Only top 5% of Singapore earners can afford a landed property: study

Mortgage payments may cost up to $9,086 per month.

With the skyrocketing prices of landed properties in Singapore, an average terrace house sold in H1 can only be afforded by buyers with a monthly income of around $34,646 or those who belong to the top 5% earners in Singapore or professionals such as specialist medical practitioners, CFOs, financial directors, and lawyers, a study by ValueChampion revealed.

“If we assume that you are making a downpayment of 25%, you will need $714,590 for the downpayment and will pay about S$9,086 for your monthly mortgage payment given an interest rate of approximately 2%,” ValueChampion junior research analyst Anastassia Evlanova explained.

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Based on their research, the firm found that the most expensive properties are Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) which typically cover over 1,400 sq m and are quite rare, with only around 2,700 of them built mainly in District 10 and 11. Their costs falls to more than $10,000 per square foot.

Detached properties came in next with average prices sold for $13.1m which translates to a rate of $9,002 psf on average. Meanwhile, semi-detached properties and terrace houses were sold for $4.12m and $2.86m on average in H1.

“Furthermore, landed properties come with different types of leaseholds which can also change how much a home costs,” Evlanova explained. “Freehold properties are the most expensive, followed by 999-year leaseholds and 99-year leaseholds.”

Also read: Landed home resales jumped 12.7% in Q2

In this case, Evlanova noted that smaller 99-year lease semi-detached landed homes with around 10-30 years left may tend to be cheaper. According to her, a few cost $300,000 to $400,000, making it cheaper than the average price of a 4-room HDB resale flat.