Freehold vs Leasehold, Small Developments vs Big Developments - What condos should I buy in District 15?

I met a buyer who viewed a District 15 development that I was marketing. He loved the unit, but had 2 questions on his mind: 1. How does the size of the development affect the potential capital appreciation? 2. Is it a better choice to buy a freehold or leasehold property in District 15? Using PropNex's proprietary Investment Suite app for the chart and data below, I noted the below observations that provide insights into the characteristics of District 15 developments.

Freehold Condo versus Leasehold Condo in District 15 , Singapore

Table of Freehold vs Leasehold Condo Performance in District 15

Observation 1: Larger developments generally performed better in terms of price per square foot. Larger developments with more than 200 units commanded a better price per square foot in the last 4 years. This trend was consistent for both freehold and 99 years tenure.

Observation 2: Freehold may not always appreciate faster.

In choosing between a freehold or 99 year leasehold development, freehold doesn't always hold value better.

If we look at the 99 years tenure developments, the annualized growth rate for the past decade outperformed freehold developments with less than 50 units. Another point of comparison is when we look at developments with >200 units, both freehold and 99 years experienced the same annualized growth rate for the last 10 years.

Observation 3: Freehold developments often comes at a premium in terms of price per square foot.

For developments with the same characteristics in terms of number of units, freehold status often brings with it a higher price point. Afterthoughts: With the above 3 observations, we can have a more data-based conclusion to the questions posed. 1. How does the size of the development affect the potential capital appreciation?

Condos with more units tend to command a higher price point. This may be because of the volume effect, where more transactions take place within the same time period. As each new seller challenges the project's previous high, the velocity of transactions tend to push prices up much faster for developments with more units.

2. Is it a better choice to buy a freehold or leasehold property in District 15?

Freehold condos often come with a price premium, probably attributed to the layman consumer's general understanding that freehold status is better. But as shown in the data above, freehold may not always appreciate faster than 99 year leasehold. In the case of the 99 years condos with more than 200 units, this group of condos actually performed much better than freehold condos with less than 50 units. So will you still prefer to buy a freehold condo in District 15 in the future?