Simei Symphony BTO Review: 2 minutes to Upper Changi MRT station

Simei Symphony is a BTO project launched in Tampines in the July 2025 HDB BTO sales exercise. It is the first BTO project launched in Simei in 10 years.

Bounded by Upper Changi Road East and Simei Road, the Simei Symphony BTO site is a stone’s throw from Upper Changi MRT station on the Downtown Line, which makes its location surprisingly convenient.

Key collection for Simei Symphony (July 2025 BTO) is expected in 2029, after a relatively quick 36-month wait. Classified as Standard, the project comes with a five-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP), so the first resale flats should hit the market in 2034.

Let’s see if Simei Symphony is a good buy.

*Information from 99.co, PropertyGuru, and other property listing websites is accurate as of time of writing.

Simei Symphony Price

The Simei Symphony BTO price list at the July 2025 launch was as follows: $193,000 to $280,000 for 2-room Flexi flats, $529,000 to $625,000 for 4-room flats and $658,000 to $763,000 for 5-room flats.

These prices are on the high side for a Standard project. Tampines was previously classified as a mature estate, and Simei Symphony is widely considered the most desirable neighbourhood out of the four Standard projects in this launch.

Right now, there is a 4-room flat on Simei Lane, a five-minute walk from Upper Changi MRT station, currently being listed for sale on PropertyGuru for $868,888. The flat was built in 2011 and is one of the rare newer resale flats in an an area mostly populated by older flats.

This listing suggests that the first Simei Symphony owners have the potential to enjoy decent capital gains when their MOP is fulfilled. I personally would not expect a windfall, however.

Over the past decades, investors in Simei have benefitted from the expansion of Changi Business Park and Changi Airport, as well as the opening of Singapore University of Technology and Design. Moving forward, as there are no major plans in place for Simei, investors might need to moderate their expectations.

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Simei Symphony Site Plan

Have a look at the Simei Symphony site plan to look at the positioning of the residential blocks and shared amenities. Residents enjoy the use of children’s playgrounds, fitness stations, precinct pavilions and drop-off porches.

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Simei Symphony BTO Location

Simei Symphony is bounded by Upper Changi Road East and Simei Road, a two-minute walk from Upper Changi MRT station on the Downtown Line, a 15-minute walk from Expo MRT station on the Downtown Line and a 15-minute walk from Simei MRT station on the East-West Line.

The proximity to Upper Changi MRT station is a real game changer. While Tampines is considered far away from the city centre, the Downtown Line offers a direct journey to Telok Ayer in the CBD in 29 minutes.

This is also a highly convenient location for anybody who works at Expo or Changi Business Park, as both locations are reachable within 11 to 18 minutes on foot, making it possible even to walk or cycle to work. Changi Airport is within easy reach by MRT.

The Simei Symphony location is also well-placed in terms of shopping and dining amenities, as it is less than a 15-minute walk to Eastpoint Mall, a 15-minute walk to Singapore Expo and an 18-minute walk to Changi City Point.

It is also a decent location for families with kids as there are a few schools nearby, including Changkat Primary School, Changkat Changi Secondary School and Singapore University of Technology and Design, all of which are located within 1 km and within walking distance.

Despite the distance from the city centre, I would still consider the Simei Symphony location a very convenient one due to its proximity to the nearest MRT station and easy accessibility to the workplaces and shops in the Expo and Changi area. While it does have a high price tag for a Standard project, I feel it offers the first batch of BTO buyers good value for money.

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Simei Symphony Floor Plan

Check out the Simei Symphony BTO floor plan. Simei Symphony consists of 2-room Flexi, 4-room and 5-room flats.

2-Room Floor Plan

There are two 2-room Flexi flat layouts on offer—Type 1 flats measuring 40 sqm, inclusive of air con ledge, and Type 2 flats measuring 48 sqm, also inclusive of air con ledge. 

While the difference in size is only 8 sqm, the Type 1 flats feel a lot more cramped than the Type 2 flats due to the layout not being very space efficient. In particular, in the Type 1 flats, there is a long corridor running from the entrance to the living/dining area, which creates dead space that can’t be used. In the Type 2 flats, the corridor at the entrance is a lot smaller, and the living/dining area is much bigger, and also has a nook that can be repurposed into a small dining area or office.

4-Room Floor Plan

The Simei Symphony layout for 4-room flats is highly typical of this flat type. The flats measure 93 sqm, inclusive of air con ledge. It should just be noted that because the household shelter is located to the left of the main entrance, the hallway is quite narrow.

5-Room Floor Plan

The 5-room flats measure 113 sqm, inclusive of air con ledge. This is again quite a typical layout, and similar to the 4-room layout but with a much more spacious kitchen and living/dining area. The living/dining area can comfortably accommodate a study or home office without compromising on the living and dining spaces.

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Simei Symphony Rent Price

As Simei Symphony is a Standard project, owners will be able to rent out the entire flat after the five-year MOP is over.

There isn’t a lot of rental activity in the immediate vicinity, but on PropertyGuru, the going rate for 4-room flats on Simei Street 1, a 14-minute walk from Upper Changi MRT station, is $3,600 a month. Mapped against current BTO prices, this would produce a fairly good rental yield.

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Simei Symphony Review

I am actually surprised by how convenient the Simei Symphony location is. Not only is it a stone’s throw from workplaces in the East and Changi Airport, it also offers a direct commute to the CBD of a little over half an hour, due to the MRT station being so nearby and the Downtown Line offering a direct connection to the city.

For this reason, I would consider this a convenient project for those who work both in the CBD and in the east, and who are looking for a value-for-money way to have an easy commute to work, without forking out the cash for a city centre or city fringe property.

Due to the relatively high BTO prices, I would be cautious in terms of investment. That said, while the current resale prices and rental yield in the area don’t look that great, for the first owners, I think Simei Symphony has the potential to do better than what current prices would have us believe, thanks to its proximity to the nearest MRT station and the fact that it is the first BTO launch in the area in a decade.

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