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Property owners near Upper Bukit Timah and Bukit Timah will be celebrating, and maybe collecting capital gains, when the Malayan Railway (KTM) station moves to Woodlands from Tanjong Pagar next year.
The railway runs through a housing area, where residents have long been annoyed by the trains clattering noise as they go through Bukit Timah Railway Station.
“I think it will be a boon for many of the owners who in the past have been dismayed by the noise pollution and tracks running close to them,” said Mr. Donald Han, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield.
Mr. Han believes that home values in the area could increase between five percent and eight percent once the railway tracks are removed, although this would allow them to catch up to the prices of neighbouring estates.
“It’s not so much that the price will go up significantly, but now the properties will be easier to sell,” said Mr. Han.
“Previously, if you owned a home in an estate that is located right next to the track, you probably had to sell at a discount to your neighbours whose properties were not affected by the noise. But now you will be on a par with them.”