Industry Trends

Employment and business activity trends

How to Use the Industry Trends Map

Key Takeaways

  • Map data is refreshed from URA, HDB and OneMap APIs — hover any marker for live values.
  • Use the filter panel to narrow results by district, bedroom type, price range, or tenure.
  • Click any marker or polygon to drill down into the underlying property or area detail.

What It Does

The Industry Trends page charts business registration data from ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) going back to 1970, showing how Singapore's business formation and sector composition has evolved over more than five decades. The primary view is a time-series chart of total annual business registrations broken down by 11 industry sectors — F&B, Retail, Financial Services, Technology, Healthcare, Education, Construction, Logistics, Professional Services, Manufacturing, a...

Why It Matters

Singapore's property market is ultimately a function of economic activity: employment growth, business formation, and sector expansion drive residential demand (more workers needing housing) and commercial demand (more businesses needing offices and retail space). The Industry Trends data lets you look behind the property price charts to the underlying business-activity driver — so you can assess whether a neighbourhood's commercial vitality is accelerating, stable, or declining before c...

How It Works

  • Pan and zoom to the area of Singapore you are interested in.
  • Use the filter panel to narrow results by district, bedroom type, or price range.
  • Hover any marker or polygon for a tooltip with exact values.
  • Click a marker to open the underlying property or area detail page.

Examples

Technology sector trend 2010–2025: riding the tech wave into residential

Inputs
Sector filter
Technology
View
Net new registrations (annual)
Status toggle
Active businesses
Time range
2010–2025
Results
Tech registrations 2010
~2,400/year
Tech registrations 2022
~7,800/year (peak)
CAGR 2010–2022
~10.5%
Post-2022 trend
Moderation — ~5,200/year in 2024 (some sector consolidation)

How to read this: The technology sector registration chart shows the structural shift Singapore made from 2010–2022 as it positioned itself as a global tech hub. Net tech registrations tripled over 12 years, directly correlating with the surge in tech-worker rental demand (and the 2021–2023 rental spike). The post-2022 moderation reflects global tech sector consolidation — not a structural reversal. For a residential investor, this chart confirms tech-worker demand as a durable (if now more moderate) source of tenant demand in proximity to D3 (one-north) and D14 (Paya Lebar) tech clusters.

D14 (Paya Lebar) district-level registration growth: commercial gentrification signal

Inputs
District filter
D14 — Geylang / Paya Lebar
View
All sectors, district-level net new registrations
Time range
2015–2024
Comparison
vs Singapore median district growth rate
Results
D14 growth rate 2015–2019
Near median (~3% YoY)
D14 growth rate 2020–2023
~11% YoY (2× Singapore median)
Leading sectors
Technology, F&B, Professional Services
Lag to price uplift
~12–18 months (commercial rent → residential price)

How to read this: The accelerating D14 business formation rate from 2020–2023 (driven by Paya Lebar Quarter commercial development and post-COVID F&B clustering) preceded the district's residential rental premium expansion by approximately 12–18 months. Investors who tracked the ACRA registration data could see the commercial ecosystem accelerating before it was reflected in URA transaction prices. For current use, the Industry Trends chart for any district showing above-median and accelerating registration growth in technology, F&B, or professional services is a signal worth tracking — it historically precedes residential rental demand acceleration in that district.

Tips & Pitfalls

Expert Tips

  • Zoom out first to spot macro patterns before diving into individual districts.
  • Compare this map against the rental yield map to find high-demand, low-price outliers.
  • Use the legend to understand colour encoding — the same colour can mean different things on different maps.

Common Pitfalls

  • Judging a district by headline colour alone — the underlying sample size varies wildly across Singapore.
  • Confusing median with mean when both are shown — means are skewed by luxury outliers.
  • Forgetting that new-launch prices are discounted — resale prices are a better benchmark for fair value.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the map data come from?
Data is sourced from URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority), HDB, OneMap, and official Singapore government APIs, refreshed monthly.
How often is the map updated?
Transaction-based maps refresh monthly as URA and HDB publish new data. Planning layers (Master Plan, GLS) update as gazetted.
Can I filter by district or bedroom type?
Yes — use the filter panel on the map. Filter state is preserved in the URL so you can share a deep link to a specific view.

Related Resources

Map Browse all maps Insight Rental Yield Insight Calculator District Comparison Calculator Guide Property Guides