Why I Bought A $1.47M 2-Bedroom Stirling Residences Condo Unit: A Buyer’s Case Study

Project: Stirling Residences

Buyer profile

• 28 years old
• Single
• Works in the tech industry

Buyer brief

• First property
• Buying for own-stay purposes
• Wants to move out of parents’ home in Bishan to be independent
• Wants to move in immediately, ruled out new launches
• Hopes to upgrade after four to five years
• Preferred locations: West

Buyer challenges

• Choice paralysis after two years of research and viewing units herself
• Overwhelmed by own research and opinions from friends and family
• Uncertainty around which condos she’s likely to see the highest capital gains from

In Singapore’s property market, three years is a long time to make a decision. Staying put is still a choice, and it can mean missing out on a well-priced home with a higher potential.

When B, a 28-year-old tech professional, returned from overseas in 2021, she knew she had to start saving immediately. Young, single, and independent, she chose not to work with an agent and relied entirely on her research. She attended countless viewings and kept a close watch on market trends, confident she could navigate the property market on her own.

Almost three years later, she thought she had a clear plan. She wanted to move out of her parents’ Bishan home, buy a unit she could move into immediately, and upgrade after four years. Yet despite this sense of certainty, committing to a unit proved harder than she anticipated, with each “almost perfect” option bringing more hesitation than clarity.

That changed when she reached out to us in December 2024 after finding us through our editorial content. Within three months, she had the keys to her first home, a 2B1B unit at Stirling Residences on the 21st floor. This case study breaks down the decisions, trade-offs, and insights that made it happen, with lessons any first-time buyer can apply.

Gaining clarity after years of uncertainty

For additional context, between 2021 and 2024, the Singapore property market experienced significant fluctuations. Strong demand for resale homes, largely driven by COVID-19-related manpower shortages that delayed new construction, pushed property prices upward. In response, the government introduced a series of cooling measures to stabilise the market.

At the same time, interest rates rose from their previously near-zero levels, increasing property acquisition costs. For a first-time buyer like B, trying to make sense of all these factors while finding the best home for her needs felt like an almost impossible task.

During our first meeting, B mentioned she’d found us by chance – not through a deliberate search for an agent. If not, she might have kept navigating the homebuying process on her own, going in circles, and gotten increasingly more uncertain about how to decide on the “best” property for her.

Curious about her property journey so far, I asked her about the units she’d viewed in the last three years.

She admitted her main goal was to move out of her parents’ home in Bishan and didn’t have a fixed location in mind, although she had a general preference for the west and briefly considered units near Cashew MRT. From walk-ups to spacious older condos, many of the units she’d viewed were in poor condition, which would require major renovation work. One even had rats crawling in them!

She also shared her requirements, typical for a first-time single buyer her age:

• Proximity to MRT for easy commute to her workplace in the CBD
• Decent unit direction (i.e. no west sun)
• Liveable condition due to a lack of renovation budget, and for a quick move-in
• Homely feel

If she could, she’d love to stay in a big freehold unit. However, realistically, due to her financial situation, she was considering a 2B2B or 2B1B layout in a leasehold condo. She also hoped to be able to upgrade properties after three years when her SSD expired; by then, she’d expect to be in a better financial position to afford a more premium home and renovate it to suit her needs.

Despite years of research and viewings, however, she realised she didn’t have an objective framework to assess or compare projects. This made it difficult to narrow down options and make a confident decision, even on a unit she liked.

Setting up an objective decision-making framework

During our second meeting, the first thing I aligned with her on was her budget. Given how long she had been searching for a property (i.e., three years), her initial $1.2 million was no longer sufficient to meet all her criteria – including unit type, location, and investment potential.

We settled on a new ballpark of $1.5 million. It was a financial stretch, so I suggested she stay flexible on things like the “best” facing or highest floor, as these were features that don’t necessarily translate into the strongest returns. She was open to that, but drew the line at units with direct line-of-sight into a neighbour’s home: a privacy trade-off she wasn’t willing to make if she could. 

