I’ve always loved the Chip Bee enclave of houses near Holland Village but assumed that they were all government-owned properties. One day, I was surfing the property portals and found a house in the area for sale! Apparently, not all the properties (in the area) are government-owned, and a very small number can be privately owned. They’re not cheap but I thought that it was worth featuring the estate as there may be others suffering from the same misconception as myself!
The private housing in the area appears to be around Jalan Hitam Manis and Jalan Merah Saga. I don’t count the ones on Holland Road though they’re pretty close by too. (Noisy, I’d imagine, given that Holland Road is a major one!) These are the government-owned terrace houses that were built in the 1960s. There are 349 units as well as 40 apartments and 20 retail shops for rent from the SLA.
Indeed, the retail shops at Chip Bee Gardens are part of what makes the area so desirable. The eateries, for example, are (supposedly) so good that they’re even featured in international publications such as Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong and Prestige Hong Kong! (I say supposedly as I’ve never tried the outlets in question so can’t comment on the standard.)
Driving in from Holland Village, the shops are on the left and the residential properties are on the right.Close-up of the row of shops. Some of the government-owned apartments are above the shops and, unfortunately, not very quiet. (I viewed a video of one and the noise from the cutlery clinking and clanking in the restaurants was so loud it overpowered the sound of the agent speaking! So if you’re looking to rent an apartment above the shops, make sure you view it at peak hours before committing!)The fact that the shops and eateries there are so in-demand means that people will be parking outside your house! (The units shown above are the government-owned ones. There are also URA lots outside the private houses, but these are slightly further from the commercial units so when I visited, there were much fewer cars parked in those lots. Since the private and government properties are so close, I will be showing the streets outside both types of houses on this walkabout for you to get a sense of the neighbourhood.)
They’re all government-designated parking lots though, so they shouldn’t block the houses. In fact, when I did my walkabout, I found that (some of) the residents’ cars blocked the road more than the cars parked streetside! (Some residents would park 2 cars in their driveways and, for some units, this would mean that cars wouldn’t be able to park in the URA lot without preventing said resident from driving out of his house if that makes sense. (I am not sharing a photo of the house in question as the resident would probably be unhappy to be singled out!)
Some houses are on slightly higher ground. Note how the houses on the left have a driveway that slopes up whilst the ones on the right have a flat driveway. And if you compare the level of the 2 roofs, you can see that the ones on the left are higher!If you may have noticed, most of the government-owned houses are 2-storey terrace units with a uniform look, give or take some alterations. I spy some houses that look a little different in the distance – those are probably the ones that are privately owned, so let’s go over and take a look!The private properties are much bigger than the government-owned ones: this is a pair of semi-Ds.Another pair of privately-owned houses, one rebuilt and one still in 2-storey condition. Note how there are 2 yellow lines outside the house here to prevent people from parking.If you looked closely at the area map that I attached earlier on, you would have noticed that Chip Bee Gardens is next to an HDB estate and we can see part of it right in the upper right corner. It’s actually bounded by the HDB blocks, Holland Village, Holland Road and Holland Hill. Thanks to Holland Hill, although Chip Bee is quite near Queensway and Farrer Road, 2 super busy roads, we don’t hear the traffic from those 2 roads within the estate.
In the HDB estate, you can find a Community Library, a Seniors Activity Centre, the usual childcare centres, coffee shops, a futsal court, a beauty spa and more. Cross the road to the Holland Village side and you can find Buona Vista Community Centre, a music school, more eateries and Buona Vista Bus Terminal. If you trek through all this (about 13 minutes walk), you will also reach the Rail Corridor, so nature is not too far away. (In fact, according to this interview with an ex-pat living in the estate – Chip Bee does tend to be pretty popular with the international crowd – the estate is visited by hornbills and yellow-crested cockatoos from time to time!)
Another pair of semi-Ds. I assume these are slightly older properties as they are still 2-storey. They’re pretty wide though, so I wonder if they’re big enough to be detached when re-built.The private houses come in a whole variety of styles. One benefit of living next to the government-owned enclave is that the estate has a more uniform look (as there are more government-owned units than privately-owned ones.) This may seem like a small detail but I know 2 people who wouldn’t buy a terrace house because they find the assorted facades give the area a “messy” look. (If you’re rolling your eyes here, to each their own!)Looks like there are even detached private properties here!
