Buyers sometimes see gross floor area mentioned in a project's marketing material and assume it relates to their own unit size, when in fact it describes the entire development, not the specific apartment they are buying.
What strata area actually measures
Strata area is the floor area attributed to your specific unit, as recorded on its individual strata title. This is the figure agents and buyers use when calculating price per square foot for that unit, and it also determines your unit's share value within the MCST, which in turn sets your proportion of monthly maintenance contributions and your voting weight at general meetings. When you see a PSF price quoted for a specific unit, it has almost always been calculated against strata area.
What gross floor area actually measures
Gross floor area is a planning control concept that applies to the whole development site, not to any individual unit. It represents the total floor space that can be built across the site, calculated by multiplying the land area by the plot ratio permitted under the URA Master Plan for that zone. Developers use gross floor area to work out how many units of what sizes they can build on a given plot, and it is a figure that matters enormously to a developer's feasibility study, but it has no direct bearing on how your own unit's floor area is measured or priced.
Why the two get confused
Both figures are expressed in square feet or square metres, both appear somewhere in official project documentation, and both relate to the same physical building, which is why buyers sometimes conflate them. The practical distinction is scope: strata area is unit level and transaction relevant, gross floor area is site level and planning relevant. If you are trying to work out your unit's actual size or PSF price, strata area is the number you want; gross floor area will not help you answer that question.
Why plot ratio connects the two indirectly
Plot ratio, the ratio of permitted gross floor area to land area set by the URA Master Plan, indirectly shapes what your unit could look like, since it determines how much total floor space the developer has to work with across however many units and however much shared facility space the development includes. A higher plot ratio generally allows more units or larger common areas on the same land, but it does not fix any particular unit's strata area, which the developer decides as part of the overall unit mix.
What to check when comparing units or projects
When comparing PSF prices across units or projects, confirm you are comparing strata area to strata area, since some marketing materials in the past have referenced other area definitions that can inflate or understate a unit's effective size. It is also worth asking whether strata area, as recorded on the specific unit's title, includes any shared or common elements under that development's deed of mutual covenant, since this can differ from a purely private, usable floor area figure.
Frequently asked questions
Which figure is used to calculate my condo's PSF price?
Strata area, the floor area recorded on your unit's individual title, is what agents and buyers use to calculate price per square foot for a specific unit. Gross floor area is a development wide figure and is not used for individual unit pricing.
Does gross floor area affect how big my unit can be?
Indirectly. Gross floor area, capped by the site's plot ratio under the URA Master Plan, determines the total buildable floor space across the whole development, which the developer then divides into individual units. It does not directly define any single unit's strata area.
Is strata area the same as usable or saleable area?
Not always. Strata area as recorded on the title can include certain common or shared elements depending on the development's deed of mutual covenant, so it is worth checking exactly what is included before assuming strata area equals fully usable internal space.
Comparing PSF prices across a few different units?
Winfred confirms exactly what area figure each listing is using before you compare price per square foot across options.
Book a free 30 minute callWinfred Quek is an Associate Marketing Consultant at Crestbrick Pte Ltd (CEA Licence No. L31010886H). CEA R073319H. This page is for general information only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Rates and rules reflect the position as at 9 Aug 2026; verify current figures with IRAS, HDB, or MAS before making any decision.