Lentor Mansion Buyer Case Study: How A Family Upgraded From A 2-Bedder Condo To A $3.2M 5-Bedroom Unit

This case study is based on a recent consultation conducted by Andrew Lim (R059210F), a property agent and partner property consultant with Stacked. This write-up walks through the key decisions, trade-offs, and market considerations involved, with insights that buyers and sellers may find useful.

Outgrowing a two-bedder unit 

When the couple first reached out to Andrew, a property agent and partner property consultant with Stacked, they were living in a two-bed, two-bath unit at Centro Residences.

Although they enjoyed living in a neighbourhood close to Ang Mo Kio Hub, the family felt that they were quickly outgrowing the size of their first family home. Their two children were more grown up (teens to early adulthood) and needed more privacy.

On paper, the size of their first family home of 818 sq ft was relatively spacious, on par with most new three-bedroom units on the market. But it was initially configured as a two-bedroom unit, and the lack of an additional bedroom resulted in a reduction in private living space, and temporary arrangements like having to combine study tables.

The unit also didn’t have the flexibility to accommodate their future lifestyle needs, making the space increasingly uncomfortable. Thus, in their first conversation with Andrew, the family were clear that this was their main concern: they wanted to move into a larger home.

Another important consideration was that Centro Residences was the couple’s first home, and they had never bought any other property before. Understanding this background would shape their change of perspective later.

Since they had not been active in the property market for a long time, the couple were relatively unfamiliar with the current state of the market. This unfamiliarity led to a few initial rough shocks, as they started their house hunting in 2023.

At the time, market sentiment was still quite buoyant and recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the private housing market was characterised by rising prices and a tighter supply of new developments.

The decision to sell first and rent while house hunting

The first phase was to sell their unit at Centro Residences, and this proved to be straightforward. The couple’s two-bedder was appealing to buyers due to the unit’s size, and it was a high-floor unit that boasted some of the best views of the Ang Mo Kio Central area.

Located on Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, Centro Residences is a 99-year leasehold condo that was completed in 2014. The 329-unit condo is next to Ang Mo Kio Hub – which is linked to Ang Mo Kio MRT station – and the commercial cluster in Ang Mo Kio Central.

This desirable locational attribute, the quick access to the public transport, food, and other key amenities, meant that inquiries came in quickly. Andrew started marketing the unit as soon as the couple began their property search.

The sale of their unit came earlier than expected, and the couple didn’t want to let the listing linger and go stale. As a result, when they received an offer of $1.45 million – which was on the higher end of the expected price range – they jumped on it and closed the deal.

This also offered them a clearer sense of how much they could afford for their next purchase, and helped to increase their purchasing budget.

The downside was that since the sale was closed so quickly the family needed to find interim housing while they continued to find a suitable new home. Thus, they rented a unit at Meadows @ Pierce.

The family had such a positive living experience at Meadows @ Pierce, that the condo would eventually be added to their shortlist of condos. The freehold condo on Upper Thomson Road comprises 479 units, and was completed in 2021.

Renting a unit turned out to be a wise decision. While the couple preferred to reduce the need for interim housing, it was more important that they secure a good price for their new home and not let opportunities pass them by.

Challenges with the initial budget

During their first consultation with Andrew, the couple settled on a working budget of $2.3 million for their new home. This was challenging since the size of the couple’s two-bedder at Centro Residences was already on par with some three-bedroom units on the market today.

As a result, Andrew had to scout the market for a three-bedroom unit that was at least over 1,000 sq ft.

He focused on the resale market first since older condos tend to feature larger unit sizes that fetched a relatively lower price quantum.This would also suit one of the couple’s preferences: they would have liked to move only once if possible, or otherwise minimise the need for temporary accommodation.

“For these buyers, the key consideration of the unit layout they were seeking was not simply adding bedrooms. It was finding a home that improved and accommodated their family needs,” says Andrew.

Unfortunately, the couple didn’t resonate with most of the resale listings that were initially presented to them. There were a handful of units up for consideration at The Panorama, a 698-unit condo on Ang Mo Kio Avenue 2.

This development had the added advantage of being near CHIJ St. Nicholas’ Girls, which was one of their priorities. But after considering the condo facilities, the fact that the unit needed renovations, and other factors, the couple didn’t feel it was compelling enough.

They also considered units at Jadescape and Forest Woods. These are newer projects and the family found that the condo facilities were more attractive. But the available unit sizes and layouts didn’t deliver the sense of space they were looking for.

