Is there still a premium behind freehold property?

Owning something freehold offers security, though it might just be an emotional one for families and foreigners

Leslie Yee

Published Tue, Jun 29, 2021 · 05:50 AM

The Level Ground

Singapore

DOES a property's land tenure matter? Judging by the material premiums paid by buyers for freehold units here, it apparently does.

A study of private non-landed residential transactions by researchers from the National University of Singapore's Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies showed that freehold property in Singapore was sold at 10.4 per cent higher on the average per unit price than comparable leasehold properties.

This premium is calculated after controlling for property age, unit size, distance to MRT stations and expressways, and other unobserved planning region variations, the study published in…