As city land gets more expensive, younger buyers turn to high-rises, and many can't tell a serviced apartment from a condominium.
How do serviced apartments and condominiums differ, and does it matter to a buyer?
“service apartments are constructed on a commercial piece of land”
The difference starts with the land: serviced apartments are built on commercial land and condos on residential land. That means serviced apartments may have fewer car parks per unit, far higher density, and commercial utility rates.
Why
Fewer car parks
A serviced apartment needs about 1.5 car parks per unit, a condo two. Fewer bays mean more profit, which is why developers swung to serviced apartments.
Higher density
Condos come with a minimum land size of about three acres and required facilities. Serviced apartments have no such rule, so one acre can hold a few hundred units.
Commercial utility rates
Serviced apartments are billed at commercial rates, though once residents show the building is used as homes, they can appeal to switch to residential rates.
What to do
- Check whether a project is on commercial or residential title.
- Ask how many car parks come with each unit.
- Compare the number of units with the land size.
- Ask whether residents have switched to residential utility rates.
Editorial Note: Summarised from Sean Tan's full episode. The quoted answer is in his own words; the rest is our paraphrase. Figures reflect the recording date, so check current rates and rules before acting on them.
SERVICE APARTMENT VS CONDOMINIUM
Sources & Verification Data
Summarised from Sean's full English captions for this short video. The quoted line is verbatim; everything else is paraphrased.
