How I Bought A $1.65M 3-Bedroom Condo After Renting In Singapore For 8 Years: A Buyer’s Case Study

This case study is based on a recent consultation by Grady (R047131G), 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.

For first-time homebuyers navigating Singapore’s property market, the prospect of understanding the nuances and subtleties across the various areas and neighbourhoods is daunting.

From government policies on the housing market, to financing and legal considerations, there are a myriad of factors that are crucial to keep in mind and can affect a homeowner’s decision making.

The stakes can feel especially high for a PR trying to find a home in order to set roots in Singapore, especially without arming themselves with a good understanding of the dynamics that shape the residential market here.

At best, the lack of awareness can impede the progress of house-hunting. At worst, it could result in an owner stuck with a property that doesn;t suit their lifestyle needs for a long time.

When this buyer first reached out to the Stacked consultancy team in early October 2025, she was clear about her preferred location from the start.

Back then, she was living in a unit at Casa Merah, a 556-unit condominium on Tanah Merah Kechil Ave in Bedok. This condo had a full suite of facilities, including swimming pools, a rock climbing wall, two tennis courts, a clubhouse and gymnasium.

Since she had lived in several different condos in the East Coast area over the past eight years, she had grown attached to this region and in particular Kembangan and Tanah Merah.

Living in this part of Tanah Merah, she was close to the Simpang Bedok neighbourhood, where there was a supermarket, plenty of local food options, and other community services and amenities.

She had also recently obtained her permanent residency and her lease was up for renewal in June. Thus, she felt that it was the right time to buy a place of her own in Singapore.

While this new home in Singapore would be for her own-stay, she was also looking forward to hosting friends and family from her home country who would likely come over for short visits.

Previously, she had rented units in condominiums in Kembangan and Tanah Merah. This experience had given her a rough idea of what she was looking for in a home, mainly spaciousness and liveability.

She also enjoyed the convenience of being able to commute to and from work easily, since Tanah Merah MRT station was just a few minutes’ walk away from Casa Merah.

Exploring a range of options

As a result, she initially expressed an interest in purchasing a unit at Casa Merah, since she liked staying there. But there were no suitable two-bedroom units for sale at the time.

Anticipating that she would occasionally have visitors staying over at her place, she also wanted a home where everyone could be comfortable. She started searching through listings and arranged to view available condos in the same area. However, none of the agents that she interacted with offered her any clarity on the property market there.

After a few weeks of fruitless viewing, she finally reached out to Stacked who connected her with Grady.

“Typically, some new Singapore residents struggle to find the right home to buy here, and are often at a loss when it comes to starting their property journey. Faced with a plethora of options, they need a solid system for evaluating the data they come across in order to make sound decisions every step of the way,” he says.

He recounts that these buyers compare Singapore’s property market to their home countries, and express surprise that most of the large condominiums in Singapore offer a full range of facilities which usually come at a premium in other metropolitan cities like London and New York.

For this buyer, having access to a full suite of condo facilities was a priority, followed by the development’s transport connectivity.

Upgrading her budget and space requirements

While capital gains were not her topmost concern, the buyer was mindful that this would not be her last property purchase and did not want to be in a position in the future to have to sell it at a loss.

Any potential gains would directly impact her options in the future,  whether those funds would be used for asset progression or portfolio diversification.

Taking into account her desire for a unit with more space, a condo with a good range of facilities, as well as her budget considerations, Grady shortlisted two-bedroom properties in the Pasir Ris / Tampines area for her to consider.

He included several projects based on their location, unit sizes, prevailing resale prices, and layout; and then scored them based on annualised gains and transaction volumes.

He generated a table (above) to compile the results. In general, the older the property the lower the demand it tends to attract, which translates to what he calls a lower reactivity to the market.

“It’s important that my clients understand what they are buying into. In this instance, the buyer has a preference for larger units, which usually means older resale condos.  So there is a need to balance the attributes she’s looking for versus potential gains,” Grady says.

