I’m Too Old For A Housing Loan And Own A Fully Paid $1.7M Condo — Should I Right-Size To A Resale HDB?

Hi Stacked,

I am looking to purchase a home for my family, which consists of me and my two adult children. I currently own a unit in a condominium, which I plan to sell before buying a new home closer to the East.

My budget is limited because I do not intend to top up with additional cash. Instead, I plan to use the sale proceeds from my current condo (estimated at around $1.7 million) to fully fund the purchase. Due to my age, I am also unable to obtain a housing loan.

As such, I am considering either a four-room resale HDB flat or a condo unit that can comfortably accommodate three adults, while also providing enough space for a helper. I understand that, as a current private property owner, I would be restricted to purchasing a four-room resale flat if I choose the HDB route.

I find myself torn between several competing priorities: having a more spacious home versus owning private property, as well as considerations such as lease decay, accessibility, future price appreciation, ease of resale and overall liveability.

Given my circumstances, what factors should I prioritise when deciding between a resale HDB flat and a condominium? Also, which HDB estates or condos in the East (preferably District 16 or nearby) would you recommend if my priorities are liveability, long-term price appreciation and ease of resale?

Thank you!

(This is part of an ongoing series where we answer reader questions about the property market. If you have one of your own, send it to stories@stackedhomes.com.)

Hi, and thanks for writing to us.

The good news is that although you’re older, we think you’re in a good position in terms of your property options. While it’s tough not being able to access a loan, you’ll likely be purchasing from a position of choice rather than necessity. In addition, not relying on a loan means you’re insulated from changes in interest rates and monthly mortgage repayments.

That said, it does mean your purchase budget of around $1.5 million is effectively fixed. So whichever option you choose will need to fit comfortably within this budget.

Based on what you’ve shared with us, we see two broad options.

• Purchase a four-room resale HDB flat, which would allow you to retain a larger portion of the sale proceeds.
• Purchase a resale condominium, allowing you to remain in the private housing market, but likely requiring you to utilise most or all of your available budget.

There isn’t an inherently “better” path here, but we can take a closer look to see which trade-offs are preferable.

You’ve also highlighted several other important considerations, including lease decay, future price appreciation, accessibility, and ease of resale. To determine which option best suits you, as well as address these concerns, let’s look at the following.

First, let’s look at what a $1.7 million budget buys in the 2026 property market

Let’s begin by looking at median prices for resale four-room flats. Here, we focus on HDB towns in the East, since that’s your indicated preference:

Even if you were to purchase a flat in the priciest town among those we have listed, you would still retain around $770,000 from your estimated sale proceeds. In Bedok, Pasir Ris or Tampines, where flats are relatively more affordable, the remaining cash could potentially exceed $1 million!

As such, affordability isn’t an issue if you right-size to an HDB flat, and you can pretty much pick wherever in the East you like. 

Now let’s look at the prices of three-bedder resale condo units in the East

According to what we’ve compiled, your $1.7 million budget sits in the middle of the market. Resale units in Districts 17 and 18 would most likely be comfortable for you since the median price is comfortably below budget.

While District 16 has a median price that’s higher than your budget, consider that this is just the midpoint of that district. There will be other D16 condos which transact at lower average prices. If you’re okay to settle for an older unit, a lower-floor unit, or make some other trade-offs, this option may still be possible.

For reference, we’ve included a selection of resale condos that have three-bedder transactions below $1.7 million.

Due to your family composition, we’ve kept this list to three-bedders with average unit sizes of more than 1,200 sq ft. This should provide sufficient living space and includes space for your helper.

You might notice that many of these developments were completed in the 1990s and early 2000s. This is because projects built back then tended to feature larger-sized units compared to newer condo units today.

An advantage of the East side is the wide mix of freehold, 999-year, and 99-year leasehold projects. Your budget can also cover some of the older freehold options, if lease decay is a concern to you. 

Will a condo unit hold its value better than an HDB flat in the long term? 

First, I’d have to warn against comparing the two options based purely on capital appreciation. Keep in mind that even if a condo generates higher returns over time, it is still starting from a much higher asset value. Likewise, a resale flat may appreciate by less in absolute terms, but you committed less – and arguably took less risk – to see those returns. 

