Where to find the cheapest landed estates in Singapore (from $660k)

Recently, Jalan Chempaka (near Simpang Bedok) has been in the news, with the landed homes facing a remaining lease of just 10 years.

But beyond the issue of lease decay, this led to another kind of question: where were people finding leasehold landed homes for so cheap, and are there other similar leasehold landed estates? So in the interest of answering that, here’s a list of some of them:

Where to find leasehold landed estates in Singapore?

This list was derived using transaction data from 2014. Some landed estates may no longer be available, while others may be missing due to lack of transactions over the past 10 years. Prices are taken from 2023 onwards.

Do note that the transaction amounts shown were from 2023 onward only. So yes, some of these places might have landed homes at $2.5 million or under including those that still have a decent 60+ years left on their lease.

For older estates, such as those from the 1970s or earlier, be aware that there may be similar problems to Jalan Chempaka.

That is, the leasehold houses may be built on a freehold land parcel. With regard to Jalan Chempaka, for example, the whole problem is that the land was originally owned by the late Koh Sek Lim, who leased it out for 70 years — and whether the lease is renewed will depend on the (currently silent) landowners. 

This also means, by the way, the homeowners can't engage in any kind of collective sale activity, as they don't own the land. So you definitely should double-check the nature of the land parcel before buying.

Some interesting estates from above:

• Mayfair Park 
• Valvista 
• Unique Garden
• Villa Verde

1. Mayfair Park

When this estate came about in 1971, it was a rather dull and ulu area; so it's seen quite a turnaround over the years. The development of the area around Beauty World has made this estate a lot more desirable: unlike most landed enclaves, it's not too inconvenient to hop on a bus and be at Beauty World Plaza or MRT (DTL) in just a few minutes.

In terms of upcoming upgrades, there will be commercial spaces over at The Linq @ Beauty World and The Reserve Residences.

Bukit Timah Plaza provides another alternative for day-to-day needs and has an NTUC FairPrice. This is within walking distance if you don't want to travel out to Beauty World. 

In terms of greenery, the Rail Corridor passes by this estate — if you like long walks, this leads up to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve after just over a kilometre. The closest point of the Rail Corridor here is the Jalan Anak Bukit underpass. Alternatively, there's Mayfair Park itself — for which the estate is named — just along Rifle Range Road.

Lease decay is definitely an issue for the homes here; but the tradeoff is a location that manages to have a lot of privacy and greenery, whilst still being close to a mall and train station. It's certainly worth consideration by still-active seniors and retirees.

2. Valvista

This estate, which consists of terrace houses, may be one of the most underrated on the market. If it weren't for the leasehold status (most landed home buyers in Singapore are fiercely demanding of freehold), Valvista would probably be much more famous and in demand.

Valvista is within range of a key identity node: the Serangoon Garden area, famous for places like Chomp Chomp and its low-density housing. There's also a mall here (myVillage) which isn't the biggest, but has an upmarket Cold Storage; and the Serangoon Garden is an eclectic mix of pricey wine bars and restaurants, combined with affordable local food. 

Serangoon NEX is just a few minutes by car or bus from here; besides being a megamall, it's connected to Serangoon MRT (NEL, CCL), and Valvista is a good way to be near Serangoon Central while avoiding its traffic and crowds. It's definitely not within walking distance though, which is an issue typical for most landed estates.

In any case, this estate isn't even all that old, with the completion date being 2004; and a typical quantum of around $3.2 million isn't unfair for the location. The leasehold status is probably what keeps more buyers from turning up.

3. Unique Garden

As with Mayfair Park, Unique Garden has benefitted from the ongoing upgrades to the Beauty World area. The estate is just a short drive out to Beauty World Plaza, as well as to the Bukit Timah Food Centre.

Unique Garden is quite affordable despite its Bukit Timah location (the last transaction, in June 2023, was at $550 psf!) due to two trade-offs.

First, Toh Yi Drive is a boundary line between an HDB enclave and the small landed enclave of Unique Garden. Landed home buyers tend to value distance from high-rises, so some may not like the idea of looming flats on the horizon. 

Second, this estate is leasehold and goes back to 1975, so it won't be many more years before issues like depreciation, financing difficulties from future buyers, etc. start to set in. This makes it an estate that's predominantly for an older crowd. Other than that, it may be an affordable way to own a landed home, in a prestigious area. 

4. Villa Verde

Villa Verde is a landed estate in Choa Chu Kang that comprises 515 three-storey terrace houses that was developed by Keppel Land (for the full walk-through of the estate click here).

The estate is known for its relatively affordable prices for landed properties, ranging from $1.9 million to $2.2 million in the last few years. Given these prices, these are leasehold landed homes, with 99-year leases starting from March 1997. 

The houses have a resort-style architecture typical of the 1990s, with inter-terraces around 1,600 sq. ft. in plot size and 3,000 sq. ft. in build-up area, while corner units can be almost 4,000 sq ft. Many of the houses have undergone renovations, and room sizes are generally larger compared to newer leasehold properties.

The estate is adjacent to the Pang Sua Park Connector, the KJE expressway, Regent Secondary School, and Choa Chu Kang Stadium, which can be scenic yet noisy at the same time.

As with most landed estates, public transport options are limited, with the nearest MRT station being Yew Tee, about 1 km away, though several bus services are available. The estate offers easy access to major expressways, but traffic can be heavy due to congestion at the Causeway.

ALSO READ: 5 more affordable yet convenient 1-bedroom condos near an integrated development

This article was first published in Stackedhomes.