Property Stories

Touring Phoenix Estate: An Underrated Landed Home Cluster With Unblocked Views And Spacious Roads

Not to be confused with Phoenix Park in the Tanglin area, Phoenix Estate is a landed enclave in Choa Chu Kang. I’ll be honest and confess that I wasn’t expecting much before I visited: Choa Chu Kang isn’t exactly known…

• 21 Apr 2024
• 8 min read
• 3

My Search For A Better Alternative To Old Folks Homes In Singapore: Are Overseas Retirement Homes Better?

My Mother spent over 30 years of her life staying with and caring for her own mother. When she was no longer needed, she had to move out of the house in which she had stayed for almost half her…

• 14 Apr 2024
• 10 min read
• 12

Touring Corporation Walk: Cheaper $2 Million+ Landed Homes Next To A Park Connector (99-Year)

A while back, a reader asked for a tour of Corporation Walk, so off to the West I went on a weekday mid-morning. Although the area is quite far West, it’s located in between Jurong Point and Jurong Gateway, so…

• 7 Apr 2024
• 9 min read
• 2

How This Singaporean Homeowner Transformed A 1,818 Sqft Maisonette Condo

High-ceiling, double-volume units hold a fascination for many homeowners. It’s impressive, gives a sense of space, and has twice the impact in Singapore. Huge homes aren’t exactly the norm here, and going double volume is a major flex. But it…

• 4 Apr 2024
• 5 min read
• 2

Touring Jalan Mariam: Cheaper Freehold Landed Homes In A Spacious Estate From $3.3m

We’d previously visited Loyang Villas, a 99-year landed estate located just across the road from the Jalan Mariam and Lengkok Mariam landed enclave. In fact, when I was looking at the properties for sale in the area, I was surprised…

• 31 Mar 2024
• 9 min read
• 1

Touring Mei Hwan Landed Homes: Affordable Freehold Landing Living From $4.1m In District 19

Previously, we’d viewed the houses at Tai Hwan and Li Hwan, so I thought we should cross Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and tour Mei Hwan Road/Drive/Crescent, to get a more complete sense of the area. First things first, here’s…

• 24 Mar 2024
• 8 min read
• 0

$2.05m For A Freehold Landed Home? Touring Jalan Wangi, One Of The Cheaper Landed Estates In Singapore

I have a confession.  This column started with my house hunt for a dual-key apartment that can house my Mother and I (you can read about it by clicking the link) before evolving into a series of landed enclave tours….

• 17 Mar 2024
• 13 min read
• 6

Touring Hillview Estate: Affordable Freehold Landed Homes From $3.6 Million

Hillview Estate, not to be confused with Hillview Garden Estate, a larger landed area we toured a while back (which, interestingly enough, doesn’t have a single street with “Hillview” in its name) is a small freehold landed estate in Upper…

• 10 Mar 2024
• 9 min read
• 1

I Chose To Pay The ABSD To Buy A Condo And Keep My HDB: Here’s Why

With the ABSD for a second property now at 20 per cent (for Singapore Citizens), the decision to retain one’s HDB flat has become quite rare. However, that’s precisely what our reader YX did. In April last year, he bought…

• 6 Mar 2024
• 5 min read
• 5

Touring Trevose Place: Freehold Terrace Houses With Unblocked Greenery Views In District 11

I was always under the impression that the landed houses near Kheam Hock Road were all large properties i.e. detached or semi-detached units. Hence, I was intrigued to see some terrace units when driving through the other day, and decided…

• 3 Mar 2024
• 8 min read
• 2

Touring Hoover Estate: My Favourite Landed Estate At Beauty World With Freehold Homes In A Convenient Spot

When you talk about landed living around Beauty World in District 21, everyone thinks about Toh Tuck Estate, but did you know that there is another landed enclave nearby called Hoover Park?  In my opinion, Hoover Park is a much…

• 25 Feb 2024
• 13 min read
• 0

Touring Pasir Panjang Hill: Affordable Freehold Landed Homes With Good Views From $3.88m

Today’s tour sees us off to Pasir Panjang Hill, a small road leading uphill which eventually splits into 2 forks. They lie in between the main Pasir Panjang Road and Zehnder Road. As you can see from the Masterplan below,…

• 18 Feb 2024
• 11 min read
• 2

We Gave Up The $20k Proximity Housing Grant To Stay Further Away From My Parents: Here’s Why We Made This Tough Choice

Most Singaporeans are eager to shave $20,000 off the price of their flat, which is why for most, the Proximity Housing Grant (PHG) is attractive. However, there are a surprising few who intentionally choose to give it up. Sometimes this…

• 8 Feb 2024
• 5 min read
• 0

Touring Lantana Avenue: Freehold Terrace And Semi-Detached Homes Close To Sixth Avenue MRT From $5.3m

A reader requested more Bukit Timah tours, without specifying exactly which landed enclave. Sixth Avenue covers a huge part of Bukit Timah, but we’ve only seen Namly and Ming Teck park so far. Hence, today, I thought we would visit…

• 4 Feb 2024
• 8 min read
• 0

Touring Eng Kong Landed Estate: Affordable Freehold Landed Homes From $3.75m Near Primary Schools In D21

A while back, a reader requested a tour of Eng Kong estate. I’d not managed to get around to it yet when the second request came in, so it seems there is quite a bit of interest in this landed…

• 28 Jan 2024
• 7 min read
• 0

Touring Chestnut Gardens: A Small Enclave Of 999-Year Landed Homes That Are Elderly-Friendly In D23

Chestnut Gardens, a charming collection of terrace houses and semi-detached homes, recently captured my attention. These residences, constructed in the 80s or 90s, intriguingly don’t feature elevators – a common trait for buildings of that era. However, what’s particularly notable…

• 21 Jan 2024
• 7 min read
• 1

“My Agent Didn’t Think My HDB Was Worth His Time Selling” 5 Stories Of Horrible Property Agents From Homebuyers

There’s probably no more hated profession in Singapore than the real estate agent. While there are certainly good agents out there, the problem is with more than 30,000 agents (although the active number is much lower), the quality of the…

• 17 Jan 2024
• 7 min read
• 2

I Bought My First Property In My Mid-20s: Here’s All The Mistakes I Made

CX is what Singaporeans might call a “high-flyer”. He owned a car and a condo in his mid-twenties, was a top performer in his company, and managed it all before he became a degree holder. However, his experiences as a…

• 15 Jan 2024
• 5 min read
• 1