The Property Collective — Insights

Private prices up 0.5%. HDB down 0.3%. Why cooler is the decision window, not a dead end.

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

Private prices up 0.5%. HDB down 0.3%. Why cooler is the decision window, not a dead end.

Private prices crawled in Q2. HDB slipped for a second straight quarter. Yet 6,396 resale flats still changed hands, and the 15-month wait-out just came off. Selectivity is the operating system now. That is a decision window, not a dead end.

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Seven bids and a $1,612 land price: what the Lorong Puntong tender just did to Thomson.

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

Seven bids and a $1,612 land price: what the Lorong Puntong tender just did to Thomson.

A Malaysian developer’s first ever Singapore land bid just set the Thomson corridor’s new land benchmark, on a site five minutes from Bright Hill MRT. Analysts already put its future launch prices from $3,000 psf. One MRT stop away, a 1,268-unit project is about to launch on land bought at $1,178. That gap is the story.

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The 1km ring just lost its edge at 12 schools. What the 2027 P1 changes do to homes near them.

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

The 1km ring just lost its edge at 12 schools. What the 2027 P1 changes do to homes near them.

The P1 registration changes announced on 10 September 2026 split Phase 2C at 12 popular schools into two equal tracks, 30 places for families within 2km and 30 for those beyond, with no home-school distance priority inside either track. Here is what that does to the case for buying within 1km of Nanyang, RGPS, ACS or Tao Nan, with the numbers.

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Mortgagee sales just hit a five-year high. Here is what actually happens if you can’t pay your mortgage.

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

Mortgagee sales just hit a five-year high. Here is what actually happens if you can’t pay your mortgage.

What happens if you can’t pay your mortgage in Singapore: 216 mortgagee sale listings hit the market in 1H 2026, a five-year high. The real sequence is slower and more negotiable than the auction headlines suggest, for both HDB and bank loans, if you act while the loan is still current.

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Most sellers make money. The ones who lose all bought the same way.

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

Most sellers make money. The ones who lose all bought the same way.

In Q2 2026, 4.7% of private resales closed at a loss, the highest share in four years, in a quarter when prices rose. From the $6.6 million Seascape mortgagee sale to five units in one Scotts Road tower, the losses repeat the same anatomy. Here is the pattern, and the five checks that catch it before you sign.

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Four bids, one record: the $1,537 land price that reprices the east.

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

Four bids, one record: the $1,537 land price that reprices the east.

A UOL, CapitaLand and SingLand joint venture just bid $1.43 billion for the New Upper Changi Road site, a record land rate for the suburbs, 13.8% clear of the next offer. Bedok has not seen a major launch in 15 years. Here is what that number does to every price around it.

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The November BTO guide: 7,960 flats, six towns, and a deadline in September.

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

The November BTO guide: 7,960 flats, six towns, and a deadline in September.

About 7,960 flats across Bedok, Geylang, Sembawang, Tengah, Toa Payoh and Yishun, in the first exercise under the $16,000 income ceiling. The paperwork deadline lands 25 September, and the ballot maths this round is stranger than it looks.

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The income ceilings finally moved. They still have not caught up with your salary.

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

The income ceilings finally moved. They still have not caught up with your salary.

BTO goes to $16,000 and ECs to $18,000 from 24 August, the first change since 2019. Set against how much incomes actually grew in those seven years, the increase restores about half the ground lost. And the EC change helps almost nobody buying an EC this side of 2028.

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Can you buy a second property in Singapore? Here’s the real cost.

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

Can you buy a second property in Singapore? Here’s the real cost.

Yes, any citizen, PR or foreigner can buy a second property in Singapore. What changes is the bill: 20% ABSD for a citizen, 30% for a PR, 60% for a foreigner, and a loan capped at 45% instead of 75%. The full cash and CPF picture, worked on a $1.5m example.

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MTI upgraded growth to 5.5%. In the worst year on record, home prices still went up.

