Research
Shophouse Research
How Singapore's shophouses are owned, used, taxed and leased, and what each conservation area is like.
Shophouse Basics
The rules, in plain words: use, tax, leases and licences.
- Zoning, Approved Use and Actual Use: The Three Layers of a ShophouseWhat a shophouse may be used for is decided storey by storey. The Master Plan zoning, URA's approved use and what the tenant does today can all differ. Here is how to read each.1 November 2026 · 2 min read
- What You Can and Cannot Open in a Historic DistrictBoat Quay, Chinatown, Kampong Glam and Little India keep the whole building, and limit what may open inside it. The uses not allowed, the recent changes, and how the three kinds of conservation area differ.1 November 2026 · 1 min read
- Buyer's Stamp Duty on a Commercial Property in SingaporeCommercial property pays buyer's stamp duty in five bands, from 1% to 5%. How the bands work, the quick way to work it out, and a calculator.1 November 2026 · 2 min read
- Restaurant, Bar, Clinic or Spa: Which Licences Each Use NeedsEach business in a shophouse needs URA's approval for the use, and most need a licence of their own. The licences by name, the liquor classes and their fees, and the order to apply in.1 November 2026 · 2 min read
- Leasing a Shophouse: The Twelve Terms Every Lease SettlesSize, rent, term, rent-free, deposit, stamp duty and the rest. The twelve terms of a commercial lease in Singapore, how lease stamp duty works, and what to read in the agreement.1 November 2026 · 2 min read
- How a Shophouse Is Taxed: The Zoning DecidesStamp duty on a shophouse follows its zoning and the approved use of each storey. Commercial, Commercial & Residential and Residential compared, with ABSD, foreign buyers and property tax.1 November 2026 · 1 min read
- Commercial or Residential: What Changes When You Buy or Lease a ShophouseA shophouse is usually commercial property. Stamp duty, GST, the loan, the lease and who signs all work differently from buying or renting a home. The basics, side by side.1 November 2026 · 2 min read
- Change of Use for a Shophouse: The Four StepsTurning a shop into a café, or an office into a school, needs URA's permission first. The four steps, what URA SPACE's answers mean, and what each costs.1 November 2026 · 1 min read
Buying a Shophouse
What it costs, how it is financed and the checks before you commit.
- The Complete Guide to Buying a Conserved Shophouse in SingaporeWhat a conserved shophouse really is, what it costs to own one, and the seven checks I run before any client commits — from an ex-equity analyst who works these deals.3 August 2026 · 13 min read
- Financing a Shophouse: The Rules That Catch First-Time Commercial BuyersCommercial property plays by different financing rules to residential — TDSR still applies, but CPF doesn't, GST is paid in cash, and the loan is more conservative. What to plan for before you bid.7 April 2026 · 6 min read
Area Profiles
The conservation areas, one by one: the stock, the tenants and how each trades.
- Joo Chiat and Katong: The East Coast Shophouse BeltSingapore's most colourful shophouses sit in a lifestyle precinct with an affluent catchment on its doorstep. What the conservation register shows about Joo Chiat and Katong, and how the belt trades.17 March 2026 · 4 min read
- Kampong Glam: District 7's Heritage Shophouse QuarterArab Street, Haji Lane, the Sultan Mosque — Kampong Glam holds the third-largest stock of conserved shophouses in Singapore, on a tenant economy built on culture and tourism.24 February 2026 · 4 min read
- Little India Shophouses: The Precinct ProfileSingapore's deepest shophouse stock, the most active transaction district, and a precinct mid-transformation. What I tell clients looking at Little India and Jalan Besar.3 February 2026 · 8 min read
- Tanjong Pagar and Duxton: The Shophouse Heart of District 2Duxton Hill, Tanjong Pagar, Bukit Pasoh — the conserved streets where the CBD meets heritage dining. What the register shows about the core of my patch.13 January 2026 · 4 min read
- Telok Ayer and the CBD-fringe ShophousesThe trophy shophouse streets sit in a tight cluster on the city's edge. What the conservation register shows about the stock, who buys here, and the case that briefly cooled the market.2 December 2025 · 5 min read
Calculators
Worked out on this page; nothing you type leaves it.
- Buyer's Stamp Duty CalculatorCommercial property: the duty band by band, at any price.
- Lease Stamp Duty CalculatorWhat a commercial lease costs to stamp, from the rent and the term.