Lessons from Singapore's top-performing two-bedder condos, showing how size, tenure, and neighbourhood timing shaped returns more than common buyer assumptions…
A few weeks ago, I toured Frankel Avenue and found the area to be charming and quaint. Although on the price side, it’s not that affordable, given the size of the houses. Several readers asked me to do add-on tours of the neighbouring areas so off East to Siglap I went again last week.
I parked at Siglap Hill and my first thought on seeing the area was: “Oh dear, the houses here look even more unaffordable than those Frankel!” (They were bigger.)
Example 1 of the houses around Siglap Hill/Siglap View.Example 2. If you have the budget, there are several for sale in the area! A good number are in original condition (1-storey) so perfect for those looking to rebuild.
Happily, after exploring I managed to find several streets with terrace houses. (The Frankel Area only had one row of terrace houses, so you can imagine how difficult it is to buy a terrace house there!)
Anyway, before I zoom right into the terrace houses, let’s explore the area first. Siglap is quite a large stretch, so let’s start by defining the area we’ll be touring, namely: the houses in between Changi Road (to the North), Frankel Avenue (to the West), Siglap Road (to the East) and Cheviot Hill to the South. (East of Siglap Road is Opera Estate, which I had visited a while back as it was (then) one of the 5 cheapest freehold landed enclaves in Singapore- another landed estate I really liked!)
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This is where Siglap View intersects with the main road, Changi Road. Walk 5 minutes to the left of the photo and you’ll find some shophouses, including Naowarat Thai Bistro which I had covered in my Frankel tour. To the right of the photo, at several minutes walk away, there’s a church and a Decathlon store. (There’s also a mosque at Jalan Lapang, so just 1-2 rows behind the Esso.)As we’ve previously seen, when the houses are bigger, the roads tend to be more spacious and uncluttered – no shortage of spaces to park here!As befits the names (Siglap Hill/Siglap View), several of the houses here along this stretch are on elevated land. (This road is Siglap View and it’s leading on towards St Stephen’s School. I imagine the road gets pretty jammed during school pick-up and drop-off hours: I visited on the weekend and you can see how part of the road is blocked off (see above photo) to prevent cars from parking there.)Look at the view you get if your house is on this stretch! Almost makes up for the noise of being next to a school.Peek into the empty school grounds. I imagine those looking to buy on this street would want to know what the road conditions are like, given the proximity of the school, so here’s a photo. Note that it’s a one-direction road, technically one-lane, but looks to be large enough for cars to squeeze through even with vehicles parked on one side.These old-school houses are part of what gives Siglap its charm. I hope they won’t all end up being demolished! (Note that the left and right neighbours of this house have all gone the way of maximising plot ratios already, sad to say.)These sizeable detached houses are actually part of a strata development, Villas La Vue, completed in 2010. There are only 7 units here (none for sale at the time of writing) and no reviews on Google either. There were, however, 2 sales in 2022 for $3.19 and $3.65 million, which is lower than what some of the freehold inter-terraces here are asking for! Walking down Siglap View.To the left of Siglap View is Siglap Terrace. I had walked over hoping to find affordable houses, but alas, nope, still ginormous properties. Although there were a couple of semi-Ds…?What looks to be the school grounds of St Stephens.We reach the end of Siglap View, take a right down La Salle Street, then a left down Siglap Walk and here, besides the houses, we find Kampung Siglap Life Skills Training & Retreat Centre, which has a 4.7 rating on Google (I believe it’s the black and white building you see in the background of the photo above, you can only see a tiny part of it.) According to the Google reviews, people can stay here overnight, there’s a cafeteria and coffee shop and you can walk from here to East Coast using the Park Connector. From the website, it appears that they hold events such as Mid Autumn Parties (ticketed, so you have to pay to take part.)If you traverse Siglap Walk and turn right into Siglap Avenue South, you’ll see the other side of Kampung Siglap, where there is a playground and basketball court, both of which were in use when I visited the area. Note that the area is fenced up so I’m not sure if residents of the surrounding properties can use the facilities.
However, I’ve skipped quite a few streets to show you the other side of the Kampung Siglap building, so let’s backtrack a bit.
