Touring Loyang Villas: Shophouse-styled terrace houses in Changi from $1.8 million

If you've always wanted to live in a landed house, but have a limited budget (and don't mind living in the East), Loyang Villas is definitely an area that you should pay attention to.

It is one of the largest and most inexpensive leasehold landed estates that I've toured so far, consisting of 423 very interesting terrace houses. Currently, listings start from $1.8 million for a terrace house and $2.35 million for a 3,000 sq ft corner terrace, with sales transacting at under $2 million as recently as February 2022. (The three sales in March 2022 were over $2 million, but these were for slightly larger plots of land - over 2,000 sq ft versus the typical 1,600 - 1,700 sq ft plot).

We've mentioned Loyang Villas in the past in our cheapest landed homes in Singapore article. When we last wrote that piece, there had been 83 profitable transactions and six unprofitable transactions in the area, with the last three sales between $1.48 and $1.5 million.

We didn't go into much detail about the neighbourhood in that article, and with so much demand for affordable living space in Singapore now, I thought it was high time we gave the district a second look.

Located at the serene Loyang Rise and Loyang View, Loyang Villas was developed by GuoccoLand and TOP-ed around 1996, with 99-year leases starting from May 1, 1993, so the houses are just shy of 30 years old. It's still enough to house one generation at least but past the crucial 20-year mark.

As you may already know, leasehold landed properties are usually bought for lifestyle or rental income and not capital gains. (If you're looking at asset appreciation, the 20-year mark is a key milestone for leasehold landed properties. For those wondering about the rental prospects of the area, the most recent rental contracts were between $3,800 - $5,000.)

Banks also pay attention to the remaining tenure of leasehold properties when issuing loans, so the age of the property would have an impact on the pool of future buyers, and thus future resale prices. Two things to keep in mind:

1. For properties with 59 years or less on their lease, bank financing is limited.
2. If there are 30 years or less on the lease, buyers won't be allowed to use their Central Provident Fund (CPF) funds for the purchase.

Anyway, enough about money and back to the estate: The houses at Loyang Villas are beautiful as they were constructed in the Peranakan shophouse style, which I personally love.

You'll have a lovely view from your windows, looking at your neighbour's houses. In addition, the houses have a very nice setback from the opposite ones, as there are pavements on both sides of the road. 

I find the two pavements quite impractical though, as they're too narrow to be useful. Everyone I saw jogging and walking around the estate was walking on the main road instead of on the pavements, and that also means the road is quite narrow.

This isn't helped by the fact that almost everyone seems to park by the roadside, there are so many cars in this estate that some sections had cars parked on both sides of the road, which makes getting through somewhat like an obstacle course. (Some houses had more than one car and others preferred to keep their front yards clear).

I visited during a non-festive period and already I had to traverse the estate for two to three times to find parking, so I can't imagine what the situation will be like during the festive season!

Before heading over to Loyang Rise, I had the impression that it was super inaccessible (probably due to a friend who used to live in Changi and would always gripe about how far it was from everything).

However, after viewing the estate, I must say that it is actually very well-connected: There are multiple entry and exit points for both cars and pedestrians, with bus stops at most of them. It is also pretty much right by the PIE, so it's easy to get to and from other parts of Singapore by car.

The typically three-storey houses here are very interesting as they come in various layouts: Some have many split levels whilst others have the more typical, "flatter" house layout (some with a double volume ceiling over the living room.) A picture (or video, in this case) paints a 1000 words, so I'll let you see the difference for yourself. Click here for the split level house and here for the double volume ceiling layout.

Personally, I find the latter "regular" house much more liveable as the many split levels and low ceiling make the first type of house feel extremely small and cramped and the stairs are also a trip hazard for the elderly. 

Some of the houses here have two entrances. One into the ground floor and another up the stairs to the main living area of the house, so you could potentially convert them into dual key houses. (Note: I'm not sure the bedroom on the ground floor has a bathroom though, which obviously is a necessity if you want to split the property!)

Moreover, a few of the rooms have balconies. It's large enough that you can get some fresh air, but not so big that your internal living space is eaten into - which would definitely be a plus if anyone has to quarantine for Covid.

The houses here vary quite a bit in layout: Some have basements and backdoors leading right to the bus stops outside the estate, so it'd be wise to spend some time researching the various listings to choose a property that best suits your lifestyle and needs if you're thinking of moving here.

Amenities

As mentioned above, there are plenty of bus stops surrounding the estate. In addition, the upcoming Loyang MRT will also improve the accessibility of the area, although that is only due to start operating around 2030.

There is a very small of empty land that has been labelled a "smoke-free park" in the estate. (It's so small, it's smaller than the gardens in many houses I've seen).

For parents of non-fur kids, there are four childcare centres within 500m of the estate, as well as one within it. However, there is only one Primary School within the coveted 1 km mark (White Sands Primary) and another four within 2 km from the estate.

There is also a Shell petrol station across the road, near enough that it's convenient to fuel up, but not so near that you worry about fires or fumes.

The entire forested area above that is surrounding the Shell petrol station is zoned residential under the URA Master Plan with a plot ratio of 1.6.

In terms of shops, Loyang Villas isn't very exciting, although I'm guessing people move here to be away from the hustle and bustle of town (and the "cheap" prices.) There are several HDB estates around Loyang Villas and Loyang Point is also a ten minute or so walk away, but not much more than that.

Parc Komo will be completed sometime in 2023, and with that, the commercial shops called Komo Shoppes will have 28 retail units here. Fairprice Finest and Coffeebean have been announced as confirmed tenants, which will be a much-needed boost to the immediate enclave.

ALSO READ: Touring Victoria Park Villas: A stylish leasehold landed enclave in District 10 next to GCBs

This article was first published in Stackedhomes.