Yishun Chencharu Vines BTO Review: Affordable homes in Yishun’s new housing estate

In every HDB sales launch, there will be at least one BTO site that’s aimed at cash-strapped buyers. And for the February 2025 BTO launch, flats at the two Yishun BTO sites, Chencharu Vines and Chencharu Green, had the honour of being the cheapest buys.

In this review, I’ll be focusing on the larger of the two BTO sites in Yishun, Chencharu Vines, but be aware that Chencharu Green is located a few minutes’ walk away, so the advantages and disadvantages of the two BTO sites are very similar.

The 848-unit Chencharu Vines is bordered by Sembawang Road and upcoming Bah Soon Pah Road, in a relatively new area of Yishun that is currently undergoing development.

The Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) for Chencharu Vines is expected in December 2028, making it one of the fastest projects in this BTO exercise. As Chencharu Vines is a Standard project, the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) that buyers must serve before they can resell or rent out their flats is five years.

Chencharu Vines is not to be confused with another BTO project in Yishun, Chencharu Hills, launched in June 2024.

*Information from 99.co, PropertyGuru, and other property listing websites is accurate as of time of writing.

Yishun Chencharu Vines BTO Price

At the February 2025 launch, the Yishun Chencharu BTO price was as follows: $108,000 to $179,000 for 2-room Flexi flats, $245,00 to $295,000 for 3-room flats, $316,000 to $380,000 for 4-room flats and $447,000 to $523,000 for 5-room flats.

The Yishun Chencharu prices are considered affordable. This can be attributed in part to Yishun being quite a distance from the city centre and previously being classified as a non-mature estate.

The fact that Chencharu is a new housing area in Yishun currently undergoing redevelopment has also resulted in these wallet-friendly prices. The area will yield about 10,000 new homes by 2040. At the moment, however, its key amenities and facilities are all under development.

While there are no HDB flats on the resale market in Chencharu proper, we can look at flats in adjacent areas to get a ballpark idea of future resale prices.

For instance, on Yishun Avenue 3, 4-room flats that received their TOP in 1986 are being advertised on PropertyGuru for $500,000 to $578,000. The flats are located about a 20-minute walk from Chencharu Vines.

Despite the advanced age of these flats, their prices are still higher than the BTO prices at Chencharu Vines, so Chencharu Vines BTO buyers will mostly likely make a profit if they sell their flats right after the end of their five-year MOP. However, don’t expect to make a windfall like BTO buyers in some other estates.

Yishun Chencharu Vines BTO Site Plan

You can find the Yishun Chencharu Vines site plan here. The site plan shows the layout of the blocks within the estate.

The residential blocks will be located just across the road from a future school, and surrounded by other high-rise residential developments. Residents can thus expect the area to be quite densely populated.

There will also be a supermarket, eating house, preschool and shops within the estate for residents’ convenience.

Yishun Chencharu Vines BTO Location

Chencharu Vines will be bordered by major road Sembawang Road to the west, and upcoming road Bah Soon Pah Road to the south.

While the exact walking time to the nearest MRT station, Khatib, is as yet unsure due to the construction of roads surrounding the BTO site, it is likely that residents will be able to walk there in 15 minutes or less.

At the moment, as the Chencharu area is undergoing development and has few established amenities, the main shopping and eating options in the area are clustered around Khatib MRT station and Yishun MRT station, which is about a 28-minute walk away and where the area’s biggest mall Northpoint City is located.

There is, however, a decent range of nearby schools, including Peiying Primary School, Naval Base Secondary School and Yishun Inonva Junior College. A short bus ride away are schools like Naval Base Primary School, Orchid Park Secondary School and Chung Cheng High School (Yishun).

According to feng shui readings, the Chencharu Vines site is auspicious and can benefit businesses and earning power, while at the same time offering the tranquility that is needed to develop oneself.

Yishun Chencharu Vines BTO Floor Plan

Yishun Chencharu Vines consists of 190 2-room Flexi flats, 90 3-room flats, 300 4-room flats and 260 5-room flats.

2-Room Flexi Floor Plan

The 2-room Flexi flats come in two separate layouts, Type 1 layouts measuring 38 sqm and Type 2 layouts measuring 48sqm, all measurements inclusive of air con ledge. These layouts are typical of new 2-room Flexi flats, with an enclosed kitchen near the entrance. The Type 2 layouts include a nook which extends from the living/dining area, and that can be converted into a dining area, guest bedroom or other space.

3-Room Floor Plan

The 3-room flats measure 69 sqm, inclusive of air con ledge. One noteworthy feature is the open kitchen, with both a dry and wet kitchen, and a combined kitchen/utility space. There’s quite a bit of configuration potential, as partitions can be added to separate the dry and wet kitchen, or close off the utility area if you wish.

4-Room Floor Plan

The 4-room flats measure 94 sqm, inclusive of air con ledge, with a typical layout featuring an entrance opening up to the living/dining area and a corridor leading to the bedrooms and bathrooms. No surprises here.

5-Room Floor Plan

The 5-room flats measure 113 sqm, inclusive of air con ledge. As with the 4-room flats, the 5-room flats are quite typical, with a more spacious living/dining area that can also accommodate a study or other type of space.

Yishun Chencharu Vines BTO Rent Price

There are no HDB flats in Chencharu currently being rented out, but we can look to the larger Yishun area to get an idea, if approximate, of what kinds of rents might be possible later on.

The going rate for 4-room flats on Yishun Street 61, a nine- or 10-minute walk from Khatib MRT station and a 26-minute walk from Chencharu Vines, is $3,488 to $4,200 a month. This would not translate to a very attractive rent for Chencharu Vines and is consistent with Yishun’s generally low rental yields.

In general, tenants in the area tend to be singles who are willing to live far from the city centre in exchange for low rents. There might thus be more demand for rooms than entire units in Yishun.

Yishun Chencharu Vines BTO Review

Yishun Chencharu Vines is an affordable BTO project located in a new area in Yishun currently undergoing development.

While not extremely close, it is probably going to be within reasonable walking distance of Khatib MRT station and the surrounding amenities, which could mitigate slightly the far-flung nature of the estate.

One of Yishun Chencharu Vines’ strengths is that there are quite a few schools in the area, with a new one opening right across the road.

However, due to the lacklustre investment potential and rental yield, the distance from the city centre as well as the lack of long-standing amenities in the area, I would say this is a decent buy mainly for those who work from home or who are willing to sacrifice convenience for being able to afford a bigger place.