CommercialCOMMERCIALConservationFreeholdDistrict 8 · Rochor

Desker Road Conservation Area

Reviewed by Nathan TangUpdated 8 November 2026Data through Jun 2022
Quick Summary

Desker Road Conservation Area is a commercial building in District 8 · Rochor, on land zoned COMMERCIAL under the URA Master Plan. It is freehold. 2 transactions are on record since 1995, most recently in Jun 2022. ACRA records 2 live company registrations at this address.

1

What are the key facts about Desker Road Conservation Area?

Key takeawayDesker Road Conservation Area is a commercial building in District 8 · Rochor, zoned COMMERCIAL, held freehold.
Asset class
Commercial
Land-use zone
COMMERCIAL
Gross plot ratio
Subject to Evaluation
Tenure
Freehold
District / Area
District 8 · Rochor
Address
81,81a,81b Desker Road
Land area
—
Completed
Not on record
Storeys
Not on record
Submarket
City Fringe
Transactions on record
2 (records start 1995)
Live listings
None
ACRA registrations
2
2

About Desker Road Conservation Area

Desker Road Conservation Area is a commercial conservation area in Rochor (District 08). It is located along Desker Road, Singapore 209604.

Under the URA Master Plan it sits on land zoned commercial. The site falls within a conservation area, so external alterations are subject to URA conservation guidelines. It lies inside the Central Area.

The site is freehold.

2 transactions have been recorded here, at a median of S$2,717 psf. The most recent was in June 2022.

2 businesses are currently registered at this address with ACRA.

The nearest MRT is Jalan Besar MRT, 408 m away (about a 6-minute walk). The closest bus stop (Bef Tai Hoe Hotel) is 199 m away (about a 3-minute walk).

3

What is Desker Road Conservation Area zoned as?

Key takeawayDesker Road Conservation Area sits on land zoned COMMERCIAL, with conservation status, inside the Central Area.
Land-use zone
COMMERCIAL
Gross plot ratio
Subject to Evaluation
Conservation area
Little India
Conserved building
Yes
Urban design area
Udga
Central Area
Yes

URA has not published a fixed plot ratio for this site — the Master Plan records "EVA" (Subject to Evaluation), meaning intensity is decided case by case on application. Do not quote a plot ratio, and do not compute buildable GFA from it.

Run the full zoning report for this building →

4

What has Desker Road Conservation Area sold for?

Key takeaway2 transactions are on record since 1995, most recently in Jun 2022 — too few to support a median, so the deals themselves are listed instead.
DateUsePriceAreaPSF
Jun 2022Shop HouseS$5.20M1,224 sqft$4,249
Jan 2010Shop HouseS$1.45M1,224 sqft$1,185

URA/JTC records from 1995 — that is where the record starts, not when the building was built. Strata and land deals can mix in one building's history; compare like with like. sqm ↔ sq ft converter

5

What does space at Desker Road Conservation Area rent for?

Key takeawayNo street- or building-level rent is published here. Across District 8 retail, retail space rented at a median of $8.25 psf a month in 2026Q3, with the middle half of leases between $6.30 and $9.03. That is not this building's own rent, and never a quote for a particular unit.

Retail space — District 8 retail

Region band · 2026Q3
25th pct
$6.30
$67.76 psm
Median
$8.25
$88.77 psm
75th pct
$9.03
$97.19 psm

S$ per sq ft per month

A REGION BAND — URA's grid for the whole district or location, not this street or building. Say "across <district/location>, …", never that this building rents for it. The middle of URA's retail grid for District 8 across every floor and size band — a ground-floor shop and an upper-floor unit sit at very different points in it.

Source: URA REALIS retail rental analysis (district × floor × size grid).

6

Market context around Desker Road Conservation Area

Key takeawayBrokers' retail figures for this part of Singapore — a broker's market figure, not this building's rent.
CBRE, 2Q 2026 (island-wide)
  • Islandwide: Rent S$28.15 psf/mth
Singapore Figures Q2 2026
Cushman & Wakefield, 2Q 2026
  • Other City Areas: Rent S$21.21 psf/mth · Vacancy 7.4% (1Q 2026) · Planned / under construction 0.73m sq ft
Singapore Retail MarketBeat Q2 2026

Official series (URA, 2026Q3): Retail vacancy rate (Whole Island) 6.5 (-0.4 pp on the year) · Retail rental index (Central Region) 81.2 (+1.4% on the year).