While the list fulfilled her criteria for a mid-size development (above 500 units) with full condo facilities, the buyer was not satisfied with the layout and unit sizes of the two-bedroom units. As a result, since she needed the space to host overseas guests, they started to consider getting a three-bedroom unit instead.

Thus, at the start of this year, the buyer and her partner started viewing three-bedroom units across Pasir Ris, Tampines and Simei. Since most of the resale three-bedroom units in the market were between 800 – 900 sq ft, she wanted to view developments with three-bedroom units that were larger than 1,000 sq ft to get a better sense of what was also available.

Taking into account that this buyer might move again within the next 10 years, Grady was careful to exclude developments that were older than 20 years old. This is because condos in Singapore that are more than 20 years old, there is a chance that some owners may explore collective sale opportunities.

Research by Stacked indicates that, based on the combined data of 99-year leasehold and freehold properties, private properties tend to see a successful en bloc when they are more than 20 years old, with the chances growing when it is more than 30 years old.

For this buyer, since it was the first property purchase, she wanted a development that could hold its capital value for the next 10 years, which is when she next planned to move. She also wanted to avoid the complications that would come if the development was put up for collective sale in the future.

Initial and second viewings in Hougang

In addition to shortlisting properties in Pasir Ris and Tampines, Grady also persuaded her to widen the search to include Hougang and Sengkang, where there were a few projects that also suited her requirements.

After some hesitation, the buyer agreed to view a few units in those neighbourhoods, and was persuaded due to the area’s strong public transport network connectivity. ““The buyer was initially apprehensive about venturing out of the East, where she had grown familiar with after living here for close to a decade. I explained to her that based on her requirements and budget, there were actually plenty more options if she expanded her scope of searching,” Grady says.

He adds that by widening her search, she could live in an area which is ideal for her lifestyle, not exceed her budget, and capitalise on potential future resale gain when itis time to sell.

From the list of shortlisted properties, she narrowed it down to Riversound Residence and Riversails.

Built in 2015, Riversound Residence is a 99-year leasehold development in Sengkang. After her initial visit, the buyer liked the condo’s location near the Serangoon River, Punggol Park and Sungei Serangoon Park Connector. She also liked the generous unit sizes and layout of the three-bedroom units.

Riversound Residence is also close to amenities including a supermarket, wet market and food court, which suited the buyer’s preference for a location with easy access to these conveniences. However, she did not like the stack where the available units were located, which were facing the generator station which could be noisier than the stacks facing the river.

But she also went ahead to view two units at Riversails before coming to a decision. Built in 2016, the 920-unit development at Upper Serangoon Crescent is next to Sungei Pinang canal, with Serangoon Park Connector offering access to Punggol Waterway Park and Waterway Promenade.

Riversails’ 3-bedroom floorplan

The buyer enjoyed the unit’s facing, which had an unblocked view of Serangoon Reservoir despite it not being on a high floor. She also liked the fact that it had a direct bus to Hougang MRT on the North East Line (NEL), as she commutes daily to her workplace in the city centre.

Riversails also featured a full suite of condo facilities such as a jogging track, 50m pool and yoga pod. There were also a few outdoor dining areas which suited her hosting needs.

The layout of the 1,033 sq ft three-bedroom unit that they viewed was regularly shaped, with the master bedroom tucked in a separate corner away from the other two bedrooms.

Recent three-bedroom transactions at Riversails

Thus, she made an offer for $1.65 million to the seller in May this year. The price translates to $1,597 psf, which was the highest price for a three-bedroom unit of that size at Riversails.

Separately, we note that this transaction helped to propel a degree of price growth among three-bedroom units at Riversails, which marginally increased over the course of 2Q2026.

Final thoughts

Grady noted that maintaining flexibility and keeping an open mind was key to the success of this buyer, who eventually found a unit she was happy with. 

What helped was the fact that she had an experienced agent who could help her make sense of what was happening in the private resale market, guide her and provide clarity in the process. This was especially important as she was on a relatively tight timeline, and wanted to find a home where she could see herself living comfortably for the next decade or so.