Private Property Introduction

Currently, there are three main categories of residential properties in Singapore:

Private apartments and landed properties are the most common forms of private residential properties in Singapore. There are also executive condominiums, which are built by HDB but are automatically converted into private properties 10 years from the date of construction.

Private apartments are usually classified as either apartments or condominiums. The distinction between the two types of properties is that owners of condominiums, unlike those of other private apartments, have a share in the common property. This means that condominium owners can have a say in the management of facilities, which may include enclosed car parks, swimming pools, tennis courts, barbecue pits, gymnasiums and playgrounds for children.

The tenure for a private apartment can either be freehold, 99-year leasehold or 999-year leasehold. Private apartments are a popular form of accommodation among expatriates as they are categorised as non-restricted residential properties and as a result, have considerably more lenient eligibility criteria for ownership in comparison to restricted residential properties.

Landed residential properties in Singapore can only be owned by foreigners who have obtained specific approval from the government. This approval is granted on a case-by-case basis.

• Terrace
• Corner Terrace
• Bungalows
• Good Class Bungalows
• Semi-Detach
• Detached
• Cluster House
• Conservation House / Shophouse
• Land only

They tend to be more costly than other types of residential property as land is rather scarce in Singapore. Most landed properties are freehold properties, although some may have 99-year or 999-year leaseholds.

Executive condominiums were initially built by the Singaporean government in a bid to cater to young working professionals. Executive condominiums are government-subsidised and cannot be owned by foreigners within the first 10 years from the date of construction, or sold by their owners within the first five years from the date of construction.

First-time applicants of executive condominiums cannot be existing owners of HDB flats, Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flats or other executive condominiums bought directly from HDB or from a housing developer. Executive condominiums are automatically converted into private properties 10 years from the date of construction.