These Are Our Top 5 Condos in Queenstown & Tiong Bahru

Queenstown and Tiong Bahru sit in District 3, a strip of the Rest of Central Region that buyers treat as almost-prime — walking distance to the CBD, ringed by good primary schools, and threaded by three MRT lines. It is also one of the most expensive resale markets outside the core, which makes the choice between projects expensive to get wrong. So we did what the Resale Project Scorecard (RPS) is built for: ranked every resale condo in the district on the same evidence, and let the data pick the top five.

The RPS scores each project from 236,000-plus URA REALIS transactions across seven factors — primary-school catchment, capital appreciation, rental yield, MRT access, future-transformation upside, project size, and tenure — each marked out of 10, rolled into one score and a letter grade from S to D. Methodology published, no spin. Of the 39 ranked projects in District 3, nine earn the top S grade. These are the five that score highest.

Photo: Wzhkevin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

1. Artra — 8.04, grade S

Artra tops the district on the strength of the two things that matter most to a resale buyer: getting to work and getting capital back. The scorecard logs it 60m from Redhill MRT (EW18) — direct, walk-in access — and an average annual capital appreciation of +4.29%, in the top quartile of its 2020-era cohort (84th percentile). Rental yield is a strong 4.12%. Its one soft spot is future-transformation exposure: the nearest catalyst, the Greater Southern Waterfront's Telok Blangah precinct, is 2.44km away, far enough that the RPS scores the upside as modest. For a 99-year project with about 89 years left and an active 400-unit resale market, that is a minor quibble against a genuinely complete profile.

2. The Regency @ Tiong Bahru — 7.98, grade S

The Regency is the freehold play, and the scorecard rewards it for exactly that. It posts a perfect mark on schools — three primary schools within 1km, nearest Zhangde Primary at 0.57km — and exceptional appreciation: an average annual +4.58%, top 6% of its 2010-era cohort. Freehold tenure removes any lease-decay question. The trade-offs are honest ones the RPS flags plainly: at 158 units it is a boutique block with lower transaction frequency and limited facilities, and rental yield is a below-average 3.00%. This is a hold-for-the-long-term, school-catchment buy, not an income play.

3. Twin Regency — 7.83, grade S

Twin Regency is the second freehold entry and scores on transport and tenure: 200m from Tiong Bahru MRT (EW17) and freehold, with appreciation in the top quartile of its 2007 cohort (+4.61%, 85th percentile). Schools are a genuine advantage too — Zhangde Primary just 0.29km away. Like its neighbour The Regency, the weaknesses are total returns — yield is a below-average 3.14% — and limited future-catalyst exposure. The RPS is consistent about Tiong Bahru's freehold blocks: you are buying durability, schools and location, not yield.

4. Principal Garden — 7.75, grade S

Principal Garden is the family all-rounder. UOL's 663-unit project sits at what the scorecard calls the "ideal scale for liquidity and facilities without crowding" — a perfect 10 on size — and it is strong on schools: three primary schools within 1km, nearest Alexandra Primary at just 0.21km. Income is a strength too, with a rental yield of 4.01%, which the RPS rates as strong. Transport is a short walk rather than the doorstep: the scorecard logs it 550m from Redhill MRT (EW18). Appreciation is steady rather than standout — an average annual +3.13%, the 68th percentile of its 2018-era cohort — and, like most of District 3, future-catalyst exposure is limited, with the Greater Southern Waterfront's Telok Blangah precinct 2.95km away. With about 87 years left on the lease, it suits a buyer who wants schools, size and rental income in one package.

5. Avenue South Residence — 7.67, grade S

Avenue South Residence is the youngest project on the list (TOP 2023) and the largest. At 1,074 units it has a deep resale market and full facilities, and it posts a perfect mark on schools: three primary schools within 1km, nearest CHIJ (Kellock) at 0.18km. It is also the only one of the five the RPS rates for moderate, rather than limited, future-catalyst exposure, tied to the Circle Line's Stage 6 stations nearby. The trade-offs are those of a young project: appreciation of +2.06% a year sits at the 58th percentile of its 2023-era cohort, near the median, and rental yield is an above-average 3.67%. Transport is a short walk — 600m from Keppel MRT (CC30). With about 91 years left on the lease, the longest runway of the five, it is a buy for the long term rather than for momentum.

Photo: Qingwu Zhou, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

What they share — and what to watch

Run the five side by side and a pattern emerges.

Every one of them scores on transport — none is more than 600m from a station — and most score on schools. The recurring weakness across the district is future-transformation upside: District 3 is already built out, so the RPS finds little of the catalyst-driven uplift you see in, say, the Greater Southern Waterfront fringe or around new CRL interchanges. That is not a flaw so much as a feature: you are buying a mature, proven location, and the price already reflects it. Just outside the five sit The Metropolitan Condo (7.64, S), Meraprime (7.46, S) and Stirling Residences (7.45, S), making the same case — all still S-grade, within a quarter of a point of fifth place. The Metropolitan and Stirling were in this top five when it was first published; Principal Garden and Avenue South Residence have since overtaken them as the scorecard was refreshed.

The decision inside this list is not "which is best" — all five are S-grade — but which trade-off you are buying. Freehold durability and schools (the two Tiong Bahru blocks, The Regency and Twin Regency), the most complete all-round profile (Artra), schools, size and rental income in one package (Principal Garden), or a young, large project with the longest lease runway (Avenue South Residence). Price the lease, the yield, and the school you actually need against your own horizon, and let the scorecard — not the showflat — frame the shortlist.

See the full ranking and every project's scorecard at tribesg.com/rps.

---

Sources: TRIBE Resale Project Scorecard (236,000+ URA REALIS transactions; scores and grades as at 16 October 2026). Scores and grades are model outputs, not investment advice.

Silas Tan is a District Director at Huttons Asia and co-founder of TRIBE. He built the Resale Project Scorecard (RPS) using 236,000+ URA REALIS transactions. This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial or investment advice. CEA Registration R000303I.