Where To Find Rare Freehold Conservation Shophouse Homes In Singapore: A Tour Of Balestier

We’ve been heading to the East for the last few weeks, so I thought it was time for something different. This week, we’ll go to Martaban Road, a rather under-the-radar street in the Balestier area. I first learnt about it when discussing conservation shophouses with a Peranakan friend, who recommended looking at the ones here.

Before that, I had only known that Balestier was an area where one could find good Bak Kut Teh, lots of lighting shops, and some of the more affordable freehold condos in Singapore: when I was writing this article, there were freehold apartments from around $1,500 psf. I haven’t done much research into the condos here in the last 2-3 years but given that we see new 99-year developments going for over $2,000 psf now, a freehold city-fringe apartment at $1,500 psf is something I would be interested in finding out more about.

Before we do our walkabout, let’s take a look at the Master Plan:

The first thing that I noticed was the plot ratio of 2.8: since we’re in a conservation area, shouldn’t the buildings be, well, conserved? 

I did some Google research about this and, according to Shophouse Collective, when the URA classifies shophouses as conservation buildings “they are protected from demolition and must be conserved following specific guidelines.” You can find the conservation guidelines (as of 1 Dec 2023) here. The URA even compiled a guide for shophouse owners and tenants, which I found quite interesting: as it shares more about the different types of shophouses in Singapore. For example, the ones on Martaban Road are “Second Transitional Shophouse Style.” You can also find out more about the renovation of No 13. Martaban Road here. (The “after” pictures make a great advertisement for shophouse life!)

By the way, I’m not an expert on conservation properties in Singapore so if you’re considering buying and renovating one, I suggest consulting professionals. OK, it’s time to take a closer look at the houses now!

First things first, this is a tiny collection of houses: there are less than 20 units, each with its own distinct character:

Something I was surprised by was the number of units for sale at the time of writing. I counted and there were at least 3 different units on the market (which is a very high percentage given the small number of houses on the street!)

The outside of the hawker centre (Balestier Market) is quite attractive but, to be honest, the inside is not. The roof was very low, and the area felt quite depressing and stuffy. (I was looking for a place to grab a meal- usually I would eat at the nearest hawker centre but I decided to give it a pass this time. Let’s just say that if my foreign friends were asking for hawker centre recommendations, this wouldn’t be on my list.)

Now there are many more shops along Balestier Road, but I think we’ve covered the most important ones, so it’s time to end today’s tour. How did you find the area? Let me know in the comments!

We’ll end with this view of the residential shophouses from Balestier Road, which gives you a better overview of the parking situation!