P1 Registration Changes 2027: What the New 1km & 2km Rules Mean for Property Buyers

Quick answer: what changes for P1 registration in 2027?

From the 2027 Primary 1 Registration Exercise, most primary schools will reserve 60 places for Phase 2C, up from 40 currently.

More significantly, 12 selected primary schools will introduce a new two-track Phase 2C system: approximately half the Phase 2C places for children living within 2km, and approximately half for children living more than 2km away. Within each track, there will be no further home-school distance priority.

So for these 12 schools, during Phase 2C: 500m from the school carries the same distance priority as 1.8km from the school.

That is a major change to the way parents — and property buyers — should think about the traditional “within 1km of a popular primary school” advantage.

Which 12 primary schools are affected by the new 2027 rule?

The new two-track Phase 2C system will apply to:

• Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
• Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)
• CHIJ (Katong) Primary
• Methodist Girls' School (Primary)
• Nanyang Primary School
• Ngee Ann Primary School
• Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School
• Raffles Girls' Primary School
• Singapore Chinese Girls' Primary School
• St. Margaret's School (Primary)
• Tanjong Katong Primary School
• Tao Nan School

How does the current 1km primary school rule work?

Under the existing P1 registration framework, when balloting is necessary, home-school distance can provide priority.

For Singapore Citizens, the familiar hierarchy is broadly: within 1km → between 1km and 2km → more than 2km.

That has helped turn the 1km school radius into an important consideration in Singapore residential property. A condo being “within 1km of a popular primary school” frequently appears prominently in property marketing. And some families are willing to pay for it.

But from 2027, Phase 2C works differently for these 12 schools.

What happens to the 1km advantage from 2027?

Imagine three families applying to one of the 12 affected schools.

Under the new Phase 2C system, Family A and Family B enter the same ≤2km track. Family C enters the separate >2km track.

Most importantly, Family A does not receive additional home-school-distance priority over Family B merely because it lives within 1km.

For Phase 2C at these schools, 600m and 1.6km are now in the same distance category. That's the part property buyers need to understand.

• Family A

  Lives 600m away.

• Family B

  Lives 1.6km away.

• Family C

  Lives 4km away.

Does living within 1km of a primary school no longer matter?

No. The headline “1km no longer matters” would be misleading. The change applies specifically to Phase 2C at the 12 designated schools.

School proximity can still provide convenience for the child, shorter travelling time, easier school drop-offs, greater appeal to future family buyers, proximity advantages involving other schools, and possible relevance under registration rules outside this particular Phase 2C arrangement.

So we wouldn't suddenly assign zero value to a home being 500m from a good primary school. But buyers should distinguish between the lifestyle value of being near a school and the P1 registration advantage created by that distance.

For these 12 schools in Phase 2C, the second one has changed materially.

Could properties between 1km and 2km become more attractive?

This is where things become interesting. Consider two otherwise similar condos. One is 800m from an affected school. The other is 1.5km away.

If buyers previously paid a significant premium for the first property because it crossed the magic 1km boundary, that premium deserves another look. Under the new Phase 2C framework, both addresses fall into the same within-2km track.

So instead of simply asking “Is this condo within 1km of the school?”, perhaps buyers should increasingly ask: “Which good primary schools are within 2km of this address?”

That is a subtle change — but potentially an important one for property values.

Fourth Avenue Residences: what OneMap shows for one address

Fourth Avenue Residences in Bukit Timah is a useful illustration of why the new rules could change the way we analyse a property's school story.

A OneMap Primary School Listing Service query dated 11 September 2026 for 6 Fourth Avenue, Fourth Avenue Residences, Singapore 268673 returned the following distance bands: within 1km, Raffles Girls' Primary School (RGPS); above 1km to 2km, Henry Park Primary School, Methodist Girls' School (Primary) and Nanyang Primary School. OneMap notes that the information was provided as of June 2026 and is a guide that may be updated. This is one address-specific example; buyers should verify the exact residential address using prevailing official tools.

Of the four schools, RGPS, Methodist Girls' School (Primary) and Nanyang Primary School are among the 12 schools moving to the new two-track Phase 2C system. Henry Park Primary School is not currently among the 12.

For Phase 2C at the three affected schools, the old <1km versus 1–2km distance hierarchy no longer separates this address: RGPS (<1km) and MGS/Nanyang (1–2km) all fall into the same ≤2km track, with no further home-school distance priority within that track. For Henry Park, the conventional distance-priority framework still applies.

So Fourth Avenue's education proposition is no longer best described simply as “within 1km of RGPS.” For a Phase 2C family, the wider 2km school ecosystem and the mix of rules across RGPS, MGS, Nanyang and Henry Park create meaningful optionality: a better menu of choices before deciding where to apply. That is different from having more simultaneous applications or any guarantee of admission.

More schools within 2km means more optionality — not more lottery tickets

There is an important distinction. Parents cannot register simultaneously for RGPS, Nanyang and MGS in Phase 2C and wait to see which one succeeds. A child can only be registered for one school in a registration phase.

So having several desirable schools within 2km doesn't give a parent three chances at once. What it provides is choice before applying.

Parents can consider available vacancies, application numbers, historical demand, school suitability, commuting convenience, their child's needs, and the likely competitiveness of that year's Phase 2C exercise before deciding where to apply.

That is optionality, and optionality has value.

What about properties more than 2km from these schools?

