Does Facing The Highway Really Affect Your Property Value In Singapore?


A seasoned content strategist with over 17 years in the real estate and financial journalism sectors, Ryan has built a reputation for transforming complex industry jargon into accessible knowledge. With a track record of writing and editing for leading financial platforms and publications, Ryan's expertise has been recognised across various media outlets. His role as a former content editor for 99.co and a co-host for CNA 938's Open House programme underscores his commitment to providing valuable insights into the property market.
As most homeowners are quick to point out, highway-facing units are harder to sell or rent out, and should generally be avoided. This is a nugget of property wisdom that’s been around for decades, and is one of those things we accept because it sounds logical. But rather than go with accepted wisdom, we decided to take a look at the actual numbers, and also try to determine the extent of the impact. Here’s a look at how a highway facing has affected some condo units:
A general snapshot of highway-facing units

We picked a few projects which have units that are clearly highway-facing, and units that point elsewhere. Here’s a look at the general buy/sell transactions that occurred:
Project Name | 1BR | 2BR | 3BR | 4BR | |
HUNDRED TREES | Highway | 18.70% | 28.70% | 29.40% | |
Non-Highway | 23.10% | 35.80% | 38.40% | ||
PARC RIVIERA | Highway | 23.50% | 19.40% | 17.60% | 18.20% |
Non-Highway | 17.70% | 21.70% | 26.60% | ||
SIMS URBAN OASIS | Highway | 15.80% | 19.40% | 14.50% | |
Non-Highway | 16.70% | 20.20% | 20.40% | 14.00% | |
VACANZA @ EAST | Highway | 9.70% | 16.20% | 13.60% | |
Non-Highway | 6.70% | 11.00% | 14.20% | 11.30% |
In short for all four projects, we can see that for three-bedders or larger, highway facings all resulted in poorer gains. Note that there are 11 project bedrooms comparable here, and seven out of the 11 times, the highway stacks fare worse.
For smaller one and two-bedders there are instances where highway-facing units have actually performed better. Speculatively, this may have something to do with the buyer demographics for smaller units: one and two-bedders are more frequently bought as rental assets, for example, whereas larger units are more often bought as family homes; and families tend to be more concerned with issues like the view, compared to landlords.
This is just a general picture, however, so we broke it down further into new-to-resale transactions, and resale-to-resale transactions:
New-to-resale transactions
AVERAGE of % | Bedroom Type | |||||
Project Name | Facing | 1BR | 2BR | 3BR | 4BR | Grand Total |
HUNDRED TREES | Highway | 35.8% | 41.5% | 37.2% | 38.2% | |
Non-Highway | 52.5% | 50.7% | 50.8% | 50.8% | ||
PARC RIVIERA | Highway | 24.2% | 19.9% | 19.1% | 18.4% | 21.1% |
Non-Highway | 18.1% | 21.7% | 26.3% | 20.1% | ||
SIMS URBAN OASIS | Highway | 15.3% | 19.4% | 14.5% | 15.7% | |
Non-Highway | 16.9% | 20.2% | 20.3% | 14.0% | 17.9% | |
VACANZA @ EAST | Highway | 8.9% | 15.5% | 13.0% | 13.0% | |
Non-Highway | 8.2% | 9.5% | 13.2% | 9.8% | 11.1% |
It would seem that, if you bought directly from the developer, highway-facing units fare worse upon resale. Eight of the 11 comparisons saw highway facings provide weaker gains.
For three-bedders, the margin between the highway and non-highway facings is slim in Parc Riviera and Vacanza @ East. In all other cases though, there’s a clear difference of about five percentage points.
More from Stacked
A Buyer’s Case Study With Stacked: Eco Sanctuary
Project Case Study: Eco Sanctuary
A lot of this boils down to developer pricing (e.g., if the developer put a much higher premium on a non-highway facing, we might have seen weaker gains upon resale). However, it could also be that for new construction, there’s no sense of how noisy the highway facing really is. But for resale projects, buyers can actually visit and experience the noise for themselves – so the impact of the facing becomes much more “real” upon resale.
Resale-to-resale transactions
We thought this shouldn’t deviate too much from new-to-resale, as both seller and buyer have directly experienced the highway noise. But this is what happened:
AVERAGE of % | Bedroom Type | |||||
Project Name | Facing | 1BR | 2BR | 3BR | 4BR | Grand Total |
HUNDRED TREES | Highway | 5.7% | 18.7% | 22.2% | 18.3% | |
Non-Highway | 0.0% | 23.5% | 11.7% | |||
PARC RIVIERA | Non-Highway | 32.3% | 32.3% | |||
SIMS URBAN OASIS | Highway | 18.4% | 18.4% | |||
Non-Highway | 15.1% | 21.2% | 16.3% | |||
VACANZA @ EAST | Highway | 6.5% | 34.2% | 21.7% | 19.1% | |
Non-Highway | 21.1% | 17.6% | 20.3% | 20.0% |
Note that the transaction volume is much lower here, so this isn’t too fair a comparison. But that being said, we see an odd flip: for resale-to-resale, the highway-facing units actually seemed to perform better on average.
The reasons behind this are hard to discern, as when it comes to resale-to-resale, there are many more factors at play; from the maintenance of the unit, how much the unit has been renovated, to situations unique to the seller (e.g., unusually low selling price due to an urgent transaction).
It is also possible that over time, the existing owners have developed ways to mute the highway noise, such as by soundproofing walls and windows. These sorts of improvements can improve buyer perceptions.
The general takeaway from all this would be that:
- In general, buyers who are counting on resale gains should still avoid highway-facing units, depending on pricing.
- The highway facing might matter less for smaller units, though there are no guarantees.
- If you’re buying a new launch, be aware that the impact of the highway-facing may be difficult to visualise, and may be much worse than you think; so be careful not to underestimate this drawback.
Beyond this, it comes down to the specifics of the project, and the unit’s floor. If you’re situated high enough, or if the developer included some kind of barrier to the sound (e.g., planting dense foliage to absorb the noise), the impact of the highway might be muted.
As an aside, there is one situation in which a highway facing can work to your advantage
If you find the noise can be managed with the right steps (e.g., soundproofing the windows), and you’re the sort to keep the windows closed anyway, the disadvantage to you might be negligible; but you may still be able to get a lower price, on the basis of the unit’s less premium facing. It’s certainly something to think about, if you’re a less picky buyer.
For more on the Singapore property market, or help with comparing and picking the best units, reach out to us on Stacked. If you’d like to get in touch for a more in-depth consultation, you can do so here.
Ryan J
A seasoned content strategist with over 17 years in the real estate and financial journalism sectors, Ryan has built a reputation for transforming complex industry jargon into accessible knowledge. With a track record of writing and editing for leading financial platforms and publications, Ryan's expertise has been recognised across various media outlets. His role as a former content editor for 99.co and a co-host for CNA 938's Open House programme underscores his commitment to providing valuable insights into the property market.Read next from Property Investment Insights

