URA Master Plan for property buyers: How to read and understand it

The first thing savvy property buyers do when researching to buy a unit, house or project they’re interested in is to check the URA Master Plan.

Created by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the Master Plan is the “statutory land use plan which guides Singapore’s development in the medium term over the next 10 to 15 years”.

It’s based on the broader and long-term Concept Plan, containing more details about existing and potential land use. The plan is reviewed every five years, with the latest version being the URA Master Plan 2019.

This means that property buyers can look at the Master Plan for an indication of future developments that may impact property value and quality of living.

Short of looking into an actual crystal ball, knowing how to read the URA Master Plan can help you locate the ideal home — be it for own stay or for capital appreciation/investment.

You can view the URA Master Plan map on URA SPACE, a portal where you can find various types of maps, including those that detail planning decisions and government land sales sites.

Trouble is, reading the colour-coded plan can be daunting for first-timers. This guide helps you easily understand the Master Plan by zooming in on what you need to look out for.

1. Plot ratio

Defined as the permissible development intensity of a specified land parcel, the plot ratio determines the maximum gross floor area (GFA) of any development on that land parcel. This is the formula to calculate the maximum GFA from plot ratio:

GFA in square feet = Plot ratio x site area in square feet

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To check the plot ratio of a specific development or land parcel, simply search for the development/area name in the URA Master Plan, and look at the number assigned on the development/land parcel.

(Land parcels in more undeveloped or yet-to-be-developed areas do not have assigned plot ratios.)

As a rule of thumb, if two developments have roughly the same land area but vastly different plot ratios, this means that one will be a lot denser or taller than the other.

For example, The Pinnacle@Duxton has a land plot ratio of 8.4, whereas the neighbouring Tanjong Pagar Plaza has a plot ratio of only 3.5 (see screenshot below).

Sure enough, The Pinnacle@Duxton appears to be a far denser development than Tanjong Pagar Plaza. Here are the stats for both developments for a closer comparison:

The Pinnacle@Duxton

• Plot ratio: 8.4
• Site area: 25,172.1 sqm (270,950 sqft)
• Maximum GFA: 8.4 x 270,950 = 2,275,980 sqft
• Highest storey: 50
• Total residential units: 1,848

Tanjong Pagar Plaza

• Plot ratio: 3.5
• Land area: Approx 28,700 sq m or 308,924 square feet
• Maximum GFA = 3.5 x 308,924 = 1,081,234 square feet
• Highest storey: 24
• Total residential units: 1,022

Here’s a general guide on the maximum number of storeys allowed based on the plot ratio:

GPR	Max number of storeys for residential
1.4	Five
1.6	12
2.1	24
2.8	36
More than 2.8	More than 36

What plot ratio means to the prospective property buyer

If you’re looking to buy a unit that’s facing an empty plot of land, you can avoid the unpleasant surprise of your unblocked view being obscured by a taller development in a few year’s time by looking at the plot ratio assigned to it.

Take note that, in many areas, additional building height controls may limit the maximum storeys of buildings. For example, HDB blocks in Kaki Bukit are limited to 15 storeys because of the nearby Paya Lebar Airbase.

2. White sites

White sites are areas intended to be used as a combination of commercial, hotel, residential, sports and recreational spaces.

Bidding developers for white sites need to submit detailed proposals to URA, who then decides on the winning bid based on how the proposed development fits into and benefits the area.

So, white sites tend to be or become integrated or mixed-use developments of higher value. If you’re hoping that your property will increase in value as time goes by, having a white site in the vicinity definitely works out in your favour.

An example of a white site, as you can see above, is Cross Street Exchange (formerly China Square Central) at South Bridge Road and Cross Street.

White sites are more predominantly found in the Core Central Region (CCR), and they’re harder to come across in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR).

3. Civic & community institution

These are pretty straightforward. Colour-coded in red, they’re areas intended to be used as civic or community facilities. If you’re lucky, you might get a library, community centre or childcare centre.

