Desker Road Conservation Area
Desker Road Conservation Area is a commercial building in District 8 · Rochor, on land zoned COMMERCIAL under the URA Master Plan. It is freehold. 1 transaction is on record since 1995, most recently in May 2005. 3 units are currently listed for sale. ACRA records 3 live company registrations at this address.
What are the key facts about Desker Road Conservation Area?
- Asset class
- Commercial
- Land-use zone
- COMMERCIAL
- Gross plot ratio
- Subject to Evaluation
- Tenure
- Freehold
- District / Area
- District 8 · Rochor
- Address
- 53,53a Rowell Road
- Land area
- —
- Completed
- Not on record
- Storeys
- 2 (© OpenStreetMap contributors)
- Submarket
- City Fringe
- Listed as
- Shop / Shophouse
- Transactions on record
- 1 (records start 1995)
- Live listings
- 3
- ACRA registrations
- 3
About Desker Road Conservation Area
Desker Road Conservation Area is a commercial conservation area in Rochor (District 08). It is located along Rowell Road, Singapore 208000.
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.
1 transaction has been recorded here, at a median of S$601 psf. The most recent was in May 2005.
3 businesses are currently registered at this address with ACRA.
The nearest MRT is Jalan Besar MRT, 376 m away (about a 6-minute walk). The closest bus stop (Aft Blk 672B) is 228 m away (about a 4-minute walk).
What is Desker Road Conservation Area zoned as?
- 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 Do not quote a plot ratio, and do not compute buildable GFA from it.
What has Desker Road Conservation Area sold for?
| Date | Use | Price | Area | PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2005 | Shop House | S$1.05M | 1,748 sqft | $601 |
URA/JTC records from 1995 — that is where the record starts, not when the building was built. Strata and land deals can mix in one building's history; compare like with like. sqm ↔ sq ft converter
What does space at Desker Road Conservation Area rent for?
Retail space — District 8 retail
Region band · 2026Q3S$ 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).
Market context around Desker Road Conservation Area
- Other City Areas: Rent S$21.21 psf/mth · Vacancy 7.4% (1Q 2026) · Planned / under construction 0.73m sq ft
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.
How fast units move at Desker Road Conservation Area
Sale: between 6 Aug 2026 and 28 Aug 2026, 0 new listings appeared and 0 came off (sold, let or withdrawn). Days on market: not enough history yet — we began tracking on 6 Aug 2026.
One count per unit, however many agents list it. Asking prices are not tracked over time, so price cuts are not shown.
What's been approved at Desker Road Conservation Area?
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.
- 8 Jun 2010ApprovedAdditions & alterations
Proposed amendment to approved plans for additions & alterations to existing 2-storey conserved shophouses with new roof mezzanine for ancillary office & use of 1st storey as eating house & change of use for 2nd storey from office to restaurant (jalan besar -desker road (south of syed alwi road))
- 14 Nov 2008ApprovedAdditions & alterations
Proposed additions & alterations to the existing 2-storey shophouses with addition of new roof mezzanine for ancillary office, change of use 2nd storey from office to restaurant, continue use of the 1st storey as eating house (jalan besar -desker road (south of syed alwi road))
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$54.50 per unit).
What do commercial rents run near Desker Road Conservation Area?
Indicative area yield — District 8 retail
An INDICATIVE AREA yield for District 8 retail — NOT this building's yield, and not any unit's. Commercial rents are published as a district percentile grid, so both halves describe the district.
Priced on STRATA sales only: rent is quoted per unit of lettable area, and commercial land PSF runs far above strata — mixing them would shift the ratio sharply.
Net deducts the 10% non-residential property tax ONLY — not vacancy, maintenance, agent fees, financing, or the 9% GST on purchase.
Retail rents — District 8 ($ psm/month, 2026Q3)
| Floor level · size band | 25th pct | Median | 75th 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 band | 25th pct | Median | 75th 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.
What is available at Desker Road Conservation Area right now?
For sale (3)
- Desker Road Conservation AreaS$11.80M · 3,750 sqft
- Prime Freehold Shophouse off Serangoon Road ShophouseS$7.50M · 2,500 sqft
- Prime Multiple Uses Shophouse Serangoon Road Shophouse Desker Road Rowell RoadS$5.50M · 2,200 sqft
What is near Desker Road Conservation Area?
Getting around
- Jalan Besar MRT376 m · ~6 min
Amenities nearby
Competing premises nearby
Retail and F&B premises competing for the same footfall — context for an occupier, not a selling point.
Straight-line distances. Source: PropKaki amenities data.
Getting there and parking at Desker Road Conservation Area
nearest MRT/LRT Jalan Besar (DT22) 343 m, about 21,000 taps a weekday; 5 more stations within 1 km; bus stops within 400 m: 3, about 14,000 taps a weekday; Rochor: 31,654 resident workers (Census 2020, by workplace); about 33,000 residents within 1 km (June 2026); 1 other mall 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
- Jalan Besar (DT22)343 m · about 21,000 weekday taps
- Farrer Park (NE8)363 m · about 57,000 weekday taps
- Rochor (DT13)536 m · about 22,000 weekday taps
- Little India (NE7 / DT12)558 m · about 55,000 weekday taps
- Bugis (EW12 / DT14)822 m · about 109,000 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
3 bus stops within 400 m, with about 14,000 boardings and alightings on an average weekday.
Public car parks within 500 m
- Desker Rd (URA)43 mS$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · season S$100/month · 87 car lots
- Rowell Rd (URA)49 mS$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 88 car lots
- Backlane (Desker Rd) (URA)97 m
- Hindoo Rd - Kampong Ka Por Rd Off St (URA)103 mS$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 13 car lots
- Blk 639/640 Rowell Court (HDB)110 mS$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · gantry 4.5 m · 50 car lots
HDB season (car): Tier 1 $80/month (a resident's or registered HDB shop/industrial tenant's first car); Tier 2 (other cars, non-residents) $90 Rest of Island, $150 Designated Area, $165 Restricted Zone (surface). Which zone this car park is in is not published as data.
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.
Who's registered at Desker Road Conservation Area?
- Wholesale and retail trade2
- Accommodation and food services1
- Information and communications0
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.
Frequently asked questions about Desker Road Conservation Area
Where is Desker Road Conservation Area?⌄
Desker Road Conservation Area is at 53,53A Rowell Road, Singapore 208000, 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 1 recorded transaction, the median price is S$601 psf. The latest was in May 2005.
What is the nearest MRT station to Desker Road Conservation Area?⌄
Jalan Besar MRT is the closest, 376 m away (about a 6-minute walk).
How many businesses are registered at Desker Road Conservation Area?⌄
3 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.
The facts are here — now get the verdict on Desker Road Conservation Area.
Ask what a unit here would fetch, what the zone allows, or how it compares.
PropKakiHere's the building's zone, its recorded deals and every live unit — and where the asking prices sit against them.