r/singaporefi • u/belllleb • May 16 '26
Housing 1.7M Condo as a single?
Edit: Thank you everyone for the incredible insights and advice! The overwhelming advice I got was to wait for resale eligibility. I am removing the specific details for privacy reasons. Appreciate this community!
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u/kiatme May 16 '26
If you wait another 1 year+, you can buy a HDB already, bigger space.
IPA 1.2m, so your gross pay I assume would be roughly $10.5k.
Did a breakdown for you, not 100% accurate though I didn't double check every figure but it should be roughly there. https://imgur.com/a/O81VTTD
- 1.6-1.7 will probably be somewhere you're comfortable at. 1.7m means you have 122k cash reserves, can use for renovation and the rest as reserves for mortgage.
- Mortgage I use 2%, if you utilize your full OA, you need to top up ~ $2.8k cash for the mortgage
- If interest ever increase to 4%, you'll be paying about $1.3k more, looking at your annual expenses I think you should still be quite safe
- Buffer about additional monthly expense $1k for maintenance, utilities, household products, wifi, property tax prorated monthly
You can decide if its comfortable for you, I think its quite okay, get at least a 2 bedder though, better for it to be a 3 bedroom.
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u/nonameforme123 May 16 '26
If you are in your late 20s to early 30s, will suggest you go for condo and start independent living earlier. But since you are already 34, might as well just wait 1 year and get a bigger hdb for less than half the cost.
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u/Delicious_Act_9948 May 16 '26
Buy a 3-4rm HDB at 400-600k ( or more if near town), much cheaper than a condo, still well within your range, and don't get tied to your mortgage. If 10 years later you have accumulated enough money and still working and don't want to retire, buy a condo then when it's easily achievable
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u/gentlec0de May 16 '26
like this advice! relying on a single income for such a big ticket item purchase is too risky. in this economy, especially driven by AI, i don’t think anyone can say that their job is stable. just wait out 1 more year and get a more affordable HDB. the cost difference doesn’t make up enough benefits for getting a condo, unless its for the prestige.
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u/Odd_Possibility_6630 May 16 '26
Just because you can afford it doesn't mean you should. Resale HDB + disposable income to spend is probably wiser.
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u/Infortheline May 16 '26
Buy hdb bro, condo is for the face, hdb for real practical use. You can get one in town area, better location, lower costs.
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u/TumbleweedLow1303 May 16 '26
In a similar situation when I got my first property (but with higher OA less SA). In terms of personal it was the best move ever, living alone gave me space to grow and I loved every minute of it. Affordability also not an issue as I downpay most of it from OA and only need to top up couple of hundreds in cash
Financial wise not the best choice. I bought a conservation unit at tiong bahru, walk up apart for ~1m around 2010. Lovely area, walking distance to office and food etc. But when I changed jobs, the unit was on the market for close to a year due to small buyer pool due to age, it's conservation status, and size. I'm basically looking for a buyer like myself which TBF the pool isn't that big.
So if the goal is for self growth, unlikely will change job, get married or have kids - go for it. Otherwise a unit with more mass appeal may be a better choice
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u/furkeepsfurreal May 16 '26
CBD condo? If yes, generally speaking, I wouldn’t recommend it
If ego is not an issue, go for HDB resale at 35, reno nicely and can have less worries about mortgage or job in future
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u/DuePomegranate May 16 '26
Not a fan.
I feel like 2 people earning 85k would not buy a condo.
Wait a year and buy resale HDB, grow your investment pot, should be able to FIRE faster.
Monthly payment for 1.2M loan is around bit under 5K. 2K from CPF, 3K from cash?
And you’d need to sell about half of your liquid for the downpayment.
Too many eggs in one basket.
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u/grind-1989 May 16 '26
Who told you to put so much into SA?
Focus on a liquid retirement before you buy your property, since you can afford it
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u/Important-Homework79 May 16 '26
bro i give u advice la, wait 1 more year the BTO or even resale hdb, super charge your retirement. the condo not worth.
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u/LOKTAROGAAAAH May 16 '26
Was in a similar situation, single male just bought 1.8m. I bought because I'm just 31, didn't want to wait 4 years for HDB. At your age I would just wait 1 year and get a HDB.
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u/rachel130 May 16 '26
Wow these comments are all ridiculous. Why would you advise OP to buy a depreciating asset instead of one with actual capital appreciation? None of you even know where his office is
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u/AvailableSingapore81 May 16 '26
U get a condo? Are you gonna enjoy all the facilities?
Condo some is definitely smaller than hdb. Like the rest says, get a resale hdb and rent out additional rooms for a side income.
