Costa Rhu is a 99-year leasehold high-rise condominium located at the junction of Tanjong Rhu Road and Rhu Cross Road. Developed by Amcol Gardens (now Asia Food and Properties), the 737-unit project is the biggest in the Tanjong Rhu area in terms of number of units.

Costa Rhu was completed nearly two decades ago and has a mix of two- to four-bedroom units. Two-bedroom units are 990 to 1,744 sq ft and three-bedroom units are 1,647 to 2,153 sq ft. Meanwhile, four-bedroom units range from 1,970 to 2,648 sq ft and penthouses are more than 3,000 sq ft.

A 1,399 sq ft, two-bedroom unit on the third floor has been put up for sale on TheEdgeProperty.com at an asking price of $1.45 million ($1,037 psf). The unit, owned by a Singaporean, is currently vacant, according to George Tay, a property agent with ERA Reality Network.

Costa Rhu is one of the most popular developments in Tanjong Rhu among non-resident Indian (NRI) professionals and businessmen in the financial and tech sectors, most of whom work in the CBD. The project is popular with them as its two and three-bedroom units are larger than those in neighbouring condos, reckons Tay.

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Most of the NRIs like two-bedroom apartments that are more than 1,000 sq ft and come with a maid’s room. For three-bedroom units, they like those above 1,500 sq ft, and for four-bedroom units, 2,000 sq ft and above. The project’s proximity to sports facilities and East Coast Park is also important to most of them.

Costa Rhu is located just a short walk from Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Golf Course via Rhu Cross Road, which runs below the East Coast Parkway (ECP) expressway. As Costa Rhu fronts the Marina Bay area, some of its units afford excellent bay views.

Three units of 1,300 to 1,400 sq ft at Costa Rhu have changed hands since the beginning of this year. A 1,399 sq ft, two-bedroom unit on the 16th floor was sold for $1.8 million ($1,286 psf) in March. The seller bought the unit in February 2010 for $1.56 million ($1,115 psf).

Meanwhile, a 1,335 sq ft unit on the ninth floor fetched $1.7 million ($1,274 psf) in February and a 1,346 sq ft unit on the fourth floor changed hands for $1.4 million ($1,041 psf) in March. The most recent transaction was that of a 1,776 sq ft unit on the 11th floor that changed hands for $2.1 million ($1,182 psf) in May.

Based on the URA data for April, five units of 1,300 to 1,400 sq ft were leased at monthly rents of $3,550 to $3,900. Based on the asking price of $1.45 million for the two-bedroom unit at Costa Rhu, this translates into a potential gross rental yield of 3.2%.

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