We’re In Our 50s And Want To Rightsize From Our Condo To A $1M HDB — Does It Make Financial Sense?

My wife and I are in our mid-50s, and we have been living in a 1,410 sq ft four-bedder at D’Nest for several years. We were the first owners of the unit.

At our age, we are considering downgrading to an HDB flat. One reason is to unlock some cash by either selling or renting out D’Nest, particularly as it is a leasehold property and may depreciate as it gets older. We would also like a larger home where we can comfortably host friends.

Our household currently consists of my wife and me, my 84-year-old mother, a helper, our daughter, and our son, although our son expects to move out by the end of next year.

As private-property owners, we understand that we may need to serve the applicable wait-out period before buying a resale HDB flat. One possible alternative is for my mother to purchase the flat in her name. However, given her age, we assume she may not qualify for a housing loan, which means we may need to pay around $1 million in cash. We are also aware that this would raise estate-planning issues, including making a will and deciding what happens to the flat when she passes on.

Due to our household income, we do not think we qualify for a BTO flat. Although we have never bought a new flat directly from HDB, we previously received a housing grant when purchasing our first resale flat many years ago.

We have always lived in the East and would ideally like to remain there. Given my mother’s limited mobility, proximity to an MRT station and everyday amenities would also be important.

What would you suggest we do? Would it make more sense to sell or rent out D’Nest, serve the wait-out period and purchase the HDB in our own names later, or consider buying one under my mother’s name? What financial, ownership and inheritance risks should we be aware of?

(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! 

First, a bit of good news: the wait-out period for buying a resale flat (of any size) was removed on 28th July this year; so it’s no longer a consideration. On that note, it is also probable that a BTO flat may not be the ideal choice. Eligibility aside, there’s no way to predict if there will be a viable launch site to keep you in the East, close to MRT access, etc. 

To examine your various options, we should start by looking at how D’Nest has performed, whether lease decay is an immediate concern. This will also form the basis of your various other options. 

As you own a four-bedder at D’nest, we will look only at units of this particular configuration:

We don’t see that lease decay is a severe or urgent concern for D’Nest.

From 2013 to 2025, the average price of a four-bedder at D’Nest rose from around $1.29 million to $2.04 million, an increase of 58.32%. This is faster than the average for leasehold four-bedders in District 18, which rose by 39.83%. It’s also much faster than the islandwide average, which rose by 18.48%.

In terms of $PSF, D’Nest has gradually closed the price gap with the wider market. In 2013, its average of $934 psf was 18% below the islandwide average ($1,145 psf). But by 2025, the difference had narrowed to only around 6%, with D’Nest averaging $1,538 psf against $1,628 psf islandwide.

There’s still appreciable room to grow, and you shouldn’t be in any rush to sell due to lease decay.

That said, if you want a sense of how lease decay could eventually affect D’Nest in future, we can look at Elias Green.

Elias Green is nearly two decades older than D’Nest (completed in 1994), and is located in the same part of Pasir Ris. We can use its longer transaction history as a reference for how an older leasehold condo in the area performs, over an extended period. 

We’ll look at the period from 2013 to 2025, to cover the same time period as D’Nest. This will be our yardstick for how an older condo would have aged across the same length of time. 

Elias Green has also continued to appreciate despite being more than 30 years old. What we do see, however, is that the annualised growth begins to track the broader markets instead; it’s a little lower but by a negligible amount. So it has continued to grow in value, although just not as quickly. 

For D’Nest – which is almost two decades younger – the lease decay is even less of a concern, and you shouldn’t feel rushed to sell. 

Would moving to an HDB flat solve lease decay considerations?

This depends on how much you’re willing to compromise in terms of unit size. Right now you’re living in a 1,410 sq ft unit, and many newer flats don’t match this. Here’s a quick reference:

So if you don’t want to compromise on living space, you’ll need to buy older and less common flat types, such as Executive Apartments, Executive Maisonettes or older 5-room flats.

