30-Year vs 60-Year vs Freehold Industrial Property: Which Tenure Wins in 2026?

By SG Property Group · 2026-10-18 · 1722 words

If you are comparing 30 year vs 60 year leasehold industrial property in Singapore, the 2026 market has already answered part of the question for you. In Q2 2026, freehold industrial prices rose 1.6% while 30-year leasehold prices fell 1.9% — in the same market, in the same quarter. The buildings did not change. The countdown did.

Tenure is the single biggest driver of industrial returns, yet it is the number most often buried under a headline yield. This guide explains how tenure works, what each lease length really costs you, and how to match the tenure to your holding period. We will show you the downsides first, because that is where the money is lost.

How industrial property tenure works in Singapore

JTC — the government agency that leases out most Singapore industrial land — grants land largely on 30-year or 60-year leases. Most factory and warehouse units you will see listed are built on this leasehold land. Freehold industrial land exists, but it is scarce: mostly older plots or privately assembled sites that were never sold on a lease.

Here is the point most first-time buyers miss: when you buy a leasehold industrial unit, you are buying the building and a countdown. Every year, the right you own gets shorter. That countdown affects two things directly — what the unit is worth, and who can borrow to buy it from you later.

What the 2026 numbers actually say

The headline market is steady. JTC's official price and rental indices show the all-industrial price index up 0.6% quarter-on-quarter and 3.8% year-on-year in Q2 2026, with occupancy at 89.1%. Strata sales rebounded 19.7% to 437 deals in the quarter, helped by new launches such as Gate+ at Tukang, as reported by The Business Times.

But the average hides the story that matters. Split by tenure, using Savills' strata industrial basket:

The shortest-lease assets were the only ones losing value — for the second consecutive quarter.

One reason these psf figures can look off at first glance: the Savills basket tracks resale transactions across existing stock. Developer asking prices on brand-new launches price tenure even more sharply:

Two things are worth knowing here. First, the newest leasehold launches are technically 33-year: under JTC's enhanced Industrial Government Land Sales (IGLS) framework, Gate+ became the first site awarded with three years added to the standard 30-year term — longer runway, same decay economics. Second, compare like with like. A fresh 33-year launch and a 25-year-old resale unit are different assets at very different points of the countdown, which is why new-launch psf runs well above the resale averages above. Our deep-dive on Keystone @ Mandai walks the freehold side of that math in detail.

30-year leasehold: low entry price, steepest decay

At around S$346 psf, a 30-year unit is the cheapest way in. That is its whole appeal, and its whole risk.

The decay is steep: straight-lined, the lease consumes about 3.3% of the asset's value every year. Financing is the quieter problem. Banks lend against industrial property based partly on remaining lease; as the lease shortens, loan-to-value drops and tenures shrink, and many lenders become reluctant well before the lease itself is anywhere near expiry. Your exit buyer pool shrinks years before the lease does.

Who is it right for? An owner-occupier who needs a compliant, affordable unit for the next 5 to 10 years and treats the purchase as a business cost, not an investment. Who is it wrong for? An investor holding for income and capital preservation — the exact profile Savills describes as "growing reluctance" toward shorter-tenure assets.

60-year leasehold: the middle ground

The 60-year leasehold sits between the two: around S$571 psf, with a decay drag of roughly 1.7% a year — half the 30-year rate. Financing stays accessible for decades, which keeps the resale pool wide. In Q1 2026, 60-year units rose 1.4%; in Q2 they held at +0.3%.

This is the default answer for an investor with a 10-to-20-year horizon. You pay more than the 30-year entry price, but you are buying time — and in industrial property, time is what holds the value up.

Freehold industrial: the scarcity premium

Freehold industrial property in Singapore trades around S$890 psf — roughly 2.6 times the 30-year price for a unit that may sit in the same estate and let for a similar rent. You are paying for the absence of a countdown.

