District 26 (Lentor, Upper Thomson) Property Guide 2026: Which Lentor Condo Still Makes Sense

Quick answer: District 26 covers Lentor, Upper Thomson and Springleaf. It sits in the Outside Central Region (OCR), and almost all of its condos are on 99-year leases. Its centre of gravity is the Lentor estate, which has had seven condo launches since September 2022. Launch averages rose from about $2,080 psf in 2023 to $2,350 psf in July 2026, and early Lentor Modern sellers have made money, averaging 4.3% a year. The risk to price in is not demand but timing: roughly 3,450 Lentor units complete between 2025 and 2030.

The number that reset the floor: in March 2026 a GuocoLand-led consortium paid a record $1,278 psf per plot ratio for the Lentor Central site, 39% above what Kingsford paid for Lentor Gardens a year earlier.

I am Winnie Lim, a licensed CEA agent, and seven launches in under four years means Lentor finally has a track record. You no longer have to take a showflat's word on demand, resale gains or rental depth, because the transactions exist. Here is what those numbers say, where the risk sits, and which buyers I think D26 still suits.

If you want to see which D26 projects are selling right now, the D26 district page lists them with live status.

What District 26 covers, and where Thomson stops

District 26 is postal sectors 77 and 78. On the ground that means Lentor, Springleaf, the northern stretch of Upper Thomson Road, and the edge of Mandai.

This is where buyers get confused. Many condos marketed as "Thomson" sit in District 20, not 26. Thomson Plaza, Upper Thomson MRT and Mayflower all fall on the D20 side. That matters when you compare prices, because D20 is an older, more established estate, so a "Thomson" condo there is not a like-for-like benchmark for Lentor.

Before 2022, private housing in D26 was mainly landed estates and a few small condos. The Lentor launches changed the district's profile within four years.

The Lentor estate: seven launches in four years

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released a run of Government Land Sales (GLS) sites around Lentor MRT on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), and developers bid for them one after another. The result is a cluster of 99-year leasehold condos, all within a short walk of one station.

From the data obtained from developer releases and EdgeProp launch reports; two things stand out.

Absorption has been strong, with four projects fully sold and two more in single or low double digits of unsold units. And the launch averages barely moved between mid-2023 and early 2024, even as each new project came out. That flat stretch is where the early resale gains came from.

The next site is already sold. The Lentor Central tender closed on 3 March 2026 with five bids, and the winning $1,278 psf ppr works out to about 562 new homes. I compare that bid with the Hougang and Bayshore sites in our 2026 land bid comparison.

Are early Lentor buyers making money?

Yes, and the numbers are now visible. Lentor Modern received its Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) at the end of August 2025. Sellers who resell before the Certificate of Statutory Completion are recorded as subsales, which gives a clean read on first-generation buyers.

EdgeProp tracked 34 profitable Lentor Modern subsales between October 2025 and June 2026. The average profit was $313,600, and three-bedders averaged $349,200. Annualised returns ran from 0.9% to 6.3%, averaging 4.3% a year.

That is a solid result for an OCR condo held about three years. It is not a windfall once you subtract stamp duty, legal fees and mortgage interest, and the spread matters: a seller at the bottom of that range earned less than a fixed deposit would have paid.

Lentor Hills Residences shows the same pattern a step behind. One 958 sq ft unit bought in July 2023 for $1.963 million resold in October 2025 for $2.18 million, a gain of $217,000, about 11%, before costs.

For the stack-by-stack detail, see our Lentor Modern resale analysis.

Is Lentor oversupplied?

On sales, no. On completions, the timing deserves attention.

The seven Lentor projects add up to about 3,453 homes. The Lentor Central site adds roughly 562 more, taking the estate past 4,000 units. Most complete between late 2026 and 2030, so a wave of new owners and landlords arrives inside the same few years.

That affects renters more than owner-occupiers. When Lentor Hills Residences, Lentoria, Lentor Mansion and Hillock Green reach TOP in the same window, investors will compete for one tenant pool around one MRT station. Expect softer rents and longer vacancy in those years. I would not treat that as a reason to avoid Lentor, only as a reason not to underwrite a purchase on peak rent.

The land market points the other way. Developers paid $920 psf ppr for Lentor Gardens in April 2025, then $1,278 psf ppr for Lentor Central in March 2026. In my estimate a record land price like that makes it hard for the next launch to price below today's $2,350 psf average, and rising replacement cost tends to support resale values in the older Lentor projects. Tends to, not guaranteed.

For the counter-argument, read why rising land prices do not automatically lift Lentor Gardens Residences.

Upper Thomson and Springleaf: the quieter half

Most D26 search traffic is about Lentor, but the northern stretch along Upper Thomson Road is changing too.

