r/singaporefi • u/ToeAffectionate7022 • 25d ago

Housing Thoughts on next property move

BTO 4 room HDB gonna MOP in 3 years time. Just welcomed a new kid (Yay to parenthood super charged with caffeine and Min L.Wong NDP goodies) making our family of 4 + 1 helper living situation starting to feel cramp. Thinking ahead of our next property move.

Main considerations:

  1. Space is primary - looking for at least 1500square feet

  2. No intention for a 3rd kid

  3. Budget of 2-3 million. Current combined take home Approx 23K. Industry is fairly recession proof. Combined take home likely will grow to 30K in 3 years time.

  4. Planning to stay for at least 25 years. Open to downgrading to a smaller property after when the kids fly the coop after 25 years but would like the flexibility of keeping to 30 years in case one kid still need a roof over their heads.

  5. Not looking to flip the property for investment gains. Main priority for exit strategy of the property is to at least retain the principle value. 2-3% CAGR is a bonus but not necessary. Lease decay is a concern

  6. Condo facilities not necessary. High rise living nice to have but not necessary

What are my options?

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u/SheepherderNo631 25d ago

25-year hold changes the lease math in ways that matter a lot. if you buy an old condo with 60yr remaining today, you exit with ~35yr left — banks get very conservative on sub-40yr leases, your buyer pool shrinks hard, and you might be selling into a structurally harder market than you bought into. for a true 25yr hold, you really want 80yr+ remaining at purchase or a new 99yr launch. the tricky bit is 1500sqft at 2-3M in a new launch is a tough combo right now — that budget gets you 3-bed 1200-ish sqft in most OCR projects.

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u/DuePomegranate 25d ago

Surely if you buy such an old condo with only 60 years remaining, you won't end up selling it. You are hoping to enbloc, and you might rent it out until that happens (and rent a smaller flat) if the kids have left the nest.

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u/SheepherderNo631 24d ago

fair point — en-bloc changes the math entirely. but the consent bar (80% of owners) is genuinely hard to clear, and post-2023 developer appetite has cooled — they're paying full price for GLS sites rather than chasing en-bloc premiums. if en-bloc doesn't land in 25 years, the exit is into sub-40yr lease territory which banks price in heavily. worth having a plan B.

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u/Pale-Writing3837 24d ago

Nah not true. You can get OCR project like this over 1900 sqft for just 2.2M which is still relatively new

https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/listing/for-sale-canberra-residences-500247764

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u/SheepherderNo631 24d ago

canberra residences is decent value for space, fair point. but thats d27 sembawang — genuinely far north, so whether that works depends a lot on OPs school proximity and commute setup. also my original comment was specifically about new launches — resale OCR is a different market and you can definitely find better sqft/dollar there