Singapore District Map: Defining the CCR, RCR and OCR by the 28 Districts

Singapore District Map: Defining the CCR, RCR and OCR by the 28 Districts

What are CCR, OCR and RCR? Where do these regions fit in the Singapore district map?

Singaporeans sure love acronyms, and the same goes for the real estate sector. Broadly, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has divided Singapore into three main regions, which the URA calls “market segments”. It is now easier to search for upcoming launch condos by typing in these three acronyms!

So what do these acronyms stand for? These 28 Singapore districts are grouped into three regions: the Core Central Region (CCR), Rest of Central Region (RCR), and Outside Central Region (OCR).

Watch Our Video on Singapore’s 28 Districts: CCR, OCR, RCR

Thinking about getting a home? Wanting to know more about properties across Singapore? Hop onto our upcoming Property TourTalks series, an exclusive lineup of bus tours.

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Singapore District Map: OCR, CCR and RCR

The boundaries of these regions are anything but clear-cut, so here’s a map that could help:

CCR OCR RCR city fringe Singapore property map

Core Central Region (CCR): City, Downtown Core and Sentosa

The Core Central Region, also known as the CCR, includes the traditional prime areas of Singapore (i.e. postal districts 9, 10 and 11), and the Downtown Core (including parts of Bugis, south of Ophir Road), as well as Sentosa.

Singapore postal district	Area
9	Orchard, Somerset, River Valley
10	Tanglin, Bukit Timah, Holland
11	Newton, Novena, Dunearn, Watten
1 (Part)	Boat Quay, Raffles Place, Marina Downtown, Suntec City
2 (Part)	Shenton Way, Tanjong Pagar
4 (Part)	Sentosa
6 (Part)	City Hall
7 (Part)	Bugis

What’s not part of CCR Singapore: Outram, Clarke Quay, Chinatown, Bencoolen and anything north of Ophir Road

When looking at the Singapore district map, these districts are where most high-end, luxury properties in Singapore can be found. Many of the private residential properties in the CCR are also freehold in tenure.

Check out these properties available for sale in prime districts 9, 10 and 11 and you’ll know what we’re talking about!

Rest of Central Region (RCR): Central Areas That Are Not Part of CCR

According to the Singapore district map, the Rest of the Central Region, also known as the RCR, is sandwiched between the CCR and the Outside Central Region (OCR).

Singapore postal district	Area
1 (Part)	Marina South
2 (Part)	Chinatown
3	Queenstown, Alexandra, Tiong Bahru
4 (Part)	Harbourfront, Keppel, Telok Blangah
5 (Part)	Buona Vista, Dover, Pasir Panjang
6 (Part)	Fort Canning
7 (Part)	Rochor
8	Little India, Farrer Park
12	Balestier, Whampoa, Toa Payoh Boon Keng, Bendemeer, Kampong Bugis
13 (Part)	Potong Pasir, Bidadari, MacPherson, Upper Aljunied
14 (Part)	Geylang, Dakota, Paya Lebar Central Eunos, Ubi, Aljunied
15 (Part)	Tanjong Rhu, Amber, Meyer, Katong Dunman, Joo Chiat, Marine Parade
20 (Part)	Bishan, Thomson

What’s not part of RCR Singapore: Upper Serangoon, How Sun, Ang Mo Kio, Clementi, Telok Kurau, Kembangan

The RCR is regarded as the intermediate, or mid-tier, region in terms of pricing, between the mass market condos in the OCR region and the high-value properties in the CCR. Various buyer groups are interested in RCR properties – including investors, owner-occupiers, young families, and empty nesters.

Outside Central Region (OCR): Everywhere Else in Singapore

When browsing the Singapore district map, you’ll notice the Outside Central Region (OCR) is about three-quarters the size of Singapore. These are the areas where mass-market condos at the lower range of price points are mostly located, including executive condominiums (ECs).

The Government has plans to bring high-value jobs to the OCR, in the form of Jurong’s transformation into the second CBD, Punggol Digital District and Woodlands Regional Centre.

