How much are buyers paying for a new launch?
- The headline gap is big but misleading. New-sale $psf runs about +48% above nearby resale — but new launches are also newer, taller and smaller-unit, so that’s not apples-to-apples.
- Like-for-like, the newness premium is about +38%. Holding local neighbourhood (~2km), tenure, unit size and timing constant, a new sale trades ~+38% over an equivalent resale unit.
- It’s fairly even across segments (~35–43%) — marginally widest in the prime CCR (+43%), narrowest in the city-fringe RCR (+40%).
- Most of the premium is not recoverable. Newness fades — as a project ages, its resale converges toward the district norm, so you recover the location and quality, not the “brand-new” portion.
- Best for: buyers comparing a new launch against a nearby resale alternative, deciding whether the premium is worth it.
The headline gap vs the real premium
Stand in a showflat and the new launch looks a world apart from the tired resale block down the road — and the price says so, about +48% more per square foot. Some of that is product mix: the project is newer, often taller with a better facing, and sells smaller units (which carry a higher $psf). But strip those out — compare a new sale to a resale of the same tenure, size and district, at the same time — and a large, genuine premium remains: about +38% for newness itself.
The premium by segment
The like-for-like premium is fairly uniform across the market — roughly 29–36% — marginally widest in the prime CCR and narrowest in the city-fringe RCR. Newness is priced similarly wherever you buy:
Like-for-like new-launch premium by segment
By tenure and unit size
| Tenure | Like-for-like premium |
|---|---|
| Freehold | +46% |
| 99-yr leasehold | +36% |
| Unit size | Like-for-like premium |
|---|---|
| <500 sqft | +39% |
| 500–700 | +37% |
| 700–900 | +35% |
| 900–1200 | +35% |
| ≥1200 | +50% |
Is the premium recoverable?
This is the question that matters. A premium you can resell is a fair price; one that evaporates is a cost. The evidence says most of the newness premium is not recoverable: a “brand-new” unit is only brand-new once. As the project ages into ordinary resale stock, its $psf drifts toward the district’s resale level, and the launch premium erodes over your holding period. What you keep is the location, tenure and genuine quality; what you lose is the freshness you paid for at launch.
Investor verdict
Paying a new-launch premium can make sense when the project has something the resale market will still pay for years later — scarcity, a protected view, a growth-node location, a top school catchment, or strong rentability. It rarely makes sense to pay a large premium (well above the ~+38% like-for-like norm) when a nearby resale offers the same tenure, location and rent at a much lower entry $psf.
Rule of thumb: the newness premium is a cost you mostly won’t recover. Pay it only for durable advantages, and price the launch against its real resale alternatives — not against the showflat.
How to use this before you buy
Find the true resale alternative
Pull nearby resale of the same tenure and size band in the Valuation tool and on the district page. That is the real benchmark — not the tired block the agent points to.
Size the premium you’re actually paying
If the launch is priced well above ~+38% over a like-for-like resale, ask what durable advantage justifies it. No answer means you’re paying for freshness you won’t recover.
Check the exit buyer and rent
Will a resale buyer or tenant still pay up in 5–10 years? Strong school, MRT (≤500 m), growth-node or family-demand support helps the premium hold; a generic location does not.
Mind the supply next door
Competing launches nearby cap resale pricing power. Check the GLS pipeline for the facing side before you pay up.