Woodlands versus Tampines: Which is better to live in?

Woodlands has a new regional centre up and coming, while Tampines North is being developed into a “green lifestyle hub”. Singaporeans picking their next home have begun to ponder the possibilities of both – do they bet on a Jurong-like revival of Woodlands, or on Tampines becoming the new lifestyle hub of the East? We pit the two against each other:

A rundown on Woodlands

Long considered one of the “ulu” regions of Singapore, Woodlands is the northern joint to our Malaysian neighbours. Lest we forget, the first Singapore – Johor causeway was built here in 1923, resulting in many a memorable road rage incident, and many a peed-into plastic bottle during a long jam.

The Woodlands area usually refers to Woodlands itself, plus Admiralty, Marsiling, and Woodgrove. These cluster around the town centre of Woodlands Square. Three main highlights of the area are the Causeway (easy access to Malaysia), Admiralty Park (a 27 hectare National Park), and Woodlands Regional Library (a four storey library, the largest outside of the National Library in town itself).

Causeway Point is the most notable mall in the area.

The most exciting development in Woodlands right now is the Woodlands Regional Centre (WRC). It was announced in 2013 that the WRC would act as Singapore’s “Northern Gateway”. The WRC would be split into two districts: Woodlands Central, and Woodlands North Coast.

While Woodlands Central focuses on entertainment and retail, Woodlands North Coast will be an “innovation Corridor”, including Woodlands, Sembawang, Seletar, Punggol and Sengkang West. This corridor will contain various commercial and economic clusters, which will drive job creation in the area. This in turn will boost demand for housing, which is great news for landlords and investors.

Woodlands will also house part of the JB-Singapore RTS line, which is expected to give rapid access to Johor Sentral. This will be a boon to landlords, as it will raise demand from tenants who cross the border to work.

The WRC is intended to invigorate Woodlands as a regional centre, much as recent plans have turned things around in Jurong and Tampines. Speaking of which…

A rundown on Tampines

Tampines includes Tampines North and Simei. It is one of four regional centres in Singapore, next to Woodlands, Jurong East, and Seletar.

Like Jurong East, the district has already made significant headway in this transformation.

Once considered the Twilight Zone of the East, it is now a major retail and lifestyle area. Three malls – Tampines 1, Century Square, and Tampines Mall – form a dense cluster of shops and eateries near the MRT station. One of the crowning achievements of this retail cluster is that Japanese apparel giant Uniqlo opened its first outlet in Tampines 1, in June 2009.

This spoke volumes about Tampines’ potential as a retail hub – a major apparel brand had chosen Tampines over Orchard Road. Judging by the growth of Uniqlo’s business and the crowds at Tampines 1, their choice was justified.

For some time now, the area has held an unofficial reputation as “home renovation central”. This is because one of IKEA’s two warehouse retail outlets is here (the other is in Alexandra). Close to it is a gigantic Courts warehouse retail outlet. As such, plenty of Singaporeans who are redecorating, or moving into a new home, will find their way here. Supermarket Giant also has a warehouse retail outlet here, which draws shoppers on the weekends.

The area surrounding the Courts, IKEA, and Giant are being developed into industrial sites, which will ramp up the supply of jobs in the area.

Which regional centre is better to live in?

This is always going to be somewhat subjective, but here’s our honest opinion. We’ve broken it into five main categories:

• Housing and lifestyle
• Environment
• Retail and dining
• Office and work
• Transport and accessibility

• Housing and lifestyle

For the purposes of comparing current housing value, we compared resale flat prices. These are a  good general gauge of how desirable the area is, and is more reflective of the majority (more of us live in flats than in private housing).

The median resale flat prices in Tampines, as of Q4 2015, are:

– Three-room flat: $320,000

– Four-room flat: $420,000

– Five-room flat: $519,700

– Executive: $660,000

The median resale flat prices in Woodlands, as of Q4 2015, are:

• Three-room flat: $273,000
• Four-room flat: $365,000
• Five-room flat: $429,900
• Executive: $585,000

As you can see, Tampines is still the hotter place right now in terms of home values. This is because it is further ahead in its transformation into a regional centre. The flips side of this is that, if you buy a property now, the price may already have factored in future developments.

Woodlands may appeal more to the profit-minded, who might speculate on buying while the price is low. As Woodlands Regional Centre develops further, there might be more room for prices to rise.

Lifestyle wise, Tampines offers a little more in the way of amenities. Changi General Hospital and Changi Airport are both nearby, and we’re going to rate that a little higher than having the Causeway to Malaysia. (Yes, we know many of you drive to Malaysia more than you fly. But Changi Airport is also a giant shopping centre, with 24 hour eateries).

Winner: Tampines

• Environment

Please, this isn’t even a fight. Woodlands is not only famous for its parks and clean air, it’s also the only regional centre with a vast waterfront view. Admiralty Park is a preserved Mangrove habitat, and people actually come to Woodlands to hike.

Tampines, despite its best attempts to expand its park land, is just not as scenic. In fact, the retail hub around the MRT station has become a noisy, congested hellhole of traffic. With three huge malls clustered there, you can’t walk two inches on the weekend without having your face crushed against someone’s sweaty back. As for Simei, now that area is more open. But it’s only great if you like staring at row upon row of HDB flats, with few distinctive landscape features. It’s like looking at bad motel room art.

The only hope is Tampines North, which will include a 10 hectare quarry park, and a 7.5 hectare Boulevard Park that will connect to Sungei Api Api. When they’re complete, Tampines may stand a chance.

Winner: Woodlands wins. So hard.

• Retail and Dining

Causeway Point is a wonderful mall and all, with its 250 shops and whatnot. But it gets outright flattened if it runs up against Tampines’ three giants (Tampines 1, Century Square, Tampines Mall). The mere fact that Uniqlo chose to open here is enough to justify Tampines winning.

Tampines has an immense range of dining options, from Japanese chain restaurants like Sakae to IKEA’s Swedish meatballs. Now Woodlands has some pretty decent restaurants and coffee shops and such; certainly on par with almost any other neighbourhood. But it’s got a long way to go to even come close.

Winner: Have you ever heard your friends say “let’s travel to Woodlands to shop”? Yeah, that’s why Tampines wins.

• Office and work

Woodlands is likely to catch up fast, due to the planned Innovation Corridor. This is a wide stretch that will be able to accommodate many different kinds of industry. Tampines, while it has Changi Business Park and industrial sites under development, may not have enough room for a diversity of industries.

Nonetheless, Tampines has the lead right now. Tampines Central has a large cluster of office buildings, from the AIA building to the nearby Telepark. Several banks, such as UOB and OCBC, also have offices in the vicinity. Like Woodlands, there is a CPF building in Tampines.

Winner: Tampines, for now.

• Transport and Accessibility

We give this one to Woodlands, but Woodlands also has to thank Malaysia for the win. First, the Causeway allows Woodlands residents easy access to Malaysia. It also appeals to landlords, who can attract tenants who cross the border on work or business. This will be further complemented by the construction of the JB-Singapore RTS.

Tampines is going to see three new MRT stations come 2017. Tampines West will hook Temasek Polytechnic up to the transport grid, while Tampines East will do the same for Ngee Ann Polytechnic. The main interchange station will also serve as a bus interchange, making Tampines Regional Centre a transport hub.

But Woodlands is already a transport hub. The underground Woodlands bus interchange means residents are well connected by both bus and MRT. Woodlands will also benefit from the completion of the Thomson line in 2019, which will add two new MRT stations along a north-south stretch of the regional centre.

Winner: Woodlands

Overall winner: Tampines wins, three out of five (for now).