One of the compromises she made when coming up with her new budget was on renovations – her original buffer for major renovations had to be reduced. On the upside, this worked in her favour in terms of timing, given her desire to move into her new home immediately.

I narrowed the search to top West side condos, her preferred location, but also kept an eye out for promising outliers in other areas. Her goal was for the property to be both a home and an investment, so my shortlisting process weighed nearby schools, projected rental yields, transaction history, and the profit margins of each development:

• Stirling Residences
• Clement Canopy
• Clavon
• Park Place
• Trilinq
• Penrose
• Park Colonial
• Parc Clematis
• Parc Esta
• Poiz Residences

Viewings

By stretching her budget, B could now explore a wider range of units. I encouraged her to look beyond the interiors and pay close attention to the condition of each condo’s shared facilities, a factor that can significantly influence future resale margins.

Since she had years of experience attending house viewings, she also came with a keener eye for details. This made her more opinionated, which greatly facilitated our discussions.

From pre-viewing research (e.g. checking maps, videos, and condo information) to what she noticed on-site, she was quick to spot potential issues. Some of the key considerations she highlighted included:

1. TOP not ready yet

Just for reference, I shared with B some condos that hadn’t TOP-ed yet – meaning they weren’t immediately move-in ready or fully furnished. These tend to deliver the highest profit margins thanks to their capital appreciation during construction, absence of wear-and-tear, and longer remaining leases.

This gave her a useful benchmark for the resale potential of her new home, especially since it would be among slightly older resale units. Ultimately, however, she decided to pass on them and focus on units she could move into more quickly.

2. Floor plan limitations

While newer condos from reputable developers are often floor plan-optimised, some still come with quirks. Not all layouts are created equal, as they depend on the developer and architect. For instance, some common bedrooms can’t fit a queen-sized bed – a good-to-have for her and a likely requirement for future buyers.

I also showed her some 2B1B units alongside her preferred 2B2B options for comparison, in case a unit struck her fancy.

3. Lack of good views

Having the best views was one of the criteria we negotiated on, and frankly, it wasn’t the top of her priorities to begin with. Nonetheless, she knew the importance of a strategically directed unit.

As someone with a hybrid work schedule, it was important to her not to have to endure harsh sunlight entering her home. She also knew she wouldn’t feel comfortable if her windows faced a car park or a neighbouring block’s unit. I agreed these were reasonable requirements and would back her “no” whenever we spotted such issues during house viewings.

4. Price-to-value mismatch

Since we went to each house viewing with a comparative analysis of all the condos B was considering, we had a good sense of how much each unit’s market value was estimated. We didn’t immediately eliminate units just because they were priced higher, though – we knew that’s how negotiation works. The seller sets their price higher than what they expect to sell at, the buyer (in this case, me) negotiates for a lower price, and the two meet somewhere in the middle.

Even though we knew we had data on our side, some sellers refused to budge on their initial asking prices. This made it challenging for us, especially when it came to units that B wasn’t 100% into but felt she could still accept for the right price.

The saying goes: what’s meant for you will always find you, and what isn’t will be kept away. 

5. Personal taste for more privacy for a homely feel

B personally disliked The Poiz Residences and Park Places Residences, mixed-use developments with direct sheltered access to Poiz Centre and PLQ, respectively. She felt their commercial shops detracted from the homely feel she was looking for.

Mixed-use developments boost proximity to key amenities, including dining, supermarkets, and pharmacies. But some buyers are concerned that they can attract non-resident crowds, especially on weekends. Depending on the popularity of these malls, this could cause noise disruptions, human congestion, and even traffic jams, negatively impacting residents.

With Stirling Residences, however, she began spotting green flags. Her curiosity was piqued, and her interest grew with each subsequent viewing.

Stirling Residences condo overview

Stirling Residences, which TOP-ed recently in 2022, is located in the city-fringe neighbourhood of Queenstown. Queenstown is a popular neighbourhood due to its quick access to the city centre, major hubs like One-North, and choice schools, including NUS and ACJC.