But these might also be reformative centres, such as the Singapore Girls’ Home and halfway houses. Police stations, fire stations and funeral parlours are also classified under Civic & Community Institutions.

Because of the uncertainty that surrounds an undeveloped site that’s zoned as a Civic & Community Institution, property buyers tend not to favour projects that are next the site, or stacks directly facing it.

4. Place of worship

They’re marked in the same red colour as Civic & Community Institution sites on the URA Master Plan but with an additional letter “W”. Place of worship sites are your churches, mosques, and temples.

With these sites, URA states that “Praying area shall be the predominant use and shall be at least 50 per cent of the total floor area of the development”. This means that 50 per cent of the grounds can be allocated to other purposes.

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If you recall, there was an incident back in 2015 when it was announced that there would be a columbarium built next to a Sengkang HDB Build-to-Order (BTO) housing project.

The columbarium would be “integrated with a Chinese temple”, so technically speaking, the site qualifies as a place of worship. Needless to say, residents were not happy.

Columbarium or not, places of worship are often associated with noise and smoke pollution, as well as traffic congestion during days of worship and festivals.

So you might want to look at the URA Master Plan map and see if there are any of these sites nearby before buying a house.

5. Business 1 vs Business 2

Both Business One and Two sites are areas intended to be used for clean industry, light industry, general industry, warehouse, public utilities and telecommunication uses, and other public installations.

Business One sites (in purple) cater to companies which do not have nuisance buffers of more than 50m imposed upon them (eg. computer software development, printing and publishing, etc).

On the other hand, Business Two sites (in magenta) can be used by special industries such as the manufacture of industrial machinery, shipbuilding, and repairing in selected areas, subject to evaluation by the authority.

This land parcel at Tai Seng Industrial Estate, for example, is zoned as Business Two.

And this land parcel, also at Tai Seng, is zoned as Business One.

As a general rule of thumb, most folks would prefer to have Business One sites rather than Business Two sites near their property.

6. Business Park

Business Parks are zones where multiple office buildings are built in a cluster, away from the Core Central Business District.

Other than Changi Business Park (shown above), there’s also International Business Park, Seletar Aerospace Park, Tuas Biomedical Park, and Cleantech Park in Jurong West.

Also, don’t forget about the upcoming Business Park that the government plans to build in Punggol. The Punggol Digital District will focus on technological sectors of business and create an estimated 28,000 jobs.

Buyers are hoping the new business hub will drive demand for property rental and boost property value in the vicinity.

Other notable sites on the URA Master Plan

• Sports and recreation (light green): Stadiums are great to have nearby if you foresee yourself using them, but they might also result in noise and light pollution if your unit is right next to the facility.
• Utility (grey): These substations, telephone exchanges and water pump stations might be unsightly to some.
• Health and Medical Care (red with an “H”): Smaller sites can mean a senior care home. Bigger sites tend to be hospitals or polyclinics.
• Educational institutions (light yellow with an “E”): Smaller sites tend to be allocated to primary schools. Ask anyone living next to one; 1,000 screaming children is noise pollution.
• Reserve site (yellow): These are wildcards as their uses have not been determined yet.
• Special use (army green): These can be military camp, airbases, etc.

Frequently asked questions

What is the URA Master Plan?

Created by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the Master Plan is the “statutory land use plan which guides Singapore’s development in the medium term over the next 10 to 15 years”.

What are white sites in the URA Master Plan?

White sites are areas intended to be used as a combination of commercial, hotel, residential, sports and recreational spaces.

How do you calculate the Gross Floor Area (GFA) of a development on a land parcel?

Defined as the permissible development intensity of a specified land parcel, the plot ratio determines the maximum gross floor area (GFA) of any development on that land parcel.

This is the formula to calculate the maximum GFA from plot ratio: GFA in square feet = Plot ratio x Site area in square feet

ALSO READ: 10 free property research tools to boost your chances of buying the right property

This article was first published in 99.co.