The relocation of Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) from its current Barker Road campus in Newton to Tengah in 2030 will likely boost interest in upcoming homes in the new town, said property analysts.

They predicted that future Build-To-Order (BTO) projects in Tengah would see an increase in applicants, particularly for those located within 2km of the new ACS (Primary). Two upcoming executive condominium (EC) projects in Bukit Batok West, which fall within 1km of the school, are expected to see higher demand as well.

Announcing the relocation on Thursday, the Ministry of Education said the new ACS (Primary) will also accept girls for the first time from 2030.

Properties near popular primary schools are often highly sought after by both home owners and investors hoping to rent out their units, as priority admission is given to those who live nearer to the schools.

OrangeTee & Tie senior vice-president of research and analytics Christine Sun said properties near popular schools can draw a price premium of up to 15 per cent, and their prices tend to rise faster than those of others in the same district, based on transaction data from recent years.

For instance, condo resale prices within 1km of ACS (Primary) at the current Barker Road campus in District 11 of Newton and Novena are around $2,116 per sq ft (psf) – about 18.1 per cent higher compared with the median resale price of $1,791 psf in the same district, said Ms Sun.

But rental demand and resale prices of properties around the school in Barker Road could dip slightly after it relocates in 2030, but should not be greatly affected as there are other schools within the area and its prime location will prop up prices, said analysts.

There is also unlikely to be any immediate impact on property prices in Tengah as the town is still under development, they added.

Huttons Asia senior director of research Lee Sze Teck said the relocation of ACS (Primary) may increase the appeal of Tengah and draw more young couples and families to the new estate.

He noted that this was the case in other estates, such as when Nan Chiau Primary School was relocated to Sengkang in 2000 and Mee Toh School to Punggol in 2004.

Ms Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty, said the popularity of ACS (Primary) will help support demand for homes and leasing prospects in Tengah in the years to come. “So there is a good chance that this will help to push up home prices.”

Tengah, which is around the size of Bishan and is billed as a “forest town” in the western part of Singapore, will provide about 42,000 new homes when completed. Of these, about 30,000 units will be for public housing and 12,000 for private housing. The first batch of BTO flats in Tengah was launched in 2018.

A BTO project will be launched in Tengah in the February sales exercise, but it is still unclear if it will fall within 2km of the relocated ACS (Primary). The May BTO sales exercise will also offer new flats in Tengah, but site details have yet to be released.

Huttons’ Mr Lee said the two side-by-side EC projects in Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 and 8 are likely to see high interest from young families when they are launched for sale in 2023 or 2024.

Buyers of the first EC development in Tengah – Copen Grand – will enjoy a first-mover advantage, he added. The development is fully sold out.

Primary school teacher Lindsey Lim, 48, who bought a two-bedroom plus study unit at Copen Grand for her own stay, said the news of the relocation gives her additional assurance that there will likely be a pool of potential buyers should she decide to sell her unit.

“Parents are willing to pay a higher price, if they can afford it, to secure a place for their children. So having an established school like ACS (Primary) will definitely value add and bring assurance to future residents in Tengah estate,” said Ms Lim, who added that she will consider getting a transfer to teach at ACS (Primary) when she moves into her new home, to save time on commuting.

Credit: Straits Times