Zyanya Review- City Fringe Freehold Condo At Geylang Food Haven And Near MRT Station With Incredulous Price Of S$1,700psf.

While I was on my way to lunch in the Geylang area, I walked past the Zyanya showflat located in a shophouse and thus decided to drop in for a quick visit. Zyanya is a freehold 34 units boutique condominium located in the eastern city fringe location of District 14. This is definitely one of the nearest freehold condominium to Aljunied MRT station. You just need around 5 to 6 minutes to walk from Geylang Lorong 25A to the MRT station. Given the S$2,000plus psf new launch at Lentor Modern and AMO Residence at the Outside Central Region (OCR), Freehold Zyanya at 1,700psf at city fringe (Rest of Central Region- "RCR") appears to be a great steal. In addition, 99 years leasehold developments Sims Urban Oasis and the latest Penrose condominiums in the vicinity area are already asking for S$1,700psf to S$2,000psf. 

Front view

Zoom in front view-level 2 is the mechanised carpark

Side view

Backview

Besides the attractive price on offer for Zyanya, I am going to list down a few other highlights of staying in this well-known city fringe area:

1. Food Haven

Geylang is highly regarded to be one of Singapore's hot spots for famous hawker stalls and street food. One can always savour the famous Geylang fried prawn noodles and Geylang Frog porridges near the comfort of one's home. 

2. Excellent location well connected to other parts of Singapore 

5-10 minutes drive to Kallang Wave Mall, Suntec City, Bugis Junction and City Hall via Nicoll Highway. One can also get onto major expressway PIE or KPE within 5 minutes 

3. Units layout good but unfortunately some stacks facing West and will have afternoon sun

I will put up some of the better 4 bedder and 3 bedder layout below. For 1 bedder and 2 bedder will not be discussing here as the smaller bedder units have already been mostly snapped up by investors that I reckon are looking to rent them out.

4 Bedder + Study-1302sqft

The above is one of the best layout in Zyanya with spacious living room and even space set aside for a study area that can sit two people. Unfortunately, all the bedrooms are facing west and will get the afternoon sun which means that when you return back home from work, your bedroom will feel like a sauna. Since young I have a very low tolerance level for heat- the best I can accept is bedrooms with east facing which only gets the morning sun but this is my own personal preference. I do know of friends who like the sun a lot. 

4 Bedder-1195sqft

The 1195sqft D1 Type layout is my personal favorite as it is the only one with all bedroom facing the east (only morning sun issue). Its relatively smaller quantum for a 1195sqft means approximately S$2Mil for a 4 bedder configuration at a city fringe location.

3 Bedder+Study-1044sqft

Overall layout for the above 3 bedder + study is not efficient and appers to be odd shape to me. The dinning area is also tiny for a 3 bedder. Good thing for this layout is that there is a small area reserved as study area. Balconies are tiny. My thoughts are to pay a bit more to get the 4 bedder instead.

3 Bedder-893sqft

The compact 3 bedder layout for Zyanya is a bit strange. I thought that the junior master bedroom concept with space wasted for an attached bathroom wasted- it could have been better use for a larger kitchen area or even a small study area. Also, all bedrooms are west facing and will encounter the afternoon sun issue.

4. Limited facilities as only 34 units boutique

This is a small development hence of course, the facilities available are lesser than large scale development. But it does have a decent small lap pool of around 13m in length. There are a total of 28 carpark lots which should be more than enough given that there are 1 bedder and 2 bedders units whereby the owner bought for investment purpose as well as being near Aljunied MRT station, there is really not a need to own a car. But I guess the mechanised carparking system maybe an issue here especially if it breaks down  frequently after a few years of wear and tear- it will depend on how well it is being maintained. 

One should also take note that with only 34 units, managing the Management Corporation Strata Title ("MCST") and balancing the mgt funds book will not be as economical in scale relative to bigger developments with 300-500 units. For folks who purchased for own stay, he or she may even have to roll up their sleeve to join the Management Committee of the MCST to take on the laborious job of dealing with contractors, ensure maintenance is well taken care of as well as ensuring statutory compliance.

Zyanya lap pool at 3rd level.

Parting thoughts

If one is looking to resell their units in the short-term to mid term, then one has to be careful whether one wants to buy into a boutique development with only 34 units as there will only be a few transactions available for benchmarking during future resales. But if one wants to stay in the area for a longer term and to get a freehold city fringe home at an attractive entry pricing, then Zyanya may just be the right choice.