When it comes to buying an HDB flat in Singapore. 
 There’re plenty of things to think about. 
 And if you’re planning to have kids. 
 You’ll probably want to live  within a 1km radius of the primary school  of your choice. 
 Source: Adventure Time 
 Y’know, because of how home-to-school distance affects priority admission? 
 And you want your kids to start their education with a solid foundation? 
 Yep. 
 We’re  kiasu  (Hokkien: afraid of losing out) like that. 
 So… how much does it cost to live within 1km of a popular primary school? 
 Is it going to  cost you more  if you do? 
 
 TL;DR: 4-Room HDB Resale Flat Prices Within 1km Radius of Popular Primary Schools 
 
 
 
 
 Popular Primary Schools in Singapore Type of School Affiliated to Area Street Name 
(within 1km) 4-Room HDB Resale Price 
(average from past 1 year's resale transactions) 
 
 
 
 
 Ai Tong School Co-ed - Bishan Bright Hill Dr $507,000 
 
 
 Sin Ming Avenue $538,000 
 
 
 Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) Boys Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) 
 
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)  Newton No data available 
 
 
 Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) Boys Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) 
 
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)  Novena No data available 
 
 
 Catholic High School (Primary) Boys Catholic High School Bishan Bishan St 22 $593,000 
 
 
 Bishan St 24 $542,000 
 
 
 CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School (Primary) Girls CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School Ang Mo Kio Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 $369,000 
 
 
 Ang Mo Kio St 11 $372,000 
 
 
 Gongshang Primary School Co-ed - Tampines Tampines St 21 $417,000 
 
 
 Tampines St 42 $392,000 
 
 
 Henry Park Primary School Co-ed - Holland Road Ghim Moh Link $784,000 
 
 
 Ghim Moh Road $505,000 
 
 
 Maris Stella High School (Primary) Boys Maris Stella High School Bartley Serangoon Ave 1 $596,000 
 
 
 Joo Seng Road $424,000 
 
 
 Methodist Girls' School (Primary) Girls Methodist Girls' School (Secondary) Bukit Timah No data available 
 
 
 Nan Hua Primary School Co-ed - Clementi Clementi Ave 3 $674,000 
 
 
 Clementi Ave 4 $424,000 
 
 
 Nanyang Primary School Co-ed Nanyang Girls' High School Bukit Timah Queen's Road $538,000 
 
 
 Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School Co-ed - Toh Tuck Toh Yi Drive $661,000 
 
 
 Radin Mas Primary School Co-ed - Bukit Purmei Jalan Membina $659,000 
 
 
 Kim Tian Road $698,000 
 
 
 Raffles Girls' Primary School Girls - Bukit Timah No data available 
 
 
 Red Swastika School Co-ed - Bedok Bedok North Ave 3 $387,000 
 
 
 Bedok North Road $539,000 
 
 
 Rosyth School Co-ed - Serangoon North Serangoon North Ave 3 $387,000 
 
 
 Serangoon North Ave 4 $363,000 
 
 
 Rulang Primary School Co-ed - Jurong West Jurong West Ave 1 $320,000 
 
 
 Jurong West St 52 $410,000 
 
 
 St. Hilda's Primary School Co-ed St. Hilda's Secondary School Tampines West Tampines St 81 $408,000 
 
 
 Tampines St 82 $402,000 
 
 
 Tao Nan School Co-ed - Marine Parade Marine Crescent $465,000 
 
 
 Marine Dr $504,000 
 
 
 Temasek Primary School Co-ed - Bedok South Bedok South Ave 3 $408,000 
 
 
 Bedok South Road $359,000 
 
 
 
 With resale flats, you have the  flexibility of location  which is great when you have a specific primary school in mind. 
 For some popular primary schools, the cost of an HDB Resale flat that is within a 1km radius  might not be that different  from the cost of an HDB BTO in the same general area. 
 FYI: the BTO might not even be anywhere near a primary school or the school which you want 
 But you also need to account for other factors like which floor the resale flat is at and what kind of amenities are nearby. 
 Because these could  add to the cost  of buying a Resale flat. 
 Also, these are just  past  transactional resale prices (read: I can’t guarantee that prices will stay that way moving forward) 
 That being said, with the existing  Enhanced CPF Housing Grant and Proximity Housing Grant  available for Resale flat buyers. 
 There’s a chance that you might  pay lesser  for an HDB Resale flat that is in an  even better location  as compared to an HDB BTO. 
 So always shop around before making a decision! 
 Have questions about property? Why not ask the friendly  SeedlyCommunity , or chime in if you’ve got a perspective to share! 
 