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

MTI upgraded growth to 5.5%. In the worst year on record, home prices still went up.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has raised its 2026 growth forecast to 4.5% to 5.5%. The instinct is to read that as a green light for property. The record says the link is weaker, and stranger, than it looks.

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In a typical private resale, the seller carries the whole 2% commission. Most buyers pay nothing at all.

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

In a typical private resale, the seller carries the whole 2% commission. Most buyers pay nothing at all.

Who pays the property agent’s commission in Singapore is rarely who people assume. Sellers usually carry it, private resale buyers often pay nothing directly, and GST quietly adds a layer few budget for. Here is exactly how it splits, transaction by transaction.

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Hong Heng Garden wants $130 million, and the land next door already set the price.

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

Hong Heng Garden wants $130 million, and the land next door already set the price.

A small freehold estate on Sembawang Road has launched its first collective sale at $130 million. The interesting number is not the headline, it is the $1,128 psf ppr, and what the state sold the plot next door for ten months earlier.

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How to sell your condo in Singapore: the process, the costs and the timing that matters.

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

How to sell your condo in Singapore: the process, the costs and the timing that matters.

How to sell your condo in Singapore, step by step: value it, choose exclusive or non-exclusive, market it, exercise the OTP, then complete in about 8 to 10 weeks. The costs that actually erode your proceeds, and a worked example of what timing alone is worth.

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The 2026 forecast is out. Here is the second half it quietly assumes.

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Outlook

The 2026 forecast is out. Here is the second half it quietly assumes.

PropNex has put numbers on the rest of 2026: private prices up 3% to 4%, around 9,000 new homes sold, HDB resale prices up to 1% higher. PropNex is our agency, so rather than simply repeat the headline, we worked out what it implies. Here is the arithmetic those numbers require of the next five months.

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Downgrading from a condo to HDB: what it actually unlocks, and what it costs.

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

Downgrading from a condo to HDB: what it actually unlocks, and what it costs.

Downgrading from a condo to HDB in Singapore no longer means a 15-month wait, and for most Singapore Citizens it now comes with zero ABSD. What eligibility actually requires, the CPF refund maths, and a worked example of what the move genuinely frees up.

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The three mistakes buyers keep making, and the exit test that catches every one of them.

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

The three mistakes buyers keep making, and the exit test that catches every one of them.

None of them look like mistakes on the day you commit. The headline number looks objective, the unit feels right, and the bank has said yes. Here is how each one actually costs you, what the data says, and the checks that catch all three before the cheque is signed.

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Land is the floor: why the next launch is unlikely to be cheaper than this one.

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

Land is the floor: why the next launch is unlikely to be cheaper than this one.

Government land rates have risen about 97% since 2013 and unsold private stock has fallen to 14,929 units. Together they explain why new launch prices rarely fall, even when demand cools, and what that means for anyone waiting for a better entry.

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Six quarters of muted growth: is this the upgrader’s window, or a trap?

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Thesis

Six quarters of muted growth: is this the upgrader’s window, or a trap?

Private prices have grown at 1% or less for six straight quarters, and HDB resale has now fallen two quarters in a row. That combination is unusual, and it changes the arithmetic of upgrading in a way most sellers have not noticed yet.

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The three forces that decide whether waiting pays: capital, rates and replacement cost.

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Thesis

The three forces that decide whether waiting pays: capital, rates and replacement cost.

Most buyers are waiting for one number to fall: the price. But three forces sit underneath every price in this market, and right now all three point the same way. Here is the framework, the data behind each force, and the honest case for waiting anyway.

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How much is my condo worth? Build the number yourself, then check it against a bank.

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

How much is my condo worth? Build the number yourself, then check it against a bank.

How much is my condo worth? Not one number, a defensible range: build it from three to five comparable URA transactions, adjusted for floor and size, and it should land close to what an accredited bank valuer would say. Here is the method, where the free online tools mislead you, and a worked example.

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City Plaza is back at $970 million: the en-bloc that missed by 0.7 points returns for round three.

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

City Plaza is back at $970 million: the en-bloc that missed by 0.7 points returns for round three.