Brokers draw submarkets and grades differently; each figure is the broker's own, for its own area, cited to its report. Rents are per square foot per month.

7

What's been approved at Desker Road Conservation Area?

Key takeawayURA has approved 3 changes of use at Desker Road Conservation Area since 2000, most recently in 2009. This is the building's planning history, not today's approved use of any unit: confirm a unit's approved use with URA before signing.
F&B and nightlife here

No new bars, pubs, nightclubs or karaoke lounges (a Historic Conservation Area).

Per URA's Use of Buildings in Conservation Areas. A planning guideline for the area, not a decision on any unit; it applies to new eating houses and bars, not to one already approved.

  1. 7 Oct 2009Approved
    Change of use: office → residential

    Proposed change of use of the 2nd storey of the 2-storey building from office to residential (jalan besar -desker road (south of syed alwi road))

  2. 2 Jan 2009Approved
    Change of use: shop → restaurant for 1st storey

    Proposed change of use from shop to restaurant for 1st storey of existing 2-storey conservation building (jalan besar -desker road (south of syed alwi road))

  3. 10 Nov 2006Renewed
    Continued use as warehouse

    Continued use as warehouse at 1st storey

  4. 12 Dec 2005Approved
    Change of use: shop → warehouse

    Change of use at 1st storey from shop to warehouse on lot 571 ts 16 at 81 desker road

  5. 25 Oct 2000Approved
    Additions & alterations

    Proposed retention of additions/alterations to existing 2 storey building and use of 1st storey as shop, 2nd storey & roof mezzanine as office

Source: URA planning decisions (URA Data Service), matched to this building by address or land lot. A past approval can lapse (a temporary permission) and belongs to the unit it names. The authoritative approved use of a unit comes from URA's Enquiry on Approved Use of Premises (S$54.50 per unit).

8

What do commercial rents run near Desker Road Conservation Area?

Key takeawayURA publishes contracted-rent percentile grids quarterly (latest: 2026Q3) — the benchmark evidence an asking rent should be weighed against.

Indicative area yield — District 8 retail

Gross yield (area)
3.6%
3.3% net of property tax
Rent side (median of bands)
$88.77 psm/mo
2026Q3
Price side (strata, 5y)
$2,744 psf
59 sales

An INDICATIVE AREA yield for District 8 retail — NOT this building's yield, and not any unit's. Commercial rents are published as a district percentile grid, so both halves describe the district.

Priced on STRATA sales only: rent is quoted per unit of lettable area, and commercial land PSF runs far above strata — mixing them would shift the ratio sharply.

Net deducts the 10% non-residential property tax ONLY — not vacancy, maintenance, agent fees, financing, or the 9% GST on purchase.

Retail rents — District 8 ($ psm/month, 2026Q3)

Floor level · size band25th pctMedian75th pct
Level 2 & 3 · 30 & Below$67.76$96.11$143.21
Level 1 · 30 & Below$76.14$92.59$171.04
B1 & Below · 30 & Below$90.68$93.21$137.37
Level 2 & 3 · >30 - 100$46.15$61.63$86.96
Level 1 · >30 - 100$73.94$90.91$97.19
B1 & Below · >30 - 100$82.17$88.77$163.62
Level 1 · >100 - 300$59.57$69.55$95.87
Level 2 & 3 · >100 - 300$43.92$47.03$64.17

Office rents — Central Area ($ psm/month, 2026Q3)

Building class · size band25th pctMedian75th pct
Category 2 · 100 & Below$54.65$69.39$88.80
Category 1 · 100 & Below$103.62$122.24$132.43
Category 1 · >100 - 200$116.28$126.99$148.35
Category 2 · >100 - 200$65.57$82.87$97.63
Category 1 · >200 - 500$114.67$128.09$145.77
Category 2 · >200 - 500$64.83$82.57$94.73
Category 1 · >500 - 1000$106.56$137.78$148.23
Category 2 · >500 - 1000$85.04$89.34$109.80

URA REALIS rental-contract percentiles for the district/location — an area benchmark, not this building's own rents. Office and retail are dimensioned differently and are never mixed.

9

What is near Desker Road Conservation Area?

Key takeawayThe nearest MRT/LRT is Jalan Besar MRT, about 408 m away — and 3 competing retail premisess operate nearby.

