5 min read

As of 2024, Jurong is, broadly speaking, the jewel of west-end locations; in particular Jurong East. Jurong’s days of being a swampy industrial area are being left behind, and we’ve heard assertions that Jurong East can beat city fringe locations like Toa Payoh or Braddell for convenience. For those who are interested in making the move to Jurong, here’s an overview of how home prices have moved, as well as some of the key highlights of late:

Facts about Jurong

• District 22
• Jurong East and Jurong West are regarded as separate HDB towns, but the Jurong Lake District is not a separate town; it’s a special planning zone that forms an overlap between the two. 
• In general, Jurong East is intended to be the more urbanised half: it is planned as Singapore’s “second CBD” and has offices, malls, and other commercial elements. Jurong West is intended to have a more serene suburban vibe. 
• Jurong has a population of about 350,800, with a density of about 12,660 people per square kilometre. However, a lot of the population is concentrated in Jurong West: there are around 262,700 residents in Jurong West, compared to just 88,100 in Jurong East. 
• The reason Jurong is so big is that way back in 1963 when we were still a part of Malaysia, Jurong was intended to be a processing centre for all the rubber, tin, palm oil, etc. across the Federation. Jurong was the biggest industrial estate in the whole of Southeast Asia at the time, at 3,900 hectares. 
• Jurong used to house the tallest HDB blocks in Singapore, long before the days of Pinnacle @ Duxton. The 12 to 16-storey “diamond blocks” at Yung Kuang Road were the tallest back in the 1970’s, and are considered to be an iconic landmark; but they are vacant today.  

Primary Schools In Jurong East

• Fuhua Primary School
• Jurong Primary School
• Princess Elizabeth Primary School
• Yuhua Primary School

Primary Schools In Jurong West:

• Boon Lay Garden Primary School
• Corporation Primary School
• Frontier Primary School
• Jurong West Primary School
• Lakeside Primary School
• Rulang Primary School
• West Grove Primary School
• Westwood Primary School
• Xingnan Primary School

Secondary Schools In Jurong East:

• Crest Secondary School
• Jurongville Secondary School
• Yuhua Secondary School

Secondary Schools In Jurong West:

• Boon Lay Secondary School
• Commonwealth Secondary School
• Fuhua Secondary School
• Hua Yi Secondary School
• Jurong Secondary School
• Jurong West Secondary School
• Juying Secondary School
• River Valley High School
• Westwood Secondary School
• Yuan Ching Secondary School

Other Educational institutes In Jurong

• Nanyang Technological University
• Jurong Pioneer Junior College
• ITE College West
• Canadian International School, Lakeside Campus
• Yuvabharathi International School

Malls in Jurong

• Westgate
• JEM (Jurong East Mall)
• IMM (International Merchandising Mart)
• Jurong East MRT Station’s Shopping Concourse
• J’Den (still under construction, this is a mixed-use project with a mall component managed by CapitaLand) 

Note that Junction 8 mall – while technically in Bishan – is for all practical purposes a neighbourhood mall for Jurong West residents also. 

MRT Stations In Jurong:

Jurong East:

• Jurong East MRT Station (EW24/NS1)

Jurong West:

• Jurong West MRT Station (JS6)
• Boon Lay MRT Station (EW27)
• Pioneer MRT Station (EW28)
• Joo Koon MRT Station (EW29)

There are also several MRT stations on the upcoming Jurong Line (JRL), so we will see more in future.

A look at HDB prices in Jurong

Here’s a look at how HDB prices have moved in Jurong as a whole (this includes both Jurong East and Jurong West)

Note that the declining prices up to 2018 are not specific to Jurong, you’d see that in most HDB towns. It’s due to home prices being at a peak in 2013, causing HDB to impose the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) and ceasing to provide Cash Over Valuation (COV) data. This sent overall HDB prices downward, and they stabilised just before the pandemic. In the aftermath of Covid though, resale prices shot back up. 

As such, Jurong’s HDB flat prices have reversed their decline, rising even higher than in 2013. At the market low in 2019, the average 4-room flat in Jurong cost just $372,000. Over 5 years, it has risen to $509,000. 

The largest executive flats saw the best performance, with average price psf rising by 23.1 per cent since 2013. 4-room and 5-room flats saw almost similar performance in Jurong, with 5-room flats beating our 4-room by barely noticeably 0.7 per cent. Jurong’s 3-room flats performed significantly worse than their larger counterparts, but have still ended up 12.6 per cent higher than 2013. 

Top and bottom performing projects in Jurong

Top and bottom performing rental assets in Jurong

Westwood Residences is one of the most notable resale condos in Jurong right now. It has a combination of a high rental yield and high resale gains, and this has been consistent throughout a high transaction volume. A possible reason for this is the upcoming Gek Poh MRT station on the Jurong Region Line, which will be within walking distance of Westwood.

Key drivers to look for:

The two most immediate factors to drive property value are train lines. The Jurong Region Line (JRL) will link up with the EWL at Jurong East MRT, and the NSL at Bukit Batok MRT, which provides a route to the CBD and Orchard, among other areas. We expect that some condos, such as Westwood as described above, are already factoring the upcoming stations into their pricing.

The on-again, off-again High Speed Rail (HSR) could provide a significant boost to Jurong area properties. But given the long and fickle history of this project, it’s not something we’d pin too much hope on. It’s nice if it happens, but Jurong has other things going for it even if it doesn’t.

The further development of Jurong Lake District, which has recently seen two new launches (Sora and Jurong Lake Residences), is one to watch. The lake district is one of the most heavily photographed scenic areas in Singapore; and its landscaped gardens and bridges are inimitable. This has the potential to be a future Bukit Timah, for home buyers who love the greenery – and it will have the added advantage of proximity to Singapore’s “second CBD.” 

For those who are impatient for excellent amenities right now, however, Jurong East is a retail powerhouse; and new launches like J’Den will add some much-needed housing stock to the area. 

For more on different neighbourhoods and their HDB or private projects, follow us on Stacked. If you’d like to get in touch for a more in-depth consultation, you can do so here.