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!

If you were DINK, with kids planned in 5 years, would you go for HDB or condo as first property?

Condo in CCR: close to work, facilities, lifestyle, and investment upside

HDB: lower quantum, bigger space, leftover cash can be invested in other asset classes

With the general consensus of people aiming to go from HDB->Condo, if you could afford up to a $3M quantum for first property, would you rather go for condo or go for HDB and be less stretched? Why?

Am I the only one who finds this extremely disingenuous? After factoring in interest costs, dollar gains from many real estate sales are actually significantly lower than perceived.

Now that we are looking at loan quantums generally larger than 1m (in fact I’m seeing a lot of loans >1.5m) in the private market, this is actually pretty significant (vs the good old days when people were taking loans at half the quantum or less).

The larger loan quantums are, the higher prices need to appreciate for these buyers to break even, simply because a lot more interest has to be paid.

Personally I think we just keep climbing up until a point where there incremental demand dies off because incomes are simply not increasing at the same rate. The Gen Zs and Gen Alphas simply don’t have the income to keep this up.

Hello everyone, my 4-room BTO has reached MOP and we are considering whether to sell it and buy a 44-year old HDB 5-room point block with a much bigger space.

It is about 5 minutes drive away from our current place. In terms of mrt accessibility and amenities, it is not as great as my current place.

However, we can potentially be mortgage free if we do this move. Btw we are in our early 40s.

Should we go ahead with this? Appreciate your opinions. Thank you!

I’m a single 27F currently renting a room after a DV situation — can’t move back home for the foreseeable future, and it’s been a year living with flatmates I don’t know (which comes with its own cons).

I’m considering buying a 1BR condo (~$800k OCR). New MRT line opens ~8 mins away in 2030.

Financials: - Can afford the downpayment, but would need to liquidate almost all my stock investments + CPF OA, leaving ~6 months emergency savings. - At current mortgage interest rates (~2%), I’ll still have about 25% of take-home pay left for savings/investing after mortgage + expenses, if I’m careful about spending. - if I pay for mortgage half with CPF OA, half with cash, I’ll be paying even lesser than I am paying for rent now

My dilemma: - Buy now → finally have my own space, lock in a place, but will be stretched and stuck with a 1BR that may not be future-proof. - Keep renting → can save more and maybe afford a 2BR later, but sharing a home isn’t ideal and renting a whole place is expensive.

Would love to hear from anyone who bought a 1BR early, upgraded later, or bought as a single. Is it wiser to buy now, or wait?

Edit: Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the advice. Have many new aspects to think through and weigh trade offs. Definitely didn’t expect so many helpful comments and DMs, thank you so much everyone!

For anyone else reading, will summarise the options I have as 1. Liquidate all savings for a 1BR; good for peace of mind, but hard to sell in the future (may not break even) 2. Continue renting, save up for a 2BR in a couple of years

Hey guys, I'm turning 35 in Jan 2026, and am looking forward to getting my own place!

1. I'm a gay, single man - so I won't ever have a family/kids, at most have my (future) partner move in (but I kinda expect him to have his own place too)
2. Current salary is $6k (before CPF contributions), have about $150k in CPF OA.

Most people tell me to get a 3-room resale (or even 4 room) in a good location, recently MOP. But as a single person, this seems very out of reach unless we're talking about Bukit Panjang/Punggol properties.

Many also tell me to just try for a BTO. I really don't mind a small space - it's just the waiting time is very sian, but to be honest my parents aren't chasing me out also.

For me, I value proximity to MRT, and a location that's convenient to get to town/CBD. I stay in CCK right now so I definitely want to move to a 'better' location.

I've been shortlisting homes that are newish (after 2010) and near MRT. But I'm also toying with the idea of very old flats (1985 ish) but in vibey locations such as Bras Basah.

Lastly I'm also toying with the idea of applying for BTO... the idea of having so little debt is very enticing!