Here's the counterintuitive part of the new rules. Living more than 2km away doesn't necessarily mean being placed behind every family living closer to the school.

For the 12 selected schools, approximately half of the Phase 2C places will be allocated to the >2km track. Suppose a school has 60 reserved Phase 2C places. Think approximately: 30 places for ≤2km applicants, and 30 places for >2km applicants. If there are unused places in one track, they can be transferred to Singapore Citizen applicants in the other track.

This change is especially significant for families beyond 2km. Previously, they often faced the weakest distance priority at heavily oversubscribed schools. Now they have a dedicated >2km track with its own allocation of places. That improves access and opportunity.

Within the ≤2km track, some families in the old 1–2km band may also become more willing to apply to the 12 affected schools, because they are no longer placed behind <1km applicants on home-school distance within Phase 2C.

The new rules could therefore broaden the applicant pool on both sides of the 2km boundary. Strong competition, and possibly balloting, could occur in either track. We have no 2027 applicant distribution yet, and the first 2027 exercise will provide useful evidence.

The key distinction is between access and odds. The new rules improve access and opportunity for >2km families. They do not necessarily improve odds, because demand may rise alongside access. Whether the odds are actually better or worse will depend on how many families apply in each track.

Is 2km now more important than 1km for property buyers?

For these 12 schools and families relying on Phase 2C, potentially yes.

The old property question was often: “Which popular primary school is within 1km?”

The better questions from 2027 may be: “Which schools are within 2km?” “Which of them fall under the new Phase 2C system?” “How many realistic school options does this address give us?” “Are we paying a large property premium just to move from 1.3km to 900m?”

That last question is particularly important. Because if the main justification for the price premium was Phase 2C priority, the benefit being purchased has changed.

But the old 1km rule hasn't disappeared everywhere

This is crucial. Only the 12 selected schools use the new two-track Phase 2C system.

Consider another popular Bukit Timah school: Henry Park Primary School. It is not currently among the 12 schools.

Therefore buyers shouldn't look at a condo, count every primary school within 2km and assume they all provide the same registration advantage. They don't.

You need to know: which school? Which registration phase? Which distance category? Which rules apply to that particular school?

This makes statements such as “within 2km of five prestigious schools!” far less useful than they appear. The number of schools isn't enough. You need to understand what those distances actually mean.

What could happen to property premiums around popular schools?

It is too early to claim that the new rules will reduce property prices around these schools. Property values are influenced by many factors beyond P1 registration: location, MRT connectivity, tenure, land scarcity, amenities, neighbourhood quality, unit size, redevelopment potential and broader demand.

But we can make a more measured observation. For the 12 affected schools, the traditional <1km school-registration premium may deserve reassessment, because <1km no longer outranks 1–2km on home-school distance in Phase 2C.

Homes in the 1–2km ring that previously suffered from weaker distance priority may become relatively more attractive for Phase 2C families. Developments that sit within 2km of several affected schools could also deserve a fresh look because they provide greater school-selection optionality.

The market impact is an empirical question. School proximity still retains convenience, resale and lifestyle value. We will need several years of transaction and registration data before knowing whether buyers actually capitalise this change into property prices.

What could this mean for the rental market?

Historically, some families have paid a rental premium to live within 1km of a desired primary school because of home-school-distance priority in P1 registration.

For the 12 affected schools in Phase 2C from 2027, the specific registration advantage of being under 1km versus 1–2km disappears within the ≤2km track. A family trying to position itself inside that track may therefore have a much larger rental search area than before: it may no longer need to squeeze into the traditional <1km ring purely for Phase 2C distance priority.

This could reduce the school-registration component of the rental premium attached specifically to <1km properties, while potentially redistributing some school-driven rental demand into the 1–2km ring. A rental address that falls within 2km of several affected schools may also become more strategically interesting, because it gives a family more school choices before it makes its one Phase 2C application.

We are not predicting that rents will fall inside 1km or rise in the 1–2km ring. Rental values still depend on convenience, MRT access, neighbourhood quality, unit type, scarcity and general demand. These are possible behavioural effects, not confirmed outcomes.

And the counterpoint matters: if many families reposition themselves into the ≤2km track, competition within that track may also rise. Greater housing choice does not mean easier admission.

A compliance note on the 30-month residence rule

Under current MOE rules, the 30-month residence requirement is a post-priority-admission condition: if a child gains priority admission through the home-school-distance category based on the declared address, the child must continue to reside at that address for at least 30 months from the commencement of the relevant P1 Registration Exercise.

For the 12 schools' 2027 two-track system, the current announcement does not, at this stage, set out a different 30-month rule. Families considering a rental strategy should check MOE's prevailing detailed requirements for their registration year before committing to an address.

Benny's take

Don't buy the radius. Buy the options.

The 2027 P1 registration changes don't make school proximity irrelevant. They make it more nuanced. For Phase 2C at the 12 affected schools, being 800m away no longer gives you greater home-school-distance priority than being 1.8km away.

That means buyers should think very carefully before paying a substantial premium simply to cross the traditional 1km line. Instead, look at the whole school ecosystem surrounding the property. Which schools are within 2km? Which are under the new system? Which aren't? How competitive are they? And which schools would actually suit your child?

The rule change expands opportunity. It does not manufacture vacancies.

A property isn't automatically better because somebody drew a 1km circle around it.

“Sometimes the bigger circle gives you more options. We analyse. You decide.”

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