How much is walking distance to an MRT really worth?
- Being within 300 m of an MRT is worth about +13% on $psf — holding local neighbourhood (~2km), tenure, unit size and timing constant.
- The premium is front-loaded: about +7% at 300–500 m, then essentially zero beyond ~500 m — a project 800 m away is no longer “near MRT” in price terms.
- “Near MRT” is only worth paying for when it’s a genuine short walk. A project 800 m away priced as if it were 200 m away is overpaying for a pitch the resale market doesn’t reward.
- It’s strongest in the city-fringe RCR (+12%) — where an MRT-adjacent home is prime rentable location — and weakest in the prime CCR (+9%), where buyers value exclusivity and quiet over the train.
- Best for: buyers weighing an “MRT-nearby” launch, and anyone deciding how much walkability is worth paying for.
The walkability curve
“Near the MRT” is the most-used line in a sales gallery — but the market doesn’t treat 200 m and 900 m the same. Holding local neighbourhood (~2km cluster), tenure, unit size and sale timing constant, here is the $psf premium buyers actually pay by distance to the nearest station, versus a project more than a kilometre away:
$psf premium vs a project >1 km from MRT
Where MRT access matters most
The premium isn’t uniform. It is steepest in the city-fringe RCR (+12% within 300 m), where an MRT-adjacent home is a prime, highly rentable location; it is weakest in the prime CCR (+9%), where the most exclusive addresses sit deliberately away from the bustle of a station:
| Segment | ≤300 m | 300–500 m | 500–800 m |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCR | +9% | +7% | +4% |
| RCR | +12% | +8% | +-1% |
| OCR | +13% | +7% | +-1% |
What the data means
The market pays for true walkability, not for a postcode that happens to list a station name. The strongest, most defensible premium sits inside ~300–500 m — an easy walk in the heat — and it is worth most where the station links to jobs or an interchange. Beyond ~800 m, “near MRT” is marketing, not value: the resale market will not reward it, so neither should your entry price.
Investor verdict
Pay up for MRT proximity only when it’s a genuine ≤500 m walk, ideally to an interchange or a job-node line — that is where the market reliably rewards it (up to ~+13%). Do not pay an MRT premium for a project 800 m+ away, however the brochure frames it; the buyer who follows you won’t.
Future-line upside is a separate bet — the question is how much is already priced in before the line opens. Check the URA Master Plan for the alignment and confirm the actual walking route (not the straight line) before you decide.
How to use this before you buy
Measure the real walk, not the straight line
Our distances are straight-line; the walking route can be longer (across a canal, a main road, no sheltered link). Check the actual path — a “400 m” project can be a 700 m walk.
Match the premium to the band
If you’re paying a visible MRT premium, confirm the project is genuinely inside ~500 m. Beyond that, discount the pitch and price it like any other project in the district — check comparables in the Valuation tool.
Weigh the line, not just the station
Proximity to an interchange or a job-node line (to the CBD, JLD, one-north) is worth more than a quiet branch stop. See where jobs are heading on growth areas.
For a future line, ask what’s priced in
If the upside is a station opening in a few years, check how much the market has already paid ahead of it — and read the district page for current medians and trend.