Data Insight
The Oldest HDB Estates, and the Lease-Expiry Question
How many HDB flats are running low on lease, where they are, and what SERS realistically covers.
Key finding
About 39% of HDB flats — roughly 460,000 homes — have under 60 years of lease left, and 12% have under 50. The biggest concentrations are in Bedok, Ang Mo Kio and Yishun. SERS has only ever covered about 5% of HDB blocks.
HDB flats by remaining lease
Units, with share of the dated stock.
Remaining lease estimated from block completion year. Source: HDB Property Information.
Flats with under 60 years of lease left, by town
By town.
Source: HDB Property Information.
The oldest towns
Share of each town's flats completed before 1990.
| Town | Built before 1990 |
|---|---|
| Marine Parade | 100% |
| Ang Mo Kio | 84% |
| Central Area | 82% |
| Bedok | 78% |
| Serangoon | 73% |
| Jurong East | 68% |
| Kallang/Whampoa | 67% |
| Geylang | 67% |
| Yishun | 62% |
Source: HDB Property Information.
What it means for a buyer
- A 55-year-lease flat is not exotic — 28% of the stock sits in the 50–59 band. But it is a wasting asset on a fixed clock, and buying one is a bet on location and price, not on being rescued.
- Financing tightens as the lease shortens: CPF use is pro-rated once the remaining lease no longer covers the youngest buyer to 95, and loan tenure is capped. See the lease-decay insight for the price side.
- The upside of an older flat is usually a mature, central-ish location at a lower entry price. The question is whether that is worth a shorter horizon and a smaller pool of future buyers.
Data sources
- HDB Property Information — HDB. Coverage: 10,796 residential blocks with a completion year, ~1.18M units. retrieved 2026-08-29.
Published 2026-08-29