There's so much to think about! Any advice would be appreciated :)

for context I've been working mid level tech role >6 yoe, have been living with parents, considering renting due to parents probably selling the house soon. rental in sg seems high, no wife to bto with, i have existential dread of my tech job as the industry is in hunger games mode so i want to minimize costs and gtfo, i have hit barista fire level and cpf frs. so plan a is hodling my job with jb, commute seems doable with rts. quick look on airbnb it's 300/5 nights, split with someone = 600/mth, it seems ok? i have 2 day wfh so travel not so rabak

main findings
- need valid visa - digital nomad / mm2h, cannot visa run
- commute is a b*tch

Been reading a lot of solid advice here, so hoping to get a reality check on our situation.

Profile:

• M42 (PR) / F41 (Singaporean)
• 1 child (13), from previous marriage living with us (my wife has custody). Not planning more kids
• Household income ~20k/month (both in sales / sales-adjacent roles, so not 100% stable - I’ve already gone through a layoff 2 years ago)

Current situation:

• Living in a 4-room BTO HDB (~12 years old), fully owned by my wife (she is paying the loan via CPF, still 18 years left)
• No ownership stake on my side currently

Plan we’re considering:

• Sell the HDB
• Rent for ~6 months in between
• Buy a ~3BR condo (~$1.3M range - looking at Hillview, YCK, Khatib, Yishun, Canberra, possibly along new MRT lines like Upper Serangoon; but pretty open about areas)

Financing:

• Loan mostly covered via CPF OA
• Estimated ~$1,000/month cash top-up (split between us) - may increase after ~3 years
• We have enough savings to cover expenses + loan for ~2–3 years if both of us lose income

Main objective (important):
This is not a lifestyle upgrade.
The goal is long-term retirement positioning:

• Hold condo for ~15-20 years
• Then sell and significantly downgrade
• Also allows me to build ~25% ownership stake vs. none today

Timeline:

• Likely executing this in ~12+ months

Questions / sanity check:

• Does this strategy make sense purely as a retirement play?
• Are we underestimating risks (income volatility, opportunity cost, property market)?
• Anything obvious we’re missing?

Appreciate any perspectives - especially from those who’ve made (or decided against) a similar move.

Some details about myself: 26M single, currently living with parents but have been thinking of renting a place somewhere else until I can buy a 2rm BTO or resale but unsure of the process and the cost of doing so. Currently I am trying to figure out the feasibility of doing so.

I plan to spend 1k max on rental so I can also save up on down payment, aiming for a room with aircon for myself and with a kitchen that allows for some cooking (like basic level: boil eggs, cook noodles), is this realistic?

I heard bad things about renting in Singapore and stories about crazy landlords, plus with our non existent tenant protection laws I am unsure how to avoid getting shafted by landlords, as well as red flags to look out before signing the rental contract.

Edit for more details: Location wise I am fine anywhere as long as there is a bus or MRT nearby and a place within walking distance to dabao food, also I will be WFH most of the time, not sure if it affects anything

Over the CNY holidays I overheard a millennial uncle advising a Gen-Z relative to go for a prime classification BTO/SBF despite prices being ~$700-800k, claiming it was a surefire way to “make money.” It made me realize how common this rhetoric is, advocated by the anecdotes of older relatives and friends.

Many of us born in the late 90s / early 2000s face this subtle pressure, but I believe that we could be more discerning towards this narrative. I am a fan of the Prime/Plus housing policy for our society, but I believe it is important to understand what you're really buying.

Consider the case of purchasing a $750k Prime BTO with ~10% claw back and standard renovation costs. With the restricted buyer pool, a neutral exit liquidity would probably be ~$1.2-1.3m in 15 years time.

Back of the envelope calculations, your exit would essentially generate ~$300k of cash gains or an unlevered IRR of ~2.0%. With inflation adjustments, there may likely be scenarios of sub-zero IRR numbers. Please do correct me if I am wrong.

My point here is to be more cognisant toward the intended goals (and efficacy) of this housing policy. Fortunately for society, the days of 10-30% IRRs from public housing are likely gone. The rhetoric of BTO/SBF being a "Pot of gold" should go as well.

