Are You Making a Real Profit on Your Singapore Condo?
Have You Truly Profited From Your Private Property?
It’s a common belief among private property owners in Singapore that their private condo is a guaranteed investment, a surefire path to wealth. After all, the Singapore property market seems to be on a relentless upward trend, doesn’t it? But what if the numbers you see on paper don’t tell the full story? We’re not here to give you a lecture. We’re here to ask some hard questions that every condo owner in Singapore should be asking themselves.
Are You Prepared for the “Mega-Project” Competition?
If your condo is part of a massive mega-project development with more than 2,000 units, you’re not just trying to sell my condo; you’re competing with hundreds, if not thousands, of other owners who will eventually be trying to sell their units.
Think about it: with so many identical units in the market, what will set yours apart? How will you stand out from the crowd? This oversupply can create a buyer’s market, driving down prices and making it difficult to achieve the profit you initially envisioned. Are you prepared to face this heavy competition when you’re ready to sell your condo?
Is Your Property’s Sale Price a Reflection of a True Profit?
Let’s look at a real-life scenario. Imagine you bought a unit in a mega-project for $826,000 and successfully sold it for $1 million. On paper, this seems like a solid gain of $174,000. But is that your take-home profit?
You and your spouse used $350,000 from your CPF and you have an outstanding loan of $600,000. After accounting for these amounts, your actual cash proceeds are only around $50,000. This can be a negative sum if this is your second property investment, as you could have paid $99,120 for Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), $19,380 for Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD), not to mention the interest paid to the bank and legal fees.
A case in point is a one-bedroom condo at Marina Bay Residences, published by The Straits Times, which was bought for $1.55 million in 2016 and sold for $1.6 million in 2025. While this appears to be a $50,000 profit, the owner struggled to find a tenant to cover mortgage payments and other fees for a significant period. The sale, which took three years to close, was done to stop incurring further losses. This case serves as a crucial reminder that not all private condos can see significant price growth and attract a steady stream of buyers.
The difference between your paper profit and your actual cash-in-hand can be significant, and it’s a gap many property owners only discover when it’s too late. Are you confident that your property’s value has truly outpaced its purchase price, once you factor in all costs?
Have You Considered Your Retirement Plan Beyond Your Property?
Many Singaporeans see their private property as their retirement nest egg. The plan is simple: sell the condo at retirement, pocket the profits, and downgrade to a smaller, debt-free HDB flat. But what if your property hasn’t appreciated enough to fund this plan? Taking the scenario above, when the sale of your property results in a negative sum, how much money do you actually have left to downgrade to a 2-room or 3-room HDB flat? This is a reality facing many owners today, especially those who bought at high prices or in developments with limited appreciation potential. Proper retirement planning is crucial.
The Bottom Line: Are You Making Money, or Just Holding an Asset?
You can own up to three or four private properties. But are they truly making a profit for you?
It’s a critical distinction. An asset that isn’t appreciating in a meaningful way isn’t a profit-generating property investment; it’s simply a large, illiquid holding. While the headlines may paint a rosy picture of the Singapore property market, the truth on the ground can be very different for individual owners.
If any of these questions have given you pause, it’s a sign that you need to take a closer look at your property’s performance. The good news is, you don’t have to navigate these complex questions alone. A professional real estate consultation can provide the answers you need.
We are here to provide you with a complimentary, one-to-one consultation to analyze your property’s true potential and discuss a personalized strategy to secure your financial future. Whether it’s to sell, hold, or restructure your portfolio, the right guidance from a trusted property agent Singapore can make all the difference.
Contact us today to schedule your private consultation.
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