We Singaporeans love good food, and for some foodies, the weekends are especially spent hunting down both new and tried-and-tested food places. In fact, hawker centres may even be the first choice for most people who wouldn’t mind travelling to various parts of Singapore just to satisfy their craving.
Usually operated together with a wet market, there are currently 118 NEA-managed hawker centres throughout Singapore. These hawker centres, depending on their location, have their own operational hours as they cater to different target markets. As such, the market rental rates, which are determined through a bidding process, also vary between the different hawker centres.
Here’s the latest price guide (compiled based on the winning bids) for hawker stall rental in Singapore from June to December 2022.
You can check out our previous list: Price Guide To Hawker (Cooked Food) Stall Rentals In Singapore
What You Need To Know When Tendering For A Stall
If you are ready to start your own hawker stall business, here are some of the conditions that you need to take note of.
First, if you have successfully tendered for your stall, you will be required to be present at the existing stall to personally conduct or superintend the business, as you will not be allowed to sublet or assign the stall to another person.
Second, when submitting your tender for the rental of a stall, you should not include the service and conservancy charges, refuse removal fee, licence fees, or Goods and Services Tax (GST). But these costs are payable after you have successfully won the tender for the stall.
Third, you would only be able to submit one bid per stall and could only rent up to two cooked food stalls in the hawker centres managed by NEA.
Fourth, your tender deposit, which is equivalent to one month’s tendered rent, would be forfeited if you withdrew your tender after the closing date but before the award of the tenancy.
Lastly, you should note that there is no certainty that NEA will pick the highest tender or any offer.
Read Also: Guide To Start A Hawker Stall Business In Singapore
After You Have Successfully Tendered Your Stall
The hawker stall tender system is based on an open and transparent process. As such, there is no set minimum rental for a hawker stall. Bids could be as low as $1. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that the locations with higher footfalls would have high bids due to the high demand.
Once the tender is successful, the tenderer would have to sign an agreement for a period of 36 months and have 3 months from the commencement date of the tenancy agreement to commence business at the stall.
During the three-year tenancy period, the rents are kept unchanged. Upon the end of the tenancy agreement, should the tenderer wish to continue with operating the stall, the occupied stall will not be put up for tender again, as it would be disruptive for hawkers who have already built their business and customer base. Instead, rentals will be adjusted based on an independent professional valuation that considers factors such as the footfall of the centre, stall size, and prevailing market conditions to assess the market rental.
Read Also: Guide To Small Business Recovery Grant (SBRG) For SMEs In Singapore
The rental of hawker stalls falls into two categories: market stalls and cooked food stalls. Under the market stalls, you can choose from up to 15 different articles for sale, depending on your trade. This includes vegetables, frozen goods, fresh seafood, beancakes & noodles, to name a few.
Under the cooked food stall category, you could choose from 5 different articles of sale, depending on your trade. This includes cooked food, cooked food (Halal), cooked food (Indian cuisine), drinks and cut fruits.
For the intent of our article, we will focus on the rental rates for the three types of cooked food.
First up, let’s look at the price trends of hawker stalls for the cooked food type of sales.
Average Rentals For Cooked Food
Cooked food generally refers to the sale of any type of cooked food, including hot and cold desserts.
We have taken reference from the winning bids selected by NEA for cooked food stalls from June to December 2022. You would find hawker centres that had only a single transaction without a high and low figure.
