Property Stories

I Chose To Pay The ABSD To Buy A Condo And Keep My HDB: Here’s Why

With the ABSD for a second property now at 20 per cent (for Singapore Citizens), the decision to retain one’s HDB flat has become quite rare. However, that’s precisely what our reader YX did. In April last year, he bought…

• 6 Mar 2024
• 5 min read
• 5

Touring Trevose Place: Freehold Terrace Houses With Unblocked Greenery Views In District 11

I was always under the impression that the landed houses near Kheam Hock Road were all large properties i.e. detached or semi-detached units. Hence, I was intrigued to see some terrace units when driving through the other day, and decided…

• 3 Mar 2024
• 8 min read
• 2

Touring Hoover Estate: My Favourite Landed Estate At Beauty World With Freehold Homes In A Convenient Spot

When you talk about landed living around Beauty World in District 21, everyone thinks about Toh Tuck Estate, but did you know that there is another landed enclave nearby called Hoover Park?  In my opinion, Hoover Park is a much…

• 25 Feb 2024
• 13 min read
• 0

Touring Pasir Panjang Hill: Affordable Freehold Landed Homes With Good Views From $3.88m

Today’s tour sees us off to Pasir Panjang Hill, a small road leading uphill which eventually splits into 2 forks. They lie in between the main Pasir Panjang Road and Zehnder Road. As you can see from the Masterplan below,…

• 18 Feb 2024
• 11 min read
• 2

We Gave Up The $20k Proximity Housing Grant To Stay Further Away From My Parents: Here’s Why We Made This Tough Choice

Most Singaporeans are eager to shave $20,000 off the price of their flat, which is why for most, the Proximity Housing Grant (PHG) is attractive. However, there are a surprising few who intentionally choose to give it up. Sometimes this…

• 8 Feb 2024
• 5 min read
• 0

Touring Lantana Avenue: Freehold Terrace And Semi-Detached Homes Close To Sixth Avenue MRT From $5.3m

A reader requested more Bukit Timah tours, without specifying exactly which landed enclave. Sixth Avenue covers a huge part of Bukit Timah, but we’ve only seen Namly and Ming Teck park so far. Hence, today, I thought we would visit…

• 4 Feb 2024
• 8 min read
• 0

Touring Eng Kong Landed Estate: Affordable Freehold Landed Homes From $3.75m Near Primary Schools In D21

A while back, a reader requested a tour of Eng Kong estate. I’d not managed to get around to it yet when the second request came in, so it seems there is quite a bit of interest in this landed…

• 28 Jan 2024
• 7 min read
• 0

Touring Chestnut Gardens: A Small Enclave Of 999-Year Landed Homes That Are Elderly-Friendly In D23

Chestnut Gardens, a charming collection of terrace houses and semi-detached homes, recently captured my attention. These residences, constructed in the 80s or 90s, intriguingly don’t feature elevators – a common trait for buildings of that era. However, what’s particularly notable…

• 21 Jan 2024
• 7 min read
• 1

“My Agent Didn’t Think My HDB Was Worth His Time Selling” 5 Stories Of Horrible Property Agents From Homebuyers

There’s probably no more hated profession in Singapore than the real estate agent. While there are certainly good agents out there, the problem is with more than 30,000 agents (although the active number is much lower), the quality of the…

• 17 Jan 2024
• 7 min read
• 2

I Bought My First Property In My Mid-20s: Here’s All The Mistakes I Made

CX is what Singaporeans might call a “high-flyer”. He owned a car and a condo in his mid-twenties, was a top performer in his company, and managed it all before he became a degree holder. However, his experiences as a…

• 15 Jan 2024
• 5 min read
• 1

Touring Binjai Park: An Expensive Landed Estate With Good Class Bungalows & Smaller Landed Homes From $28 Million

Previously, I’d covered a few reader-requested tours, such as that of Woodlands Park. With all the buzz about AI and how it can potentially replace humans, I was curious as to what it would suggest for this landed tour series,…

• 14 Jan 2024
• 9 min read
• 0

Touring Woodlands Park: Cheaper Freehold Landed Living From $900 Psf With Unblocked Greenery Views

A while back, I wrote about a windy landed estate and a reader suggested that I should check out Jalan Bumbong, as he felt that it was quite similar. It took me a while to get there, as Jalan Bumbong…

• 7 Jan 2024
• 9 min read
• 0

I Bought My First Home In My Mid-40s, Here’s What I Went Through

We’ve all had different circumstances in life, and some of us begin our home ownership journey a bit later than 35. This week we spoke to KS, who “married later” and only bought his first home in his mid-40s. He…

• 4 Jan 2024
• 5 min read
• 0

Touring Clementi Crescent: A Small Private Freehold Landed Estate You Probably Don’t Know About

Today, we’re going to tour Clementi Crescent, a very private estate in D21, opposite Sunset Way. Now some of you may be scoffing at the fact that I called a landed enclave in D21 “the most exclusive landed estate.” However,…

• 26 Dec 2023
• 9 min read
• 2

How A Singaporean Property Investor Converted An Old 3 Bedder Condo Into A 4 Bedder Dual Key Unit

Converting a regular condo layout to a dual-key one isn’t very common as it’s a rather niche preference. These are condo units which are subdivided into two separate living spaces – that way landlords can live with residents while preserving…

• 19 Dec 2023
• 5 min read
• 10

Touring Springwood & Jalan Mat Jambol: Freehold Houses In Pasir Panjang Near The MRT And The Greater Southern Waterfront

Today, we’re off to Jalan Mat Jambol and the Springwood estate to take a look at the landed houses in the area. These houses are quite close to the Chwee Chian estate, which I visited a while back, but they…

• 17 Dec 2023
• 9 min read
• 4

Touring Tamarind Road: Affordable Freehold Houses In A Spacious, Quiet Landed Estate (From $3.5 Million)

Quite a while ago (sorry for the delay), a reader requested a review of Tamarind Road. It’s pretty far out, so it took me a while to get there, but we’re finally there today! Let me show you exactly what…

• 10 Dec 2023
• 8 min read
• 1

Touring Jalan Jelita: Freehold Landed Houses Behind Cold Storage Jelita And Within 1 km Of Henry Park Primary School

We’ve had a few reader requests for tours of Bukit Timah landed enclaves, and what with the recent en bloc sale of the 999-year leasehold, 2-storey Cold Storage Jelita mall (with a plot ratio 2.2), for $91.68 million in November…

• 4 Dec 2023
• 8 min read
• 0