If your budget runs more towards a terrace unit, no fear, there is a row of private terrace houses along Jalan Hitam Manis too.
When I look specifically for sales along Jalan Hitam Manis, more transactions show up! I can’t believe houses used to go for 1 million in 2005!!Photo of some of the terrace houses along Jalan Hitam Manis.One of the properties is a Global Tots preschool. (1 Jalan Hitam Manis.)
Pass Global Tots and the terrace houses and you reach ACS International.
Part of the ACS building. The front gate.
Now this isn’t the widest of streets so I do wonder how congested it gets with the before/after school traffic. I was there in the afternoon but I didn’t see any cars driving in to pick up kids. (According to this letter by the school, residents have complained about the pickup congestion so I had probably missed the time that the kids got off school.)
Photo to show you how narrow the street is and how close the school is to the houses! (Pretty much next door.)
Now having an ACS in your backyard is usually considered a big plus – just look at all the news articles about the moving of ACS Primary from Newton to Tengah – but, unfortunately, given that this is an ACS International, I’m not sure it has the same booster effect on property prices?
Moreover, much as it pains me to say this, the school doesn’t appear to have the best reviews! (Personally, I stay away from stuff with ratings under 4.0, if there are enough reviews to give the rating some credence.)
Let’s take a look at what some of these reviews say.
Well, this supports what I was saying about parental traffic congestion I guess!Note that I am only including the reviews which are made by non-anonymous reviewers. (I am also leaving out the reviews that have singled out specific teachers.) Anyway, 3 reviews are more than enough as this is an article about property not about education so let’s move on! (I just thought to point them out as educational institutions do have an impact on surrounding property prices in Singapore.)
Back to the subject on hand: there are 2 ways to drive in and out of the estate. The first is by way of Taman Warna and Holland Avenue, whilst the second is by way of Taman Warna and Holland Road. (Taman Warna is a 2-way road, if it wasn’t clear.)
Because lately it feels like if you want a child, you need to sacrifice the square footage where it would…
Ryan J. Ong ·
29 Jun 2025 ·
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Taman Warna. Note how the houses on the right are on much higher ground.
To the left is the condo Holland Residences. The road to the right leads to Jalan Hitam Manis, a one-way road. So drivers who turn in from Holland Road cannot turn into Jalan Hitam Manis here but must make a round down Taman Warna and Jalan Merah Saga.
One of the rebuilt houses along Jalan Merah Saga.I believe the private units here are all semi-Ds.
Note how the last sale here was transacted at about the same price as the last sale at Jalan Hitam Manis, but this unit is a semi-D whilst the other was a terrace house. (Both sales occurred in 2022 and have similar land sizes, despite being different types of property.)
Looking down Jalan Hitam Manis.Looking down Taman Warna towards busy Holland Road. Looking out onto Holland Road. If you were returning from Orchard Road, this is the road you would be taking. It’s quite a busy road so it can be a bit difficult to turn out, especially with the big tree blocking the sight of on-coming traffic!
The bus stop is slightly behind the tree. You can find 7, 48, 75, 77, 106 and 165 there.
Looking in the other direction – this way leads to Holland Village. If you forget to turn into Taman Warna, you can drive down this way and turn in via Holland Avenue. This is where you would turn in. The building is Raffles Holland V and there are a few shops as well as a NTUC Finest in it.Holland Avenue. Chip Bee Gardens is on the other side of the road (the right.)
Since I mentioned that Chip Bee Gardens is an attractive place to live in because of the amenities, let’s go take a closer look at them!
Inside Raffles V, you can find a few restaurants, a gym, a DBS, and a doctor….but generally, the mall is rather quiet. I tried to visit The Soup Restaurant and it was closed after 2/230! (The mall also has a small basement car park.)
Note: I must give a shout-out to the doctor here for being so honest. I went in to enquire about getting a flu jab before travelling and the person I spoke to was very honest. He advised that it might be too close to getting the jab as I may fall sick after taking it and not recover before I fly! (Giving him a shout-out as some places may just give you the jab to earn your $$.)
I popped into the NTUC Finest to take a look. It has a few nice touches, like the Delicatessen, but it’s not the biggest of spaces. (Much better than the NTUC Finest at Coronation Plaza though, I must say!)
