For families, proximity to a primary school is one of the most discussed factors in Singapore property. The school admission framework uses distance bands around each school, and the bands that matter most for registration are measured from the school to the home.
Rather than rely on a rule of thumb, check the current distance bands and the balloting arrangements directly with the Ministry of Education and each school. Admission criteria can change, and the policy published for a given year is the one that applies to that year's registration.
Once you know the bands for a school, you can compare homes within each ring. Expect prices to vary between the 1km ring and the 2km ring, and expect that variation to differ by neighbourhood and by housing type. Landed homes and condominiums sit in different price bands, so compare like with like.
A practical approach is to map the candidate schools, list the homes within the relevant rings, and compare the asking prices, tenure and condition. Keep a record of the transaction prices you find in the public registers so you can judge whether an asking price is reasonable.
We can prepare a comparison of homes around specific schools if you tell us which schools matter to your family. Ask us for the current figures rather than relying on figures quoted in an older article.