Getting around

Amenities nearby

Rowell Rd Os · 114 mTayka Medical · 135 mHotel · 141 mBef Tai Hoe Hotel · 199 mPlace Of Worship · 230 mFarrer Park MRT Exit I · 330 mEducational Institution · 449 mFarrer Park Hospital · 491 mJalan Besar Community Club · 671 mKallang Polyclinic · 946 m

Competing premises nearby

Retail and F&B premises competing for the same footfall — context for an occupier, not a selling point.

Pardeshi Pte. Ltd. · 72 mBerseh Food Centre · 202 mCity Square Mall · 305 m

Straight-line distances. Source: PropKaki amenities data.

10

Getting there and parking at Desker Road Conservation Area

Key takeawayThe nearest station is Farrer Park (NE8), 329 m away — a busy station, with about 57,000 taps in and out on an average weekday. 67 public car parks are within 500 m; the cheapest URA season parking nearby is S$100 a month.
Foot traffic: busier than 68% of retail buildings

nearest MRT/LRT Farrer Park (NE8) 329 m, about 57,000 taps a weekday; 6 more stations within 1 km; bus stops within 400 m: 5, about 18,000 taps a weekday; Rochor: 31,654 resident workers (Census 2020, by workplace); about 34,000 residents within 1 km (June 2026); 2 other malls within 1 km. Ranked against 12,856 retail buildings by PropKaki's model: a relative score, not a footfall count.

A relative score from PropKaki's model (station and bus taps nearby, workers and residents around, and competing malls), not a count of people.

Stations within 1 km

  • Farrer Park (NE8)329 m · about 57,000 weekday taps
  • Jalan Besar (DT22)376 m · about 21,000 weekday taps
  • Rochor (DT13)592 m · about 22,000 weekday taps
  • Little India (NE7 / DT12)628 m · about 55,000 weekday taps
  • Lavender (EW11)773 m · about 39,000 weekday taps

Taps are fare-card taps in and out at the station's gates on an average weekday (Jul 2026 to Sep 2026) — people passing through, not visitors to Desker Road Conservation Area. Transfers between lines don't tap, so interchanges read low.

Bus

5 bus stops within 400 m, with about 18,000 boardings and alightings on an average weekday.

Public car parks within 500 m

  • Desker Rd (URA)34 m
    S$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · season S$100/month · 87 car lots
  • Syed Alwi Rd (Jln Besa R - Serangoon Rd) (URA)61 m
    S$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 44 car lots
  • Backlane (Desker Rd) (URA)98 m
  • Verdun Rd (URA)105 m
    S$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 7 car lots
  • Rowell Rd (URA)115 m
    S$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 88 car lots

Public car parks only, by straight-line distance, with the operator's published rates. Desker Road Conservation Area's own car park, if it has one, and its charges are not in the open data.

11

Who's registered at Desker Road Conservation Area?

Key takeaway2 live companies (and LLPs and branches; sole proprietors are not counted) list Desker Road Conservation Area as their registered address. These are registered businesses, not who occupies the space.
  • Accommodation and food services
    2

Registered businesses, not who occupies the space: companies, LLPs and branches whose REGISTERED address is this building (ACRA), by industry. Sole proprietors are not counted; no business is named. ACRA, as of 2026-09-16.

12

Frequently asked questions about Desker Road Conservation Area

Where is Desker Road Conservation Area?⌄

Desker Road Conservation Area is at 81,81A,81B Desker Road, Singapore 209604, in the Rochor planning area.

What is Desker Road Conservation Area zoned as?⌄

Desker Road Conservation Area sits on land zoned commercial under the URA Master Plan.

What is the tenure of Desker Road Conservation Area?⌄

Desker Road Conservation Area is freehold.

Is Desker Road Conservation Area a conserved property?⌄

Yes. Desker Road Conservation Area falls within a URA conservation area, so external works are subject to conservation guidelines.

What have units at Desker Road Conservation Area sold for?⌄

Across 2 recorded transactions, the median price is S$2,717 psf. The latest was in June 2022.

What is the nearest MRT station to Desker Road Conservation Area?⌄

Jalan Besar MRT is the closest, 408 m away (about a 6-minute walk).

How many businesses are registered at Desker Road Conservation Area?⌄

2 businesses are currently registered at this address with ACRA. That is a measure of registered addresses, not of how many businesses physically occupy the building.

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