Singapore postal district	Area
5 (Part)	Clementi, West Coast
14 (Part)	Kembangan, Kaki Bukit
15 (Part)	Telok Kurau, Siglap, Frankel
16	Bedok, Upper East Coast, Bayshore, Tanah Merah, Upper Changi
17	Flora Drive, Loyang, Changi
18	Tampines, Pasir Ris
19	Punggol, Sengkang, Hougang, Kovan, Serangoon, Lorong Ah Soo
20 (Part)	Ang Mo Kio
21	Upper Bukit Timah, Ulu Pandan, Clementi Park
22	Jurong East, Jurong West, Boon Lay
23	Hillview, Bukit Panjang, Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang
24	Kranji, Lim Chu Kang, Sungei Gedong, Tengah
25	Woodlands, Admiralty
26	Lentor, Springleaf, Mandai
27	Yishun, Sembawang
28	Seletar, Seletar Hill, Sengkang West

You could say that these places are “suburbs”, but this would give a false impression of remoteness. Here’s the thing: with excellent MRT connectivity around the island, the OCR is a very viable and affordable housing option even for those who work in the city, with resale condo prices as low as $800 per square foot (psf).

Private residential projects in the OCR are also typically larger, with condos usually clocking in at 300 units or above, barring some boutique developments that are typically located among landed property enclaves. Most OCR properties are 99-year leasehold properties.

Given the stiff competition between projects across various OCR locations, developers are pulling out all the stops to lure buyers. Attractive pricing is only one thing; given the larger size and higher unit counts of OCR projects, developers can afford to include show-stopping facilities, making the projects particularly appealing to young couples and millennial families.

HDB Map: Mature Vs Non-Mature HDB Estates in Singapore

Mature estates in Singapore	Non-mature estates in Singapore
Ang Mo Kio	Bukit Batok
Bedok	Bukit Panjang
Bishan	Choa Chu Kang
Bukit Merah	Hougang
Bukit Timah	Jurong East
Central	Jurong West
Clementi	Punggol
Geylang	Sembawang
Kallang/Whampoa	Sengkang
Marine Parade	Tengah
Pasir Ris	Woodlands
Queenstown	Yishun
Serangoon
Tampines
Toa Payoh

Currently, HDB estates/towns are divided into “mature” and “non-mature” estates. A mature estate is an older residential area that’s been around for at least 20 years with more amenities. For your easy reference, we compiled a list of mature and non-mature estates in Singapore.

New HDB Classification: Standard, Plus, and Prime BTO Flats

Classification	Standard HDB flats	Plus HDB flats	Prime HDB flats
What	Most flats across Singapore	Choicer locations within regions (e.g. near MRT stations and town centres)	Most central, choicest locations
Cost	Most affordable with standard subsidies	Higher price than Standard flats, lower price than Plus flats More subsidies than Standard flats	Highest-priced flat types Most subsidies among all flat types
Minimum Occupation Period (MOP)	Five years	10 years	10 years
HDB resale restrictions	Owners can rent out the entire flat after MOP is fulfilled No income ceiling for resale buyers; and other existing eligibility criteria	Some subsidy clawback after resale Resale buyers will have an imposed income ceiling of $14,000 for both families and singles Owners cannot rent out the entire flat, even after fulfilling MOP At least one buyer must be Singaporean when buying a resale Plus flat 30-month wait-out period for private property owners buying resale Plus flat; and other HDB eligibility criteria	More subsidy clawback after resale; renting of whole flat not allowed even after fulfilling MOP Resale buyers have to meet full BTO eligibility criteria; imposed income ceiling of $14,000 for families and $7,000 for singles At least one buyer must be Singaporean when buying a resale Prime flat 30-month wait-out period for private property owners buying resale Prime flat; and other HDB eligibility criteria

Following the National Day Rally 2023 announcements, however, HDB flats will soon no longer be classified by being built in ‘mature’ and ‘non-mature’ estates. From H2 2024, there will be an introduction of Standard, Plus, and Prime HDB flats, categorised by their proximity within neighbourhoods to MRT stations and closeness to the city centre.

Property TourTalks 2023: Let Us Guide You to Your Dream Home

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