A useful follow-up question isn’t which property type appreciates more, but how much of your overall wealth you’re comfortable keeping tied up in your home. That’s something only you can answer, based on your aspirations.

That said, here’s a look at how price appreciation tends to differ between the two.

Performance of 4-room flats in the East

Performance of 3-bedroom resale condos in the East

Among East-side HDB towns, most recorded annualised growth rates that were in line with the national average for four-room flats. The exception was Marine Parade which saw more modest price growth, but this is because the flats there are coming from a higher base price.

The picture is similar for resale condominiums. Most East-side condos have annualised growth rates that are comparable to the overall performance of the Singapore-wide market. 

That said, these are broad market averages. We advise taking another look at the price appreciation of the specific flat or condo unit in question, once you’ve narrowed down the possibilities further.

How much should you be concerned regarding lease decay? 

In truth, it’s difficult to isolate the negative effect of lease decay on residential properties. A property’s value changes for many reasons, from issues of maintenance, to wider economic circumstances like the post-Covid 19 recovery. Many of these other factors can have an even greater impact than just lease decay.

That being said, we can try to see correlations between age and changes in price appreciation. Below, we examine price appreciation among resale flats divided by age bands.

While the oldest flats (those with leases commencing in 1974 or earlier) did see the weakest annualised growth, flats with 31 to 40 years of age actually performed slightly better than those that were only 11 to 20 years old over the period analysed.

There are likely several reasons for this. One is that newer flats already command significantly higher prices, leaving less room for percentage growth. The past decade also included a strong recovery in the property market following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which, work-from-home arrangements became more common. At the same time, a mismatch in housing supply and new home demand kept resale flat prices higher.

As such, older flats, which are larger for their price, sometimes benefitted more from the post-pandemic recovery than newer flats.

To be clear, lease decay does become more apparent as flats reach a more advanced age. HDBs that were 41 to 50 years old recorded annualised growth of 2.87%, while those above 51 years old saw annualised growth slow to 1.70%. But even then, note that the price growth moderates, rather than actually dropping. 

Now let’s make a similar comparison for condo units 

The pattern is even less pronounced than it was for HDB flats.

While the newest condominiums (11 to 20 years old) recorded the strongest annualised growth, the differences across the remaining age bands are surprisingly small. Projects aged 21 to 30 years, 31 to 40 years, 41 to 50 years and even above 51 years all recorded annualised growth within a fairly narrow range of around 3.1% to 3.7%.

This suggests that age alone has not been a dominant driver for the resale condo market. Older developments have still continued to appreciate, albeit at varying rates. 

This is due to factors like older condominiums occupying larger land parcels in mature estates, having larger units, and – in the case of freehold or 999-year projects – perhaps prompting more confidence despite their age. 

As with the resale HDB flats, the factors driving price growth seem to be much wider than just lease decay. Location, layout, the initial buy price, and when you sell all carry more weight.

So what should you do? 

If your priority is maximising living space, while preserving a substantial portion of the proceeds from your current home, then we think that a four-room resale flat is a more logical option. This leaves you with considerably more liquidity, and as we’ve explained here, even older resale flats can continue to demonstrate long-term price growth (although at a slower pace than newer ones).

On the other hand, if remaining in the private housing market is important, you can consider three-bedder resale units. Refer to the list above for some viable places to start looking. As we’ve explained in this article, older resale condos with the right fundamentals still record positive price growth. However, the higher capital commitment might mean a trade-off in terms of other life goals or retirement targets. 

We’d be cautious about making your decision based solely – or even mainly – on historical returns or lease tenure. In our view, factors such as location, accessibility, layout, and entry price are likely to affect you more. This is especially true as you grow older, and it becomes more important to have key amenities nearby. 

One additional option that may be worth exploring is appealing to HDB for a waiver of the 15-month wait-out period. HDB considers these appeals on a case-by-case basis, taking into account each applicant’s circumstances. If your appeal is approved, it could allow you to purchase a larger resale HDB instead of being restricted to a four-room flat. 

Given that your household consists of three adults and a helper, the additional space could make a significant difference in your family’s day-to-day comfort. Even if the appeal is unsuccessful, you have nothing to lose by trying.

Your budget gives you access to a broad selection of homes in the East, even without financing. Use this to your advantage, by being especially selective. Focus on finding a property with a practical layout, and a location you’ll continue to enjoy over the next decade or more.