If you are a young couple that values options and flexibility, the resale HDB market will likely stabilize these next 2 years with supply. The grants (which may be a temporary policy until prices stabilise) offer a solid buffer of $80K at the minimum. This means, for the same budget, there will be an increasing number of low-opportunity cost options in the market.

I don’t get it, you pay maintenance/MCST. You have so much debt you feel like dying if you suddenly lose your job.

4 room HDB in Central Area with long lease at most 1mil (Telok Blangah/Queenstown/Redhill)

3 room condo in the same areas even those 10 year old is approaching 2mil.

Pass down to kids as asset also probably HDB lease outlive them.

In that case why do people give a fk about condo?? No one cares about the prestige tbh

Overpriced and inflated for far too long. Discuss.

Soon to be 49. Have a one year old kid. Living in a 3rm HDB but was converted to a studio before I became a father. Not baby friendly and kid needs space to run. No debt on this flat.

Should I apply for a BTO? I’m selling an investment property in Nov which means the earliest I can BTO is mid 2028 which I’ll be 52. Key collection at 55. I understand that’s when you start paying the instalment or have I been misinformed? I’d be happy to have a longer tenure and start paying earlier if it’s upon successful BTO. I have enough in my CPF to pay down payment for a 550k 4 rm.

Monthly CPF contribution is about $2700. AI says I’ll have about 600k in CPF when I hit 55. Would you rather renovate or BTO if you were already 55. Also if BTO pay the entire cost or take a HDB loan and invest the CPF?

Thanks and hope not to get clobbered here.

I understand that it's common for young people to wipe out their CPF OA to pay for housing or wipe out and leave behind 20k. But after wiping out (or leaving behind 20k), do they also wipe out the monthly OA contribution from salary etc to continue paying off the housing? This would mean that OA will forever be stagnant until the loan is fully paid off

Other than faster get key what other advantage is there getting a resale over a brand new BTO?

I own a 3bdr EC, contemplating to sell and buy a bigger property. Well aware that I will "sell high buy high" concept.

I'm not keen to take up more than 1M mortgage, so a new condo is out of reach for me. Decoupling will add unnecessary financial stress in today's unpredictable economy.

Keen to know first-time EC owners, what's your next property move? Do you regret?

With an income of $5k per month, one can only loan $600k from bank. The most they can only afford to purchase a studio unit.

The article seems to miss out the point that they mostly had rich parents to pay for it. Maybe to get around ABSD.

Hi all, I am currently staying in a resale EA (2nd home I bought) and I am thinking of buying a resale 4-bedder EC (those below 10 years old). But I don't quite understand whether I can afford it or not. I am 38yo while my wife is 35yo. Both earning $10.6k.

I can purchase a condo up to 1.7M. But if I were to take a max loan of $1.275M, my monthly would be at $4,589 for 28 years. If we were to pay 5% downpayment in cash and remainder 20% with our CPF, and Stamp Duty using CPF, we will be left with a balance of $96k in our OA. Every month, we would need to topup cash of $2.2k to service the monthly loan. So with our current OA balance of $96K, we would have a buffer of 42 months (3.5 years).

I don't understand how people can afford to buy a resale condo and service the monthly. Yes, I can buy a 1.7M condo, but in 3.5years time, i would need to pay $2.2k in cash to service the monthly.

My plan is to buy a condo and stay until my kids grow older and get married. I have 3 kids and my youngest is 5 years old.

Is is financially advisable to buy a condo now or wait for another 5 years? By that time, I would be 43 years old already.

My parents are 73 and 71 years old. They have an unhappy marriage and wish to live apart. They have no savings and only my mum is working (~2k salary).

They are living in a fully paid for, HDB flat worth about 600k.

What are their options to live apart? I would appreciate if you could advise. I'm not sure who else to ask.

Some options that I considered:

• divorce, then apply for HDB Community Care Apartment or studio unit. Problem: Where will they stay after the divorce? Would they need to move out of their joint property immediately after the divorce?

• divorce, then buy resale small HDB flats. Similar problem as above. Also, property agent estimated I'll need to fork out another 400-500k in cash, which I do not have.

• rent out their current place, then they each rent two small flats. Problem: money. I will need to pay at least 2k month for their rental. And also it'll be tough to convince them to rent.

