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Where To Find A Spacious And Peaceful Freehold Landed Estate In Singapore: Touring Faber Walk (From $6.5m)
Published 16 Jun 2024 | 3 comments | 0 shares | 8min read
BY TJPublished 16 Jun 20243 comments | 8min read
BY TJ
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
Last year, I visited Faber Hills landed estate and was very impressed by how spacious and quiet it was. Hence, I thought I should go back to see the other side – Faber Walk! Like Faber Hills, Faber Walk struck me as a very nice place to live, but with a higher price point (I only saw Semi-Ds and detached houses here, whilst Faber Hills had some large terrace houses too.)
I drove in via this very long, quiet and scenic road – it felt like I was in the beautiful countryside somewhere but a tad inconvenient for people walking in. (Thankfully, there is another more direct entrance/exit into the estate.)
When you drive in via the road above, the first thing you’ll see is a small road leading to the condo, Waterfront@Faber on your left. The houses are surrounded by two condos, Faber Crest and Waterfront@Faber. I normally am not a fan of landed estates with condos in them, as it can make the area feel very congested, but you don’t get that feeling here. (Perhaps because the condos are low-rise?)
You have to turn left and go down the road above to get to the condo. I was surprised by how private the entrance to the condo was! (There are no landed driveways directly in front of the Waterfront@Faber entrance.) That’s the condo entrance in front of me. See what I mean about this entire area feeling so spacious? I was so impressed by the surroundings, I googled to see what listings were available at the two condos when I got back from my walkabout.
We’re here to look at houses and not apartments though, so let’s turn around to see the landed units.
These are the closest houses to Waterfront@Faber. As you can see, there are some high-rise apartments behind them, but they’re so far away, that the area does not in any way feel overwhelmed.The houses here are semi-Ds and very big ones at that.There was also a lot of street parking available so your friends and family don’t have to worry about parking when they visit. This could be because I visited when everyone was at work, but I’ve been to some estates where it was impossible to find a space to park even on a weekday morning.Many of the houses here were built in 1977, so they’re in the older style and have yet to maximise the plot ratio. Another feature that makes the area pleasant and liveable is the wide pavements. In many estates, even posh ones like Ming Teck Park, the pavements are so small, or overgrown with trees and whatnot, that pedestrians have no choice but to walk on the road. You don’t get that issue here.More old-style houses. I would say the majority of the units here have not been rebuilt, but I did see a fair bit of construction work when visiting. (Surprisingly it was very quiet!)Here is one of the houses that has been rebuilt.A photo to show you exactly how much higher you can build.A head-on photo to give you a better idea (the roof of the unit beside it is slightly blocked by the tree though so the view is not super clear.)After a few hundred meters, the road diverges into two. They form a loop, so whichever side we take, we’ll end up back here. (See map below.)Let’s start with the path on the left.More houses.Is it just me or do the houses this way look newer and fancier? Even the public paths are so beautifully manicured!See what I mean?There are also more newer-looking buildings here.I like this green roof! It’s said to be able to help to keep the house cool and was a feature I had thought to have if I can ever afford to live in a landed house again. (Which, given the Singapore property market, will only happen if I move to somewhere like Malaysia or Thailand! Personally, I love having a garden, which is why I’ve started looking at retirement options overseas. Have you ever thought of moving abroad for a better quality of life?)The road is a cul-de-sac, but it’s so large, you won’t have to worry about reversing to get out.Turning to look back in the direction from which we came.Some of the renovation projects I had mentioned. I’m not sure if they were doing smaller-scale projects here, or it’s because the area is not as densely developed, but it didn’t feel as noisy or dusty as Redwood Avenue.A closer look at one of the construction projects.Turning round another corner. (This section of the estate has roads linked like a rectangle with the borders jutting out.)There appears to be something at the end of this road (which is a dead end for cars) so let’s go down and see what it is.On the way we pass these houses, with nice arched doors and windows, which I thought gave you a better idea of exactly how much higher you can build than the one I showed previously.Ah! The road leads to some sort of park, which lies on lower-lying ground. Let’s walk down and see.Some outdoor fitness equipment.I’m typically very wary of living near an outdoor amenity due to concerns about noise levels, but this one seems to be for older people and not kids so it shouldn’t be as noisy. (Not a peep when I was there.)One of the blocks at Waterfront@Faber looks out to this space, which makes it a great place to live. I also like how the ground-floor units have such high ceilings! (4.27m according to an article I read online by Home and Decor or another home magazine.)Standing in Faber Heights Park looking back at where I came from. If you continue forward, you reach this park connector. It was quite hot so there weren’t many people using it but it’s a lovely place for a morning or evening stroll.The condo units must have such an unblocked view!Looking to the right. (This way lies Faber Crest condo.)Walking back in the direction from which we came.We’re back in the landed estate.Juxtaposition between another redeveloped and original-condition house. I think you’ve seen enough of the houses to get a feel for them now, so I won’t post any more photos of houses unless there’s something really unique I want to point out.We pass the entrance to the condo. Like Waterfront@Faber, the entrance is quite set back from the houses.We walk down a bit further and come to the basketball court, which is where we ended our Faber Hills walkabout. (The basketball court is on lower ground so you can’t see it from here.)
Continue down this way and you Rach Faber Hills and Nan Hua Primary. Since I’ve already covered it in my previous article, I won’t repeat myself here except to say that there is a block of apartments with eateries such as Baker and Cook and other commercial units behind, giving the entire estate a bit of a village feel. (As in there are amenities in the estate.)
I actually really like this area – the only thing I’m not a fan of is that when you drive in via Nan Hua Primary, as you need to pass a T-junction to get here. T-junctions can be a pain to navigate because of how impatient some of the drivers are. (They honk if you stop, even if there’s a reason why you can’t drive any further, such as a person or car in front of you!)
As my Mother has worked in this area for over 40 years, I’m pretty familiar with it, and I must say that it has only improved as time goes by. In the past, it was somewhat ulu with not many amenities nearby, making it a tad inconvenient. However, with the opening of all the malls in the Jurong area (Westgate- Jurong Gateway etc), you only have to drive for a few minutes and you can find almost everything you want. There’s even an Ikea!
Here’s what the Basketball Court looks like – it’s immense for a public facility!Next to the basketball court are more exercise machines and the Faber Crest condo.
This brings us to the end of today’s walkabout. Are you as much of a fan of this area as I am? Let me know in the comments! Alternatively, if there’s an estate that you think is better, let me know too!
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
Faber Hill estate is not only Faber Walk. Tour Faber Green and Faber Terrace to see more beauties of the estate. The back of Faber Terrace houses are lined with Trees, so green and peaceful; and Faber Green houses face a big park. We have peaceful ambience and great neighbours and lots of parking along the roads too. Check it out.
Kei
3 months ago
There’s a reason so many original 1977 houses and less rebuilt in faber because owners don’t wanna move out! many of them were so comfortable staying here for 50 years!! mostly teachers, doctors , lawyers of the old times.
Faber Hill estate is not only Faber Walk. Tour Faber Green and Faber Terrace to see more beauties of the estate. The back of Faber Terrace houses are lined with Trees, so green and peaceful; and Faber Green houses face a big park. We have peaceful ambience and great neighbours and lots of parking along the roads too. Check it out.
There’s a reason so many original 1977 houses and less rebuilt in faber because owners don’t wanna move out! many of them were so comfortable staying here for 50 years!! mostly teachers, doctors , lawyers of the old times.