For some parents, the search for a family home is closely tied to the search for a primary school. Living within 1km of a popular school has traditionally offered the strongest distance-based priority during Primary 1 registration.
This has encouraged some families to buy or rent close to their preferred school, even when doing so means paying more or compromising on the size and type of home they choose.
However, upcoming changes to the Primary 1 registration framework could alter that calculation for families targeting 12 selected schools.
From the 2027 Primary 1 Registration Exercise, for children entering Primary 1 in 2028, these schools will adopt a new two-track system under Phase 2C.
Half of the available places will be allocated to children living within 2km, while the other half will be reserved for those living farther away.
So, does it still make sense to buy a home as close to the school as possible?
The short answer is that proximity can still be useful, but the 1km advantage will no longer work in quite the same way at these 12 schools.
What is changing under Phase 2C?
Phase 2C is open to children who have not secured a place in an earlier registration phase, regardless of whether they have a prior connection to the school.
Under the new Primary 1 registration framework, most primary schools will reserve 60 places for Phase 2C, up from 40 currently. This will not apply to smaller schools with a Primary 1 intake of fewer than 180 pupils.
A separate change will apply to 12 schools located in neighbourhoods where HDB flats account for less than 40 per cent of the homes within 2km.
Their Phase 2C vacancies will be divided equally between two tracks:
With the minimum 60 reserved places, this would generally mean 30 places for each track. Other vacancies carried over from earlier phases will also be included in the Phase 2C allocation.
Singapore Citizen applicants will continue to receive priority over Permanent Residents. If there are more eligible Singapore Citizen applicants than available places in either track, balloting will be conducted.
If one track has places left after all its Singapore Citizen applicants have been admitted, the remaining places can flow to Singapore Citizen applicants in the other track.
Which 12 primary schools are affected?
The two-track system will initially apply to:
- Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
- Anglo-Chinese School (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
- Tao Nan School
MOE selected these schools based on the housing mix around them, rather than popularity alone.
Because private housing makes up a comparatively large share of homes within 2km, retaining the existing distance hierarchy may not do enough to widen access to children from different socio-economic backgrounds.
The two-track system preserves a portion of places for families living nearby, while giving those from farther neighbourhoods a more realistic chance of gaining admission.
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Does living within 1km still provide an advantage?
For Phase 2C at these 12 schools, the distinction between living within 1km and between 1km and 2km will disappear.
A child living 500m from the school will compete in the same track as a child living 1.8km away. Neither will receive priority over the other based on distance.
This could weaken one of the main reasons some parents specifically target homes within the closest 1km radius. Instead of paying more to secure the nearest possible address, families may be able to consider a wider selection of homes anywhere within 2km.
However, this does not mean that living within 2km has become irrelevant. Half of the Phase 2C places will still be set aside for this group.
This effectively gives families within 2km a more defined pool of applicants to compete against. By comparison, the beyond-2km track is open to eligible families across the rest of Singapore.
The change is also limited to Phase 2C at the 12 named schools. The existing home-school distance categories will continue to apply at other primary schools, while distance may still come into play during other registration phases.
Must parents still move closer to their preferred school?
Families living beyond 2km will no longer have to move closer simply to gain some chance of admission under Phase 2C at these 12 schools.
Thirty of the minimum 60 reserved places will be set aside for applicants living beyond 2km. Within that track, a child living 3km away will have the same distance standing as one living much farther away.
There is also no particular neighbourhood just outside the 2km boundary that receives a registration advantage. A home located 2.1km away will be treated the same as any other address in the beyond-2km track.
That could widen the property search considerably. Instead of focusing on a small and potentially expensive radius, parents can consider homes based on affordability, space, workplace accessibility and the daily journey to school.
Could demand for homes near these schools ease?
There may be some moderation or redistribution of school-driven housing demand, particularly within the immediate 1km radius.
Parents buying solely to secure the strongest Phase 2C distance priority may have less reason to pay a premium for the closest possible address. A more affordable or suitable home between 1km and 2km would place them in the same track.
However, demand around the 12 schools is unlikely to disappear.
Many are located in established neighbourhoods such as Bukit Timah, Newton and Marine Parade, where buyers are also drawn by central locations, transport links, amenities and the wider selection of reputable schools.
Families may also continue to value the practical benefits of living nearby. A short journey can make a meaningful difference when parents have to manage early reporting times, school activities and daily pick-ups for a six- or seven-year-old.
Analysts therefore expect demand around these schools to remain, given that their surrounding neighbourhoods are desirable for reasons beyond school proximity.
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Could parents start looking farther afield?
The policy change could encourage some parents to expand their property search beyond the immediate school zone to nearby towns that still offer a reasonable daily commute.
For instance, families interested in ACS (Junior) could potentially consider parts of Toa Payoh, Kallang/Whampoa and Bukit Merah, while those looking at Nanyang Primary School may have more options in Queenstown.
In the east, families considering CHIJ (Katong) Primary, Ngee Ann Primary, Tanjong Katong Primary and Tao Nan School could also broaden their search across Bedok and Marine Parade.
Newer housing areas may eventually widen these options further. Future Mount Pleasant residents could consider applying to Raffles Girls’ Primary or Singapore Chinese Girls’ Primary, while families in Bayshore may look towards Tao Nan School.
Still, these neighbourhoods should not necessarily be viewed as direct property “winners” from the policy change. Remember, once a home sits beyond 2km, its exact location provides no additional admission priority under the new track.
Should you still buy a home near your preferred school?
Buying nearby can still make sense if the home works for the family even without a guaranteed school place.
Before committing, parents may want to ask:
- Would we still choose this home if our child does not get into the school?
- Can we comfortably afford the mortgage without depending on future price gains?
- Does the location work for our jobs, childcare arrangements and other children?
- Are there suitable alternative primary schools nearby?
- Would a home slightly farther away offer more space or better value?
- Is the daily school journey manageable if our child secures a place?
Most importantly, buying within the qualifying distance has never guaranteed admission when applications exceed vacancies. Balloting may still be required.
Families relying on an address for distance-based priority must also comply with MOE’s residency requirements. A child admitted based on the registered address is generally required to continue living there for at least 30 months from the start of the registration exercise.
The bottom line
The new Phase 2C system does not make proximity to a popular primary school worthless. Instead, it changes what parents may need to pay for.
At the 12 selected schools, living within 1km will no longer provide an advantage over living between 1km and 2km during Phase 2C. Families beyond 2km will also have access to a separate pool of places, giving them a chance without having to relocate solely for registration.
This could encourage parents to cast their property search wider and place greater weight on affordability, space and everyday convenience.
A nearby school remains a useful advantage. But when the home is likely to be a much longer commitment than the registration process, it should still be a property the family would be happy to own — regardless of the ballot result.
This article was first published in 99.co.
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