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Singapore Landed House - How much you Know?


A content on the difference type of landed houses in Singapore
Singapore Landed House , How much You Know?

Singapore is a small country, it has only a land area of 728.6 Square Kilometre.

Owning a landed house in Singapore is the ultimate dream of every Singaporean.

The land is scarce here, to accommodate the housing need of the residents in Singapore, the residential housing in Singapore is made up of 2 areas.

  1. Public Housing - Hdb flats (estimate 80% of the housing)

  2. Private Housing - Non-landed (est 14.8%) and landed house (est 5.2%)


Singapore has one of the world's highest homeownership rates, but a landed property is still out of reach for many Singaporeans.

A recent study from the Singapore Department of Statistics shows that only 5% of Singaporeans live in a landed home.


The landed house in Singapore, whether it's a terrace, semi-detached, bungalow, or GCB (super-luxe, good class bungalow), is not only rare but also expensive.

Due to its exclusivity, owning a land property is considered a sign of wealth and prestige.


What Is a Landed House in Singapore?


An updated of the numbers of landed houses in Singapore
The numbers of landed house till date

As of 2020, Singapore had approximately 68.4 thousand landed houses as shown in the charts above by Statista.

These referred to the landed houses where the owner own the title to the land.

In Singapore, the term landed house normally refers to terraced, semi or fully detached houses.


There are a few types of landed houses in Singapore, mainly:

An important difference between landed property and non-landed property is the land title. With a landed property, the plot of land the house sits on is owned by the owner.


Types of Landed house You Can Find in Singapore

As mentioned earlier, there are several types of landed houses in Singapore.

Let explore what is the difference between them.

1. Terrace House

Singapore Landed House -  Terrace house
Terrace House - Nim Collection

The Urban Redevelopment Authority, a terrace house consists of two or more houses that are connected by a common wall.


Terrace houses are classified into two types, Type 1 and Type 2.

The difference between Type 1 and Type 2 Terrace Houses is the plot area size.


Type 1 Terrace House, has a bigger plot area size.

Type 1 Intermediate terrace house, a minimum plot area of 150 sqm and minimum frontage width of six-metre.


For Type 1 Corner Terrace House, 200 sqm is the minimum plot area and a frontage width of

eight metres.


As for Type 2 Intermediate Terrace House. the land area is much smaller. 80 sqm is the minimum land area with a minimum frontage width of six-metre.


A Type 2 Corner Terrace house has the same minimum land area as an intermediate terrace house, but the frontage width must be at least eight metres.

2. Semi-detached House

www.singapore-landed-house.com
Semi-detach house - Bright Hill Residences

The next in line will be the Semi-detached houses.

These are a pair of adjacent houses with a minimum plot area of 200 sqm, separated by a common wall. Semi-detached houses are either attached side-by-side or back-to-back. The frontage width for a Semi-detached house must not be less than eight meters.

3. Bungalow

www,singapore-landed-house.com - bungalow house
Bungalow House - Sentosa Pearl Island

A bungalow house is a stand-alone building, “detached” from other houses.

Bungalows House (Detached House) is one of the largest types of landed housing you can find in Singapore. In a bungalow house, the wall isn't attached to another landed property, this offers residents a high level of privacy and exclusivity.


There are four “classes” within the faction of Bungalow Houses.


This is differentiated supported their respective plots of land:

Class 1: from 400 sqm till 550 square metres

Class 2: from 550 sqm till 700 square metres

Class 3: from 700 sqm till 1000 square metres

Class 4: from 1000 sqm till 1400 square metres


The minimum width (frontage) for a bungalow is ten metres.


Bungalows can be built in any of the designated landed housing areas including semi-detached housing, mixed-landed, bungalow and GCB areas.


A bungalow outside a GCB area has a minimum plot size of 400 sqm and maximum site coverage of 50%, whereas a bungalow in a GCB area has a minimum plot size of 1,400 sq m and maximum site coverage of 40%.


4. Good Class Bungalow (GCB)

Good Class bungalows are the most prestigious and exclusive type of landed housing in Singapore.

What are the differences between a GCB and a bungalow?

Two Things are the Location of the house and the plot area of the Bungalow House.


For GCBs, it must have a minimum plot site area of 1,400 sqm, and the site coverage up to a maximum of 40% only.

