‘ ACS Primary’ move to Tengah may increase home value

The median resale price in District 11 S $1,791 psf in 2022 was based on condo resale prices within 1 km of the school site, and S $2,116 per square foot psf, said Ms Sun.

She expects the prices of homes within 1 km of the new school location in Tengah to be 10 to 15 per cent higher than the district average price.

The moving of a popular primary school to a co-ed school will benefit the residents in Tengah. There is a rise in value in homes, not all of which will experience a rise in value. Ms Sun said it is likely that it will increase the value of homes within 1 km to 2 km of the school.

The impact of the area will not be immediately felt as the area is still under development, with most of the housing projects under the HDB, according to Ms Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty. The Copen Grand EC, launched last year, is fully sold.

Given the popularity of the school, we think it will support demand for homes and leasing prospects in Tengah in the years to come. There is a good chance that this will help to push up home prices. Huttons senior research director Lee Sze Teck said that the relocation is good news for buyers of BTO flats and Copen Grand EC in Tengah.

This may boost the application rate of flats in Tengah in the February BTO exercise. He said it could lower the rejection rate of BTO flats.

He said that the Government has moved popular schools to new HDB towns. For example, Nan Chiau Primary School was moved to Sengkang and Mee Toh School to Punggol.

It may increase the attractiveness of Tengah and attract more young families in the long run. This has been observed for Sengkang and Punggol. Rents of houses with 1 km of ACS Primary may be up to 10 per cent more than those outside 1 km, he said.

There are two executive condominium sites along Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 and Avenue 8 that will be opened for sale in 2023-24, and these may see more applications from young families, according to Mr Lee.

There is an existing private condominium, Le Quest, that may draw more interest from potential buyers and tenants when ACS Primary moves to Tengah.

Ms Sun thinks families may consider staying longer in Tengah due to the school. Many families tend to move away from non-mature estates to enroll their children in popular schools in other areas.

Propnex said that the shifting of ACS Primary - a popular and known as an 'elite' school to the heartlands is a move in the right direction, as it will give more equal access to the school, according to Propnex's Ms Wong.

We believe that the relocation will increase the appeal of Tengah and draw more young couples and families to the new estate. A second ACS junior will move from Winstedt Road to Barker Road besides the move to Tengah, but the move will only be completed around 2039.

The secondary school, ACS Barker Road, shares the site with ACS Primary, continues to be at Barker Road.

There are other reasons to buy properties there, but the rents could fall if the moves happen, according to analysts.

It could affect the home prices and rentals of homes in the Winstedt Road area, although it may not be substantial since demand should still be healthy, given its proximity to Newton MRT station and Orchard Road, Ms Wong said.

The Barker Road area has a lot of home values and rents that are expected to hold up. She said that the average price of non-landed private homes within 1 km of Winstedt Road was S $2,327 psf in 2022, about 7.5 per cent higher than the District 11 average.

In the long run, he thinks that when ACS Junior moves to the Barker site, there may be an impact on the rents of homes by up to 10 per cent around the Cairnhill area near Winstedt Road.