Buying Sui Generis With Leaseback Allowed More Time to Move

This case study involved a couple and their young daughter who wanted to sell their 1,700 sq ft three-bedroom home at Pine Grove for a larger home, because they felt the family needed more living space.

Initially, they sought to sell their unit at Pine Grove, and look for a bigger property in a more central location. But they unexpectedly found out that they were expecting their second child. With a young daughter and another baby on the way, their buying priorities grew: living space, a convenient location, and access to schools became increasingly important priorities. 

To avoid the complication of moving twice, the couple included a nine-month leaseback clause in their property sale contract.

This meant that instead of rushing to move homes while late into the wife’s pregnancy, the lease-back allowed them to have ample time to househunt and plan the transaction to align with their timeline and renovation plans.

For Stacked partner consultant and property agent Sheng, this wasn’t simply an issue of finding a bigger home for this family. The buying process included coordinating a sale and purchase where the timing had to work around several considerations.

This included the baby’s arrival, renovation plans, the return of sale proceeds, and CPF funds from their existing property. Adding to the complexity was the limited supply of suitable four-bedroom homes that met the family’s needs in the Stevens-Balmoral area.

Searching for a home in the Stevens-Balmoral area - more choices on paper than in reality

The family wanted to move into a new home that was in the central region, particularly around Stevens Road and Balmoral Crescent. This was so that they could be closer to the schools they were considering for their daughters.

“For this district, buyers seldom purchase homes here for capital or rental gains,” says Sheng, adding: “Properties in these prime residential areas provide a certain quality of living, and buyers are more focused on prioritising lifestyle needs and convenience, over investment-led decisions”.

The family initially considered a number of developments, including Cyan, Palm Springs, Park Stevens, Balmoral Residences,and The Glyndebourne. Also on the shortlist were other properties in the Orange Grove and Goodwood area.

The Cyan, a 278-unit freehold condo on Keng Chin Road, had four-bedroom units above the 20th floor that were on the market. Available units at the time included a 2,077 sq ft unit on the 25th floor that had an asking price of around $6.2 million. The couple put in an offer for $5.7 million but were rejected.

Meanwhile, other developments like Park Stevens, a boutique 48-unit condo on Stevens Drive, have few available units for sale, with larger units commanding prices above $6 million. Other projects like Balmoral Residences had appealing unit types (like three-bedroom + study units), and Orange Grove Residences offered larger unit sizes, but came with long irregular unit layouts that were less appealing to the family.

They also considered a penthouse at Maple Woods, which was on the market for $5.5 million. Unfortunately, that unit was snapped up by another buyer.

While they were hunting for a suitable new home, another issue arose. Their Pine Grove property had not yet been sold, which meant that the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) considerations made the timing of the purchase challenging. But with Sheng’s help, the couple finally found a buyer for their Pine Grove unit, who offered $2.05 million and was willing to accept the leaseback arrangement.

Why Sui Generis Stood Out

After crossing that hurdle, the next issue was homing in on a suitable new home. The couple wanted a property in the Barker Road and Stevens area, because they hoped to eventually enroll their eldest daughter into either Methodist Girls’ School or Singapore Chinese Girls’ School.

“When it comes to new supply in the prime Stevens Road-Balmoral area, there are no similarly sized properties at the quantum that the buyers were comfortable with”, Sheng says, citing that larger units with lower $PSF tend to be older properties.

With that in mind, the typical buyer looking for a property in those two areas tends to comprise young parents in their early 30s and 40s. “They are likely to hold the property, at least until their kids finish school,” he says, adding that it’s the main reason why resale units here command relatively high resale prices.

Eventually, the couple found what they were looking for at Sui Generis in Balmoral Crescent. Located on Balmoral Crescent, this 40-unit development comprises three- and four-bedroom units. The freehold development was completed in 2010. It is also close to Bukit Timah Road and close to Newton MRT Interchange on the North-South and Downtown Lines.

Apart from the budget, their criteria for this purchase was a property that had good resale value, a location with good public transport accessibility, a regular unit layout, and unit sizes above 2000 sq ft.

During their search, the available units on the market at Sui Genesis were two 4-bedroom units of between 2,120 and 2,131 sq ft. A good choice since it fits the couple’s criteria of units above 2,000 sq ft.

Although it was not the largest unit they had viewed, what made it compelling was both the layout and the property’s proximity to established schools. The couple wanted to be in the proximity of the neighbourhood’s network of schools, which would give them registration priority for primary school enrollment.

One learning lesson during this property search was that the stated floor area does not always translate to how large a home feels in real life. The family compared both units that were for sale: a 2,121 sq ft unit and a 2,131 sq ft unit. To their surprise, they found the smaller unit gave them a more spacious feeling.

When they viewed the 2,121 sq ft unit, they liked that the kitchen was enclosed and found the living areas generous. The living and dining areas had a wide-span landscape configuration that opened up the space. They also felt the configuration for the bedrooms was more regular.

In addition, the unit had features that mattered to the family, including a private lift and an overall more practical arrangement of the entrance, as well as spacious living areas and bedrooms compared to the larger unit.

How have property prices in Bukit Timah and Newton appreciated in recent years?

In order to take a closer look at how private home prices in Bukit Timah and Newton have performed over time, we looked at the average sub-sale and resale $PSF of non-landed private properties over the past decade.

We then compared this data against the wider Central Region, as well as the Singapore-wide private residential market. Based on the 10-year data, private non-landed residential prices in Bukit Timah have outperformed the Central Region as well as the Singapore-wide market.

This is largely attributed to Bukit Timah’s established position as a prestigious residential enclave. Besides convenient access to well-known schools, Bukit Timah is probably Singapore’s most famous “green” enclave with nature parks and reserves like the Singapore Botanic Gardens and MacRitchie Reservoir.

Although prices in Newton have remained high and inched up slower compared to Bukit Timah and the CCR averages, its prices are still lower than resale prices in some parts of Orchard Road and River Valley.

Turning back to the case study, the couple intended to find a property to stay until their daughters have finished their schooling. Some of the positive attributes about Sui Genensis that appealed to the buyers was the area's good connectivity to Orchard and the CBD, and quick access to MRT stations within a few bus stops.

Final Thoughts

This case study illustrates some of the considerations buyers should keep in mind when the availability of suitable resale units in an area - that also meets all of their needs and preferences - is relatively scarce.

When a prime residential area like Balmoral, where demand for available units typically exceeds the supply of units on the market, knowing exactly what kind (and type) of property to shortlist plays a greater part in ensuring a successful househunt, rather than trying to find the lowest price.

“For families with a purchasing budget in the $4 million to $6 million range, particularly around the Stevens-Balmoral area where supply is tight, the challenge is finding a suitable property that you would genuinely be happy to live there for at least the next five to 10 years,” says Sheng.

In the case of this couple, they recognised that after a certain price quantum, the value of the house becomes secondary. What’s more important is that the house can truly fit their needs, he says.

So, in this carefully coordinated family move, understanding that distinction helped to shape the decisions that led them to a successful property search.

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This case study is based on a recent consultation conducted by Sheng (R057616Z) 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.