The family-demand premium: is a good-school address really worth more?
- The 1 km school premium is largely a myth at the $psf level: near-school units trade within ±0.5% of like-for-like peers (small -0.1%, family +0.4%).
- School value is already baked into the district price — it isn’t an extra markup you can flip.
- What a good-school address really buys is a deeper family buyer/tenant pool (liquidity & resilience), strongest for family-sized units.
- Best for: not overpaying a “school-address” premium — and knowing where school access actually helps.
Does a good-school address command a price premium?
Singapore parents chase the 1 km radius around an oversubscribed primary school for Phase-2C balloting priority, and the folklore says that address commands a $psf premium. We tested it: freehold-equivalent $psf of units within 1 km of an oversubscribed school, against same-district, same-year, same-size peers that aren’t.
| Unit size | Near-school premium | Near-school resales |
|---|---|---|
| small (<700) | -0.1% | 9,678 |
| mid (700–999) | -0.1% | 13,129 |
| family (1,000+) | +0.4% | 27,541 |
So what does school access actually buy?
Not a higher $psf — but a deeper, stickier demand pool. Family units near a balloted school let more easily to families, sell to a motivated school-seeking buyer, and hold value through downturns because that demand is need-driven, not discretionary. The family-size figure edging just positive (vs small units flat-to-negative) is the faint trace of it. So the benefit is liquidity and resilience, not a price markup you can flip.
Investor verdict
Don’t overpay a $psf premium for a “1 km” address — there isn’t one to justify it. If a seller or agent prices a unit up purely for school proximity, that markup isn’t supported by the transaction data. What the address is worth is a steadier family buyer/tenant pool, which matters most for family-sized layouts near a genuinely oversubscribed school.
And confirm the school actually ballots — being “1 km from a school” is meaningless if it isn’t oversubscribed. See the schools & P1 odds page.
How to use this before you buy
Don’t pay a school markup on $psf
The data shows no like-for-like premium — treat a school-address price bump as negotiable.
Value it as demand insurance instead
For a family-sized unit near an oversubscribed school, the payoff is easier letting/resale, not a higher price.
Verify oversubscription and the true 1 km
Only balloted schools matter, and priority is by the stated distance rule — check the odds first.