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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I’ve always admired the conservation houses on Emerald Hill Road but figured that they would be too unaffordable: it’s prime location + conservation. Also, it may be too noisy for most people, because of the bars and restaurants at the start of the road.
However, a good friend’s good friend lives here and told me that it’s actually pretty quiet. This got me intrigued enough to research the area, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that prices were nowhere near as stratospheric as I had imagined they would be. Now I’m not suggesting that $6.8 million is cheap but given that these days, it seems almost-any-old terrace house in almost-any-old part of Singapore is asking for that much, a conservation house in the heart of Singapore seems almost affordable at that price. As always, there is a catch, but let’s look at the sales transactions here first.
None of the last 10 transactions were over $10 million.
I remembered prices being higher when I visited the conservation properties at Cairnhill so did a quick counter check. Indeed some of the units there did go for more (up to $18 million,) but if you look at the fine print, it’s because the units sold there were larger: from 3,000 + sq ft. vs 2,000+ sq ft. for Emerald Hill Road. And, of course, there are other factors which vary from unit to unit to consider too, such as the condition of the houses etc.
When I visited PropertyGuru, there was a unit for sale at $6.88 million on Emerald Hill Road. The “low” price made me do a double take but then I realised that the land size was only 1,043 sq ft. That is on the smaller side for landed houses, even in Singapore. Thanks to the high ceilings, I must say that the interiors look rather spacious in the photos though.
These are some of the commercial units at the beginning of Emerald Hill Road. Even in the afternoon, most of the bars and restaurants had a good crowd, so I had to carefully pick shots which wouldn’t get strangers in the frame. They weren’t very noisy but the friend I was with who lives in a landed property did mention that she found the street on the less-quiet side. I personally thought noise levels were okay at the time of visiting, especially in comparison to some of the other landed enclaves I’ve been to.
The turn in from Orchard Road is pedestrianised, so cars can’t turn in from Orchard Road. If you drive, you will need to turn off Cairnhill Road, onto Emerald Link and then on to Emerald Hill Road. See the blue line in the Google Map screenshot below- there’s also a different route via Hullet Road, where you can find a URA car park. More on this later.
This is the start of the non-pedestrianised road also the start of the residential units. For those of you who remember my co-living days, there is a Figment Co-living house here FYI. It was one of the units I was considering when looking into co-living options. If I recall correctly, there was a unit at the Emerald Hill property which had its own private entrance, a feature I particularly liked, but the online reviews made me decide to go with a different company.The colourful houses line both sides of the road.Aren’t they picturesque? What a pretty view you will have from your windows if you live on this street. Some of my colleagues from my design agency days used to live on this street, so it does seem to attract quite an artsy crowd.If you’ve read any of my other articles on conservation houses in Singapore, you’ll have heard me mention more than once that it can be hard to find parking in front of conservation houses in Singapore. Not a problem here I see, although these look like public not private lots so you may not be guaranteed a space.Admiring some of the period features on display.Not sure what the building on the left is. My friend says it used to be a school.More parking.More car park spaces in front of houses but these houses are on elevated land.A full frontal photo to make the elevation more obvious- getting into one’s house will be a bit less straightforward if you’re less mobile.On the other side of the road, the houses are on road level.The conservation units here come in a variety of styles.This is the Hullet Road URA car park I mentioned earlier. Behind Hullet Road is Saunders Road- you can also drive on to Emerald Hill Road via Saunders and Hullet Road. In case you’re wondering, I didn’t see any eateries on this part of Emerald Hill Road.I like the wooden shutters on this house.The road here isn’t super wide, and there’s no street parking allowed on this stretch.An upcoming renovation project.Another thing that differs from stretch to stretch is the amount of pavement space in front of the houses. The ones here have a pavement with a “normal” width here.In comparison, these houses have a much larger pavement in front of them, which could provide more space for kids to play somewhat more safely.I also like how the greenery in the middle here helps to soften the view.This house got an architectural award apparently.Love the striking green color. I think this picture gives you a better idea of how wide the pavement is.Remember how I said the parking spaces in front of the previous houses were public lots? Well, these units have private parking spaces- and very generously sized ones too. It looks like you could park at least 2 cars here?These are the houses on the other side of the road- not as much space there as you can see.And these look like they can fit even more than two cars! Would four be overly optimistic?Stepping back so you have a better view of the road as a whole.There’s a pavement here which I believe connects Emerald Hill Road to Saunders Road.The style of the houses has changed quite dramatically here.A closer look at the “new” style of properties. We also find a few high rise condominium developments on this end. This end- the opposite end to Orchard Road- is close to Kampong Java Tunnel, CTE and Cairnhill so there is a potential for traffic noise. A closer look at the unit for sale. As you can see, the units here are a mix of old and new(ish.)I wouldn’t complain if I owned a unit here but I must say I find the previous houses prettier. They were also quieter, being situated in the middle of Emerald Hill Road (i.e. away from the main roads and the bar/ restaurants) but somewhat less private, being situated close to the public carpark.Here’s the turn-in from Saunders Road.Opposite the first apartment block we see.More public lots in the middle of the road. I didn’t realise there were so many URA lots here. I may try to get a space here next time I drive to Orchard Road.Continuing our walk down Emerald Hill Road.Close up of the apartments.More apartments on the other side of the road.More units for sale. These look rather modern actually.Yet another apartment. I like the design.Now for the contemporary condo developments.We’ve now reached the end of Emerald Hill Road where you can find more conservation houses and more car park spaces. Behind it is Cairnhill.Some of the units here also have their own private parking spaces, albeit less generous when compared to the houses we saw earlier.First time I’ve seen a striped house.Also interesting to see window grills on the house here. Looking back in the direction from which we came. Emerald Hill Road was definitely longer than I expected, with a larger variety of houses than I had expected. It also felt more residential that I had thought it would – a plus in my book.
Now that we’ve seen the whole street, let me know what you think in the comments!
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
