"High pricing is a huge hurdle when it comes to purchasing private housing."

Evidently, many home buyers agree and share the sentiment above. According to a PropNex survey in 2024, more than a third of the HDB homeowners surveyed indicated that they will never be able to afford a private home, with high home prices and prevailing additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) being major hurdles preventing most from upgrading to private housing. With new launch prices being upwards of a million dollars for a 1- or 2-room unit, it is hard for the average buyer to believe that their dreams of owning a condominium unit are within their reach.

What are the odds of purchasing a private condo with a budget of $1 million? Well, it is not exactly a pipe dream. Look no further than the private resale market, where 223 condo units spanning between 900 and 1,100-sq ft were transacted for under $1 million from 2023 to early 2025 (see Table 1).

Table 1: Number of 900-1,100-sq ft non-landed private homes (ex. EC) sold for under $1 million by year

In total, 50 projects had at least one unit that sold for under $1 million from January 2023 to 10 February 2025. Among them, Melville Park and Parkview Apartments posted the highest number of such deals, with 60 and 22 units sold, respectively. According to caveats lodged, the top 10 projects with the most units sold for under a $1 million tended to be in District 18 (Tampines, Pasir Ris), District 23 (Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang), and District 25 (Woodlands, Admiralty) (see Table 2).

Table 2: Top 10 condominium projects by number of resale units sold for under $1 million from 2023 to February 2025*

There may be several reasons why these properties are more affordably priced, a key one being the remaining lease left for the development. For instance, the top three projects that had more of such transactions - i.e. Melville Park, Parkview Apartments, and Orchid Park Condominium - have a 99-year lease commencing from 1992, 1994, and 1991, respectively. That means each of those three projects has a lease balance of less than 70 years. It is not uncommon for older properties to see stagnating prices owing to declining lease, and/or poorer condition of the unit or building over time.

That is not to say such properties should not be considered at all. If the lease balance can sufficiently cover the prospective buyers till old age - say over 90 years old - such resale units could present viable opportunities to purchase a relatively spacious unit at a much lower price quantum compared with new launches in the same area.

For illustration purposes, let's compare Rosewood and Casablanca - two projects that were highlighted in Table 2 - with the nearby new launch project, Norwood Grand. While all three projects are located in District 25 and fairly near to the Woodlands South MRT station, their price quantum and $PSF pricing differed widely. At slightly over $1,000 psf, median $PSF prices for Rosewood and Casablanca in 2024 were about 50% lower than that of Norwood Grand. Similarly, median price quantum for these projects were about 20% lower than that of the new launch project (see Table 3).

Table 3: Price gap between Rosewood, Casablanca and Norwood Grand in 2024

Besides, some of these projects have decent locational attributes, with more than half of the properties listed in Table 2 being within 15 minutes' walk to an MRT or LRT station (indicated with **). In addition, if one owns a car, these locations become even more accessible, and are a short drive away from neighbourhood centres and commercial amenities. Despite being older projects, many of these condominiums also offer the usual shared facilities like a swimming pool, gymnasium and barbecue pit.

In particular, Melville Park stands out as a popular choice not just because of its lower priced units, but also because it is a larger development and boasts a desirable location in Simei, where there have been no new private condo launches for more than 10 years. The last new project launched in Simei was My Manhattan in 2011. Meanwhile, Melville Park is also a short walk from the Simei MRT station (approx. 800m) and the Upper Changi MRT station (approx. 1km).

Further, it may appeal to families with young children, given a number of primary schools within 1km of the development. These include Chongzheng Primary School, East Spring Primary School, and Yumin Primary School. Moreover, Melville Park is likely the most affordable option in the list, with an average transacted price of $888,164 for 900 to 1,100-sq ft sized units sold between 2023 and February 2025 (see Table 2).

Generally, the resale market will offer more options for those with a tighter housing budget and are keen on more spacious homes. Taking units spanning 900 to 1,100 sq ft in some districts as an example, it is observed that the median prices for new sale units are significantly higher than that of resale units at $1.9 million to 2.5 million versus $980,000 to $1.4 million for resale properties (see Table 4).

Table 4: Median price of non-landed private homes (900-1,100 sq ft) by type of sale and by district from 2023 to 2025 (ex. EC)

While the lower prices of resale properties are enticing and present value-buys, prospective buyers should note that older projects may come with their own set of challenges, particularly if they are 99-year leasehold developments. In addition to lease decay, mature projects may incur higher maintenance costs in the future and have fewer modern facilities compared with new launches.

Still, from the robust sales at new launches of late, it is telling that many buyers prefer uncompleted units over resale ones. There are several reasons why buyers are willing to pay a premium for new launches. Firstly, they get a property with a fresh lease and brand-new facilities, the progressive payment scheme can also help them to manage their cashflow during the project's construction phase, and they may potentially enjoy capital growth upside due to the first-mover advantage of buying the unit directly from the developers.

Consult a PropNex Salesperson today to better assess the opportunities in the new launch segment and resale market, and take a step closer to landing your dream home.

Disclaimer:

While every reasonable care is taken to ensure the accuracy of information printed or presented here, no responsibility can be accepted for any loss or inconvenience caused by any error or omission. The ideas, suggestions, general principles, examples and other information presented here are for reference and educational purposes only.

This information contained herein is not in any way intended to provide investment, regulatory or legal advice or recommendations to buy, sell or lease properties or any form of property investment. PropNex shall have no liability for any loss or expense whatsoever, relating to any decisions made by the audience.

Views expressed in this article belong to the writer(s) and do not reflect PropNex's position.

No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published, or broadcast in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of PropNex.

For permission to use, reproduce, or distribute any content, please contact the Corporate Communications department. PropNex reserves the right to modify or update this disclaimer at any time without prior notice.

All copyrights reserved.