New rules for P1 registration could widen home search for parents eyeing popular schools

SINGAPORE - Parents hoping to get their children into 12 sought-after primary schools might now cast their property search wider, following new rules that will set aside spots for children who live more than 2km away from the school.

But property analysts do not expect demand for homes near these schools to drop.

Many of the 12 schools are located in prime districts – such as Bukit Timah and Marine Parade – that remain popular among buyers for reasons beyond their proximity to schools, said Eugene Lim, key executive officer of property agency ERA Singapore.

Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at property firm Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Group, added that demand within 2km of these schools may remain firm, as parents may perceive that they face less competition in this pool, compared with the islandwide pool for those living farther away.

“However, the robust demand is not likely to cause prices to escalate, as parents will not need to live as close to the school as possible now,” Sun said.

From the 2027 Primary 1 registration exercise, 12 schools will adopt a two-track system under Phase 2C, with 30 places reserved for children living within 2km of the school and another 30 for those living farther away.

These schools were picked because public housing makes up less than 40 per cent of homes within a 2km radius from the school, with the aim to widen access to schools and improve social mixing.

Phase 2C is for children without prior ties to the school and where the distance between the child’s home and school plays a role in admission.

However, for the 12 selected schools, home-school distance will not be considered within each track, meaning that a child living within 1km of the school will have no priority over another living between 1km and 2km.

For almost all schools – except those with smaller intakes – the number of places reserved for Phase 2C will increase from 40 to 60.

Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at property agency PropNex, felt it is too early to tell how these changes will affect the property market, but said there may be a “slight moderation or redistribution of school-driven demand” around the 12 schools.

It could reduce the incentive for some families to pay a premium to live within the immediate 1km or 2km radius for registration purposes, she added.

The 12 schools are: Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) (Junior); ACS Primary; CHIJ (Katong) Primary; Methodist Girls’ School (Primary); Nanyang Primary School; Ngee Ann Primary School; Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School; Raffles Girls’ Primary School; Singapore Chinese Girls’ Primary School; St Margaret’s School (Primary); Tanjong Katong Primary School; and Tao Nan School.

Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at real estate agency Huttons Asia, said the new system could widen the geographical area for those looking to buy a home.

“The demand for homes near popular schools will remain but it will widen to a bigger radius,” he said. “The ideal distance may be between 3km and 4km, which translates to a travelling time of 10 to 15 minutes.”

Lee identified several HDB towns about 2km to 4km from the 12 schools that could become practical housing alternatives.

For ACS (Junior), these include Toa Payoh, Kallang/Whampoa and Bukit Merah, while families eyeing Nanyang Primary School could look at Queenstown, said Lee.

The four popular schools in the east could potentially draw families living in Bedok and Marine Parade.

But Wong noted that once an applicant lives beyond 2km of one of the 12 schools, the home location does not provide an advantage under the new track.

“We would not describe any particular HDB town as a direct beneficiary of this change,” said Wong.

Still, the change could give families a wider range of housing options, depending on how far they are prepared to live from one of the 12 schools.

“HDB flats could remain the more economical choice, as their median prices are notably lower than those of comparable-sized condominium units in the same area,” said Lim.

For example, the median resale price of a condominium of between 900 sq ft and 1,000 sq ft in Marine Parade is $2.13 million, compared with the median resale price of a four-room HDB flat at $632,500 in 2026, ERA data showed.

In Bedok, it was $1.43 million for a resale condo, compared with $600,000 for a resale four-room flat. For Toa Payoh the median resale price of a four-room HDB flat is half the price of a resale condo between 900 sq ft and 1,000 sq ft.

These are townwide medians, and do not represent the prices of flats at specific distances from the 12 schools.

A Realion Research study of resale condominiums found some condos near popular schools saw a higher price increment compared with their district average. This means their prices appreciated more than their counterparts in the vicinity, said Sun.

For example, prices of units within 1km of Nanyang Primary School rose 18.2 per cent between the first half of 2022 and the first half of 2026, compared with a 12.4 per cent rise for the wider District 10 (Tanglin, Holland, and Bukit Timah).

The fastest growth was observed for resale condos near Roysth School, which grew 46.8 per cent. Prices of resale condos near Nan Chiau Primary School, Maris Stella High School and Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School grew by over 30 per cent. Only one of these schools – Pei Hwa Presbyterian – is in the list of 12.

Looking ahead, Sun said new growth areas with many new Build-To-Order flats could also benefit from the Phase 2C changes.

For instance, future Tengah residents could apply for ACS (Primary) under the beyond-2km track, while families in Mount Pleasant could consider schools such as Raffles Girls’ Primary and Singapore Chinese Girls’ Primary. Those in Bayshore could apply for Tao Nan School, said Sun.