Touring Ceylon Road: Affordable freehold shophouse and landed living from $3.4m

Not long ago, I embarked on a tour of the conservation houses along Blair Road. As part of the research for the article, I managed to speak to some individuals who had once owned or lived in these historic dwellings. Candidly, they shared a host of challenges they faced: persistent pest problems, inadequate parking, poor soundproofing, and the relentless demand for maintenance, particularly concerning leaks.

The feeling that came up the most was that, whilst many people find conservation houses beautiful and love the idea of living in or owning a historic building, the reality isn’t for everyone, as the upkeep involved is really a passion project. (These were also the reasons why the people I spoke to eventually left their properties.)

However, what about those who want to flirt with living in a conservation property? Is there somewhere in Singapore where they could enjoy the feeling of living in a unique building, but with less work involved? Well, after viewing the Ceylon/Carpmael Road area in the East, it seems like there could be! East Singapore, in particular, Katong, is famous for its beautiful shophouses but also has modern landed properties. It seems that one could enjoy the feeling of living in a historic neighbourhood minus the hassle there! So, let’s head that way to tour the area today: we’re specifically looking at the area bound by Dunman Road, Ceylon Road, Crane Road and Oman Road.

As mentioned, the area has many beautiful conservation properties. So even if you’re not living in one, you’ll be able to enjoy the sight of these unique buildings, if you live here. Best of both worlds in my opinion.

As you can see, the area is rich in buildings dating back to different parts of Singapore’s history.

The area also has a few boutique condos so, if your budget doesn’t stretch to a landed house, but you don’t want cookie-cutter condo living, you can also get an apartment in the area.

Something else the area is famous for is the Eurasian Heritage Gallery. It’s right smack in the middle of the neighbourhood and opposite some residential houses. If you like Eurasian food, there’s Quentin’s in the building. I love having good food within easy walking distance of one’s home.

Next to this URA car park is an interim Park, Ceylon Park.

Let’s head out and explore since we’ve already seen quite a bit of the Eurasian Gallery.

As we walk down Crane Road, we immediately see the historic shophouses, some of which are commercial units. (I’ll show more pictures of this later!)

Where Crane Road meets Onan Road, we find Tiong Bahru Bakery.  

Anyway, let’s continue our walkabout.

So now that we’ve seen the estate, how did you find it? You’re probably not surprised to hear that I’m a fan, since it has quite a village feel and tons of good eateries nearby. For parents, Tanjong Katong Girls’ School is also within the ever-so-important 1km mark. However, if the area has taken your fancy, I do recommend that you visit the area on a weekend, to see if you’re comfortable with the traffic levels then, as it can get pretty crowded!

This article was first published in Stackedhomes.

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