Undaunted, they cast a wider net to find a unit that fit their space needs and housing budget. The Calrose and Meadows @ Pierce were seriously considered due to their mix of larger sized units.

“From my experience, most buyers start with a budget in mind but when faced with prevailing market conditions and available units, this often forces a deeper conversation about what their budget can realistically fetch,” says Andrew.

Two other interesting alternatives cropped up during this time.

At one point, the couple were actually relooking Centro Residences, which would have seen them move back into their previous condo but into a larger unit. This seemed to be a convenient choice at the time, but the idea was dropped when they felt the asking prices for listed units back then weren’t right. 

Another alternative they considered was a wholly different property segment. The couple considered leasehold landed housing at Horizon Green, as well as St. Nicholas View. Both are low-rise landed enclaves close to CHIJ St. Nicholas’ Girls School.

The couple eventually decided against this. While resale gains were not their priority, they still wanted flexibility if they sold the property in the future. In general,990year leasehold landed homes can pose certain challenges in this regard.

As the couple went through more viewings and developed a better appreciation of the market, they realised their budget had to change.

While there were three-bedder units going for $2.3 million on the market, the couple realised that these came with steep compromises. 

Among newer condos, the size of most three-bedroom options often felt less spacious and barely an upgrade from their existing home. At older condos, units that were larger came with drawbacks like ageing facilities, or layout inefficiencies that rendered the higher square footage moot.

After numerous viewings, the couple were willing to be more flexible with their housing budget and were prepared to consider stretching it.

Opportunity at Lentor Mansion and a surprising decision

This was when Lentor Mansion, a 533-unit condo by GuocoLand in Lentor, launched for sale in March 2024, while the family were still house hunting.

Andrew immediately pegged it as being a right fit for the family, even though it was a new launch project and not a resale condo. “What made Lentor Mansion compelling was that it solved multiple considerations faced by the family, namely size, layout, location, and future flexibility,” he says.

Lentor Mansion was reasonably close enough to CHIJ St. Nicholas School for the couple, and being a new launch project, it also afforded better opportunities for resale gains down the road. (Read our explanation of this here).

Most importantly, given the indicative pricing of the condo when it launched, the couple could consider a four-bedroom unit of around 1,227 sq ft that was priced from about $2.6 million.

This was not only larger than their original home, the layout was also more efficient, and the four-bedroom configuration could provide the necessary privacy for both children.

This seemed to be exactly what they were looking for. So the couple’s next decision was surprising: after comparing layouts more carefully, they were drawn instead to the five-bedroom configuration.

At 1,485 sq ft, the five-bedroom wasn’t just substantially larger. The layout had a more horizontal, landscape-style layout, which maximised the view and created a greater sense of openness. This differed from the narrower layout of the four-bedder, which felt more compact.

The couple also liked that this five-bedroom layout offered more flexibility. It had the possibility of merging one of the bedrooms with the living room to widen the space further.

Looking ahead, if their children move out, they could then reconfigure the bedrooms to suit other needs and preferences. Thus, this layout better matched their needs for the next decade or more.

The only catch was the price. The five-bedroom was around $3.2 million, a significant jump from the couple’s original $2.3 million working budget. But by this stage of the search, the couple’s perspective had changed.

After months of viewing prospective units, it had shown the couple that lower budgets often came with hidden issues. For example, units that are technically larger but suffer from inefficient layouts, or units that came with overly aggressive asking prices, and foreseeable resale complications.

By this point, their perspective had changed enough that the five-bedder at Lentor Mansion no longer looked expensive from that new perspective.

Final Thoughts

There is more to this case study than buyers increasing their budget, although such a big jump is rather rare. Instead, we hope that you take away the lesson that it is about learning to grasp value as more than just the given quantum.

There are also lessons about considering a unit’s liveability over the next decade, utilising resale gains to provide more flexibility, and recognising that “cheapest viable option” isn’t always the best perspective.

Overall, the couple had very clear goals for their property. There were non-negotiable elements, like the need for more space, as well as those they deemed negotiable such as the property type, new versus resale properties, and their budget. This provided them with the clarity they needed to find the right unit. 

The same flexibility also enabled the couple to quickly sell their previous home at the best offer, making the right choice of a better price over conveniences like moving more than twice.

That decision ultimately proved them with more certainty, widened their options, and more time to properly choose their new family home.