 How Does Distance Affect My Child’s Admission to Primary School? 
 Source: SchoolBag 
 The reason why many decide to buy (or rent) a property that is  specifically   within a 1 or 2km radius  from a primary school. 
 Is because if the school has more registrants than vacancies available  during any phase  of the Primary (P1) Registration. 
 Priority admission will be given based on your child’s  citizenship  as well as his or her  home-to-school distance  in this order: 
 
 
 
 Priority Admission Citizenship Home-to-School Distance 
 
 
 
 
 1 Singapore Citizens  Living  within 1km  of the school 
 
 
 2 Living  between 1 and 2km  of the school 
 
 
 3 Living  outside 2km  of the school 
 
 
 4 Permanent Residents Living  within 1km  of the school 
 
 
 5 Living  between 1 and 2km  of the school 
 
 
 6 Living  outside 2km  of the school 
 
 
 
 Also, for your child to gain priority admission, they will need to reside at the address used for the registration for  at least 30 months  from the start of the P1 Registration (read: make sure you DO NOT move). 
 If this condition is not met, MOE has the right to transfer your kid to another school with vacancies. 
 See why it’s important to live (or at least rent) within the 1km radius? 
 How Do I Know If My Property Is Within the 1km Radius of the School? 
 You can use MOE’s  Distance Checker  to see which schools are within 2km of your potential home. 
 Alternatively, you can use the Singapore Land Authority’s  OneMap School Query  service. 
 Here’s how. 
 STEP 1: Click on “SchoolQuery” 
 
 STEP 2: Select “Find Primary School Information” 
 STEP 3: If you have the address of a Resale Flat in mind… 
 
 If you  already have an HDB Resale flat in mind  and want to confirm that it is within the 1 to 2km radius of a primary school. 
 Use “Find Schools Near a Building” and enter the residential address in the “Search & Explore” field. 
 A list of schools which are within 1km (red) and between 1 to 2km (blue) of the address will be generated. 
 STEP 4: If you’re just checking out which HDB estates are near a specific primary school 
 If you want to know which HDB estates are within the 1 to 2km radius of a specific primary school. 
 Use “Find Building Near a School” and select the primary school of your choice. 
 
 A list of buildings which are within 1km (red) and between 1 to 2km (blue) of the school will be generated. 
 What Are the Most Popular Primary Schools in Singapore? 
 To be clear, I’m not here to dispute MOE’s narrative that “all schools are good schools”. 
 The list I’m about to share is also NOT an exhaustive list of primary schools in Singapore either. 
 To get this list, I simply polled a few of my friends and the Seedly team to get a sense of where they would want their kids to go to in the future. 
 #justsaying 
 
 
 
 Name of Primary School Type of School Affiliated to Area 
 
 
 
 
 Ai Tong School Co-ed - Bishan 
 
 
 Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) Boys Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) 
 
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)  Newton 
 
 
 Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) Boys Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) 
 
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)  Novena 
 
 
 Catholic High School (Primary) Boys Catholic High School Bishan 
 
 
 CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School (Primary) Girls CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School Ang Mo Kio 
 
 
 Gongshang Primary School Co-ed - Tampines 
 
 
 Henry Park Primary School Co-ed - Holland Road 
 
 
 Maris Stella High School (Primary) Boys Maris Stella High School Bartley 
 
 
 Methodist Girls' School (Primary) Girls Methodist Girls' School (Secondary) Bukit Timah 
 
 
 Nan Hua Primary School Co-ed - Clementi 
 
 
 Nanyang Primary School Co-ed Nanyang Girls' High School Bukit Timah 
 
 
 Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School Co-ed - Toh Tuck 
 
 
 Radin Mas Primary School Co-ed - Bukit Purmei 
 
 
 Raffles Girls' Primary School Girls - Bukit Timah 
 
 
 Red Swastika School Co-ed - Bedok 
 
 
 Rosyth School Co-ed - Serangoon North 
 
 
 Rulang Primary School Co-ed - Jurong West 
 
 
 St. Hilda's Primary School Co-ed St. Hilda's Secondary School Tampines West 
 
 
 Tao Nan School Co-ed - Marine Parade 
 
 
 Temasek Primary School Co-ed - Bedok South 
 
 
 
