As every Singaporean interested in property knows, the presence of a nearby school can impact the price of one's property, either positively or negatively. (Generally, it's seen as a positive factor when it's a famous Primary School within 1 km of the property.
On the other hand, if it's too close to the property, the noise can influence the desirability of the house.) Hence, I thought to take you guys on a tour of the Watten area today, seeing how it's not just within walking distance of not just one school, but four famous ones!
Raffles Girls' Primary
NJC
Nanyang
Hwa Chong
Here's a map for those not familiar with the area. PHOTO: Stackedhomes
Despite being a short stroll to Raffles Primary (the closest school), you're not close enough to be affected by the noise, as there is Hillcrest Road in between. (We toured Hillcrest estate a while back.)
Properties near schools can see an overwhelming influx of vehicles blocking the roads when it's time to drop off the kids/pick up the kids from school.
Thankfully, although residents of Watten will be affected when they drive along the main roads (Dunearn/Bukit Timah Road), they can enter their estate via 2 other roads (Watten Estate Road/Shelford Road) which are located after Raffles Primary (and thus less likely to be clogged up by the cars of the school-going children.)
Now that that's out of the way, let's get on with our tour!
Here's the Masterplan of the area. The light yellow plots are the schools, whilst Watten estate is behind the long rectangular green bit (Bougainvillea Park) so you can see exactly how close they are! PHOTO: Stackedhomes
I was somewhat surprised to see that I couldn't find parking along Watten Park, so I ended up driving over to the Watten Estate Road cul-de-sac to park. (The infamous parking cones/dustbins used to reserve street parking space were spotted, but the roads were wide enough that there was no problem driving through.)
The houses on this Watten Estate Road cul-de-sac are amongst the biggest that we see on today's tour. PHOTO: StackedhomesDespite their age, they're pretty built up. (Often, older properties are single stories, or 2 stories.) PHOTO: StackedhomesOne or two have been rebuilt. PHOTO: StackedhomesI like how they have vintage architecture, which you can see through the car porch and the back garden of the house! It makes the property feel more open, and you can also park more cars. Maybe that's why I could find a space to park here? PHOTO: StackedhomesThe cul-de-sac is not very long, and this is what the view towards the "main" Watten Estate Road looks like. PHOTO: StackedhomesAt the turn-out, looking to the left (towards the main Dunearn Road.) PHOTO: StackedhomesLooking to the right — this brings you deeper into Watten Estate, eventually reaching Watten Estate Condo. PHOTO: StackedhomesConsidering that Watten Estate Road is not a through road and is a street in a residential enclave, I was surprised by how fast the cars were driving. I might not have been the only one to have noticed, as there were many signs encouraging drivers to go at a slower pace. PHOTO: StackedhomesCrossed over to the other side — see what I mean about not being able to find a space to park? PHOTO: StackedhomesWhilst not detached, the units here were also on the larger side. This is reflected in the prices. I have to warn you that even some condos here are going for $5 million+. (To be fair, they're large units.) There are, as mentioned earlier, some terrace units along Watten Drive. However, this isn't the right area to go property shopping if your budget is on the tighter side. (For those with smaller budgets who want to live in this neighbourhood, we'll tour other parts of this area in search of more terrace houses soon.) PHOTO: StackedhomesA surprisingly large number of properties had not been redeveloped but we did see a couple that had been rebuilt, such as the one above. I really like the "green" gate which lets air and light through but still preserves your privacy! Also a good way for avid gardeners to find more space for planting in land-constrained Singapore. PHOTO: StackedhomesThe infamous parking cones to "chope" parking space. PHOTO: StackedhomesSee what I mean about the size of the units (and your property bill)? PHOTO: StackedhomesPHOTO: StackedhomesPHOTO: StackedhomesPassed more houses along the way on our way to Bougainvillea Park. PHOTO: StackedhomesPHOTO: StackedhomesThe houses on my left are the closest to the main road. It's also, as you can see, impossible to find street parking along this stretch. Behind the row of cars is Bougainvillea Park which serves as a buffer between the houses and Dunearn Road (a very busy road.) It's mainly semi-Ds here. PHOTO: StackedhomesThat's Watten Drive in the distance, and your best bet of finding a terrace unit within this part of the estate. PHOTO: StackedhomesThere's a Residents' Hub within the park! First time I've seen one. It even looks like it might have AC? PHOTO: StackedhomesSome outdoor exercise equipment. PHOTO: StackedhomesOpposite the park is a preschool. I like this practical arrangement of having all the potential noise producers together (the preschool, the park, and the main road.) PHOTO: StackedhomesThat's where the row of houses along Watten Drive meets Dunearn Road. Houses closest to the main road can be difficult to move due to potential noise and dust issues but I saw a "sold" banner on the outermost house. PHOTO: StackedhomesI've driven on Dunearn Road thousands of times, but I never realised that there was a public car park there! (Just next to Bougainvillea Park.) Handy for when you have visitors, although it was full when I walked by. PHOTO: StackedhomesAnd here's Dunearn Road. Don't be deceived by the single car. This road gets busy during peak hours! PHOTO: StackedhomesLooking to the right — the overhead bridge will bring you to Hwa Chong. PHOTO: StackedhomesPHOTO: StackedhomesAnother sheltered walkway to the left which brings you to the bus stop and MRT station. PHOTO: StackedhomesView of the park from the pedestrian path — the park and the houses are more private than I had expected. PHOTO: StackedhomesYou can barely even see the row of houses in some parts thanks to the vegetation. PHOTO: StackedhomesNice landscaping. PHOTO: StackedhomesNow you sometimes hear me talking about the nearby MRT station on these landed tours. But despite being located within walking distance, they're not always close enough that you can walk all the way over (it is hot in Singapore!) Tan Kah Kee MRT station is so near the houses, we will walk all the way over today. (The shaded walkway also helps.) PHOTO: StackedhomesAs shown above, there's even a shaded walkway from the middle of Watten Park, so the houses in the middle have easier access! PHOTO: StackedhomesView through the walkway to the houses. PHOTO: StackedhomesBesides the MRT, there are also so many buses that stop along this road! (When I visited Ellington Square last week, there were only two buses that stopped right outside, despite being in the middle of an HDB estate — so this was a nice find.) PHOTO: StackedhomesThis MRT is even wheelchair accessible! As I travel with elderly relatives, I write about mobility-friendly travel to Korea (they sometimes need a wheelchair), so I'm always interested in accessibility. PHOTO: StackedhomesAnd before you know it, we've reached the MRT. PHOTO: StackedhomesSome of the houses are so close, you have a good view of them from the entrance of the MRT. PHOTO: StackedhomesThe opposite end of Watten Park. PHOTO: StackedhomesHere's another vehicular/pedestrian entrance/exit to Watten estate: Watten Estate Road. (To refresh your memory, the previous entrance/exit was Watten Drive. There's also a 3rd via Shelford Road AND you can also drive in via Hillcrest Road, if you don't mind squeezing with the school kids. PHOTO: Stackedhomes
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