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Homes near top schools at a premium, but bargains exist

For parents, getting their children into the right school is often at the top of their priority list. Some parents relocate their homes close to what they feel are the best schools to improve the chances of their children being accepted by these schools.

For parents, getting their children into the right school is often at the top of their priority list. Some parents relocate their homes close to what they feel are the best schools to improve the chances of their children being accepted by these schools.

Popular schools, therefore, drive up property prices nearby, as parents work to own homes in neighbourhoods that would allow their children to go to the right schools. The Ministry of Education (MOE) is in the midst of its 2014 Primary 1 registration exercise for admission next year and these are anxious times for the parents of children who are involved.

The MOE spells out the registration procedures on its website. Students are eligible for the early phases of admission if they have siblings in the school of choice, parents who are alumni or whose families have special relationships with the school.

If the number of applications exceeds the number of vacancies during Phases 2 or 3, the school fills the vacancies based on the distance between the home and the school in order of the following priority: (1) within 1km; (2) between 1km and 2km; and (3) more than 2km.

It is this home-school distance criterion that links property prices to schools. SRX has crunched the price per square foot (psf) data for homes within 2km of the 190 primary schools. We then ranked the 10 most popular schools based on the take-up rates as of MOE’s registration exercise Phase 2A(2).

The average psf of homes within 2km of these 10 schools is about 20 per cent higher than the average psf of homes near all 190 primary schools — at S$1,198 and S$995, respectively.

However, the neighbourhood psf of three of these top schools fall below the national average. At a psf price of S$940, homes within 2km of Ai Tong School, located in District 20, are a bargain among homes near the 10 most popular schools. This school is located in District 20 and homes nearby have a psf rank of 95 out of 190.

Homes near six of the 10 most popular primary schools rank in the top quartile in terms of 2km psf neighbourhoods, while four are in the second quartile.

For parents whose children will enter the admission process next year, it is not too early to start planning. If you will need to move to be near the school of your choice, you can visit http://srx.com.sg/research to find the 2km psf for each of the 190 primary schools.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sam Baker is co-founder of SRX, an information exchange formed by leading real estate agencies in Singapore to disseminate market pricing information and facilitate property transactions.

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