Touring Lorong 101-108 Changi: Affordable Freehold Landed Homes From $3.38 Million (Can Build Up To 5 Stories)

When I first heard of Lorong 101–108 Changi, I thought the area would be in a super “ulu”, semi-industrial area. However, I was pleasantly surprised after visiting the neighbourhood as it is right next to Joo Chiat and, as such, there are many amenities and good food in the area! Added to the fact that the neighbourhood has maintained some “old Singapore” charm PLUS the fact that some houses here can be built up to 5 stories, I thought it was worth a feature!

The plot ratio here is zoned 1.4. This is also why we see a lot of boutique condos in the neighbourhood. If you can get enough of your neighbours together, technically you could en bloc to build a boutique condo too (in the absence of further restrictions.) Thus, there is a risk that your house could end up surrounded by condos in future, making the area a much higher-density area than it currently is. Personally, I find the current low-density characteristic is a big part of its charm!

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For some reason, a lot of the older single-storey houses don’t have front porches to park their cars whilst newer houses in the same row do!

However, there is, as you can see, designated street parking. It’s 60 cents per half hour if you were wondering.

That brings me to another good thing about this neighbourhood: parking spaces have already been clearly designated (everywhere else is not meant for parking i.e. double yellow lines or single white lines in the middle of the road.) This made it much easier to drive through the estate and it was also surprisingly easy to get a lot here (earn the surrounding eateries weren’t open at least)! Also, there’s less potential for quarrels with neighbours.

However, as there are so many eateries and shops in this area, the roads can see a bit of traffic during peak hours.

See what I mean? The newer house on the left has a space for a car but the older one on the right does not. I wonder if it’s possible to create an entry point for the car if one redevelops the house on the right? I would have thought not as I was under the impression that the pavements are public property but now I wonder!

Still, I must say the many single-story houses do make the area feel very quaint, as does the wide alleys in between some rows of properties.

Another “pro” of this neighbourhood for those of us with smaller budgets is, as you may have observed, the plentiful terrace housing. (Terrace house = typically lower price point = entry point into landed living.) However, there are also a few bigger houses around.

Although, as mentioned, the area gets its fair share of traffic driving through (more for Langsat Road. The Lorongs were pretty quiet.) Overall, the area wasn’t noisy when I visited. (Well apart from the one house that kept birds that I could hear erm… singing from like 2 roads down!)

Many of the houses with alleys behind them have also built back doors to make full use of the extra space.

The area actually has commercial units all around, but the majority are along Changi Road. In fact, the stretch of properties where the Lorongs meet Changi Road is all commercial. Currently, they’re low to medium-rise but the Master Plan indicates that the plot ratio is 3.0 so we may see giants springing up one day. (Which may block the air and light for the residences behind.)

Let’s take a look.

Close-up to give you a better view. It’ll mean you need to coordinate a bit – for example, if the driver of the blue car needs to leave, the driver of the white car will need to make way for him or her. You might think this is a small thing but, hey, when you live together, small things can turn into big things. I know of one lady who passively aggressively blocked her sister-in-law’s car to make her late for work!

The walkway doesn’t really take you anywhere though. I was expecting it to bring me to Geylang Serai Malay Market and Food Centre, which is along Changi Road (about 8 minutes walk from Langsat Walk, although it felt more like 28 in the heat), but it didn’t. Oh well, something is better than nothing!

Anyway back to Changi Road!

Note: besides Warung Selera Masakan Kampung is a Caltex station for those who need to grab snacks or fill their tank. Alternatively, there’s a Fair Price at Joo Chiat Complex just a stone’s throw away.

Across from Joo Chiat Complex is Joo Chiat Road which is PACKED in the afternoons, and on weekends. However, I really like the kampung feel of the area. Despite the congestion, people still give way to each other on the road and thank each other. It feels like I’ve gone 20 years back in time to the Singapore of my childhood.

Note: for avid bakers, there’s a Bake with Yen on Joo Chiat Road but I find their items are not as fresh as Phoon Huat. (Some things are cheaper though.)

This brings us to the end of today’s tour!

How did you find the area? You’ve probably figured out that I really like this neighbourhood. However, it’s not for everyone. When I mentioned it to a friend, she said she would never move here because the East of Singapore is way too crowded. And it’s true that D15 is the 2nd most populous landed enclave in Singapore (it has the most number of landed homes after D19.)

What do you think? Is this a great place to live or do you too find it too congested? Let me know in the comments!