The premium is real but must be earned back. It pays off over long holds: no lease consumption, no financing cliff at the exit, and a buyer pool that never ages out. New freehold stock is rare, which is why launches draw attention when they appear — currently Keystone @ Mandai, one of the only freehold B2 industrial new launches on sale, with indicative pricing from about S$1,330 psf, and Space 18 — 46 freehold strata units, newly completed in 2026. The downside is the cash: the entry price is high, the yield on cost is lower, and if you sell within a few years, the tenure premium may not have compensated you yet.

The lease decay math nobody shows you

Gross yield is the number in most listings. Honest yield is lower. The formula:

Honest yield = gross yield − cost load (tax, maintenance, vacancy) − lease consumption

A worked example. Take a 30-year leasehold unit at S$800,000 renting at a 4.2% net yield. After a typical 30% cost load, you keep about 2.9%. Then subtract the lease consumption of 3.3% a year. Your true economic return is roughly negative 0.4% before a single vacancy month. The same rent on a 60-year unit leaves about 1.2% after decay; on a freehold unit, the full 2.9% survives.

One caveat in your favour: decay is not a straight line. Value holds up well for decades, then falls sharply once the remaining lease drops below roughly 30 years — exactly where financing starts to withdraw. The financing cliff and the value curve are the same event seen from two angles.

Which tenure should you choose?

Match the tenure to your holding period, not to the yield on the brochure:

Whatever you choose, browse our latest industrial listings and compare units of different tenures side by side before committing. Our New Industrial / Commercial Launches page — including freehold projects like Space 18 and new leasehold stock like Gate+ — shows what is actually on the market now.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 30-year leasehold industrial property worth buying in Singapore?

Yes — if you are an owner-occupier with a 5-to-10-year horizon and you treat the unit as a business cost rather than an investment. Rarely — if you are an investor, because the lease consumes about 3.3% of value per year and financing restricts your exit. Run your holding period through the math before deciding.

Can I get a bank loan for industrial property with under 30 years left on the lease?

It becomes difficult. Lenders price industrial loans partly on remaining tenure: below about 30 years remaining, loan-to-value falls and loan tenures shorten; below roughly 25 years, many banks decline altogether. Since your future buyer faces the same limits, a short lease prices in long before it expires.

Do freehold industrial properties exist in Singapore?

Yes, but they are scarce. Most sit on privately assembled or older plots outside JTC's leasehold system. They trade at a large premium — around S$890 psf versus S$346 psf for 30-year leasehold in Q2 2026 — and new freehold launches, such as Keystone @ Mandai and Space 18, attract outsized attention because supply is so thin.

How much cheaper is 30-year leasehold than freehold industrial?

On Q2 2026 averages, roughly 60% cheaper per square foot (S$346 psf versus S$890 psf). The gap is the market pricing the number of years you may own the asset. Cheap entry is not the same as cheap ownership — the discount is consumed year by year through lease decay.

What happens when my industrial lease runs out?

The land interest reverts to the lessor — typically JTC — at the end of the term, with no automatic right of renewal. Any building on the land goes with it. This is why serious buyers price the remaining lease into every offer, and why a unit with 20 years left behaves nothing like one with 40.

Which tenure has better resale demand — 30-year, 60-year or freehold?

Freehold, then 60-year, then 30-year. Freehold buyers never face a financing cliff; 60-year buyers have decades of headroom; 30-year buyers are few and cash-heavy. In a thin market — 437 strata deals islandwide in Q2 2026 across every tenure — resale liquidity is a real risk, and shorter leases make it sharper.

Conclusion: the honest answer on 30 year vs 60 year leasehold industrial property

There is no tenure that wins for everyone. The 2026 data shows the market paying for time: freehold up 1.6%, 60-year flat to positive, 30-year down 1.9%. If your horizon is short and you occupy the unit, 30 years can serve you well. If you are investing, the decay math says the cheapest unit is usually the most expensive one. Whatever you are considering, speak with our team before you commit — we will run the numbers for your holding period and budget, and WhatsApp us with the unit you have in mind. We would tell our own family the same thing.

Honest numbers. Real deals.