| Food Type | Cooked Food | ||
| Central | |||
| Hawker Centre | Median Price | High Price | Low Price |
| Amoy Street Food Centre | $3,663 | $4,288 | $2,200 |
| Blk 117 Aljunied Avenue 2 | $2,840 | $3,000 | $2,680 |
| Blk 665 Buffalo Road | $1,800 | $2,200 | $1,200 |
| Blk 163 Bukit Merah Central | $1,838 | $2,100 | $1,088 |
| Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1 | $3,246 | $3,688 | $2,803 |
| Beo Crescent Market | $4,586 | – | – |
| Berseh Food Centre | $1,804 | – | – |
| Blk 79A Circuit Road | $1,851 | $3,691 | $688 |
| Commonwealth Crescent Market | $1,708 | $2,311 | $533 |
| Blk 7 Empress Road | $2,144 | $3,008 | $2,008 |
| Golden Mile Food Centre | $3,109 | $3,669 | $2,168 |
| Blk 112 Jalan Bukit Merah | $2,130 | $2,188 | $2,018 |
| Maxwell Food Centre | $5,555 | $6,500 | $1,830 |
| Blk 159 Mei Chin Road | $1,325 | $1,350 | $1,300 |
| North Bridge Road Market | $3,888 | – | – |
| Newton Food Centre | $3,889 | – | – |
| Pasir Panjang Food Centre | $1,688 | – | – |
| Blk 85 Redhill Lane | $4,804 | $5,008 | $4,600 |
| Blk 335 Smith Street | $1,684 | $3,008 | $810 |
| Tiong Bahru Market | $4,226 | $4,832 | $3,620 |
| Blk 6 Tanjong Pagar Plaza | $2,700 | – | – |
| Blk 36 Telok Blangah Rise | $825 | – | – |
| Blk 93 Toa Payoh Lorong 4 | $2,300 | $2,828 | $1,001 |
| Blk 531A Upper Cross Street | $1,944 | $2,600 | $1,203 |
| Blk 17 Upper Boon Keng Road | $2,861 | $3,218 | $2,504 |
| Blk 503 West Coast Drive | $3,188 | – | – |
| East | |||
| Blk 2 Changi Village Road | $4,588 | – | – |
| East Coast Lagoon Food Village | $5,589 | – | – |
| West | |||
| Taman Jurong Market & Food Centre | $2,388 | $3,200 | $628 |
| North East | |||
| Chomp Chomp Food Centre | $2,690 | $3,401 | $1,090 |
Average Rental
Central Region – $2,754
East Region – $5,089
North East Region – $2,690
West Region – $2,388
Comparing the average rent for cooked food hawker stalls across the different regions, the East Region is the highest at $5,089. This is almost twice as much as the average rent for the other regions, which is between $2,400 and $2,800. The difference in rents could either be the result of a lack of sufficient transactions in the East Region or it could simply highlight the attractiveness of the East Region as a popular choice among hawkers.
Despite the higher average rents for the East Region, the highest bid for a cooked food hawker stall was for Maxwell Food Centre at $6,500, while the lowest bid was for Commonwealth Crescent Market at $533, both of which are in the Central Region.
Average Rentals For Halal Cooked Food
Next, we shall look at the rental rates for halal-cooked food stalls.
Non-Muslims who wish to operate a halal-cooked food stall, must obtain a Halal certification from MUIS before they can start selling halal food.
Similarly, we have taken reference from the successfully tendered prices for halal-cooked food stalls from June 2022 to December 2022. You would find hawker centres that had only a single transaction without a high and low figure.
| Food Type | Halal Cooked Food | ||
| Central | |||
| Hawker Centre | Median Price | High Price | Low Price |
| Amoy Street Food Centre | $1,569 | $3,127 | $10 |
| Blk 117 Aljunied Avenue 2 | $1,200 | – | – |
| Berseh Food Centre | $57 | $106 | $8 |
| Blk 665 Buffalo Road | $2,511 | – | – |
| Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1 | $612 | – | – |
| Blk 163 Bukit Merah Lane 1 | $68 | – | – |
| Commonwealth Crescent Market | $255 | – | – |
| Dunman Food Centre | $520 | – | – |
| Blk 4A Jalan Batu | $800 | – | – |
| Blk 1 Jalan Kukoh | $105 | – | – |
| Blk 69 Geylang Bahru | $2,430 | – | – |
| Blk 159 Mei Chin Road | $850 | $1,000 | $700 |
| Pasir Panjang Food Centre | $1,500 | – | – |
| Blk 335 Smith Street | $240 | $400 | $80 |
| Blk 6 Tanjong Pagar Plaza | $10 | – | – |
| East | |||
| Blk 16 Bedok Sout Road | $3,027 | – | – |
| Blk 2 Changi Village Road | $3,050 | – | – |
| North East | |||
| Chomp Chomp Food Centre | $212 | – | – |
| Serangoon Garden Market | $2,442 | – | – |
Average Rental
Central Region – $848
East Region – $3,039
North East Region – $1,327
The average rent for a halal cooked food stall across the different regions is highest in the East Region (similar to the cooked food stall as above) at $3,039, while the rents in the other Regions are between $848 and $1,327.