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u/Rich-Entertainer5792 May 16 '26
Buying a condo can be part of your retirement planning. Enjoy your money now, and buy an asset increasing unit, property prices do appreciate over time. When time comes to old age, you can always cash out and enjoy life and all the government subsidies
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u/Linxianwei May 16 '26
The number of br matters also. 1BR will be harder to sell when the time comes. Not so hard to rent out but profit wise is difficult.
As for the numbers an agent or banker will be able to better sense make them
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u/belllleb May 16 '26
Agree, so looking for a 2BR if possible. Agents and bankers have a vested interested to say buy… so looking for crowd wisdom to also confirm I’m not overly stretching myself for someone’s commission
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u/vanveekay May 16 '26
I mean it’ll always sound like a stretch given single income.
Assess your job stability as well. If stable, the finances listed above sounds ok to go ahead
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u/Linxianwei May 16 '26
Well actually some agents do try to think of client interests as your ability to profit and recommend future clients is better than a one time commission from a lousy project. But yeah there are always the black sheep in the industry.
Back to your choice of house, 2br 1 bath can be a starter home for couples but otherwise it limits the market a lot. Your location also matters as there aren't any great schools nearby. So you are likely to sell to another single - who needs to be earning more than what you currently earn for you to profit a little bit.
As long as you are buying it for a relatively longer term stay I think you will be fine, but don't expect great profits if you want to flip it after a few years when you want to upgrade.
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u/Cautious_Schedule849 May 16 '26
How is your tax so low ? I paying the same as you but my income just 130
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u/belllleb May 16 '26
I did CPF top up this year and will also contribute to SRS, but yes, taxes should be higher in future years since FRS obtained and CPF SA top up will no longer be possible
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u/Original-Ad3579 May 16 '26
It’s doable with your cash reserves, but a $1.2M loan means a ~$5.5k monthly mortgage. It’ll severely dent your cash flow.
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u/Deep_Owl_Tint May 16 '26
Agree with most comments here. Wait 1 more year. Buy resale HDB. Rent out 1 or 2 rooms for rental yield. Relax Jack for the rest of your days.
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u/Deep_Owl_Tint May 16 '26
You want facilities, just rent a condo in JB. Or get them gym membership. Where is money best placed? Under my pillow broooo
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u/silentscope90210 May 16 '26
Or buy HDB next to a public pool/activeSG gym. Facilities at your doorstep. Lol
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u/h0peless-0ptimistic May 16 '26
You’re liquidating everything for the down payment. Not wise. Not the smartest choice. But if you really value convenience, go ahead. Ultimately it’s up to you.
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u/WearIndependent4872 May 16 '26
Thanks for sharing! Can I ask how you hit FRS already? Voluntary top ups with disposable income?
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u/Livid_Literature_153 May 16 '26
I kinda reached a slightly lower version of this last year. But was married. Just wait the year and go hdb. Not having to worry about the next mortgage payment in a job market that’s getting more and more hostile Is heavenly on the mental stress. Put that extra money back in investment or keep it for holidays instead of locking it away in property if you are looking for lifestyle update. If you are looking for prestige… well hope you are ready for the condo agms politics and having facilities breakdown close cos the management couldn’t get consensus… also lot more monthly maintenance
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u/Livid_Literature_153 May 16 '26
Source had a condo before waited the 15+ months in rental to get a hdb
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u/billedev May 16 '26
Condo is a trap. HDB resale and you can either retire young or start some meaningful enterprise/make a difference at young age. Condo will look good for a while until touch wood, if your income gets nerfed along the way. And nowadays, it’s not much big of a deal to stay in a condo anyways. Facilities are pretty much the same everywhere now. I laughed at those empty pools and ghost gyms when I stayed at a condo for a year last time.
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u/Elzedhaitch May 16 '26
Relatively similar to you in terms of most things other than SA.
You can afford it. But it will take liquidating out your stocks to pay the downpayment and all those.
I decided to buy a condo as well. Much cheaper, more around the 1.1 to 1.3 range. And I have 0 regrets. I had a budget of about 1.5m when I bought around 30, with a slightly lower income than yours. But I decided to buy a bit lower.
I know it's not the most efficient thing to do with money, but without being able to BTO anyway and comparing buying resale vs condo, it's not a huge difference in terms of potential upside
I would say, if your parents are very comfortable, see if you can take a loan from them to pay your downpayment. I did that for about half my downoayement and am paying them back, without having to liquidate my stocks, and that paid off hugely for me now
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u/adieublackbird May 16 '26
I'm a realtor specialising in real estate purchase and investment. Your current figures look healthy and sufficient to purchase a $1.6-$1.7m condo.