Springleaf Residence, by GuocoLand and Hong Leong, launched in August 2025 with 941 units and sold 870 of them, about 92%, at an average of $2,175 psf. That is a large project absorbed in one weekend, and a sign that demand here goes beyond Lentor itself.

Next in line is the Upper Thomson Road Parcel A site. Wee Hur and GSC Holdings won it in October 2025 with a bid of $1,062 psf ppr, beating four other bidders. The site will yield about 595 homes and 2,000 sq m of commercial space, with a launch expected around 2027 and no date confirmed.

Two smaller options round out the district. The Essence on Chong Kuo Road has 84 units and received TOP in January 2023, making it one of the few completed condos you can view in person. Springleaf Collection is a row of 10 terrace houses on a 999-year lease, listed at about $6.4 million to $6.9 million.

MRT and connectivity

The Thomson-East Coast Line reached D26 on 28 August 2021, when Stage 2 opened six stations: Springleaf, Lentor, Mayflower, Bright Hill, Upper Thomson and Caldecott. Caldecott connects to the Circle Line, and the TEL now runs through Orchard and Marina Bay, so D26 residents reach the city without changing trains.

Driving is where the timeline slipped. The North-South Corridor will link Lentor Avenue to the city through a tunnel and viaduct system. On 17 September 2026 the Land Transport Authority pushed completion back by two years: the viaduct from Admiralty Road West to Lentor Avenue now starts opening in 2029, and the tunnel from Lentor Avenue to the East Coast Parkway in 2031.

If you drive to the CBD, price in two more years of Upper Thomson Road and Central Expressway traffic than the old brochures promised. Station-by-station listings sit on our Lentor MRT and Springleaf MRT pages.

Schools, nature and daily amenities

CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School is the name most Lentor families ask about, and it sits within 1 km of parts of the Lentor Hills cluster. Distances differ by project, and the 1 km line is measured from the school to the development's boundary, so check your exact address on the Singapore Land Authority's OneMap before you rely on it for Primary 1 registration.

Nature is D26's real selling point. Thomson Nature Park, Upper Seletar Reservoir and the Mandai Wildlife Reserve are all in or beside the district. For families who want green space more than malls, that matters.

Retail is thinner. Lentor Modern includes a retail podium with a supermarket and food options. For anything bigger, residents still go to Thomson Plaza, Junction 8 in Bishan or Causeway Point in Woodlands.

Who District 26 suits, and who it does not

Weighing Lentor against your other options?
I can model your budget across Lentor, Springleaf and comparable OCR launches, with the cash, CPF and loan components set out side by side. Message me on WhatsApp for a side-by-side affordability check.

Winnie's take

For an HDB upgrader who plans to live in the unit, Lentor is still one of the better-value new estates in the OCR. The demand story has been proven, the MRT is already running, and the record Lentor Central land bid supports the prices already paid.

My preference for most own-stay buyers is a completed or nearly completed Lentor project on the resale or subsale market over a 2030 launch. You see the actual unit and skip five years of construction risk.

The buyer who should slow down is the investor counting on rent. Between 2026 and 2030 you will compete with several thousand new units for tenants around the same station. Before you commit, run the numbers at 10% below today's rent and check they still work.
By Winnie Lim, licensed CEA agent and founder of AIProperty.sg

Common questions about District 26

Is District 26 in the OCR?

Yes. District 26 falls in the Outside Central Region, the mass-market segment in URA's market classification. That is why Lentor launches price well below Core Central Region projects and most Rest of Central Region projects of similar age.

Is Lentor oversupplied?

Not on sales. Four of the seven Lentor launches have sold out, and two more had fewer than 25 units left as of June 2026. The pressure point is completions: over 3,000 homes get their keys between 2026 and 2030, which may soften rents during that window.

Are Lentor condos freehold?

No. All seven Lentor condo launches since 2022 are 99-year leasehold. In D26, freehold options are limited to landed homes and a few older developments, while Springleaf Collection's terraces sit on a 999-year lease.

Which MRT stations serve District 26?

Lentor and Springleaf, both on the Thomson-East Coast Line, which opened here on 28 August 2021. Mayflower and Upper Thomson stations are close by but fall on the District 20 side of the boundary.

Is Lentor Gardens Residences more expensive than earlier Lentor launches?

Yes. It launched on 18 July 2026 at an average of $2,350 psf, against $2,080 psf for Lentor Hills Residences in 2023. That is about 13% more, for a project completing roughly three years later.

Planning your next move in District 26?

If you are choosing within Lentor, start with Lentor Gardens Residences vs Lentor Modern. For the rest of the island, use the Singapore district directory. And if you are upgrading, how much you really need to buy a condo covers the cash and CPF side. When you are ready, message me on WhatsApp and I will shortlist D26 units that match your budget and timeline.