Freehold, 999-year condos will become harder to find in the long run: expert

District 15 has the highest number of boutique 999-year/freehold projects.

Non-landed homes that are either freehold or on a 999-year lease currently account for more than 40% of all the condo supply, although these types of private housing will become more limited in the long term, according to Huttons.

An analysis by Huttons Data Analytics showed over 142,000 units of the estimated 328,305 non-landed housing supply across the city-state are on either 999-year lease or are freehold, leaving 56% or more than 185,000 units of stock as 99-year leasehold.

The firm said the huge proportion of 999-year/freehold homes may come as a surprise since they are currently billed as rare. 

Huttones noted that these homes were built on land sold before Singapore’s independence in 1965, while the residential plots sold after are on a 99-year lease.

“Therefore, new supply of 999-year/freehold non-landed homes is extremely limited and hinges solely on the successful en-bloc and intensification of older developments. In the future, 999-year/freehold non-landed homes will become rarer and may hold their value better,” it said.

Huttons said nearly 84% of the existing 999-year/freehold housing stock are concentrated in ten districts, namely districts 10, 15, 9, 21, 14, 11, 12, 23, 19 and 5.