Sometime last year, the government announced that it plans to develop the former seletar airbase into a global aerospace hub. Presently the idyllic and quaint colonial looking surroundings are welcoming massive heavy-weight bulldozers and excavation equipment, poised to revamp the sleepy and cosy little “retirement village” into an aerospace hotspot, attracting global aerospace honchos to setup base there.

Seletar Airbase (which is still operational) was Singapore’s first international civil airport (many don’t know this but its true). Presently before the bulldozers charge in housed a 9-hole golf course just beside it, and some old colonial houses (previously for colonial air force officers quarters). Seletar air base has continued to operate as a base for business & general aviation operators and MRO providers, as well as flight training. 

Plans for the place is to build a new Seletar Aerospace Park that will support a new integrated aerospace industry cluster incorporating aerospace MRO; design and manufacturing of aircraft systems and components; business & general aviation activities; and an aviation campus for the training of pilots, aviation professionals and technical personnel.

So what does this information have to do with property?

Sorry for taking such a round-about approach to giving you news, but after this new aerospace hub is built, it is going to attract people to work there, etc, so the property in that area like in Yishun, Punggol, Sembawang, Sengkang that are all in the neighbouring vicinity will start to rise. However, it will still take several years before the aerospace hub is ready and operational, but if you’re looking to invest in some property that is not too expensive, and does have a good rental yield, it is good to consider properties in that area.