Freehold vs Leasehold in Singapore: What a 99-Year Lease Means for a Condo Buyer

Freehold vs leasehold is one of the first questions Singapore buyers ask about any condo. Freehold property has no end date. Leasehold property is owned for a fixed term, usually 99 years for private homes, after which the land goes back to the state. Tenure affects the price you pay, how the unit ages in value, and how CPF and banks treat it. This guide sets out the differences plainly and explains what a 99-year lease means at LinkTown Residences (Hougang Central Residences), the new launch planned above Hougang MRT (NE14).

The three tenures you will see

LinkTown Residences is on the Hougang Central GLS site, a mixed-use parcel sold by the state on a 99-year lease. Our Hougang Central GLS guide covers the tender and the site.

Why most new launches are leasehold

A large share of land for new private housing comes from the Government Land Sales programme, and GLS residential sites are sold on leasehold terms. Freehold new launches exist, but they usually come from redeveloping older private sites, which are fewer and smaller. For buyers outside the core central region, that means the choice is often between a newer 99-year leasehold project and an older freehold resale unit, rather than two new launches of different tenure. Our new launch vs resale guide looks at that trade-off.

How the lease affects value over time

A 99-year lease loses value as it runs down. The effect is gentle in the early decades and steeper as the remaining lease gets short. Valuers and banks refer to lease-decay curves, often called “Bala’s Table”, to describe this. What it means in practice:

• Early years: for a new 99-year condo, market prices are driven far more by location, transport, supply and interest rates than by the few years of lease used up.
• Later decades: as the remaining lease shortens, the pool of buyers who can use CPF and borrow fully gets smaller, which weighs on resale.
• Collective sales: some older leasehold estates have been sold en bloc for redevelopment, but that depends on the site’s potential and on owners agreeing. It is not something to count on.

Freehold homes are not immune to ageing either. Buildings wear out whatever the tenure, and a 40-year-old freehold block has the same lifts and pipes to replace as a leasehold one.

Tenure, CPF and bank loans

CPF Board’s rule for using Ordinary Account savings is that the property’s remaining lease should cover the youngest buyer using CPF until age 95. If it does not, the amount you can use is pro-rated. A new 99-year project normally clears this comfortably for most buyers. The rule starts to bite on older leasehold units bought later in life. Banks also look at the remaining lease when valuing older leasehold properties. Our guide to using CPF for private property has the detail; confirm your own numbers with CPF Board and your bank.

Price: what the freehold premium buys

Freehold usually costs more per square foot than comparable leasehold nearby, because it is scarcer and holds its land value indefinitely. Whether that premium is worth paying depends on:

• How long you will hold. Over a 10 to 20-year horizon, the difference in remaining lease on a new 99-year project is modest.
• Building age. Many freehold options are older. Compare a new leasehold unit against a freehold unit that may need a sinking-fund-heavy refresh.
• Location and transport. A leasehold condo above an MRT interchange and a freehold condo a bus ride away are not like-for-like, whatever the tenure. Our condo near MRT guide covers what to check.
• Entry price. Compare quantum as well as psf. Our psf guide explains why.

What this means at LinkTown Residences

LinkTown Residences is a 99-year leasehold private condo in District 19, part of an integrated development with a mall of about 300,000 sq ft, a new bus interchange and a direct link to Hougang MRT on the North-East Line. Hougang is also set to become an interchange with the Cross Island Line when Phase 1 opens, targeted around 2030. Analysts expect an average launch price of about S$2,500–2,600 psf; these are estimates, not released prices.

For a buyer weighing it against an older freehold condo in the north-east, the questions are practical ones: how long you plan to stay, what the monthly commute looks like, how old the alternative is, and the total price. The 99-year lease is a known factor to price in, not a reason on its own to buy or avoid a project.

Location matters as much as tenure when comparing prices; our CCR, RCR and OCR guide explains how URA groups areas and where Hougang sits. For the latest estimates, see the price guide.

Register to get LinkTown Residences prices and lease details as soon as they’re released.