We’ve more or less seen what Raffles V has to offer, so let’s head across Holland Avenue and check out Holland Village. It’s been around for ages but I thought we might as well take a look to see if anything has changed.
Chip Bee Gardens to the left, HDB estate in front and Holland Road Shopping Centre to the right. There are a few independent shops inside, a Lims Arts and Craft, some salons, a Cold Storage etc
Note: the parking for this complex is really dismal so visitors may spill over to the Chip Bee Gardens side to park.
Inside the Shopping Centre – these 2 shops have been here forever!! (Since I was in Secondary School, or even Primary School!)
I may be generalising but the shops here seem to cater more to expats than to Singaporeans. What do you think?
Leaving the Shopping Centre and walking over to the shophouses.
That’s the MRT station on the right by the way. As you know, landed estates can be pretty inaccessible without a car, so this MRT station makes life much easier for residents of Chip Bee Gardens!
Oh dear.Turn left after the bank and this is what you see. There used to be a URA car park at the end of the road but unfortunately, that’s all been disrupted by the construction of One Holland Village Residences.
That brings me to another point. Many people like Chip Bee Gardens and the surrounding Holland Village area for its slightly eclectic nature, with its low-density living and range of independent shops and restaurants. (So distinct, the government designated it as an “identity node” in 2013.) However, with the construction of the new condominiums, and the increased number of residents flooding into the area, who knows what it will look like in the future? Whether it improves for the better, or changes to become less charming, only time will tell as a lot will depend on the execution of the plans.
A closer look at the market and hawker centre. (I must point out that you don’t get a massive number of stalls here but it’s sufficient to mitigate any hawker food cravings.)Further down from the hawker village are more restaurants. A new Putien just opened to my right actually and above it (up a flight of stairs), is quite a good reflexology centre!
We’ve now come to the end of today’s landed tour. How did you find Chip Bee Gardens? Personally, I’ve always been drawn to the houses at Chip Bee (but the rent is much too high for me to afford these days, let alone buy a house here!)
Before I go, I must leave you with this screenshot of the Masterplan for the area, as it indicates that some of the lands on which the government-owned terrace houses sit have been zoned 1.6, so it may be redeveloped into higher-rise apartments in the future, something that would certainly change the atmosphere of the neighbourhood.
Note: as you can see above, there are only 2 rows of private landed houses in Chip Bee. Some of the private houses along Jalan Merah Saga may actually benefit from redevelopment as they seem to have a plot ratio of 1.4 so could potentially be developed into tiny boutique condos, in the absence of further restrictions.
Moreover, given that there are only 2 vehicular exits and entrances into the landed enclave PLUS a school, I do wonder if that will make the roads a good deal more congested. What do you think?
Last pretty picture of Chip Bee before we go! See you again next week!
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Frequently asked questions
Are the houses in Chip Bee Gardens all government-owned or are there private homes too?
Most houses are government-owned terrace units built in the 1960s, but a small number of private properties, including semi-Ds and detached houses, are also present in the area.
What amenities and facilities are available near Chip Bee Gardens?
Nearby amenities include a community library, seniors activity centre, childcare centres, coffee shops, a futsal court, beauty spa, Buona Vista Community Centre, a music school, eateries, Buona Vista Bus Terminal, and the Rail Corridor for nature walks.
How accessible is Chip Bee Gardens by public transportation?
Chip Bee Gardens is accessible via the nearby Holland Village MRT station, which makes it convenient for residents to travel without a car.
What are the potential future developments that could affect the neighborhood?
Some government-owned lands are zoned for higher development, with potential redevelopment into higher-rise apartments or boutique condos, which could change the area's atmosphere.
What is the general look and style of the private houses in Chip Bee Gardens?
Private houses vary in style, including semi-Ds, rebuilt homes, and even detached properties, with some offering larger land sizes and different architectural styles, contrasting with the uniform look of government-owned units.
TJ's interest in property was sparked after returning from the UK- where balconies are not counted in one's square footage!- and finding that the Singapore property had totally changed in the 7 years she was away. When not reading and watching articles & videos about property, she is busy cooking and baking for friends, family & her blog Greedygirlgourmet
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