Analysis

5 Condos With Disappointing Early Sales That Became Profitable Later (Some Had To Discount)

If you are visiting a hawker centre for the first time, how do you decide which chicken rice stall to go for? Is it the photos displayed? How the chicken looks as it is hung up? While that may play…

• 4 May 2023
• 8 min read
• 0

Can New ECs Actually Lose Money? 4 Lessons Learned From 1,094 Unprofitable Transactions 

While most property stories in Singapore are success stories, it’s important to know the flip side as well. So you may be surprised to know that even “sure-fire” investments like new Executive Condominiums can sometimes transact at a loss. But…

• 20 Apr 2023
• 5 min read
• 0

2B2B Vs 2B1B New Launch Condo Units: Which Is A Better Investment?

When it comes to a 2-bedder condo layout for investment, there is one vital question: one bathroom or two? Conventional “property wisdom” holds that two bathrooms are always the preferable choice; and like a high ceiling or sea view, it’s…

• 22 Feb 2023
• 7 min read
• 2

New Launch Condo Profits Since 2017: A Look At How Over 1,000 Sub Sale Sellers Have Fared

With the housing supply still at an all-time low, some buyers are eager to snap up any units that are closer to completion – even if the seller foists Sellers Stamp Duty (SSD) costs onto them. As we saw last…

• 3 Feb 2023
• 9 min read
• 0

Sell Your HDB Today, Get $0: How Negative Cash Sales Can Still Be Found In Today’s Property Market

This is a question that has come to the forefront of late. For those looking to upgrade to a condo, there are two counterbalancing factors: higher resale flat prices seem to lower the risk of negative cash sales; but at…

• 24 Jan 2023
• 9 min read
• 0

Just 5% Of All Property Transactions In 2022 Were Unprofitable: Here’s 5 Interesting Learning Lessons

2022 was one of the hottest years on record for the property market. Housing supply was (and still is) at a critically low point, and prices rose across all segments despite cooling measures. It would seem as though sellers couldn’t…

• 9 Jan 2023
• 10 min read
• 0

The Trivelis DBSS Vs Clementi Ridges Issue 10 Years On: Did Trivelis Owners Really Lose Out?

Several years ago, the DBSS project Trivelis made the news, but not in a good way. Besides some quality complaints, the biggest issue was due to their newer neighbour next door. Buyers were miffed when a BTO project – Clementi…

• 20 Dec 2022
• 7 min read
• 0

Can Executive Condominiums Actually Be Unprofitable? 3 Interesting Points To Note From The Data

Last week we put out a list of the most profitable Executive Condominiums, that were sold right after the five-year MOP. Our plan was to put out a companion piece this week, on the least profitable ECs; and to be…

• 14 Dec 2022
• 7 min read
• 2

A Detailed Update Of 153 New Launch Condos In 2022: How Much Have Prices Risen? (Or Fallen)

2022 is set to go down in history as one of the least explicable years of the Singapore property market. We doubt anyone expected prices to soar to this point, despite a new European war, rising interest rates, and inflation…

• 18 Nov 2022
• 6 min read
• 0

6 Reasons Why New 3 Bedroom Condos Could Get Smaller Yet

A recent report from Property Guru states that the size of three-bedder units has fallen; from around 1,700 to 1,800 sq. ft. in the 1980s, to around 1,000 sq. ft. today. It probably won’t surprise anyone that, as a general…

• 31 Oct 2022
• 9 min read
• 1

New Launch Vs Resale: Which Is More Profitable? We Look At 3,612 Transactions Over 5 Years

There are some untested sayings that have been in the Singapore private property market for decades. One of the more persistent ones is that new launches are better for gains; largely on the basis of “early bird discounts”, or that…

• 11 Oct 2022
• 7 min read
• 4

Is The First-Mover Advantage For New Launch Condos Real? Here’re 4 Case Studies To See If It’s True

The “first-mover” theory holds that, if you’re the first to buy in a yet-to-peak area, you’ll see better capital gains. In theory, you would be buying before property values start to spike, in a classic buy-low-sell-high move. But depending on…

• 31 Aug 2022
• 10 min read
• 0

Buying A Home During Hungry Ghost Month: Does “Bad Luck” Translate To Lesser Profit?

As we enter into the Ghost Festival (7th month of the lunar calendar from August and usually lasts for a month till September), there will be just one question that buyers will be asking: Does buying a property during the…

• 8 Aug 2022
• 7 min read
• 1

5 Fast-Selling New Launches That Were Surprisingly Unprofitable Later (Some 0 Profitable Transactions)

Nothing charges up a condo show flat like a “selling fast” sign, or hyped-up news of how it sold out over a weekend. But as we’re about to see, not every condo that had a great launch ended up performing…

• 20 Jul 2022
• 10 min read
• 0

6 Slow Selling New Launches That Became Profitable Later (More Than 90% Made Money)

A common marketing tactic in real estate is to slap “selling fast” on new launch websites. We tend to assume that what starts well will also end well – so any property that’s selling out quickly must, by conventional thinking…

• 8 Jul 2022
• 11 min read
• 2

Selling Your Home During Hungry Ghost Festival: Is It Any Less Profitable? A Look At 26 Years Of Data

You may have heard of the excuse used by agents to account for a slow-moving month in August: “Oh yes, it was the Hungry Ghost Festival, that’s why” For those who are unaware, the “Ghost Festival” (“GF”) falls on the…

• 8 Jun 2022
• 9 min read
• 0

Analysing Unprofitable Condos: 6 Reasons Why The Lanai Has Performed Poorly (District 23)

With the last unprofitable condo analysis being done in the East (Urban Vista, for those wondering), this time I’ve decided to look to the West for another on our list of 13 unprofitable condos.  I know it has taken some…

• 3 Jun 2022
• 13 min read
• 7

Are HDB Flats Really As Unaffordable As Everyone Claims? We Look At 468,600 Transactions To Find Out.

With the fresh new record of a $1.4 million HDB flat being sold at Henderson, it has yet again sparked conversations about whether HDB prices are getting increasingly unaffordable. Which brings to mind a statement from the Ministry of National…

• 23 May 2022
• 16 min read
• 0