Freehold vs Leasehold: What the Data Actually Shows

Every buyer asks this. Instead of the usual rule of thumb, here's what 102,583 real URA condo transactions (2021–2026) actually show — price growth, by region, and how easy each is to resell.

Price Growth, 2021–2026

Average PSF by year, islandwide. Toggle between all transactions and resale-only (which strips out new-launch pricing effects) — the comparison holds either way.

Freehold (incl. 999-yr)Leasehold (99-yr)

Freehold CAGR

3.4%/yr

Leasehold CAGR

5.9%/yr

Basis

All transaction types blended.

By Region

CAGR isn't uniform — it depends heavily on where. Bar length = appreciation rate within each region (not comparable across regions).

CCR

0.5%

6.0%

RCR

5.1%

4.4%

OCR

3.0%

8.3%

RCR is the one segment where freehold actually out-grew leasehold. CCR shows the widest gap — freehold there barely moved.

Liquidity — Which Sells More Easily

Share of all condo transactions, 2021–2026. A bigger share means more buyers and sellers active in that pool — relevant if exit flexibility matters to you.

FH 26.7%

LH 72.6%

Trying to decide for your own situation?

The right answer depends on your holding period, budget, and the specific district you're looking at — not just this islandwide average. Send me what you're considering and I'll walk through the real comps with you.

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Charles Yim · CEA Reg No. R070355J · ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd (L3002382K)

Source: URA private residential transaction data (102,583 condo transactions, Apartment + Condominium property types, 2021–2026), fetched via URA's official API and stored in our own database. Freehold bucket includes Freehold and 999-year leasehold. Region mapping (CCR/RCR/OCR) follows URA's official district classification. CAGR computed only for years with at least 30 transactions (15 for regional splits) in that bucket. Data window is capped at ~5.5 years because URA's transaction API itself only exposes a rolling recent window — not a limitation of our fetching. Last built 20 Jul 2026.