Land Betterment Charges Rise 3.4% for Non-Landed and 3.5% for Landed Residential From 1 September

Developers pay land betterment charge, or LBC, for the right to enhance the use of some sites, or to build bigger projects on them. Rates are announced twice a year, on 1 March and 1 September, following a review by the Singapore Land Authority in consultation with the chief valuer.

The rates are based on the chief valuer’s assessment of land values, and take into consideration recent land sales. They are stated according to use groups for 118 geographical sectors in Singapore.

For landed residential use, rates have gone up by 3.5 per cent on average. The rates in 108 sectors are being raised by about 2 to 8 per cent, with no changes in the other 10 sectors.

LBC rates for non-landed residential use are being raised by 3.4 per cent on average. Rates have been upped in 70 sectors by about 1 to 29 per cent, with no change in the remaining 48 sectors.

In the industrial use group, LBC rates have risen by 3.9 per cent on average, with rates in all 118 sectors raised by about 2 to 10 per cent. For the place of worship, civic and community institution use group, rates were increased by 2.9 per cent on average in all sectors to “keep pace with the overall growth in land values”, the Singapore Land Authority said.

LBC rates for commercial use have risen by 1.7 per cent on average. The rates in 46 of the 118 sectors were raised by about 3 to 19 per cent, while the remaining 72 sectors were left unchanged.

For non-landed residential use, the biggest increase of 29.1 per cent was in geographical sector 54, which includes the Kallang Bahru and Boon Keng areas. Upper Boon Keng and Geylang Bahru followed at 23.6 per cent each. Newmark’s analysis showed that the S$1,415 psf ppr winning bid for the Kallang Close government land sale site in April was 44 per cent above the land value implied by the 1 March 2026 rate for that sector.

River Valley Green Parcel C, in sector 48, fetched a winning bid of S$1,730 psf ppr in June, 13 per cent above the land value implied by the March rate. The September rate for that sector has gone up 8.7 per cent. Robertson Quay rose 8.8 per cent, while Leonie Hill and St Thomas, Oxley, and River Valley, Kim Yam and Kim Seng each rose 8.7 per cent.

For landed residential use, sectors 67, 68 and 69 each had increases of 8.1 per cent. The trio cover highly demanded Good Class Bungalow locations in Nassim and Fernhill, Botanic Gardens, Gallop Road and Tyersall, and Ridout, Peirce Hill and Swettenham Road respectively, according to JLL’s analysis.

The biggest commercial increase, at 19 per cent, was in sector 96, which includes the Bayshore Drive area. Market watchers linked this to the S$1,323 psf ppr fetched in July 2026 for the commercial and residential government land sale site in Bayshore Drive. In industrial use, five sectors rose 10.1 per cent, covering Ganges Avenue and Alexandra North, Tiong Bahru, the Singapore General Hospital and College Road area, Port and Keppel Road, and Bukit Teresa.

Chua Yang Liang, head of research and advisory for South-east Asia at JLL, noted that investment activity in the Singapore commercial segment has been high since the start of the year. “The full-year value of office transactions is poised to breach the historical peak of S$13.3 billion recorded in 2007,” he said, adding that there has also been keen investment interest in retail assets across the board, spanning prime, city-fringe and suburban.

On the Bayshore increase, Knight Frank Singapore research head Leonard Tay said: “The top bid came in above expectations, indicating a high degree of conviction in the long-term prospects and the strategic importance of the site as the focal point from which the Bayshore growth area will start.”

Huttons Asia chief executive officer Mark Yip described the 3.4 per cent average rise for non-landed residential use as “a mild increase that is unlikely to discourage developers from acquiring a collective sale site”. He added: “A realistic selling price and location attributes of the development are still key determining factors for a successful collective sale.”