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Neighbourhood Estate Guide: Yew Tee, The Forgotten Singapore Town That Is Managed By The Country’s Prime Minister

The dark horse of the cheapest HDB housing estates.

Picture a classroom with studious students at the front, average ones in the middle, and troublemakers at the back. Among them, there would be one or two students sitting in a blind spot, going unnoticed and attracting little attention. That would be how Yew Tee Town could be described. Located in the northwestern of Singapore, between Choa Chu Kang and Kranji MRT stations, the small estate, comprising a mix of both industrial and residential estates, often goes under the radar among homebuyers. However, this unassuming town is helmed by a political heavyweight, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, who will take over as the next Prime Minister in May 2024. As an added boost, residents will get to enjoy a new integrated development – Heart of Yew Tee – that will offer both housing options for seniors as well as social, commercial, and healthcare facilities by 1Q2027. Some of these facilities include Choa Chu Kang’s inaugural hawker centre, a community club, a polyclinic, retail shops, and a community plaza among others. Could this catalyst be the shake-up that makes homebuyers notice Yew Tee’s potential?  Check out the other neighbourhood estate guides that we have written on:  ,  ,  , ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,   ,  ,  ,  , and  . The naming of Yew Tee Town was in reference to the Yew Tee Village, which used to be located near Stagmont Ring Road, off Woodlands Road. In turn, Yew Tee, meaning “oil pond” in Teochew, was in reference to the nearby oil storage facilities during the Japanese Occupation. The village, which primarily engaged in vegetable and poultry farming, dwindled in population by the 1990s, with most moving to the new housing estates of Choa Chu Kang and Jurong East. With that, the development of Yew Tee Town began alongside the construction of Yew Tee MRT station, serving as an extension of Choa Chu Kang Town. It also serves as a home closer to work, given the nearby industrial estates of Sungei Kadut and Yew Tee Industrial estate. Given its location, Yew Tee Town is not as accessible to other parts of the island, including the main business and shopping districts of Raffles Place and Orchard. Residents are served by the Yew Tee MRT station, which sits on the North-South Line (NSL) and is reachable within 15 minutes from any point in the estate. It is one MRT stop away from Choa Chu Kang MRT station, which will be linked to the Jurong Regional Line (JRL). Alternatively, there are also feeder bus services that traverse the estate, including neighbouring towns. Yew Tee’s connectivity will be further boosted by the new Sungei Kadut interchange, which will be completed by mid-2030. The station will be built between Kranji and Yew Tee MRT stations and will connect to the Downtown Line (DTL) via a track extension from Bukit Panjang MRT station. This will reduce the journey to the downtown area by up to 30 minutes. There will also be more cycling networks in Choa Chu Kang-Yew Tee Town that residents can use to enjoy leisure travel around the estate. Despite being a small town, Yew Tee offers a good mix of residential property types, including HDB flats, private condominiums, and landed properties. On the HDB front, Yew Tee is one of the few estates in Singapore that has yet to cross the $1 million mark in the resale market. The highest transaction was recorded for an executive unit at 640 Choa Chu Kang Street 64 for $880,000. Generally, the median resale price of a 4-room HDB flat in Yew Tee is around $570,000, while a 5-room is around $670,000. For home upgraders, Yew Tee offers four private developments, namely Regent Grove, The Quintet, The Windermere, and Yew Tee Residences. All four are 99-year leasehold developments with a price per square foot of around $900 to $1,300. There is also a landed enclave at Verde View along Choa Chu Kang North 5, consisting of 515 units. Similarly, these are 99-year leasehold properties. As a result, they are comparatively less expensive than a similar 999-year or freehold-landed property. This makes it more attractive for HDB home upgraders, who may wish to live in landed properties within the same locality. For a small town, Yew Tee has a good selection of primary and secondary schools that are interspersed, ensuring that homes are within a 1km radius of these educational institutions. In total, there are 1 MOE kindergarten, 4 primary schools, and 3 secondary schools. Source: Though there aren’t any large shopping malls like in other towns such as Jurong or Woodlands, Yew Tee has 3 neighbourhood malls that offer essential amenities. Among them, Yew Tee Square and Limbang Shopping Centre offer a wide range of amenities, including a wet market, while Yew Tee Point serves as a lifestyle mall. In addition to the new SAFRA Clubhouse in Choa Chu Kang Town Park, residents can also enjoy sporting facilities at the Choa Chu Kang Sports Centre. It offers a swimming pool, a track and field, and a fully air-conditioned indoor sports hall. Residents who prefer greenery spaces can enjoy the upgraded facilities at any of the three recreational nodes along the Limbang Green Spine. It stretches from Yew Tee MRT station to Limbang Park, offering new fitness equipment, water features, sheltered linkways, and a community pavilion promoting an active lifestyle.