In 2021, City Plaza’s collective sale died at 79.3% consent, a 0.7-point miss. Now the freehold Paya Lebar landmark is on the market again at $970 million, with no ABSD for the buyer, a rezoning path already tested with URA, and a tender closing 13 October. Here is the full read on Singapore’s latest mega en-bloc.

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Singapore’s H2 2026 condo launches: the pipeline, and what each neighbourhood actually pays.

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

Singapore’s H2 2026 condo launches: the pipeline, and what each neighbourhood actually pays.

Eleven projects and around 3,550 units land in H2 2026, and every showflat says it’s the one. This read cuts the noise: the full pipeline, the real launch prices, and how each launch stacks up against the resale, HDB demand, schools and MRT around it, so you can tell the right buy, with a real exit, from the hype.

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En-bloc consent thresholds are coming down for older condos. Here is who actually gains.

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

En-bloc consent thresholds are coming down for older condos. Here is who actually gains.

A Bill tabled in Parliament on 4 August would cut the consent threshold to 70% for estates aged 40 to 59 and 65% for those 60 and up, while making it harder to start an attempt and safer to say no. If you own an older condo, or are eyeing one, the maths of your exit just moved.

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One bid, $1,515 psf ppr: what the Berlayar Drive tender says about the Greater Southern Waterfront.

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

One bid, $1,515 psf ppr: what the Berlayar Drive tender says about the Greater Southern Waterfront.

The Berlayar Drive tender closed on 4 August with a single envelope: Hong Leong Holdings and GuocoLand at $576.78 million, the highest land rate the Greater Southern Waterfront has seen. Few bidders, but a big number. Here is what that twin signal means for the precinct, and for anyone waiting to buy into it.

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Singapore’s 5 upcoming EC plots: the last of the 5-year MOP, and how to read them.

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

Singapore’s 5 upcoming EC plots: the last of the 5-year MOP, and how to read them.

Senja Close, two plots at Woodlands Drive 17, Sembawang Road and Miltonia Close are the last Executive Condominiums you can buy with a 5-year MOP, every tender closed before the 8 May 2026 rule change. That one fact should shape how you read the locations, the exit, and whether to wait at all.

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The 15-month wait-out is gone. What it means for HDB and private resale prices.

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Outlook

The 15-month wait-out is gone. What it means for HDB and private resale prices.

From 28 July 2026, private-property owners can buy a resale HDB flat with no waiting period. The measure that cooled the top of the HDB market for nearly three years is lifted, deliberately, against an incoming wave of flat supply. Here is who it affects and where prices actually move.

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Developers just got more time on big en-bloc sites. Why it matters if you own in an ageing estate.

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

Developers just got more time on big en-bloc sites. Why it matters if you own in an ageing estate.

On the same day it lifted the 15-month wait-out, the Government gave developers of large collective-sale sites up to 6–7 years to build and sell, not a rate cut, but a targeted de-risking of exactly the big, ageing estates that had stopped selling en bloc.

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How much do you need to earn to buy a condo in Singapore?

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

How much do you need to earn to buy a condo in Singapore?

A quick answer: roughly S$9,800 a month for a S$1.5m condo, S$13,100 for S$2m, S$16,300 for S$2.5m, at a 75% loan and no other debt. But the income that gets the loan approved isn’t the number that gets the deal done.

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How to structure bridging finance: fund the next home before the last one sells.

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Playbook

How to structure bridging finance: fund the next home before the last one sells.

A bridging loan buys you time between buying and selling, usually up to six months, in one of two forms. Used well it protects your move; used as a stretch, it turns a timing problem into a cash-flow risk. How to structure it around a credible exit.

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Tan Boon Liat sold for $950m. The lesson isn’t the price, it’s the rezoning.

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Market Read

Tan Boon Liat sold for $950m. The lesson isn’t the price, it’s the rezoning.

Singapore’s largest collective sale since 2018. But the value didn’t come from the building, it came from an eight-month rezoning study and a reserve price that finally came down. What it actually signals for owners.

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