Property Investment Insights

Can “Ulu” Condos Match The Performance Of The Overall Condo Market?

There are two schools of thought regarding condos in “ulu” or less accessible locations. The first are the buyers who shun them as bad decisions – to them, the inaccessibility means limited potential for appreciation. Then there’s a second group…

• 28 Nov 2020
• 8 min read
• 0

How Can An Old Condo Be A Better Investment?

“Lease decay” is the buzzword that never seems to go away. On the HDB end of things, it leads to constant complaints that you “don’t really own your flat”. In Singapore’s private property market, it leads to comments like “99-year…

• 17 Nov 2020
• 7 min read
• 2

Shoebox Units: A Performance Review Over The Past 10 Years

Go into any showflat as a single, and the first unit you’ll be guided to is the shoebox units; more pleasingly called a “compact unit” these days.  These units – which are typically defined as 500 sq. ft. or under…

• 8 Nov 2020
• 6 min read
• 0

Shophouse Versus Bungalows: Which Are Better Investments?

If you’ve explored the more hipster-ised parts of Singapore, or happen to live near historic areas, you may have noticed flashier shophouses. From boutique hotels to serviced apartments to restaurants, shophouses are starting to make their presence felt like it’s…

• 23 Oct 2020
• 7 min read
• 0

Unraveling The Mystery Behind These 3 Highly Unprofitable District 9 Condos

With the high costs of property in Singapore, we all want to buy a condo whose value stands the test of time. Unfortunately, good unit appreciation potentials aren’t always fulfilled. Take Urban Vista for instance. A beautiful development situated within…

• 14 Sep 2020
• 9 min read
• 0

How Does An Upcoming MRT Line/Station Impact Housing Prices? A Case Study On The Downtown Line

With an average of over 3.5million passengers daily, the Singaporean MRT has to be one of, if not the most utilised amenity in Singapore since its inauguration back in November 1987. It’s also a no brainer that almost every investor/homeowner…

• 5 Sep 2020
• 9 min read
• 2

Can New Launches Raise the Prices of Older Condos Nearby?

It happens to every property owner at some point: you look out the window, and see that a massive crane is now obstructing your expensive/expansive view. Along with the drilling noises and dust, it slowly sinks in: the land plot…

• 30 Aug 2020
• 6 min read
• 2

Top 10 Singapore Districts With The Highest Property Appreciation

How much can change in 10 years? If you’re in a small, fast-paced country like Singapore, the answer is “to the point of unrecognizability”. Today, Orchard has been dethroned by Beach Road in terms of price per square foot; and…

• 15 Aug 2020
• 6 min read
• 0

How Much Does A Property’s Age Affect Its Rental Income And Yield?

One of the reasons to buy an older property is supposedly good rental yield. As the theory goes, tenants will still pay around the same rental rate (they don’t care about the remaining lease), while the cost of the property…

• 5 Aug 2020
• 5 min read
• 3

We Ranked Every District By Their Cluster Housing vs Landed Price Gap – Here’s What We Found

I recently sat down with some of our writers to piece together an article on the elusive Cluster Housing sector. In that article, we analysed a jaw-dropping 25 years of Cluster Housing Price Trends amongst a number of rather intriguing…

• 26 Jul 2020
• 12 min read
• 4

Does Buying The Best Stack Always Mean The Highest Appreciation?

If you’ve ever bought a Mac before, you’d know that speccing one out can be a slippery slope to a big hole in your wallet.  32gb ram? Check. 2TB SSD hard drive? Check. Final price? $6,549 SGD.  The only consolation…

• 17 Jul 2020
• 4 min read
• 0

Is An Executive Condo Still Worth It: An Analysis of 53 ECs

Just 2 years ago in 2018, a record was broken in the realm of executive condos in Singapore.  There was a big commotion about this Sumang Walk purchase – and with good reason too.  It broke the record for the…

• 2 Jun 2020
• 10 min read
• 8

Are Dual Key Condos Profitable? Here Are The Results From All 193 Transactions So Far

It’s easy to see why Singaporeans like dual key condo units. They are functional, offer flexibility, and are good options for having a little rental income without having to fork out additional cash for the ABSD. So it is of…

• 25 Apr 2020
• 7 min read
• 5

$5M Loss?! – The Biggest Losers of the 08/09 Property Market Crash

It’s not a surprise that we’re often drawn to stories of the biggest winners…

• 10 Apr 2020
• 8 min read
• 2

Taking a Look at 123 New Sale Condos From 2010 And How They Have Done Today

Who will top this star-studded list?

• 31 Mar 2020
• 9 min read
• 6

Mind The Gap: Analysing The Price Gap Between New Launch And Resale For 22 Districts

I’m sure many of you would have seen the latest article from the Business Times stating that the price gap between resale and new launch condos has widened to 40% in 2019.  In other words, new condo prices have risen…

• 26 Mar 2020
• 11 min read
• 2

Freehold vs Leasehold: 3 Tests To Determine Which Is Better (Part 2)

Let’s try something different for Part 2 of our Freehold vs Leasehold debate.  I’ll start by asking you directly – Freehold vs Leasehold: Which do you think makes more money? Of course I could be wrong, but I’d wager that…

• 20 Mar 2020
• 6 min read
• 6

Freehold vs Leasehold: Can You Really Prove Which Is Better? (Part 1)

In the wake of the Falkland Campaign that waged between Argentina and the United Kingdom 38 years ago, Margaret Thatcher said this.  “There is no prouder word in our history than ‘freeholder’”. And that is a notion that has rung…

• 15 Mar 2020
• 6 min read
• 2