 How To Pick a Property Near a Popular Primary School? 
 Because of the 30-months’ stay requirement for priority admission. 
 You’ll need to  plan ahead  and not  leave house-hunting to the very last minute. 
 Resale flats are usually readily available — if you’re not picky, that is. 
 But if you want a resale flat in a location that is near the amenities and primary school which you want… 
 It’s going to take a while to find that dream property. 
 For schools in areas where there are more private housing than HDB estates, it’ll make your search that much harder. 
 Source: Adventure Time 
 Unless you’re open to  buying or renting a condominium … 
 Which is probably going to be a more expensive option. 
 Here are also some things to take note when getting a property within 1km of a school. 
 1. Consider Locations With More Than One School Within the 1km Radius 
 You might be living within 1 or 2km of the school. 
 But if the school is really popular, there’ll be many other children — who also live in the vicinity — applying for the same limited spots. 
 If it comes down to a ballot, you have to be prepared that your child may or may not be successful. 
 So instead of sending your child to wherever MOE decides. 
 It’s not a bad idea to expand your list of preferred schools a bit more. 
 P.S. You can use the “Find Schools Near a Building” option on OneMap to help you do this. 
 2. Pick a Co-ed School 
 Choosing to live near a co-ed school means that your child or children can all attend the same school. 
 This will definitely make school runs a lot easier. 
 And you might even be able to save on textbooks and materials for the younger child. 
 Since they can just share or reuse whatever their older sibling had. 
 3. Pay Attention to the Layout 
 When choosing between different housing estates, pay attention to the layout and routes to school. 
 One might have a more direct route. 
 While the other might require your child to cross 5 roads, pass an obstacle course, and jump through a ring of fire. 
 Source: Adventure Time 
 I’m exaggerating. 
 But you get what I mean. 
 4. Be Close But Not That Close 
 While it’s great that you live right across the road from the school. 
 You need to think about the potential congestion around your estate when other parents drop off or pick up their kids. 
 Being close to the school compound also means that it might be a  little  noisier throughout the day. 
 4-Room HDB Resale Flat Prices Within 1km Radius of Popular Primary Schools 
 With HDB BTOs, it’s already hard enough to get a ballot. 
 Much less find a project that  just nice  will be built right next to the school of your choice. 
 So you’re probably better off looking at  HDB Resale flats  instead since you’ll have the  flexibility  of choosing the location of your property. 
 With this in mind, I went to the HDB website and looked up the  transacted prices for resale flats  within the past 12 months. 
 My criteria? 
 
 4-Room HDB flat (since that’s the most popular flat type amongst Singaporeans) 
 within 1km radius of the primary school in question 
 not a Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat (because they’re usually priced at a premium over regular HDB flats) 
 doesn’t matter which level the flat is at (because that would just make my life even harder…) 
 
 And this is what I found: 
 
 
 
 Popular Primary Schools in Singapore Type of School Affiliated to Area Street Name 
(within 1km) 4-Room HDB Resale Price 
(average from past 1 year's resale transactions) 
 
 
 
 
 Ai Tong School Co-ed - Bishan Bright Hill Dr $507,000 
 
 
 Sin Ming Avenue $538,000 
 
 
 Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) Boys Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) 
 
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)  Newton No data available 
 
 
 Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) Boys Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) 
 
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)  Novena No data available 
 
 
 Catholic High School (Primary) Boys Catholic High School Bishan Bishan St 22 $593,000 
 
 
 Bishan St 24 $542,000 
 
 
 CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School (Primary) Girls CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School Ang Mo Kio Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 $369,000 
 
 
 Ang Mo Kio St 11 $372,000 
 
 
 Gongshang Primary School Co-ed - Tampines Tampines St 21 $417,000 
 
 
 Tampines St 42 $392,000 
 
 
 Henry Park Primary School Co-ed - Holland Road Ghim Moh Link $784,000 
 
 
 Ghim Moh Road $505,000 
 
 
 Maris Stella High School (Primary) Boys Maris Stella High School Bartley Serangoon Ave 1 $596,000 
 