While Queenstown is home to many condos, Stirling Residences stands out for its scale and site setting. It’s built on approximately 227,000 sq ft of hilly land, so each residential tower is built on tall pillars – one 38-storey tower and two 40-storey towers. This design enhances wind flow throughout the property and offers improved views and privacy for lower floors.

Upon arriving at the condo for the first time, B commented that it had the kind of homely feel she was looking for.

I explained that, being along Stirling Road, it enjoys privacy and reduced commotion that often comes with living directly beside a station or main road, compared to newer projects like Commonwealth Towers and Queens Peak.

Afterwards, we walked to Queenstown MRT, which took three minutes. Queenstown MRT is two stops away from Buona Vista MRT and three stops from Outram Park MRT, giving it quick access to the CCL, NEL, and TEL – another plus for B, who worked in the CBD and wanted a short travel time to and from the office.

Stirling Residences 2B1B house viewings

Here are some Stirling Residences 2B1B (635 sq ft) house viewings I shortlisted for B:

Some of these units came with less-than-ideal views or price-to-value mismatches.

The listing that ticked the right boxes

Then a new listing appeared. I contacted the seller’s agent the moment it came up, knowing a unit like this would attract quick competition. The seller, mindful of their Korean tenant, limited viewings to weekdays — a detail that could make scheduling less convenient for some buyers.

However, if B could be the first to view the home and express interest in buying it, we could have a deal on our hands.

B managed to view the unit on a weekday when she happened to be off work and secured it shortly after. The six groups waiting for a weekend viewing slot never stood a chance.

Being on the 21st floor, the unit offered comparable views to those almost twice its height – without the price premiums. Compared to some lower-floor units B had viewed, too, the seller’s asking price seemed reasonable and was within her new budget.

At the viewing, B noted that the unit was in immaculate condition. The tenant, who’d been staying there for a few months, took great care of it. She even offered B and me house slippers at the front door. It was ready to move in – except for the tenant.

Buying a tenanted unit

Moving out of her parents’ home and moving into her new home immediately was a key criterion for B. It’s why she reached out to me in the first place!

Deep down, however, I knew our three months of working together weren’t for nothing. Notwithstanding the tenant, this home ticked all of her boxes. It was within proximity of a well-connected MRT station, had a decent unit direction, was in great condition, and had a homely feel. Compared to higher-floor units, which were going for about $1.5 million, we felt confident negotiating this one for $1.47 million, which we eventually did.

B eventually decided to accept the current tenant’s tenancy until June 2026 and stay with her parents in the meantime. To her, the home worth waiting for was ultimately the one worth buying.

Her journey highlighted two key insights for buyers navigating today’s market:

1. Data helps reduce confusion

Like many young, skeptical property seekers today, B started her homebuying journey with the belief that agents – even good ones – don’t truly value-add to their clients besides arranging home viewings and paperwork. While she was prudent to start viewing homes while actively saving, she still ended up spending almost three years without a solid framework to decide on a home. Ironically, her desire for independence drove her to paralysis, due to the overwhelming amount of information she found online.

Good agents know: data doesn’t lie. They come with a toolkit to help clients pull data relating to their favourite properties, make objective evaluations, and act with clarity. In comparison to B’s DIY three years of dilly-dallying, I helped her decide on her Stirling Residences unit in three months.

2. Older resale homes may need to be held longer to see capital appreciation

Unlike new launches or newer resale condos, older condos tend to move closely in line with the Property Price Index (PPI). This means they generally don’t enjoy capital appreciation beyond the current market trend. For example, if RCR non-landed private property prices dipped by 1.1% in Q2 2025, prices of older resale homes in the region are likely to reflect a similar movement, as they contribute to the overall market trend.

In contrast, newer resale condos tend to benefit from stronger price support due to transactions made when their owners’ SSD restrictions expire. Coupled with longer leases, better maintenance, and fresher amenities, newer resale units can tend to outperform older ones.

Therefore, buyers looking to upgrade properties faster might want to consider newer condos. Deciding between new launches and newer resale units will depend on whether specific buyers want to move in immediately or can wait for the construction time to pass.