Buying property in Yishun? Here's what you need to know about this northern neighbourhood

Yishun is one of the most meme-worthy neighbourhoods in Singapore. It’s nicknames include “The Devil’s Ring” and to date, it’s the only neighbourhood to have inspired a website entirely about its strange happenings.

It’s also one of the rare non-central parts of Singapore to appear in a US-based Netflix series (in the horror series Stranger Things, that is).

These days. Yishun has calmed down a lot (the crime rate plunged a whopping 59 per cent, between 2010 to 2016); and the jokes about Yishun are mainly just that – jokes. Yishun today is regarded as a mature family friendly area.

In particular, Springleaf and Nee Soon – both within Yishun – are well regarded private housing enclaves.

Facts about Yishun

• District 27
• Nine subzones, including Khatib, Lower Seletar, Nee Soon, Northland, Springleaf, Yishun Central, Yishun East, Yishun South, and Yishun West
• Estimated population of 243,290 as of 2019, with a density of about 5,600 per km2
• Average size of about 21.2 km2
• Yishun became Singapore’s first designated dementia-friendly town in 2016; the area was chosen because of its larger population of seniors.
• Yishun was once home to the biggest multiplex cinema in the whole of Asia (the 10-screen GV Yishun).

Primary Schools

• Ahmad Ibrahim Primary School
• Chongfu Primary School
• Huamin Primary School
• Jiemin Primary School
• Mayflower Primary School
• Naval Base Primary School
• Northland Primary School
• North View Primary School
• Peiying Primary School
• Peixin Primary School
• Xishan Primary School
• Yishun Primary School

Secondary Schools

• Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School
• Mayflower Secondary School
• Naval Base Secondary School
• North View Secondary School
• Northbrooks Secondary School
• Northland Secondary School
• Yishun Secondary School
• Yishun Town Secondary School
• Chung Heng High School (Yishun)

Other Schools

• Yishun Junior College
• ITE College Central
• Gems World Academy

Malls

• Northpoint City (serves as Yishun’s public library, as well as Nee Soon Central’s Community Club)
• Junction 9
• Wisteria Mall

MRT stations

• Yishun MRT
• Khatib MRT
• Springleaf MRT

Average flat prices

The average price of a resale flat in Yishun today is $387 psf. This is up from $343 psf 10 years ago, an increase of 12.8 per cent.

3-room flats

The average price of a 3-room flat in Yishun is $394 psf. This is up from $372 psf the last decade, an increase of 5.9 per cent.

4-room flats

The average price of a 4-room in Yishun is $369 psf. This is up from $332 psf, 10 years prior. This is an increase of 11.1 per cent.

5-room flats

5-room flats in Yishun average $400 psf today, up from $305 psf, 10 years prior. This is an increase of 31.1 per cent.

Overall non-landed private residential prices in District 27

Average condo prices in District 27 (Sembawang and Yishun) average $1,015 psf. This is up from $628 psf in 2010, an increase of about 61.6 per cent.

Top 10 projects ranked by Capital Gain

Top 10 projects ranked by gross rental yield

Project name	Tenure	Completion	Gross yield
Euphony Gardens	99-years	2001	3.7
Lilydale	99-years	2003	3.7
The Nautical	99-years	2015	3.7
Sembawang Cottage	Freehold	1997	3.6
Orchid Park Condominium	99-years	1994	3.6
Yishun Emerald	99-years	2002	3.5
Yishun Sapphire	99-years	2001	3.5
Sun Plaza	99-years	2000	3.4
The Visionaire	99-years	2018	3.3
The Canopy	99-years	2014	3.3

Key drivers to note:

1. There will be a new integrated development in Chong Pang City

This is the biggest development to date, for any home buyers in Yishun.

A new integrated development will be used to rejuvenate the 40+ year old Chong Pang City, which was one of the earliest and longest-running hubs of Yishun (Chong Pang is also where the first apartment block in Yishun was built, in 1976).

It’s expected to span 0.9 hectares, and be up and running by 2027.

 The stalls at Chong Pang food market, which is one of the anchor points of Yishun, will be invited to move into the new development.

It will also feature pools, gyms, and new shops.

2. Yishun has an elderly population, and the neighbourhood is geared to providing for this

About 10 per cent of Yishun’s population is aged 65 or over. As such, there’s a strong healthcare and eldercare component in its planning.

Yishun Community Hospital is a 428-bed facility, specifically for recuperating patients (i.e. no intensive care). This supplements Khoo Teck Huat Hospital, which is freed up to handle any emergency / intensive care cases.

There are also two new nursing homes coming up soon in Yishun; this will be in Yishun Central and Yishun Ring Road.

As we mentioned above, Yishun is Singapore’s first dementia-friendly neighbourhood; this includes grass-roots level activity to have residents help out in eldercare facilities (this also includes participating business entities, such as the local McDonald’s and Northpoint shopping mall security).

3. Yishun’s accessibility has been one of the most improved over the past decade, compared to other mature estates

This is mainly due to Springleaf MRT station, which now provides a connection to the Thomson – East Coast Line (TEL).

This resolves a longstanding problem in the mainly private housing enclave of Springlead, which previously had limited MRT access.

Yishun Avenue 8, completed in 2015, is an alternative route allowing faster access to Central, Tampines, and Seletar expressways.

Finally, Northpoint Mall is now part of an integrated transport hub. It’s the connecting point between the bus interchange and the Yishun MRT station, making it quite easy for residents to get around via public transport.

4. Yishun has a stronger web presence than almost any other estate

Yishun generates more memes and internet discussions than almost any other neighbourhood. We’ll leave this to you to decide if it’s a positive or negative (it might help if you’re listing a property in Yishun in future).

This article was first published in Stackedhomes.