Serangoon Road shophouses

History of Serangoon Road: farms, cattle and the road across the island

URA records that Serangoon Road was one of the earliest roads built in Singapore, marked as "The Road Leading Across the Island" in Lieutenant Jackson's 1828 Plan of Singapore. Farms were set up along it, and the area's older name, Kandang Kerbau (buffalo pen), points to the cattle and agricultural activity that once defined the district. The wider conservation area is also known as Tekka, after bamboo clumps near the junction of Bukit Timah and Serangoon Roads.

As the Indian population grew through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the road became the heart of the community, with temples, provision shops, workshops and boarding houses. URA describes the area as the main venue for public celebrations of festivals such as Deepavali and Pongal. The shophouses you see today mostly come from the late nineteenth century through the 1930s to 1960s, in styles URA lists from Early to Art Deco.

1. 1828

   Lieutenant Jackson's Plan of Singapore marks the road as "The Road Leading Across the Island".

2. 1835

   Tamil workers build a clay shrine that becomes the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple at 141 Serangoon Road, per URA.

3. Mid-1800s

   URA notes some 13,000 Indians in Singapore, many living in this area, and farms and cattle trade along the road.

4. 7 July 1989

   Little India Conservation Area is gazetted, bounded by Serangoon Road, Sungei Road and Jalan Besar.

5. Mid-1990s

   The Little India Arcade block at 42-54 Serangoon Road, with Hastings Road and Campbell Lane, is restored.

6. 6 June 2014

   Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple is gazetted for conservation, per URA.

Serangoon Road is the road the district grew around, and the shophouses reflect a century of layered trade.

Shophouses on Serangoon Road: colourful rows and the streets that join it

The phrase "colourful shophouse Serangoon Road" is usually a search for the painted rows in the Little India stretch. Colour is a surface choice and not a conservation fact: owners repaint, and any colour change must follow URA's guidelines for the conserved facade. What does matter is the structure behind it: narrow frontages, long floor plates, timber upper floors and a covered five-foot way.

Serangoon Road runs in a north-easterly to south-westerly direction, and URA notes that the side streets off it meet at skewed angles, possibly because they began as private roads to bungalows. Block character changes quickly. The Hastings Road and Campbell Lane frontage near the Arcade is a restored 1990s block, while other stretches are busier, older and more varied. Rowell Road sits in the same area; confirm exact boundaries on a map and with URA.

Many searchers confuse this road with the Serangoon estate. Serangoon Gardens, by contrast, is a landed residential estate in the north-east of the island, with a different property market. This page covers only the Serangoon Road shophouse belt.

What Serangoon Road shophouses are used for

Ground floors carry the most visible retail: textiles, jewellery, flowers, provisions and eateries, alongside general services. The festival cycle gives the road a particular rhythm, with trading peaks around Deepavali that a tenant should understand before signing a lease.

Upper floors are used for storage, offices and residential, depending on approved use. Some blocks have been adapted to guesthouses and small studios, which needs the right approvals. Always check the approved use for the lot, because a conserved building does not carry a general right to change use.

Compared with its neighbours, Serangoon Road is the busiest and most commercial. If you prefer a calmer wall of conserved frontage, read about Race Course Road and Farrer Park.

Conservation on Serangoon Road: Little India Conservation Area

Little India Conservation Area was gazetted on 7 July 1989 and is bounded by Serangoon Road, Sungei Road and Jalan Besar. URA later added Desker Road (25 October 1991), Syed Alwi Road (21 January 2008) and Jalan Besar (23 November 2010). Styles in the area run from Early and First Transitional through Late and Second Transitional to Art Deco.

Two temples on the road have their own status. URA lists Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple as a National Monument, and Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple at 141 Serangoon Road was gazetted for conservation on 6 June 2014. For shophouses, URA says conservation permission is required before additions and alterations and before a new use begins.

Practical step: type the unit address into URA's conservation portal and read the applicable guidelines and Specific Restoration Guidelines before you make an offer.

Protection runs lot by lot, so the address, not the road name, tells you what you may change.

Getting to Serangoon Road: Little India, Farrer Park and Rochor

Little India station (NE7 on the North East Line and DT12 on the Downtown Line) is the main access point and sits close to the heart of the road. Farrer Park (NE8) serves the northern stretch, while Rochor (DT13) is a further option on the Downtown Line for the south-western end. Walking time depends on the block, so measure it for your unit.

Buses run along Serangoon Road and the surrounding arterial roads. Frequencies and routes change, so confirm with the operator or LTA before promising a tenant any particular service.

The road is busy and at peak festival periods parts of the area are managed for crowds. That affects deliveries and loading, so ask owners about arrangements and how the unit's rear access works.

Serangoon Road shophouse prices and rent (as of 5 November 2026)

We do not publish prices, rents or yields for Serangoon Road, and we do not recommend relying on any single average. Searches for shophouses in Serangoon Road that were sold recently are best answered with evidence rather than a list.

URA REALIS provides caveat and transaction data. Filter by the address or street, then check property type, tenure and area before comparing. Your lawyer can confirm the actual price on the caveat and in the stamp-duty documents, and an independent valuer can adjust for condition and conservation status. For rent, request signed leases or recent tenancy abstracts and compare floor area and approved use.

A recent sale next door is helpful only if the unit type, tenure and zoning match. A freehold shophouse inside the conservation area and a leasehold unit with a short remaining term are very different assets.

F&B and retail on Serangoon Road

The road supports cafes, eateries and food retail alongside textiles, jewellery and provisions. We make no claims about any named business and none of them is affiliated with this site. If you plan a kitchen, the gates are change of use where required, a food-shop licence, fire and ventilation compliance and a clear exhaust route that URA will accept on a conserved facade.

Footfall is strongest around the temples, Tekka and the station, and weakens as you move along side streets, so treat location within the road as a pricing variable. Check what the neighbouring ground floors do at night, since some blocks are quieter after trading hours.

Retailers should ask how the unit handles deliveries and storage. Long, narrow shophouse floors suit stock-heavy trades, and upper floors often serve as back-of-house.

Investing in and living on Serangoon Road

Serangoon Road offers heritage, strong transit and an established trading identity. The trade-offs are crowding, maintenance of old structures and the fact that the best-known frontage is the most competitive. Value is lot-specific.

On tax, commercial-only zoning typically does not attract ABSD, while residential or mixed zoning can; check current IRAS rates and take advice, since we do not quote rates. Foreign buyers in particular should confirm the zoning before signing an option.

Living above a shop is feasible where the approved use allows it, but expect festival noise and foot traffic. Compare the fringe with Little India as a whole, and read our guide to conservation shophouses for sale before you shortlist.