Singapore Real Estate Market

Singapore Real Estate Market Trends and Insights

Robust Foreign Investor Interest Driven by Political Stability and Strong Legal Frameworks

Foreign capital continues to view Singapore as a low-risk base due to contract enforceability, clear taxation, and efficient dispute resolution. The Economic Development Board registered USD 10 billion in fixed-asset commitments during 2024, channeling funds into semiconductor, biopharma, and AI projects that indirectly enlarge prime office and industrial absorption. The Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass, introduced in 2023, sustains inflows of global talent and underpins premium rental demand. Together, these forces reinforce the long-run attractiveness of the Singapore real estate market.

Government-Backed Urban Planning Spurring Long-Term Development

The Urban Redevelopment Authority Draft Master Plan 2025 sets an integrated, climate-resilient blueprint that will reshape the Singapore real estate market over the next decade. Flagship projects include the 2,000-acre Greater Southern Waterfront and the 800-hectare Long Island reclamation, both adding mixed housing, commercial clusters, and 20 kilometers of waterfront recreation while enhancing coastal defense. Planned MRT extensions such as the Tengah and Seletar Lines will connect more than 400,000 households, encouraging value migration into previously underserved districts^{[1]Urban Redevelopment Authority, “Master Plan 2025 Highlights,” Urban Redevelopment Authority, ura.gov.sg}.

Sustained Demand in Luxury and High-End Residential Segment from Global UHNWIs

Global ultra-wealthy buyers continue to favor Singapore for asset-preservation and lifestyle motives. While bungalow transactions moderated after the 2024 increase in Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty, purchases of heritage shophouses exempt from many cooling measures climbed, with average prices surpassing USD 3,700 per square foot. Parallel growth is evident in high-end leasing, where ABSD costs have nudged many UHNWIs toward renting prime homes, stabilizing yields in core districts. These nuances signal a maturing luxury layer within the Singapore real estate market.

Strategic Positioning as Regional Business Hub Supporting Office and Mixed-Use Growth

Singapore’s headquarters appeal persists even as hybrid work reforms space demand. New districts such as Punggol Digital District will host 28,000 jobs and integrate academic and residential uses, illustrating the shift toward campus-style mixed assets. CBD towers remain the preferred address for finance and technology leaders, and consolidation moves by Chinese tech majors underscore confidence in premium downtown offices. Developers are therefore re-configuring floorplates for collaborative, tech-enabled environments.

Stringent Cooling Measures and Stamp Duties Tempering Speculative Residential Investment

Higher stamp duties, tighter loan-to-value ceilings and a 15-month wait-out period for private-to-HDB movers have slowed transactional velocity. HDB resale price growth eased to 1.6% in Q1 2025 following the 2024 policy package. Private new-home sales fell below 350 units in May 2025, underscoring policy effectiveness, yet structural demand remains intact thanks to wage growth and immigration.

Limited Land Supply and High Land Acquisition Costs Constraining New Development

Land scarcity intensifies bidding competition. The 1H 2025 Government Land Sales slate raised private housing supply to 8,505 units, a marginal uplift that illustrates physical limits. Public-sector swaps and underground space studies are emerging as alternative strategies, but elevated land premiums continue to pressure developer margins and lift achievable selling prices.

Segment Analysis

By Property Type: Commercial Momentum Outpaces Residential Dominance

The residential segment commanded 53.1% of 2024 revenue, underscoring Singapore's real estate market size leadership in people-centric development. Government plans to launch more than 50,000 Build-to-Order flats between 2025 and 2027 reinforce a stable base of owner-occupiers. Classification of Standard, Plus, and Prime flats links subsidies to location value, encouraging balanced demand across townships. Private projects now favor integrated formats where residences sit above retail podiums and community amenities, supporting resilient pipeline absorption^{[2]Housing & Development Board, “Build-to-Order Flat Supply 2025-2027,” Housing & Development Board, hdb.gov.sg}.

