Everyone knows that buying a home can be a pain, which is why property buyers should always do their due diligence before making a purchase. But what really sets the smart property buyers apart from the rest is the ability to identify the right data to draw insights from. One such useful resource is the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) transactions tool, which shows you the caveats lodged and options issued.
In this article, we’ll explain what the URA caveat is and how you can use this information to your benefit. Hang on tight, because this can get messy.
No time to read? Here’s a quick summary:
| What is a URA caveat? | It is a legal document to protect buyers’ interests in a property for sale. |
| How to lodge a URA caveat | Your lawyer must lodge the caveat with SLA. |
| Benefits of URA caveat for buyers | If you lodge a caveat, it secures you the property. Analysing the data also helps you to ensure you are paying a reasonable price. |
| Benefits of URA caveat for sellers | The URA caveat can help you gauge the interest of buyers. |
| Benefits of URA caveat for those looking to sell | The URA caveat can help you gauge the market price of your property. |
| How to find URA caveat data | Access the URA transactions portal and search by project name, or by the property type and district. |
Need more details? Here’s more information for those looking to leverage on URA caveat data to make smarter property buying decisions.
What Is a URA Caveat?
Typically, a URA caveat is lodged once a buyer exercises the Option to Purchase (OTP) agreement or entered into a sale and purchase agreement with a seller.
So in layman terms, lodging a URA caveat is a legal way of telling everyone else to back off from buying a property that you’ve been eyeing on.
It’s not compulsory, but it’s a good precautionary measure to protect your interest in a property while preventing others from buying it. In other words, a caveat is a legally certified way of reserving your prospective new home.
How to Lodge a URA Caveat
Your lawyer will need to lodge a caveat with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to fill a form that contains information which includes details of the buyer and transaction, before paying a fee.
Once your URA caveat is approved, you can legally prevent the seller of the property from making a deal with someone else.
Do note that this information is public. (Remember how we said that this information is readily available on the URA transactions tool?)
So when you lodge a caveat, you’re basically showing the world how much you’re paying for a property. This also means that the public (including your nosy neighbour) can search for your caveat and find out how much you’re buying or selling your home for, and vice versa.
Why Is the URA Caveat Important?
So, how does the URA caveat affect you? And more importantly, why should you bother to search for caveats?
1. If You’re a Home Buyer
As mentioned, if you’re interested to buy a particular unit that’s listed for sale, caveats are a sure-fire way to confirm that no one else has already called dibs on the unit.
In order to do that, you’ll need your lawyer’s help to search and ensure that there isn’t a caveat lodged on the unit. This saves you from wasting your time speaking to the owner and making house visits (unless the buyer foregoes his/her OTP).
2. If You’re a Seller Who Has Just ‘Sold’ Your Unit
As a seller, knowing that a potential buyer has lodged a caveat for your home is a sign that he/she is serious about acquiring your home. It gives you the assurance that you can start your hunt for another home to settle into.
3. If You’re a Potential Home Seller
Thinking about selling your home? The URA caveat is a simple and fuss-free way of gauging the market price of your unit. All you need to do is to find a unit similar to yours on URA caveat to check how much other sellers are offering their units.
For example, if you’re selling your private apartment, knowing how to search for URA condo transaction prices in your area will arm you with some valuable data.
Thinking of selling your home but not sure where to start? Let PropertyGuru help you make confident property decisions with our selling guides.
Making Full Use of URA Caveat Transaction Data
Regardless of where you are at in the home buying or selling journey, it is definitely useful to know how to make use of URA’s transaction portal, i.e. the list of URA caveats lodged.
For home buyers, the prices listed on the URA transactions portal is the most updated market transaction data you can get.
Pro tip: When comparing URA condo transaction prices, make sure you find a unit that has a similar tenure and size to the unit you are eyeing. Otherwise, the apple to orange comparison will give you a wrong impression of the unit’s desirability.
With actual URA condo transaction price data, you can now compare the per square foot (psf) prices of units similar to the unit you are eyeing, just to make sure that you aren’t getting ripped off. And if you find a bargain buy, make sure to close the deal as soon as possible!
Meanwhile, those thinking of selling their properties can use URA transaction data to gauge the sales volume in your area and how much you can expect your property to fetch.
So regardless of whether you’re looking for a home to call your own, or an investor who wants to keep up with market trends and look for underpriced gems, you’ll find the URA transactions portal extremely useful.
How to Use the URA Transactions Portal to Search for Caveats
The URA transaction portal lists all URA caveats lodged within the last 60 months.
You can choose to either search by project name (up to 5 projects), or by the property type and district (up to 5 districts). The results will include the following information:
- Project name
- Street name
- Type (condominium, landed, etc.)
- Postal district
- Market segment (CCR, RCR, or OCR)
- Tenure (freehold or 99-year leasehold)
- Type of sale (resale, sub-sale or new sale)
- No. of units
- Price and nett price
- Area (sqft)
- Type of area (strata or land area)
- Floor level (non-specific, e.g. 31 to 35
- Unit price (price psf)
- Date of sale
Source: URA
How to Find URA Condo Transaction Prices and Landed Home Prices
Looking for URA condo transaction prices for a particular project? You can do so easily through the URA transaction portal.
Under ‘Search by project name’, look for and select the condominium you are looking at. You can select up to 5 projects if you are, say, looking at nearby condos in the same neighbourhood.
Select the date parameters you want (for example, transactions from Oct 2020 to Oct 2021) and check the boxes for the types of sale you are interested in. Then click ‘Search’.
You’ll be taken to a results page full of URA’s condo transaction prices for the project(s) you’re eyeing.
For landed housing, it’s easier to use the ‘Search by property type and district’ function. Select ‘Landed Properties’ or ‘Strata Landed’, whichever applies, and enter the relevant postal district(s).
After clicking on ‘Search’, you’ll land on a results page with URA’s latest landed housing transaction prices.
More FAQs about URA Caveats
Are All Property Transactions in Singapore Shown in the URA Caveat Data?
No, as it is not compulsory to lodge a caveat, this data set does not fully reflect all the property transactions in Singapore.
Why Can’t I Find URA Caveat Information on a Particular Sold Property?
The buyer may not have lodged a caveat with the Singapore Land Authority. Otherwise, the transaction may have taken place over 60 months ago.
Do the URA Caveat Prices Include Discounts?
It may or may not – the price shown is based on the price declared by the purchaser when they lodged the caveat.
If I Lodge a URA Caveat, Will Everyone See My Full Address?
No, your property unit number will not be shown. It may, however, be available on URA’s Real Estate Information System (REALIS), which is a paid subscription portal for more detailed property-related data.
If I Lodge a URA Caveat, Will Everyone See My Name and Other Personal Details?
No, URA is not allowed to disclose the names of the buyer and seller.
How Can I Search for URA Condo Transaction Prices?
The URA transaction portal lists all condo transactions with caveats lodged in the past 60 months. If you’re looking for URA condo transaction prices for a particular property, go to ‘Search by project name’ and select the project name from the dropdown list.
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