This is along the Siglap Bank area, you can see a couple of houses being rebuilt. From the side they look huge, but these are actually terrace houses, I believe. (Or maybe semi-Ds? The construction barriers make it hard to tell.) Note how the houses are elevated so the living rooms are all above street level, great for privacy and ventilation. (But elderly will have to climb steps to enter the house.)Still the same stretch of houses. I think this photo best illustrates the maximisation potential of plot ratios here!More re-built terrace houses. Although inter-terraces are often disparaged, I think they have great potential, if one has the money to knock everything down and rebuild that is! (If you’re one of the lucky few, check out this YouTube Series on Terrace House Transformation by Design Seed – I find it super inspirational!) Although several of the houses had no space to park inside, the street wasn’t too cluttered, probably because of the double yellow line on the side? (Having said that, on most of my walkabout tours, people still park where they shouldn’t be parking in residential areas.)Example of house which appears to have no parking porch.The junction of Siglap Walk, Siglap Rise and Siglap Avenue South, all of which appear to have more modest sized houses – a good place to start the house hunt if you want to live in Siglap and have a budget on the lower end of the landed spectrum.And here we are, back at the back of Kampung Siglap. Note how close the row of houses (on the right of the photo) are to the playground and basketball court… I didn’t see back gates though, so doesn’t look like they can access the facilities.Walking down Siglap Avenue South towards the shophouses on Siglap Drive and Frankel Avenue, it’s dotted white line parking here, so you can see that it’s gotten more crowded. (There’s not much space to park for customers of the Frankel Avenue shophouses, so there’ll definitely be spillover to this part. When I walked over to the shophouses, I could hear the drivers of one car complaining about another who had totally blocked the road’s exit.)Heading towards the Siglap Drive Shophouses: there’s a Grooming Gallery, a spa, a cake shop, a patisserie etc- most were closed when I was there on Sunday, except for the pet shop.
FYI for the superstitious: this part of Siglap is near the Muslim cemetary, Kubur Kassim. For more information about Siglap, check out this Channel News Asia article. According to the same article, Siglap Hill is one of the places the Japanese mass-murdered Singaporeans during the Japanese Occupation and 45 mass war graves have been found in Siglap…
I turned right at the junction above and walking down Siglap Drive here will bring me back out to the main road, Frankel Avenue. Along the way, there are Bowmont Gardens and Bowmont Centre to the left.
I’m singling the development out, as it has freehold apartments which caught my eye. At the time of writing, there were 2 duplexes of 1,800+ sq ft for sale at $2.3- $2.5 million, which sounds rather reasonable given the current property prices in Singapore. Note that I haven’t viewed any units there though, and I suspect they’re walk-ups, given the price, though can’t confirm as the property ads didn’t specify many details.
The development has a total of 8 apartments and was completed in 2003. It also has a few shops, such as an Osteopathic Centre and cake shop. If you’re interested, according to the agent, the development is within 1 km of 2 schools: St. Stephens and Opera Primary. (I’ve not specified for the landed houses, as the Primary Schools within 1 km would really depend on whether you live in the Northern, Southern, Eastern or Western end of Siglap!) A bus also stops right outside. If you squint, you can see the bus stop in the photo above. (Only 1 bus though – No. 42)
Oh, one thing to mention is that Bowmont Centre is right next to a petrol station (Caltex), which may put off some buyers.
A few steps in front of Bowmont Centre is the junction with the main road, Frankel Avenue (which you can see is very quiet on a Sunday.) There’s also a Zhi Char, captured in the photograph above. (There’s a sign saying they’re new, but then the Google reviews date back to 2020 so I’m not sure how new is new!)Turning left on Frankel Avenue, past the zichar and petrol station, brings me to a long row of shophouses. It’s a lovely place to hang out in the evenings, with restaurants such as Wine Connection Bar, a Coconut Club pick-up point, Dutch Colony Coffee, Cedele as well as a pet groomers etc. Definitely the highlight of the neighbourhood for me as it has cool places to hang out but wasn’t super crowded. It actually reminded me of Yew Lian Park, which I visited a few weeks back, but nicer (less people and fewer cars.)Doesn’t this look like a great place to chill?Another relaxing place!Not so trendy, but according to the sign, this restaurant has been around for ages (and has a 4.2 Google rating.) From what I saw on the signage, their specialty is the fish head curry.Last photo of a nice cafe. I have more but let’s not get distracted!The parking situation at the shophouses – see what I mean about how there’ll definitely be spillover into the landed estate? (There was even one car parked right at the exit of the road, blocking other cars from driving out! The driver had disappeared so…. maybe the waiting cars reversed out?)There are a couple of alleys here that bring you right into the landed estate too, so very convenient access. Across from the shophouses appears to be a temple? (2 according to Google!)
