Five Reasons Why You Should Buy a Toa Payoh Condo
- By Ethan Hariyono
- 4 mins read
- Private Residential (Non-Landed)
- 10 Dec 2024
The Toa Payoh Lorong 1 GLS site that made headlines when it was awarded a year ago, and will be launched in 1Q 2025, as a condo called The Orie.
The new development will be built in place of an old police compound, which was an iconic structure that’s a key part of Toa Payoh’s rich and colourful history.
The town is one of the oldest estates in Singapore that frequently sees many high value public housing transactions. Despite this, private housing developments in this town are few and far between.
Here are five exciting facts about the estate of Toa Payoh that should convince you that buying a condo here is the right choice!
1. Few Condo Projects in Toa Payoh
If you look at the neighbourhoods of Toa Payoh, you will find that private housing developments in this town are few and far between.
We can count only four private condos: Trellis Towers, Oleander Towers, Trevista, and the Gem Residences with its location in the town of Toa Payoh. An upcoming development, The Orie will launch in early 2025 as the fifth condo in Toa Payoh.
The most recent Toa Payoh launch prior to The Orie is the 576-unit Gem Residences was launched in 2016.
Coincidentally, the site is also located right opposite Gem Residences. Based on a land parcel size of 15,743 square meter (sqm) and a plot ratio of 4.2, the Orie will offer some 777 housing units, making it the largest condominium development in Toa Payoh to date.
Larger condos have their benefits, such as a wider range of facilities, and higher resale transaction volume, which in turn drives prices.
2. There is a strong HDB market ready to supply upgraders in the area
One of the most interesting things to consider when buying into a project in a high-demand, low-supply area like the Toa Payoh is the potential exit strategy.
Chart 1: Million-dollar flat transactions in Toa Payoh and Bishan (as of Nov 2024)
Source: data.gov.sg as of 4 Dec 2024, ERA Research and Market Intelligence
Firstly, there are many million-dollar flats being transacted in Toa Payoh, and the neighbouring city fringe town of Bishan. These two towns rank among the top 5 HDB towns for million-dollar flat transactions, with 104 and 71 respectively.
Unless drastic cooling measures come into play, this is a trend that is likely to stay in the future, especially as newer flats in these towns remain scarce.
With a short supply of private condo upgrade options in these towns, a new condo development in the area is likely to catch the eyes of some of these million-dollar flat upgraders!
Furthermore, the median resale prices of 4-room and 5-room flats in Toa Payoh are $800,000 and $920,000 respectively, putting prices across the board in the upper percentile of HDB prices islandwide.
Chart 2: Price ranges of HDB flats in Toa Payoh and Bishan (3-room and larger) up to 3Q 2024
Source: HDB as of 4 Dec 2024, ERA Research and Market Intelligence
The high resale price tags that these resale flats go for means that these homeowners will have the capability to upgrade to new condo developments in these areas that they have previously lived in.
3. Mature estate with lots of amenities
Toa Payoh is one of the oldest districts in Singapore, and the second satellite town to be developed by the HDB in the 1960’s.
A major benefit of staying in a mature estate is that they are well developed, and chock full of amenities. One of the best parts about staying in Toa Payoh is without a doubt, the makan available. Just look at the seven hawker centres that are dotted around the town!
- Toa Payoh Lor 8 Market and Food Centre
- Kim Keat Palm Market and Food Centre
- Blk 75 Toa Payoh Lor 5 Market and Food Centre
- Toa Payoh Vista Market
- Toa Payoh Palm Spring Market
- Toa Payoh West Market and Food Centre
- Toa Payoh Hub
Image 1: Map of amenities located around condos in Toa Payoh
Source: OneMap, ERA Research and Market Intelligence
Alongside the great number of markets and food centres, Toa Payoh’s HDB estates are home to many shops and merchants, offering goods and services such as bakeries, supermarkets, sundries stores and more.
On the horizon is a new integrated development at the site of the old Toa Payoh Swimming Complex. The development will house a polyclinic, sports centre, and library – all directly connecting to the transport hub.
The upcoming integrated development will feature a polyclinic, sports centre, and library – all directly connecting to the transport hub.
This development is envisioned to be an extension of Toa Payoh Town Centre and a lifestyle destination with community facilities and space.
The development of amenities like this shows that despite being a mature estate, there is always room to modernise and improve upon the facilities in these estates and make better use of Singapore’s scarce land space!
4. Proximity to many good schools
Being within close proximity to well-known and reputable primary schools is a major consideration among those looking to purchase a property, particularly HDB upgraders who have (or plan to have) younger children.
There are four primary schools located within Toa Payoh. Some of these schools are well known for the holistic educational experience they provide their students, and for their academic and co-curricular activity performance.
CHIJ Toa Payoh (Primary) is a popular choice, especially among parents who were former alumni of convent schools. Trellis Towers, Oleander Towers, Trevista, and the upcoming Orie will fall within 1km priority enrolment distance of this school.
Pei Chun Public School is another popular primary school, having a strong multilingual focus in their academic program and producing strong national exam results. Gem Residences, Trevista, and the upcoming Orie will fall within 1km priority enrolment distance of this school.
Source: OneMap, ERA Research and Market Intelligence as of 4 Dec 2024.
First Toa Payoh Primary School has Gem Residences, Trevista, and upcoming The Orie listed within 1km, and Kheng Cheng School, noted for its strength in chinese performing arts has Gem Residences, Oleander Towers, Trellis Towers, Trevista and upcoming The Orie listed within 1km.
With the intricate feeder bus network in Toa Payoh, students can easily commute to any school within Toa Payoh. This extends to when they graduate and attend secondary schools in the town, such as Beatty Secondary School, Raffles Girls School and CHIJ Toa Payoh Secondary.
5. City fringe region with good connectivity
It comes without question that the connectivity and location of Toa Payoh is excellent, being a city fringe region, located in the RCR.
Image 4: Map of Toa Payoh’s MRT stations near condos
Source: OneMap, ERA Research and Market Intelligence as of 4 Dec 2024.
Residents of Toa Payoh will have access to two nearby MRT stations on the North South Line, Braddell and Toa Payoh. Toa Payoh MRT is also integrated with Toa Payoh hub, which features many dining options, shops and the bus interchange. With access to the North South Line, Toa Payoh is just 6 minutes from Orchard, and 13 minutes from Raffles Place MRT, two major interchanges in the City Centre.
Also providing accessibility options via the Circle Line and Thomson-East Coast Line is Caldecott MRT, located in Toa Payoh West. Caldecott is notably 10 minutes from the work nodes in Buona Vista and one-north.
Toa Payoh is also well connected via the PIE and CTE, for those who drive as their primary form of transportation.
In the coming years, a new interchange station will be opened at Ang Mo Kio, just 5 minutes away. This will comprise the new and upcoming Cross Island Line, further opening connectivity options to other regions of Singapore.
Disclaimer
This information is provided solely on a goodwill basis and does not relieve parties of their responsibility to verify the information from the relevant sources and/or seek appropriate advice from relevant professionals such as valuers, financial advisers, bankers and lawyers. For avoidance of doubt, ERA Realty Network and its salesperson accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, reliability and/or completeness of the information provided. Copyright in this publication is owned by ERA and this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written approval.
