Floor Premium

How prices vary by floor level — condos and HDB

How to Read the Floor Premium Insight

Key Takeaways

  • This insight is powered by live URA and HDB transaction data refreshed monthly.
  • Use the district filter above the chart to narrow results to a specific planning area.
  • Hover any data point on the chart for exact values and transaction counts.

What It Does

The Floor Premium insight measures how much PSF buyers pay for height in private non-landed residential properties across Singapore. Using URA caveat records, it groups transactions into six floor bands — floors 1–5, 6–10, 11–15, 16–20, 21–30, and 31+ — and computes median PSF for each band within a selected district and time range. The main chart plots the PSF by floor band as a bar chart, with a line overlay showing the percentage premium of each band over the ground-floor ...

Why It Matters

In Singapore's condo market, floor premiums are real and material. Across all non-landed private transactions since 2015, the median PSF for units on floors 21–30 is approximately 8–12% above the median PSF for comparable units on floors 1–5 in the same development, rising to 15–25% for floors 31 and above. On a $1.5 million purchase, that spread is $120,000–$375,000. The floor level you choose — and whether you negotiate based on actual market data rather than developer pricin...

How It Works

  • Select a district from the filter or leave it blank to view Singapore-wide data.
  • Use the time-range buttons (1Y/2Y/3Y/5Y/All) to adjust the chart window.
  • Hover any point on the chart to see exact values and underlying transaction counts.
  • Review the KPI cards above the chart for headline numbers at a glance.

Examples

D5 (Buona Vista): Floor premium curve for a 30-storey OCR condo

Inputs
District
D5 — Buona Vista / West Coast / Clementi
Development type
Mass-market private condo (99-yr, 30 storeys)
Floor bands
1–5, 6–10, 11–15, 16–20, 21–30
Time range
3 years (2023–2025)
Property type
Non-landed private, 3-bedroom
Results
Floors 1–5 median PSF
$1,580
Floors 11–15 median PSF
$1,680 (+6.3%)
Floors 21–30 median PSF
$1,760 (+11.4%)
Curve knee (flattening)
Around floor 15

How to read this: The premium jumps sharply between floors 1–5 and 6–15 (noise, overlooking relief), then flattens between floors 15–30 as the view improvement is marginal. A buyer targeting floor 14 pays only $100 PSF more than floor 5 — about $120,000 on a 1,200 sqft unit — but avoids the noise and privacy issues of the low floors. Floor 25 adds another $80 PSF over floor 15 for incrementally better views. Whether that extra $96,000 is worth it depends on the individual buyer's priorities, but the data shows it is not capturing proportionally more rental income.

D9 (Orchard): High-rise luxury — near-flat premium curve above floor 20

Inputs
District
D9 — Orchard / River Valley (CCR)
Development type
Luxury condominium (FH, 40+ storeys)
Floor bands
1–5, 6–10, 11–20, 21–30, 31–40
Time range
5 years
Results
Floors 1–5 median PSF
$3,100
Floors 11–20 median PSF
$3,380 (+9%)
Floors 31–40 median PSF
$3,520 (+13.5%)
Curve above floor 20
Largely flat — ~1% per 5 floors

How to read this: In D9 luxury towers, the floor premium above level 20 is minimal — approximately 1% per 5-floor increment. The steeper part of the curve (floors 1–15) reflects genuine noise and privacy improvement. Above floor 20, the view premium is captured by a small pool of ultra-high-net-worth buyers, and the data confirms most of them are not paying dramatically more per sqft. For an investor targeting rental yield, this means floors 22 and 35 in the same building are near-identical in rental rate — so the PSF premium on floor 35 directly reduces yield. The model says: buy floor 20–22 for yield, floor 35+ only if personal use justifies the premium.

Tips & Pitfalls

Expert Tips

  • Compare 2–3 districts side-by-side to spot relative outliers rather than reading a single number in isolation.
  • Always check the transaction count alongside any price metric — small sample sizes can produce misleading averages.
  • Pair this insight with the related calculators and maps below for a complete decision framework.

Common Pitfalls

  • Interpreting short-term movements (under 1 year) as trends — Singapore property data is noisy and needs a longer window.
  • Ignoring the difference between median and mean — means are pulled by luxury outliers in prime districts.
  • Forgetting that new-launch prices are often subsidised by developer discounts not visible in headline data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the data come from?
Data is sourced from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Housing & Development Board (HDB) official APIs, refreshed monthly.
How often is this insight updated?
The underlying transaction data is synced monthly from URA and HDB. The charts recompute live as new data arrives.
Can I filter by district?
Yes — use the district filter above the chart. You can also share a deep link to a specific district via the URL.

Related Resources

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