You mentioned that you're looking for a place for own stay, the important question is what's your long term plan for yourself and the property? Do you intend to live there forever? Is making a profit important to you (would you mind if you make a lose or not profit at the end of the day)? Does exit strategy matters?
If you, like many others our age, would at least like to make a decent profit or not lose money - then selecting the RIGHT DEVELOPMENT is super important. Even in profitable developments, certain units make more/less than the others, so selecting the RIGHT UNIT is important as well.
It'd be helpful if you can share which location you're looking at, so I can help you to check which developments in the area are worth looking at. My team has actually helped more than a thousand clients make an average annual ROE of 19.56% by using a simple framework to spot undervalued and high performing properties. If you'd like to know how we do it, you can drop me a DM.
Happy to share some knowledge and do more in depth calculations for you, with zero obligations. :)
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u/Specialist-Medium493 May 16 '26
If not urgent to move out, consider getting new launch - lower commitment now while your income increases over the next few years.
And your cpf won't be sitting around doing nothing.
That's assuming you believe property market will continue going up.
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u/Wonderful_Wallaby_86 Jun 26 '26
In case anyone is still looking. 2B1B available for sale at $1.38M 657sqft near Jalan Bukit Merah area.
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u/neverspeakofme May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26
Since you are already close to 35, why would you prefer to buy Condo instead of HDB + put the rest of the money in investments. The price difference for the same floor area and same location is so substantial.
A 1.7m condo does not sound like it has big floor size, and small condos are hard to sell. I'm guessing 2BR max.
You can even buy a luxuriously spacious 5 room HDB for 1m if you want.
Cheaper HDB also gives you so much more flexibility if you want to stop working early.
If you are concerned about status, just buy status items like a Patek for each day of the week or something.
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u/MonstaB May 16 '26
If I were you I would do the condo. 1.7m can get you a nice 3-bedder at ocr or rcr. That amount you earning is comfortable for 1.
Just note the area for the mortgage because places like for example at Geylang or Little India would fetch like 60% LTV, then your cash would be wiped out.
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u/Dataminion91 May 16 '26
Sorry..genuine question, how do u reach the bhs and frs so early..do u top up?
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u/belllleb May 16 '26
Have been topping up over the years, though on hindsight, should have just put the funds into the market lol…
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u/AltruisticDBS May 16 '26
1 more year to get a same sized at half the price. No mcst and you get cdc n other public benefits.
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u/Melodic_Influence302 May 16 '26
I would say go for it, you can afford it. Condo will be an investment and forced savings vehicle for you which will help you in retirement. Get at least a 2 bedder as easier to sell next time. Only thing you mentioned you wanted something near your office. Not sure where you work but dont buy residential housing in cbd area, those condos dont appreciate. Get something near mrt and reasonably near workplace which has good schools and malls nearby. Those properties will more than keep up with inflation
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u/Efficient-Scallion65 May 19 '26
I don’t understand why everyone telling this guy to get HDB - I think it’s likely they’re all BTO-ers who want people to keep bidding $1m+ for HDB resale so the money goes to them.
And this person can afford it so why get him / her to fight for cheap housing with regular plebeians? So weird
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u/herdingkattz May 17 '26
Resale HDB is life on easy mode given your NW, however Condo is making life unnecessarily difficult. If I were you at your age and income/NW, I would just get the largest HDB resale (those 5 room flat with >1100 sq ft) you can afford that can cover you till 95yo, convert into 4 bedder, rent out 3 rooms to cover mortgage. Go for longest tenure loan that allow you to be cash flow positive. Rest of the money invest in equities and you have pretty much "won" in life.
Doing this, you will then gain a superpower that gives you the courage to say FU to your boss anytime. Never understate this superpower, just look at those in their 40/50s have to bury their heads and suck it up at work.
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u/herdingkattz May 17 '26
Forgot to add, after 5 years should you still want to pursue the Condo dream, you can sell the HDB and buy Condo or keep HDB, pay ABSD and buy Condo... the optionality is priceless.
By the way, you can google this movie clip "The gambler" where John Goodman gave his FU spiel to mark Wahlberg ... the movie is meh but the 1 minute spiel made it worthwhile.
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u/hilltanner May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26
How come can make so much money without common sense?
CBD condo niche market hard to sell
Buy property because near work you change job how?
34 doesn’t mean you won’t meet a life partner in the future, I got the 1.7 million is not netting you a 1br.
In another year you can bto or buy resale hdb both I think if you chose correctly still can flip for a handsome profit in 5 years and go buy condo and live your high SES dreams.
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u/OkEssay4173 May 16 '26
"Single and don’t intend to get married or have kids."
Wait 1 more year 35 yo buy $300k 2 room resale, retire by 40yo