Property Investment Insights Can 30+ Year-Old Leasehold Condos Still Perform? The Arcadia’s Surprising Case Study

Property Investment Insights How Have Older Leasehold Condos Performed Compared To Newer Ones? A Case Study Of The Tanamera

Property Investment Insights Why Some 30-Year-Old Leasehold Condos Are Still Outperforming New Ones

Property Investment Insights How Do Old Leasehold Condos Hold Up Against Newer Projects? A Case Study Of Orchid Park
Latest Posts

Overseas Property Investing Love Without A BTO Flat: The Tough Housing Choices Facing Mixed-Nationality Couples In Singapore

Property Market Commentary I Reviewed HDB’s Showroom For 4 And 5-Room Flats. Here’s What Future Homeowners Should Know

Singapore Property News $1.658 Million For 5-Room HDB Loft In Queenstown Sets New Record

On The Market 5 Lesser-Known Freehold 3-Bedroom Units Priced Under $2 Million

Property Market Commentary The Biggest Misconceptions About Buying Property In Singapore’s CCR In 2025

Editor's Pick Why We Chose A $1.23 Million 2-Bedroom Unit At Parc Vista Over An HDB: A Buyer’s Case Study

Property Advice The Surprising Reasons Some Singaporean Buyers Are Choosing Smaller Condo Units (Even When They Can Afford More)

Editor's Pick Touring Onan Road, A Freehold Landed Estate With A “Hidden” Enclave Of Shophouses

Singapore Property News In a Weak Economy, This Policy Hurts Singaporean Homeowners Most

Editor's Pick I’m A Singaporean House-Hunting In Mexico City: Here’s What 2 Weeks On The Ground Taught Me

Editor's Pick I’ve Lived In Braddell View For 14 Years: What It’s Like To Live In Singapore’s Largest Residential Site

Singapore Property News Rare Mixed-Use Site At Hougang MRT And New Sembawang EC Plot Just Launched: What You Need To Know

On The Market 5 Cheapest 4 Room HDB Flats In Central Singapore (From $495K)

Homeowner Stories Why These Buyers Chose Older Leasehold Condos—And Have No Regrets

Singapore Property News $1.16M For A 4-Room HDB In Clementi? Why This Integrated Development Commands Premium Prices