Oh and before I forget, there’s also a vet and laundry amongst the trendy cafes and restaurants. A little further down, there’s a Brighton Montessori. And if you walk all the way down to East Coast Road, there are more shophouses, including several tuition centres, as well as Siglap Centre. It’s a Far East mixed development with MacDonalds, a florist, an optometrist Home-Fix and other assorted shops.
From what I can tell, this is the closest shopping centre. The other 2 would be Bedok Point and Bedok Mall, which are 30-35 minutes walk away, so not exactly a leisurely stroll.
Walking back into the landed estate by way of the alleys between the shophouses – you can see that some properties have backdoors opening into the alleys. I’ve heard of potential pest problems when landed houses are located too near eateries, so this is something you may need to look into here.The street above is either Bowmont Gardens or Jedburgh Gardens – the 2 closest parallel streets to Frankel Avenue.As they’re mostly terrace houses, we do get several people parking on the road. However, as you can see in the above left, the “driveway” in front of the house is quite long, so you can actually park in your own driveway (if you have “only” 1-2 cars.) It also makes it easier to get out of your house if someone inconsiderate parks right opposite your gate and blocks you as you have more space to manoeuvre. (This happened at one of the houses I passed during my tour of the estate!)Another redevelopment opportunity awaits! (I saw quite a few ads for single-story properties in Siglap.)Another turn brings me to Cheviot Hill, where you can find the Global International Indian School.Here’s what the school looks like and its distance from the houses opposite.
Before I forget, you may have noticed that we haven’t really seen any playgrounds (besides the one at Kampung Siglap) during this tour. From what I can tell, the closest one would be the new playground near Yarrow Gardens/Siglap Road, which is just a few minutes’ walk from here.
Almost directly opposite the Global Indian International School is Dryburgh Avenue – note how buses come right into the estate, similar to Opera Estate. (There’s a bus stop in the photo above.)
In terms of public transport, besides the buses, there is Kembangan MRT, which is a 5 – 25 minutes walk, depending on which part of the estate you live in, or Bedok MRT, at least 25 minutes away on foot.
You can see Kembangan MRT on the map above – it’s by the pink block labelled “2.5” at the top left corner.
For groceries, I didn’t see a minimart amongst the shophouses, but there’s Fair Price Chai chee, which is 13 minutes walk from Siglap Hill and Fair Price Lengkong Tiger (17 minutes walk, so further if you live South of Siglap Hill.) However, no worries as there’s something along the South side too: on First Street, off Siglap Road towards the East Coast Road end, there’s Cold Storage Fresh at Siglap V and Fair Price Siglap New Market across East Coast Road.
Now that we’ve come to the end of our Siglap tour, how did you find the area? I was charmed by it! I also noticed that many of the residents greatly enjoy gardening: just take a look at these 2 houses if you don’t believe me!
See you again next week at our next landed estate – feel free to keep the suggestions for areas to review coming in!
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Frequently asked questions
What is the general area covered in the Siglap landed estate tour?
The tour covers houses between Changi Road (north), Frankel Avenue (west), Siglap Road (east), and Cheviot Hill (south), including streets like Siglap View, Siglap Terrace, and Siglap Avenue South.
Are there different types of houses in Siglap, and what is their condition?
Yes, the area has a mix of detached houses, terrace houses, semi-detached, and some original condition houses suitable for rebuilding. Many are large and elevated, with some on land that offers potential for redevelopment.
What amenities and facilities are available near Siglap estate?
Nearby amenities include shophouses with cafes and shops, Kampung Siglap Life Skills Training & Retreat Centre, playgrounds, basketball courts, schools like St. Stephen’s and the Global Indian International School, and public transport options including buses and MRT stations.
How accessible is Siglap by public transport?
Siglap is accessible via buses with stops along Frankel Avenue and nearby bus stops, and Kembangan MRT is about 5-25 minutes walk away. Bedok MRT is also around 25 minutes on foot.
What are the shopping options near Siglap estate?
Shopping centers include Siglap Centre, Siglap V with Cold Storage and Fair Price, and Fair Price Lengkong Tiger. Bedok Point and Bedok Mall are about 30-35 minutes away on foot.
Are there redevelopment opportunities in Siglap, and what is the current real estate market like?
Yes, there are redevelopment opportunities with several single-story properties available. Recent sales of strata villas and duplex apartments suggest active interest, with prices varying based on property type and condition.
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
2 Comments
How about a tour of hock Swee hill please!