With major changes across Singapore’s residential infrastructure expected in the next three years, we are launching a special end-of-year series on one of country’s favourite topics: Property and urban development. We’ll be providing more in-depth discussions about the urban development that has been planned and built in the North, South, East, and West regions of Singapore.

It is not only to commemorate how far we have come as a nation, but also a sign of what’s to come for a small city state that gained independence only 57 years ago.

In this article, we are going to focus on the developments in the North of Singapore, which covers the Sembawang and Woodlands regions.

Sembawang

1. Canberra Estate

Arguably, the biggest development in Sembawang is the rise of the Canberra estate. Before 2019, Canberra was still a relatively undeveloped area. This was until the condos and HDBs started to rise around the relatively new Canberra MRT station. The MRT station which opened in 2019, opened Singaporeans’ eyes to an area that had decent amenities and (more importantly) affordable housing price.

Canberra Plaza and Bukit Canberra soon followed. In particular, Bukit Canberra, which fully opens at the end of this year, is a one-stop community area that brings sports, community, food, and healthcare together.

This means you can find the library, hawker centre, polyclinic, swimming pool, gym, indoor sports hall, and retail shops all under one roof. Bukit Canberra is also designed to integrate healthcare with social activities so that preventive care and healthy living can be part of everyday life.

The development of the Canberra estate has been one of the driving reasons why HDB prices in Sembawang has been trending steadily over the last 2 years.

2. JTC Food Hub @ Senoko

In the eyes of urban planners, every region needs to have its own commercial activity. Having commercial activity can drive job opportunities in the region, which in turn drives the value of the properties around the area.

That’s why the JTC Food Hub @ Senoko, that was designed and built to support small batch production, is so vital for Sembawang. Not only does the hub help to support Singapore’s food security, it also helps to elevate the valuation of properties around the area.

Woodlands

But the most exciting developments that will happen in the North is in Woodlands.

1. Woodlands Regional Centre

Woodlands Regional Centre is an area of 100 hectares of land that will become the Northern region’s commercial hub for better job-creation in the area. It aims to drive the economic development for the entire North region for the next 15 years as new spaces for business, industry, research & development, and learning & innovation are introduced.

The peripheral infrastructure to support this new regional centre is also ready. For instance, Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) connecting Woodlands to the city centre has already begun operations, enhancing Woodlands’ connectivity to key destinations in Singapore.

2. Woodlands North Coast & Woodlands Central

In the Woodlands Regional Centre, there will be two new business nodes: Woodlands Central and Woodlands North Coast. These two precincts will provide flexible offices, industrial spaces, and residential living spaces for those who wish to live within the area.

Woodlands North Coast will be a unique waterfront area with well-connected mixed-use business and lifestyle precinct that is catered for both small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and multi-national corporations (MNCs). Woodlands Central will be where most of the economic activities will take place as the centre of the regional hub with a good mix of office, retail, residential, and entertainment spaces.

Beyond work, Woodlands will also be a great space for all sorts of living amenities. There will be lifestyle spaces like WoodsVista Gallery and North Coast Vista, which are community links with designated cycling and walking paths.

You can also find scenic trails and a nature promenade at Woodlands Waterfront where you can enjoy the heritage waterfront alongside the Rustic Coast. Woods Square, an integrated office development with retail, F&B and a childcare centre will also be within the Woodlands Regional Centre.

Given the upcoming developments in Woodlands, it may very well become the next Paya Lebar. We all knew what happened to property prices in Paya Lebar once they attained the regional centre status. Of course, the caveat is that Paya Lebar has a much closer location to the city centre (i.e. city fringe location).

Buying a property in The North of Singapore

If the developments in the North region excites you like it excites us, you may want to consider buying into a BTO, resale HDB, or condo in the North. However, do note that BTOs in Woodlands can become quite the hot commodity.

ALSO READ: Top districts with the most profitable sales (for HDB, condo and landed) in the last 5 years

This is especially true in the recent BTO exercises where application rates for Woodlands BTO have been high. For instance, UrbanVille @ Woodlands and Champions Bliss hit an application rate of 7.2 couples per available unit. Application rate for Woodgrove Ascent was 5.0.

This article was first published in Mortgage Master.