We Could’ve Sold Our Home for More, But We Didn’t — Here’s Why We Let It Go in Just 24 Hours
If you’ve been in the property market long enough, you’ll remember the circus that was the launch of Hundred Palms Residences in 2017. People queued overnight. There were stories (unverified) of people being paid just to give up their place in a queue. And within seven hours, 531 units were gone. This was even more significant given that, in 2017, the property market was still coming out of a downturn, and confidence was weak after a slew of cooling measures.
But it wasn’t just hype: over the years, Hundred Palms Residences has gone on to become one of the most profitable Executive Condominiums (ECs) ever built. At the end of March this year, it became the first EC where a non-penthouse unit managed to transact at $3.05 million. Even the weaker performers at this EC are still sitting on several hundred thousand in profit, and some agents will tell you this is the Pinnacle @ Duxton of the EC world.
But let’s rewind to what it was actually like to live there: profits aside, Hundred Palms was still home to hundreds of families who had to live with certain trade-offs. And for one of the original buyers, AJ and family, this was their journey to selling their first home:
An early bet that paid off
When Hundred Palms launched in 2017, securing a unit would have felt like winning a lottery ticket – the EC sold out in 7 hours, and the queue was hours long. AJ noted that the price at the time was around $836 psf, which was considered expensive at the time. Earlier ECs like The Terrace or Sol Acres had launched in the mid-$700 psf range, which set a psychological benchmark. Some upgraders asked why people were willing to pay so much, given that Hundred Palms didn’t have an MRT station nearby.
In addition, between 2014 and 2016, the EC market was sluggish. Several projects took years to clear, and prices were stuck in the mid-$700 psf range.
So when Hundred Palms launched, the developer actually priced conservatively to avoid being caught with leftover stock. Even though the pricing felt steep compared to ECs launched a year or two before, it remained affordable overall. Nonetheless, it was still an EC and a more accessible option than the private market. This prompted AJ to go ahead regardless.
It turned out to be a lucky move – AJ got in at the market’s turning point, as EC supply thinned afterwards and the property market bounced back. Hundred Palms rode the recovery wave to become one of the most profitable ECs ever.
AJ secured a unit that was “90-something square metres on the 15th floor, pretty high up, which gave us a nice view. We could see both inside the development and partially outside too, so it wasn’t just completely blocked by other blocks.”
Why AJ Eventually Sold
As ever though, changing family situations meant the family eventually outgrew the unit:
“We basically ran out of space,” AJ says “We have two kids, and at that point, one of them was sharing a room with our helper, while we were sharing with the younger one. We felt it was time for the kids to start rooming together.”
For this reason, AJ and his family had actually tried applying for an early Minimum Occupancy Period (MOP), but the request wasn’t approved. So when the five-year MOP ended, it was the right time to make their move.
AJ admits they weren’t following the market all that closely though, when they decided to sell. Rather than pore over data, they simply looked at nearby Affinity at Serangoon. Units there were transacting at around $1,700 to $1,800 psf, so they reasoned that if their own unit could fetch a similar price, it would be fair.
They didn’t expect that it would be a tough sell: Hundred Palms had been fully sold out at launch, so demand was clearly there. The bigger concern, AJ says, was timing: “Our only real worry was whether we were letting it go too early. In hindsight, maybe we could’ve sold higher.”
There was also another wrinkle: there were no recent transactions for AJ’s unit type, as he was one of the first sellers. This could result in a number of issues, such as price volatility, or prospective buyers hesitating and negotiating more.
But despite this issue, the offer came surprisingly quickly.
Selling within a day
The listing went live in the evening, and by 10 p.m., there was already an offer on the table. The couple who made the offer came for a viewing the next morning and, within a couple of hours, they’d revised their offer. By lunchtime, the OTP was signed.
It helped that there was no long parade of viewers. “Just one: the first couple who made the offer were also the first (and only) viewers. It was really painless, no disruptions or repeated showings,” he said.
From a seller’s perspective, that kind of speed is rare. Many homeowners expect a few weeks at least, and a number of viewings. In this case, timing and demand lined up perfectly; a sign of how high demand for Hundred Palms had become by the time it entered the resale market.
We think it’s definitely helpful that AJ had a specific target price and stuck to it. This allowed them to seal the deal quickly, without any gambling or hoping for a better deal to come through.
But interestingly, AJ says he might do things differently if he could go back to that time
Looking back, AJ admits he might have held out a little longer, instead of accepting the very first offer. Still, he and his family had made a conscious decision not to get carried away. With no recent transactions for their exact unit type, pricing was always going to be a bit of a gamble, and there was no guarantee that interest would last.
This is all quite reasonable – but the question of potentially higher gains will always linger when dealing with a high-performing, high-demand project like Hundred Palms.
Quality-wise, AJ also knows what he was leaving behind. He describes Hundred Palms as a well-kept development, with practical layouts that made it easy for the children to play and move around. The neighbourhood also had a youthful energy, with plenty of kids for them to grow up alongside.
Daily life was convenient too. Being right next to Hougang One – with its large NTUC – made grocery runs effortless, and while driving out could take a little time, access to the CTE meant it never felt too disconnected.
Nonetheless, a switch to a bigger unit was necessary, and AJ feels he was content with the outcome. For AJ, it wasn’t about squeezing out every last dollar – it was about seizing the right moment for his family.
“Maybe I could’ve waited just a bit longer instead of jumping at the first offer. But at the same time, we made a conscious choice not to be greedy.”
As more ECs reach their MOP, AJ’s experience also underlines a truth we’ve seen again and again: the five-year mark is often enough.
Full privatisation, en-bloc potential, or speculation about foreign buyers may matter less than we used to think (especially with a 60 per cent ABSD now slapped on foreign buyers). It’s quite likely that, from this point on, the five-year mark will mean much more than full privatisation after the 10th year.
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