 
 Joo Seng Road $424,000 
 
 
 Methodist Girls' School (Primary) Girls Methodist Girls' School (Secondary) Bukit Timah No data available 
 
 
 Nan Hua Primary School Co-ed - Clementi Clementi Ave 3 $674,000 
 
 
 Clementi Ave 4 $424,000 
 
 
 Nanyang Primary School Co-ed Nanyang Girls' High School Bukit Timah Queen's Road $538,000 
 
 
 Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School Co-ed - Toh Tuck Toh Yi Drive $661,000 
 
 
 Radin Mas Primary School Co-ed - Bukit Purmei Jalan Membina $659,000 
 
 
 Kim Tian Road $698,000 
 
 
 Raffles Girls' Primary School Girls - Bukit Timah No data available 
 
 
 Red Swastika School Co-ed - Bedok Bedok North Ave 3 $387,000 
 
 
 Bedok North Road $539,000 
 
 
 Rosyth School Co-ed - Serangoon North Serangoon North Ave 3 $387,000 
 
 
 Serangoon North Ave 4 $363,000 
 
 
 Rulang Primary School Co-ed - Jurong West Jurong West Ave 1 $320,000 
 
 
 Jurong West St 52 $410,000 
 
 
 St. Hilda's Primary School Co-ed St. Hilda's Secondary School Tampines West Tampines St 81 $408,000 
 
 
 Tampines St 82 $402,000 
 
 
 Tao Nan School Co-ed - Marine Parade Marine Crescent $465,000 
 
 
 Marine Dr $504,000 
 
 
 Temasek Primary School Co-ed - Bedok South Bedok South Ave 3 $408,000 
 
 
 Bedok South Road $359,000 
 
 
 
 Note: information is correct as of 28 August 2020; all prices rounded up to the nearest $1,000 
 Oh, remember that these are just  past  transactional resale prices. 
 So we’ll just be using them as a broad gauge because nobody can guarantee that prices will stay this way moving forward. 
 So… Is It Expensive To Live Within 1km of a Popular Primary School? 
 For certain schools like Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), Methodist Girls’ School (Primary), and Raffles Girls’ Primary School. 
 Finding an HDB flat in those areas might be difficult as they’re predominantly surrounded by private housing or condos (read: expensive). 
 Using the indicative prices for a 4-Room HDB BTO flat during the  HDB BTO launch in August 2020  as a comparison since  BTOs are supposed to be cheaper than Resale : 
 CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School (Primary) in Ang Mo Kio 
 BTO in general area (Kebun Baru Edge): $423,000 to $550,000 
 Resale within 1km of school: ~$370,000 
 Catholic High School (Primary) in Bishan 
 BTO in general area (Bishan Towers): $484,000 to $617,000 
 Resale within 1km of school: ~$567,500 
 St Hilda’s Primary School in Tampines 
 BTO in general area (Tampines GreenOpal): $311,000 to $390,000 
 Resale within 1km of school: ~$405,000 
 . 
 . 
 . 
 The verdict? 
 It depends. 
 For certain popular primary schools, the cost of an HDB Resale flat that is within a 1km radius  isn’t that different  from the cost of an HDB BTO in the same general area. 
 Also, with the BTO, it might not even be anywhere near the popular primary school. 
 So does that mean that resale is the way? 
 Not quite… the resale prices which I listed don’t take into account stuff like 
 
 which floor the resale flat is at (the higher it is, the more expensive) 
 the surrounding amenities of certain properties (which is why one block of flats might be more expensive than another despite both being in the same area) 
 
 But what this tells us is that before you  apply for an HDB BTO , you might want to shop around for an HDB Resale flat too. 
 Especially if you have a particular primary school in mind. 
 On top of that, with the  Enhanced CPF Housing Grant and Proximity Housing Grant  available for Resale flat buyers. 
 You might even end up  paying lesser  for an HDB Resale flat which is in an  even better location  as compared to an HDB BTO. 
 After all, you can’t really put a price on your child’s education, right? 

https://blog.seedly.sg/cost-live-within-1km-popular-primary-school/