sample on the shortlist) is priced at –6.3% to the D15 median of $1,709psf, meaning the entry PSF is cheap relative to district comps. The problem is the D15 supply pipeline: 2,296 units from Grand Dunman, Continuum, Emerald of Katong, and Meyer Blue will hit the rental market in waves through 2027–2028. That supply pressure will test the $3,475 assumption. 2012 build year is the other friction — fourteen years old, maintenance costs will trend up. Pass at 3.33%, but this is the one to re-examine if asking comes down $40–50K.

Avant Residences (D14) — 3.30%, $799,000, 527sqft, 360m EW9 Aljunied The yield doesn't compensate for the tenure. 99-year leasehold commenced 2014, which means 12 years of decay already off the clock. At 360m to EW9 Aljunied, the MRT proximity is the best on today's shortlist — but leasehold assets need to clear a higher yield bar to account for tenure decay, and 3.30% doesn't get there. Pass.

6 Derbyshire (D11) — 3.26%, $958,000, 527sqft, 630m NS20 Novena D11 freehold near Novena is the cleanest address on the shortlist from a tenant profile perspective — medical, corporate, service apartments corridor. Rental comp sample is thin (n=42), and the entry PSF at $1,818psf sits 9.5% below the D11 median of $2,008psf, which is unusual. That discount may reflect building-specific factors or deal-specific motivation — worth understanding before proceeding. Net yield at 3.26% is 32 bps below HOLD. If this were 3.5%+, it would be the top pick on location quality alone. Pass.

Prestige Loft (D15) — 3.23%, $960,000, 527sqft, 640m TE27 Marine Terrace Same rental pool as Vibes @ East Coast (TE27 sub-market, n=132, $3,475/month), but at +8.4% vs the D15 freehold median versus Vibes at –6.3%. Prestige Loft is the more expensive entry for the same rental assumption — that's the entire story. Vibes dominates on PSF if you want D15 TE27 exposure. Pass.

OUE Twin Peaks (D09) — 3.22%, $1,120,000, 549sqft, 560m TE15 Great World 99-year leasehold from 2015, eleven years elapsed. D09 with Great World MRT access sounds institutional, but the URA comp data tells a different story: Devonshire Residences (the closest comparable) has transacted between $2,020psf and $2,484psf since 2023, with the most recent Jan 2026 deal at $2,060psf. OUE Twin Peaks at $2,040psf ($1,120,000 ÷ 549sqft) is at the low end of that range — fair value, not a discount. Leasehold tenure needs at least 50–80 bps of yield premium over freehold to compensate. At 3.22%, it doesn't deliver that. River Green and Robertson Opus add 1,694 units of D09 supply risk. Pass.

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Net yield = (monthly rent × 12 × 0.92 – maintenance – property tax) ÷ purchase price. Rent assumptions calibrated from live URA rental caveats, Q2/2026. Property tax estimated at $3,000/yr flat for this price band. Not financial advice.