Commercial & industrial
The 60% ABSD that stops most foreign buyers at the door applies to residential property. Commercial and industrial sit outside the Residential Property Act — different tax, different financing, different risks.
The honest comparison
On a S$2 million purchase, for a foreign individual. The ABSD line is the whole story — but it is not the only line, and the ones underneath it are where commercial gets its own set of costs.
| On a S$2m purchase | Residential | Commercial | Industrial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buyer's Stamp Duty | S$69,600 | S$64,600 | S$64,600 |
| ABSD (foreign individual) | S$1,200,000 | Nil | Nil |
| GST (if seller is GST-registered) | Nil | S$180,000 | S$180,000 |
| Seller's Stamp Duty (if you sell early) | 16% yr 1 | Nil | 15% yr 1 |
| Property tax (annual, on Annual Value) | Up to 36% | 10% flat | 10% flat |
| Approval to buy | Required for landed | None | JTC consent on some |
Where it gets harder
Commercial and industrial loans typically go to a lower loan-to-value than residential and run over a shorter term. As an individual you are still assessed under TDSR at 55% — buying through a company changes the assessment but brings its own requirements. Plan for materially more cash than a residential purchase of the same price.
A large share of Singapore's industrial stock sits on JTC land, where the lessee is expected to be an operating business meeting anchor-tenant and minimum-occupation conditions. Buying industrial purely as a passive investment is not always permitted, and the rules differ between JTC and private developments. Check the specific title before you commit.
Much industrial property is on a 30-year or 60-year lease rather than 99 years, and a short remaining tenure hits both financing and resale hard. A building with 18 years left is a depreciating asset with a narrowing pool of buyers. The yield can look excellent right up until you try to sell.
Before you commit
Everything above is the general shape. What actually decides a commercial or industrial purchase is unit-specific: whether that seller is GST-registered, what the remaining lease is, what the permitted use allows, and what a bank will genuinely lend against it.
We work with foreign buyers regularly and will tell you plainly if a deal does not stack up.
Figures are illustrative and current at the time of writing. Stamp duty, GST and property tax rules change — verify against IRAS, and take your own legal and tax advice before committing. Nothing on this page is tax or legal advice.