Commercial stock is expanding fastest at a 5.13% CAGR through 2030 as the economy digitalizes. Logistics and industrial assets gain from Singapore’s role in semiconductor and e-commerce supply chains; the construction of an enlarged Changi air-freight zone and Tuas Port automation will lift warehouse take-up. Meanwhile, investors target data-center campuses and decentralized offices with green credentials, signaling a pivot toward income streams less tied to traditional retail or single-tenant offices. This reorientation underpins the forward trajectory of the Singapore real estate market.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Business Model: Rental Segment Accelerates Under Ownership Constraints

Sales transactions held 61.4% of activity in 2024 yet rental demand is growing at a brisk 5.27% CAGR to 2030. Rising expatriate counts, the Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass and a rebound in international student enrolments are lifting residential leasing volumes, with HDB rental approvals up 12% year-on-year in Q1 2025. At the same time, higher ABSD costs and mortgage rate volatility make long-term renting a flexible alternative, especially for globally mobile professionals.

The sales channel continues to benefit from first-timer support, including one-off 2025 property-tax rebates and enhanced CPF grants. Commercial disposition activity remains selective in a higher-rate climate, but REIT acquisitions of grade-A offices and urban logistics blocks indicate sustained confidence. Developers that bundle smart-home features with ESG-aligned communal spaces are best placed to capture the evolving preferences that define the Singapore real estate market.

By End-User: Corporates Drive Sophistication Amid Household Dominance

Individuals and households represented 69.6% of gross transaction value in 2024, reflecting policy emphasis on broad-based homeownership. Housing grants, Fresh Start incentives, and Silver Housing Bonus top-ups ease affordability and encourage right-sizing among seniors. Demographically, a sub-1.0 fertility rate is gradually reshaping unit-size preferences toward two-bedroom and studio formats.

Corporate and SME users are forecast to expand at 5.51% CAGR by 2030, tapping build-to-suit industrial plots, sale-leaseback deals, and sustainability-linked leases. Institutional appetite deepens as the Monetary Authority of Singapore introduces a uniform 50% leverage ceiling and a 1.5× interest-coverage threshold for REITs, promoting disciplined capital structures. Enterprise demand, therefore, underpins an increasingly sophisticated Singapore real estate market.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

The Core Central Region (CCR) captured 42.2% of Singapore real estate market revenue in 2024, reflecting the enduring pull of Marina Bay, Orchard Road and Sentosa’s luxury enclaves. Prime office rents in Raffles Place and Marina Bay touched their highest levels since 2010, supported by global finance and technology tenants that value governance certainty and talent access. Luxury retail on Orchard Road benefits from ongoing pedestrian-friendly redesigns that create experiential sub-precincts and support footfall recovery. Nonetheless, tighter residential levies have cooled high-ticket bungalow sales, signaling that even ultra-wealthy buyers now scrutinize pricing^{[3]Land Transport Authority, “Rail Expansion Projects,” Land Transport Authority, lta.gov.sg}.

The Rest of the Central Region is gaining momentum. Rail projects such as the Jurong Region Line and the potential Seletar spur will reduce travel times and improve last-mile links for more than 400,000 households. Tengah, marketed as the first eco-smart town, showcases centralised cooling and autonomous shuttle trials, reinforcing Singapore’s green and digital aspirations. The 2,000-acre Greater Southern Waterfront will merge residential, commercial and recreational offerings, incentivising firms to relocate and households to trade proximity for integrated lifestyles.

Outside the Central Region, areas leverage industrial policy. The fully automated Tuas Port is expected to handle 65 million TEUs annually by 2040, anchoring logistics real-estate take-up and drawing supporting housing activity. PSA International’s USD 480 million supply-chain hub and semiconductor fabrication investments in Jurong illustrate manufacturing-led demand. As a result, suburban estates around industrial corridors are transitioning into balanced townships, adding depth to the Singapore real estate market.