The Tembusu

The Tembusu sells permanence. A freehold title, a low-density plot and an outlook over landed streets that zoning holds in place, all inside a 1km ring carrying two primary schools and two North East Line stations. Owners hold it accordingly, which shapes the price band, the trading pattern and the wait for the right stack.

The Tembusu Prices: The Freehold Premium, Measured

Read the premium against the field before the numbers. The leasehold estates a few hundred metres away are the real comparison, and against them the freehold gap is smaller than most buyers assume. That is the value case in one line: a title that never expires for a premium the market has kept modest.

As of June 2026, the most recent 58 transactions on record ran $1,282 to $2,195 psf with a median around $1,830 psf. The twelve months to June 2026 held 17 trades at $1,477 to $2,195 psf, median $1,976 psf, so the older half of the record understates where The Tembusu trades today.

Freehold company in this pocket is thin. Trilive, 222 units from 2018 at 0.19km, is the nearest, and everything else in range runs 99 years. Stars of Kovan sits 0.25km out with 390 units from 2019, Kovan Regency 0.54km with 378 from 2015, Kovan Residences 0.54km with 521 from 2011 and Parc Vera 0.63km with 452 from 2014. The Florence Residences is the heavyweight at 1,410 units from 2023, Kovan Melody the value anchor at 778 from 2006, and for bigger grounds on leasehold terms compare The Minton at 1,145 units.

Across the 27 District 19 projects we have reviewed, about 21 of 26 neighbouring estates trade cheaper on average. Compass Heights anchors the district’s value end near $806 psf and Botanique at Bartley tops it near $2,420 psf. Our piece on District 19 city-fringe living explains why the district draws the demand it does.

Worth knowing before you benchmark. Strata areas here were measured before GFA harmonisation, so they still count aircon ledges and bay windows that a newer launch leaves out of its figures. Adjust for that before you read anything into a psf gap against recent stock.

Deciding what the freehold premium is worth to you? It is negotiated in this pocket rather than listed, and the gap against the leasehold neighbours is where the decision actually sits. Talk it through with us first, honest advice, no pressure. WhatsApp us.

The Tembusu Floor Plans: A Full Ladder on a Boutique Plot

With 190 units in the compact one and two-bedroom band and the rest at three bedrooms or more, The Tembusu serves investors and families in roughly equal measure rather than tilting to either. That balance is rare at this unit count, and it is why the resale book draws from two directions.

Price the ladder at The Tembusu’s $1,830 psf median and it reads like this: the 474 sqft one-bedder near $870,000, about $1.18m at 646 sqft, two-bedders between roughly $1.38m and $1.87m, three-bedders from about $1.91m to $2.68m, four-bedders from around $2.50m at the compact end with the largest 3,057 sqft format near $5.59m, and the single penthouse theoretical at about $7.11m. Arithmetic on the caveat record, not quotes.

The live prints confirm the shape. A 474 sqft one-bedder cleared $1,911 psf for $905,888 in June 2026, a 753 sqft two-bedder $1,989 psf for $1.498m in May 2026, a 1,044 sqft three-bedder $2,146 psf for $2.24m in October 2025, and a 1,367 sqft four-bedder $2,195 psf for just over $3m in August 2025. Compact entry from about $850,000 keeps the buyer pool broad.

Inside the gate at The Tembusu, low density is the product. The 2.1 plot ratio funds a glass-fronted clubhouse pavilion, a pool set inside real planting rather than beside a wall, and the curved facades that shape the estate, while the brickwork and timber detailing have aged into character rather than dating. Scale is honest at 337 units, so buyers wanting a fifty-station facilities deck should look at the large leasehold estates in the same corridor. Our boutique condo piece covers that trade, including the maintenance arithmetic a smaller unit count brings. At ten years old most units are on their first renovation cycle, so walk the lift lobbies and pool tiling before you offer.

Is The Tembusu Worth Buying? Scarcity on a Crowded Map

Look at the pocket first. The Lor Ah Soo subzone holds eleven private developments and about 2,505 homes, of which The Tembusu is 337, barely 13 percent. One leasehold estate accounts for 1,145 on its own, so the freehold share of this pocket is a very short list. Nothing private is currently under construction inside the subzone.

Widen the frame and Hougang holds 135 private developments with about 17,982 homes, 27 of them completed from 2016 onwards. Only one committed project follows after 2026, the Hougang Central land parcel carrying roughly 835 units around 2030, in a different subzone. The URA Master Plan adds the Paya Lebar Airbase transformation to the same horizon, the largest land release planned near this corridor, and our Hougang condo guide covers the pipeline in practical terms.

Demand comes from next door. Hougang town runs to 59,942 HDB flats, of which 44,200 are four-room or larger, the flats upgraders sell from as they clear their Minimum Occupation Period. That pool points at a subzone of 2,505 private homes, and freehold stock inside it is scarcer still.

Liquidity is the honest caveat. 58 caveats between August 2021 and June 2026 works out at roughly 3.4 percent of the estate a year, running 4, 15, 5, 12, 15, and 7 by June 2026. That lumpy pattern is typical of a tightly held building where a few listings can double a year’s count, so a buyer hunting a specific stack should expect a wait rather than a choice.

Rental yields run about 3.3 percent, solid for freehold stock and helped by the depth of compact units. Verify against a specific unit’s achievable rent rather than the estate average, and read our rental yields guide for the maths after maintenance and vacancy. On the upside, our study of how the Cross Island Line will move property prices explains the 2030 gain, and the distinction here is what sits underneath it: a leasehold neighbour banks the same improvement while its lease runs down.

Who The Tembusu Suits

The Tembusu suits freehold-first families working the two-school ballot, buyers who want North East Line access without a lease clock, and investors taking the Cross Island Line horizon on permanent title. Households that value quiet streets and a protected outlook over a facilities brochure will read it quickly.

The exit audience is worth naming. An owner selling The Tembusu competes mostly against younger leasehold stock, and the freehold title is what holds the price. Tenants come from DPS International families, the Hougang working population and North East Line commuters, and the 474 to 753 sqft formats are what the Kovan rental market actually absorbs.

Fit runs the other way too. Buyers who need a doorstep station will be happier at Stars of Kovan or Kovan Regency, since the 550m walk crosses traffic. Households wanting a resort-scale deck should look at the large leasehold estates nearby, because 337 units funds boutique-plus provisioning. And the landed-belt view is the product, so check afternoon sun, facing and outlook stack by stack.

Thinking about The Tembusu? Listings surface rarely here, so patience on the stack beats speed on the month. Before you offer, speak to us. We will show you what has traded, what is listed and what the freehold gap actually looks like, honest advice, no pressure. WhatsApp us.