Back in 2018, TC and his wife were big believers in the property market. TC’s own parents had seen significant returns when they upgraded from their flat to a condo, and he was a believer in the previously tried-and-tested property progression method – that is, gradually upgrading from a flat to a condo, and from there to a bigger condo or a landed home, and so forth.
TC was so eager to get a head start that he seized the opportunity to buy an Executive Condominium (EC) as the couple’s first home, even though it wasn’t in the neighbourhood he grew up in. “After all, it would just be for five years”, he thought to himself.
But fast forward to today, and the couple have changed their minds about upgrading. We share their story about their change of heart, and unpack why typical EC upgrading plans don’t always have to culminate in selling once you reach the minimum occupation period (MOP).
Buying with an eye toward upgrading
TC and his wife would eventually go on to buy a unit at Rivercove Residences, a 628-unit EC on Anchorvale Lane in District 19. But during the purchasing journey, when they brought up the development, their choice surprised their friends and family.
TC had grown up in Clementi, and his wife in Hougang – so neither had “roots” in the Sengkang area, where the condo was located. Despite their unfamiliarity with the area, he was still quick to decide that Rivercove Residences would be his first home.
“When we looked at HDB prices at the time, it was not very encouraging, plus there were practical reasons for us as well. Rivercove Residences is a shorter drive to my office, and although it’s further from my parents, it’s closer to my in-laws. My wife’s parents need some home care help, so she visits them about two or three times a week.”
He is referring to a period between 2013 and 2018, when the public housing market saw a decline in overall resale prices. This was due to the introduction of the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR), as well as HDB ceasing to publish Cash Over Valuation (COV) numbers.
In addition to the weaker buyer sentiment in the HDB resale market at the time, TC’s parents had done well from upgrading to a condo from their five-room flat. This “lived experience” had made him interested in property ownership and investment from a young age. TC says he often visited showflats and would spend hours reading about property, long before he was ready to buy.
As such, he was familiar with the idea of “property wealth progression,” which involves moving up to increasingly valuable properties over time. This also made him less hesitant about Rivercove’s location: from his point of view, he would move again soon after the project reached its MOP in 2025.
Sengkang turned out to be a better fit than expected
When TC and his wife moved into their new home in 2020, they found that the area exceeded their initial expectations.
While the project is a shorter drive from work, he found alternatives that meant he didn’t have to drive at all. Tongkang LRT station was within walking distance, and this cut his travel time to about 17 mins, so he could wake up an hour before work, grab breakfast, and still make it there on time.
TC and his wife also found that most residents in the community were also young couples, and facilities supported a range of active lifestyles. Today, he is part of a bicycling group and a badminton group in the area, whereas he wasn’t part of any communal activities back in Clementi.
“When I stayed in Clementi, I often travelled all the way to town. But when I started living here, I found I had enough things to do without having to travel far. It’s the people who shape your experience living in an area, rather than whether it’s a mature town or not. If you don’t have any ‘kaki’ living nearby, you will feel the distance because you’re always going all the way to Bugis or Orchard or wherever.”
Over time, he’s begun to entertain the idea of not moving away at the time they initially planned. However, his interest in climbing the property ladder would probably still have won out if it weren’t for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Price surges during the Covid-19 pandemic and current condo prices spurred TC and his wife to change their plans.
When TC and his wife bought their 958 sq ft EC unit back in 2018, the price was less than $1 million. Today, a similarly sized unit in a newly launched EC would likely be priced at more than $2 million.
If he were to consider resale options, TC says that all the units he’s seen (on property listing portals for now) are in the $1.7 million range. He’s also less enthusiastic about these units as he believes buying on the resale market is tantamount to buying when prices have already significantly appreciated.
They have taken steps to carefully prepare for a planned upgrade. The couple haven’t used their CPF for anything other than the downpayment and the stamp duty, and the monthly home loans have all been serviced in cash.
Even so, TC says that – based on a realistic sale outcome for his unit – the couple will have about $460,000 to $480,000 cash in hand, after discharging the existing loan and refunding their CPF. While this could still fund an upgrade, TC says that:
“It means taking on a much bigger loan than my original one when I’m at an older age. Previously, my loan was less than $800,000, but taking out a loan now to upgrade to a three-bedroom unit would amount to more than $1.1 million.”
Separately, he also feels less secure in his job, which, like many others, is facing disruption from the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). So, he says this has doused his enthusiasm to upgrade quickly.
An alternative is to buy a smaller-sized unit, but this isn’t feasible for TC. This is because the couple must prepare for the possibility that TC’s mother-in-law, who cannot walk and needs home care, may need to live with them in the near future.
Due to these circumstances, TC finds himself much less eager to upgrade now, and he hasn’t entertained any realtors despite his unit being eligible for sale.
“I’m okay where I am now, and I’m considering other opportunities. I won’t say a future upgrade is impossible, but it likely won’t happen at the time I initially planned. Recently, I’ve been considering a second place in Malaysia or other nearby countries.
At the end of the day, the property market in Singapore isn’t the same as it was before the Covid-19 pandemic, and the same could be said of my view of the economy and the job market.”
Despite all that’s happened, there’s no real sense of disappointment
TC doesn’t feel cheated or let down by the changes in the private home market. In this regard, he has been very lucky: he picked a first home that he thought was only going to last five years, but now he could be staying in it for a lot longer.
“If it turns out in the future that this area doesn’t meet our lifestyle needs, or other unexpected issues arise, then I might be really stuck. So it was a leap of faith, and I touched gold; I found a neighbourhood and a lifestyle I enjoy, but it could have been much worse.”
For other buyers who are considering their first home in 2026, TC suggests:
“You can plan where you’re going to go, but also plan for what happens if there are obstacles. Don’t assume your holding period is a fixed thing, because you don’t know how the market may shift.”
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