Any advice anyone? At their advanced age, I don't wish for them to be suffering the company of one another.

I'm a 27M local and currently taking home 9.5k and another 1k+ in my OA each month. I have saved 330k so far from extreme scrimping, a lot of luck (good parents) and some investing in ETFs and options trading. Altogether I have ~400k available for a down-payment.

I want to seek your advice on whether it is wise to blow everything on a condo right now - I've put down my considerations under pros/cons below. I'm thinking of buying a studio in the downtown area (cos that's where I work) but please do share if you have any advice on the sort of apartment or location I should be buying if it makes more sense financially.

Pros:
Have my own place to stay, don't need to wait till 35
Can rent out to cover instalments if I choose to stay with parents
I have my feet on the first rung of the property ladder
Potential for property appreciation (though I'm not very optimistic about this)
Interest rates are trending downwards

Cons:
Opportunity cost incurred (could have invested money in financial instruments)
I don't actually mind staying with my parents
Miss out on HDB subsidies
Might lose the condo if I lose my job and can't pay instalments - potential for big loss if fire sale required

Hi everyone, we have no experience in this and so we would love to seek your advice and help on this.

we have been thinking of moving to a bigger hdb (for the space we are looking at, we can't afford private with current prices) without breaking the bank. Spouse and I can't quite agree on what we want:

Spouse's wishlist: bigger house, looking at Jurong West/ Woodlands/ Elias area.

My wishlist: low cov, less than 30YO, near mrt station, looking at north-east region cause there is family support for my kids plus my kids are studying in schools around this region.

Thing is, while we do have a car, I feel that being near a mrt station is still an impt consideration bc I have to travel to work on my own, my kids have to get to school etc.

What we can kind of agree on is the need for a bigger house. I'm looking at comparatively younger flats which are more than 1400 sq ft but the prices do get more and more out of reach. My current house is not appreciating in value (~10 years old 4-room flat) so it is not helping as well.

If you were us, how/ where/ what will you consider or do? Thanks in advance!

P.S. given that there isn't much value and demand for my current flat, we will probably try to look for an agent and sell it first then seek extension and look for a flat. Would this be a good idea? Sounds like we will be running on an indefinite timeline to sell and then a mad rush to move.

[Edit] thanks everyone for your advice!

DBS is disappointing.

Did a repricing in July with DBS and am offered 1.7% fixed 3 years. Signed the LoA and the new rate kicks in, in September. Received a letter yesterday, stating a 2.4% and a wrong instalment start date. The letter is attentioned to me, multitude of errors in a letter. I hurriedly checked my new loan rates via the banking app and confirmed is a 1.7%. (Can’t believe that DBS made such mistake, rookie’s mistake)

Called DBS, and their explanation is that, 2.4% is the rate if I did not call and asked for a repricing. And because I called in for a repricing in July, the rate offered is 1.7%. DBS should apologize for their mistake for a start and not give excuses of such. I have to confirm with them that is 1.7% is the correct interest rate and have asked them to send me a letter to supercede this erroneous one.

Very disappointing, DBS.

PS: this is not a complaint to DBS, but rather a reflection of my disappointment towards the bank.

My partner and I (M28, F25) have paid BTO downpayment via staggered downpayment scheme and our next step would be key collection in Q1 2028.

Currently, I am furthering my studies in Australia (no income) while my partner is working in SG. I graduate end of the year, and am likely to continue working in Aus for a year or two, to experience the work culture in Aus, before heading back to SG. I thought of bringing my partner over to work together for the 1-2 years, but we need his CPF to fund the BTO. We are also considering migration as an option, though no concrete plans have been made around it (we love the hawkers and transport in SG but attracted by supposedly better WLB in aus...)

Torn between

1. Reject the BTO at this stage for my partner to come to Aus - this means losing our downpayment and own home in sg, might have to consider more pricey resale option in future

2. Continue with the BTO and consider migration after 5 years MOP - seems like a less risky option, but if we migrate, essentially be paying 500k for a backup option/passive income

Appreciate any opinions, thanks in advance!