Many of these flats might have even shorter remaining leases than D’Nest; so it doesn’t really resolve the lease decay issue. The exception to this is if you settle for a newer but much smaller flat; in which case you’re trading square footage for a newer lease. 

What would $1 million buy in the East today? 

Here’s a look at resale flat prices as of August 2026. We’ve focused on larger executive or 3G flats, which are larger than the home you’re moving from:

Pasir Ris is the most affordable of the east-side towns, at around $924,000 on average. This is followed by Tampines at about $986,000. Bedok just barely breaks the threshold at $1.03 million, so you might consider that another option. 

Once again though, note that the trade-off is age. Many of these flats are even older than D’Nest. 

What about renting out D’Nest instead of selling it? 

Assuming your mother qualifies to purchase a resale HDB independently, one possibility is to buy the flat in her name using cash while retaining D’Nest as a rental property. This would give your family the additional space it needs, without requiring you to sell.

Rental transactions from 2025 to June 2026 show that four-bedders at D’Nest achieved an average rent of around $5,395 per month. This could help service the outstanding mortgage as well. 

(The actual cash flow, of course, will vary depending on what’s left after recurring costs such as maintenance, property tax, etc.) 

The main advantage of this approach is flexibility. You still stand to gain from future appreciation at D’Nest and earn rental income, while moving into a larger home.

That said, if you are providing the funds but the flat is legally owned by your mother, there are important questions concerning control of the property. You’ll need specific guidance from a conveyancing lawyer or directly from HDB on this, and we can’t provide the legal side of these considerations. 

In the off chance an ideal BTO launch site comes by, could that be an option? 

In the event that an ideal site appears – in the east and close to an MRT station – you might want to consider balloting. 

However, this is with the added caveat that your household income must fall to the prevailing income ceiling or below, and that you will accept a smaller home (because again, newer flats tend to be smaller).

If all of this aligns, you could sell D’Nest and apply for a BTO flat. But as you previously received a grant when buying a resale flat, you would likely be treated as a second-timer rather than a first-timer, even if you have never purchased a new flat directly from HDB. This could affect your application priority and any resale levy payable.

Finally, there is the usual luck element, in that your balloting needs to succeed. 

The main financial advantage is that a BTO flat is considerably cheaper than the resale options. This could unlock more capital for you, to allocate elsewhere for your retirement. It would also allow you to do so while having a fresh lease. 

However, this is a situation where all the proverbial stars need to align. We would see it as an opportunity to be seized if it happens, rather than something you should expect. 

Our Thoughts

The first and most important conclusion is that we would not rush to sell D’Nest, purely because of lease-decay concerns. D’Nest is still relatively young, and its performance so far does not suggest that its remaining lease has become a significant disadvantage. Even Elias Green, which is nearly two decades older, has continued to appreciate still.

Also, if your next move is then into a resale flat that matches the D’Nest unit for space, you would end up in an older resale flat that’s likely even older. So this isn’t the most advisable course of action, unless you’re truly happy to get a much smaller but newer flat. 

The case for moving may also change once your son leaves next year. You might want to give yourself time to see if you’re alright with the space and with staying on, before committing close to $1 million to another property. 

If you have ample funds, purchasing an HDB under your mother’s name while retaining D’Nest could still be explored. Renting out D’Nest may generate around $5,395 per month before expenses. However, this option only makes sense if the HDB purchase would not consume an excessive portion of your retirement liquidity.

It also comes with significant ownership and estate-planning risks. The HDB would legally belong to your mother even if you provide the purchase funds; so make sure you speak to a legal expert or to HDB concerning the ramifications. 

Ultimately, we would retain D’Nest for now, unless the present layout is genuinely unsuitable for your mother or household. A move should only proceed if it provides a clear improvement in both your family’s day-to-day living, and to your retirement finances. Don’t make the remaining lease the main reason to move.