Insights ยท 2026-11-24
What lease and height really do to HDB prices
Lease matters far more than height. Within the same town, 4-room flats with under 60 years of lease sell for about 37% less per sq ft than those with 80+ years left. A high floor adds about 13%.
Lease left
The gap is widest in older central towns: Toa Payoh 48%, Central Area 42%, Ang Mo Kio 42%. It is narrowest in Yishun (15%). For 5-room flats the typical gap is 29%.
| Town | Under 60 years left, $ psf | 80+ years left, $ psf | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toa Payoh | $555 | $1,070 | -48% |
| Central Area | $677 | $1,171 | -42% |
| Ang Mo Kio | $551 | $949 | -42% |
| Bedok | $536 | $919 | -42% |
| Clementi | $593 | $1,009 | -41% |
| Queenstown | $634 | $1,054 | -40% |
| Bukit Merah | $600 | $954 | -37% |
| Kallang/whampoa | $623 | $989 | -37% |
| Geylang | $619 | $982 | -37% |
| Woodlands | $454 | $638 | -29% |
| Tampines | $568 | $770 | -26% |
| Jurong West | $465 | $628 | -26% |
| Bukit Batok | $499 | $671 | -26% |
| Choa Chu Kang | $449 | $599 | -25% |
| Hougang | $542 | $678 | -20% |
| Yishun | $509 | $599 | -15% |
4-room resales, last 12 months, storeys 1-15 only, towns with enough sales in both bands.
Floor height
In blocks with 80+ years of lease left, storey 16 and up sells for about 13% more per sq ft than storeys 1-6. The premium is largest in Bukit Batok (20%) and smallest in Sembawang (0%). 5-room: 14%.
| Town | Storeys 1-6, $ psf | Storey 16+, $ psf | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bukit Batok | $629 | $758 | 20% |
| Queenstown | $982 | $1,179 | 20% |
| Jurong West | $579 | $677 | 17% |
| Kallang/whampoa | $971 | $1,121 | 15% |
| Bukit Merah | $925 | $1,059 | 14% |
| Ang Mo Kio | $920 | $1,053 | 14% |
| Choa Chu Kang | $574 | $656 | 14% |
| Punggol | $646 | $731 | 13% |
| Bukit Panjang | $591 | $667 | 13% |
| Bedok | $889 | $999 | 12% |
| Hougang | $634 | $708 | 12% |
| Tampines | $743 | $824 | 11% |
| Toa Payoh | $1,009 | $1,111 | 10% |
| Woodlands | $624 | $674 | 8% |
| Geylang | $922 | $990 | 7% |
| Sengkang | $630 | $666 | 6% |
| Sembawang | $619 | $622 | 0% |
Why we measure it this way
Older blocks tend to be lower, and newer blocks taller. Compare all high floors with all low floors and you mostly measure block age. So we compare leases on similar floors, and floors in similarly young blocks, town by town.
What it means
Of the two, remaining lease moves price far more than height. When you compare two flats in the same town, compare their remaining leases before their floors.
See lease and floor effects for each town in our spotlights →