Springleaf Residence

There is a particular kind of Singapore buyer who has been waiting for this project for years without knowing it: the family that wants forest at the fence and an MRT at the door, and refuses to pay Bukit Timah prices for it. Springleaf Residence answers that brief almost too neatly.

GuocoLand and Hong Leong paid $905 psf per plot ratio for this 3.2-hectare parcel in April 2024, and the restraint of that land cost shows in the launch pricing — an average of $2,175 psf against an OCR new-sale average nearer $2,320 psf at the time. The market noticed. 870 of 941 units went over the launch weekend, with two-bedders essentially wiped out and 95% of the three- and four-bedders taken.

What is left tells its own story. The balance is a 1,259 sqft 3 Bedroom + Study + Utility in the conserved block from $2.732M, and 1,453 to 1,475 sqft 5 Bedroom apartments from $3.224M — family-sized homes for buyers who plan to stay. This is no longer a launch you buy for the flip; it is one you buy for the next fifteen years.

The conserved building deserves a mention of its own. Part of the former Upper Thomson Secondary School dating to 1965, it holds 32 one- to three-bedroom units plus communal facilities — a gym, study room and arts and crafts room. Heritage blocks in new launches are rare enough that they tend to hold a premium at resale, as buyers of The Poiz Residences and Jui Residences-era projects learned.

Springleaf MRT (TE4) sits under two minutes away on a sheltered walkway — close enough that rain is not a reason to grab an umbrella. From there the Thomson-East Coast Line runs directly to Orchard in roughly 25 to 30 minutes and on to Shenton Way and Marina Bay, which quietly reframes how 'far north' this address really is.

Drivers get the Seletar Expressway within minutes, connecting west to Bukit Timah or east to the CTE and TPE. The estate itself is a low-density landed enclave — shophouse eateries along Upper Thomson Road and Casuarina Road handle weekend breakfasts, while Lentor Modern's mall and FairPrice are one MRT stop or a short bus ride south.

The defining neighbour, though, is green. Springleaf Forest wraps one side of the site and the Central Catchment Nature Reserve sits beyond it, with Thomson Nature Park and Lower Seletar Reservoir within a few kilometres. Families are covered too: CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School is about 1.5 km away, with Wellington Primary, Ahmad Ibrahim Primary and Secondary, and Yishun Innova Junior College all inside 5 km. The Singapore American School bus run is short enough to matter for expatriate tenants.

At launch pricing, Springleaf Residence was one of the clearest value cases of 2025 — land bought at $905 psf ppr, sold at $2,175 psf average, next to an MRT, on a site too large to feel cramped. That early-bird window has closed: the roughly 16 units left are the biggest formats at $2,170 to $2,413 psf.

The remaining case rests on three legs. First, scarcity — Springleaf is a landed enclave with almost no other private condo stock, so resale competition within the precinct is minimal, unlike the pipeline-heavy Lentor estate one stop south. Second, the TEL effect: stations on newer lines have historically re-rated surrounding values as the line beds in. Third, URA's vision for Springleaf as a nature-integrated neighbourhood, which keeps future supply constrained by design rather than accident.

Rental yield will be modest — this is an owner-occupier project, and the tenant pool (Singapore American School families, north-region professionals) is real but thin. Treat this as a long-hold home with respectable appreciation prospects rather than a yield instrument. Buyers weighing quantum against the city fringe might compare The Orie in Toa Payoh, while those set on the TEL north corridor should also see how Lentor's remaining launches price against this. For the broader affordability picture, our guide on how much salary you need to buy a condo in Singapore frames the $2.7M to $3.5M quantum in monthly-income terms.