In Singapore, GCBs can only be found and built-in 39 gazetted areas. This gives the GCBs, more exclusive, prestige and characteristic.

These are usually located in prime and popular areas such as Bukit Timah Road, Cluny Road, Chatsworth, King Albert Park, Leedon Park, and Ridley Park.


5. Shophouse

www.singapore-landed-house.com   -  Shophouses
Shophouses - Owen Road

Shophouses are a type of conservation building that was built between the 1840s and 1960s. They are protected by URA due to their heritage and historical value. Usually, two or three storeys high, these heritage buildings are basically terraced homes with long and narrow indoor spaces and a five-foot fronting space.


In the past, the lower floor was where business activities took place, while the upper floors consisted of bedrooms for residents. In recent years, however, many shophouses have begun to double up as alternative office spaces or homes.


Shophouses in Singapore can be found in older locations such as Tanjong Pagar, Chinatown, Telok Ayer, and Amoy Street.

6. Cluster House

www.singapore-landed-house.com - Cluster House
Belgravia Ace - Freehold cluster housing in District 28

Strata landed housing or a cluster house is a hybrid landed property that comes with strata titles. They are allowed to build on landed housing and GCB areas.


Cluster housing combined the spaciousness and privacy of landed properties and enjoyed the communal facilities similar to a condominium such as swimming pools, gym, clubhouse and gardens that are taken care of by the MCST.

Cluster housing is included in condominium development, like Normanton Park, and Parc Clematis.

It can also be a sole cluster landed developments of Terrace, Semi-detach or bungalows or a mix of these and share common facilities within their developments,” eg. Belgravia Ace is freehold cluster housing, a mixed of Semi-Detached house and Terrace houses ( details can find in my Listing Page)


In Cluster Housing developments, outside GCB areas, the maximum site coverage is 50% and within the GCB areas, only 40% is permissible.

Who is eligible to buy landed houses in Singapore?


All Singaporeans are eligible to own a landed house in Singapore.


How About Foreigners and Singapore Permanent Residents?

Landed houses are restricted property in Singapore, foreigners and Singapore Permanent Residents, need to apply for approval from the Land Dealing Approval Unit (LDAU) before they can proceed to buy a landed house in Singapore.


Online application is available with a non-refundable fee is payable.


What are the criteria for approval? Each applicant is assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration, including but not limited to, the following factors:

(a) You should be a permanent resident of Singapore for at least five years; and

(b) You must make an exceptional economic contribution to Singapore. This is assessed taking into consideration factors such as your employment income assessable for tax in Singapore.


Conclusion

  1. Only 5.2% of Singapore's population is staying in a landed house.

  2. To date, there is an estimate of 68.4 thousand landed houses in Singapore.

  3. Landed houses are classified as terrace house, Semi-detached house, Detached house (bungalow) and Good Class Bungalow (GCB)

  4. For GCBs, can only be found and built-in 39 gazetted areas

  5. Cluster landed housing is a hybrid landed property that comes with strata titles, sharing the usage of the land and enjoying facilities similar to a condominium development.

  6. No restriction for Singaporeans to own a landed house, as Singapore Permanent Residents and Foreigners, they need to apply for approval from the LADU before they can own a landed house in Singapore.


If you find this article useful to one of your friends, please like, comment and share it with them.

Looking to know more and how to look for the best fit landed house for yourself, you are always welcome to contact me with a non-obligation discussion.



 

About the Author



www.singapore-landed-house.com - Peter Tan
Associate District Director - Huttons Asia Pte Ltd

Peter Tan ( Real Estate Guy) is An Associate District Director with Huttons Asia Pte Ltd.

He is a Trainer, Coach, and appointed Project In-Charge for developing new launch residential projects. An Investor, Property Blogger and Real Estate Professional provide market insights and markets trends in Singapore for all sectors. His blogs can be found on www.real-estate-guy.com/blog


As a Singapore Real Estate Professional, he has been providing professional consulting services to clients in Singapore and beyond since 1995.


From strategic planning to innovative solutions, his focus is always on building an efficient and results-driven relationship. He will work with you to create a customized plan of action for yourself or your organization.


With his experience and expertise in Real Estate, he is also mentoring New RES within his division, coaching and providing training for them.











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