The highest rental bid was for a stall at Amoy Street Food Centre at $3,127, while the lowest bid was at Berseh Food Centre for just $8.
Average Rentals For Indian Cuisine
Indian cuisine is the third and final type of cooked food stall that you can operate. Examples of Indian cuisine include vadai, thosai, roti prata, and nasi briyani.
We have again taken reference from the successfully tendered prices from NEA for Indian Cuisine cooked food stalls from June 2022 to December 2022. You would find hawker centres that had only a single transaction without a high and low figure.
| Food Type | Indian Cuisine | ||
| Central | |||
| Hawker Centre | Median Price | High Price | Low Price |
| Blk 117 Aljunied Avenue 2 | $2,100 | – | – |
| Blk 665 Buffalo Road | $2,263 | $2,515 | $2,011 |
| Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1 | $136.50 | $234 | $39 |
| Blk 29 Bendemeer Road | $601.50 | – | – |
| Blk 41A Cambridge Road | $690.50 | $1,080 | $301 |
| Commonwealth Crescent Market | $400 | – | – |
| Blk 1 Jalan Kukoh | $39 | – | – |
| Golden Mile Food Centre | $608 | – | – |
| Blk 20 Ghim Moh Road | $300 | – | – |
| Maxwell Food Centre | $2,110 | – | – |
| Blk 159 Mei Chin Road | $88 | – | – |
| Blk 58 New Upper Changi Road | $1,811 | – | – |
| Blk 32 New Market Road Food Centre | $269 | – | – |
| Newton Food Centre | $1,201 | – | – |
| Pasir Panjang Food Centre | $2,044 | $3,200 | $888 |
| Blk 127 Toa Payoh Lorong 1 | $2,900 | – | – |
| Blk 93 Toa Payoh Lorong 4 | $35 | $60 | $10 |
| Blk 36 Telok Blangah Rise | $357 | $362 | $352 |
| Blk 531A Upper Cross Street | $255 | $500 | $10 |
| East | |||
| Blk 630 Bedok Reservoir Road | $1,850 | – | – |
| Blk 216 Bedok North Street 1 | $1,801 | – | – |
| East Coast Lagoon Food Village | $300 | – | – |
| Blk 49 Sims Place | $890 | – | – |
| West | |||
| Blk 254 Jurong East Street 24 | $1,500 | – | – |
| Taman Jurong Market & Food Centre | $1,222 | – | – |
| North East | |||
| Chomp Chomp Food Centre | $130 | – | – |
| Blk 105 Hougang Avenue 1 | $1,644 | $1,788 | $1,500 |
| North | |||
| Sembawang Hill Food Centre | $1,151 | – | – |
Average Rental
Central Region – $958
East Region – $1,210
North East Region – $887
West Region –$1,311
The average rent for an Indian cuisine hawker stall across the different regions ranges between $887 and $1,311. There isn’t a big disparity between the rents across the different regions, unlike those recorded for the cooked food stalls and halal cooked food stalls.
The highest rent for an Indian cuisine hawker stall was recorded at Pasir Panjang Food Centre for $3,200, while the lowest was recorded at Blk 93 Toa Payoh Lorong 4 and Blk 531A Upper Cross Street for just $10. The low bid could be a result of the small Indian catchment area for these two hawker centres.
Factors That You Must Consider When Bidding For A Hawker Stall
When bidding for a hawker stall, you should take into consideration the popularity of the particular dish that you intend to serve based on the demographics that patronise the hawker centre. You should also consider your competition within the same hawker centre and the foot traffic to gauge your potential bid.
Lastly, you should also consider the average cost of rental for each cooked food type in the different regions to ensure you are able to remain profitable even if the rates were to rise beyond the 3-year agreement period.
| Regions | Average Rental | ||
| Cooked Food | Halal Cooked Food | Indian Cuisine | |
| Central Region | $2,754 | $848 | $958 |
| East Region | $5,089 | $3,039 | $1,210 |
| North East Region | $2,690 | $1,327 | $887 |
| West Region | $2,388 | – | $1,311 |
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Featured Image Credit: Shashi Kumar
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