Condominium Comparison Singapore 2026: How to Compare Two Condos Properly

Why Most Condominium Comparisons Are Unfair

Ask two buyers to compare two condominiums and you will usually get a conversation about price per square foot and how the showroom felt. Both are inputs. Neither is a comparison.

A fair comparison means putting two projects on the same basis — the same definition of area, the same source of price data, the same treatment of tenure, the same holding-cost assumptions, and the same yield calculation. When you do that, the ranking often flips. The project that looked cheaper per square foot turns out to carry smaller usable area. The project with the better yield turns out to have a maintenance fee that eats half the difference. The project with the lower price turns out to have twenty years less lease.

This page sets out the nine points I work through with clients when two or three condominiums are genuinely close. If you are still at the earlier stage of deciding between a new launch and resale stock, my new launch review framework covers that decision separately, and the property tax and ABSD guide covers the acquisition-cost side.

The Nine-Point Condominium Comparison Framework

Points 1–3: Area, Price, and Tenure

Point 1 — Usable area, not strata area

Two units can both be advertised as 900 sq ft and offer meaningfully different liveable space. Strata area includes planter boxes, air-conditioning ledges, void space in duplexes and other non-liveable allocations. Before comparing, ask for the breakdown of the area components. A 900 sq ft unit with 60 sq ft of planter box and 30 sq ft of AC ledge is, functionally, an 810 sq ft home.

Point 2 — Price per square foot from caveats

Asking prices are not data. URA caveats are. Compare psf using transactions from a comparable period, filtered for the same tenure and a similar age band. If one project's most recent transactions are six months old, that is not a psf you can rely on in a moving market.

A useful discipline: benchmark both projects against the district median psf, then ask why either one deviates. A premium is justified by location, specification, views or scarcity — or it is not, and it will compress on resale.

Point 3 — Tenure and remaining lease

Freehold versus 99-year leasehold is the first-order question. The second-order question, which far more buyers get wrong, is remaining lease.

Two 99-year leasehold condominiums completed 8 years apart are different assets. As remaining lease shortens, financing eligibility narrows under CPF and bank loan rules, and the future buyer pool contracts. A shorter-lease unit at a lower psf is not automatically value — it may simply be pricing in its own decay.

Always confirm current CPF and bank rules before relying on any general band — the thresholds and conditions are set out by CPF Board, HDB and MAS, and they change.

Points 4–5: Holding Cost and Net Yield

Point 4 — Total monthly holding cost

Maintenance fees are the most consistently underestimated line in any comparison. Fees are apportioned by share value, a statutory allocation that roughly reflects unit size and use of common property. Two similarly sized units in different developments can carry very different monthly charges, because the fee depends on the amenity load and the efficiency of management, not just size.

Compare, per project:

• Monthly maintenance fee for the specific unit — not a generic figure
• The trend over the past three years, from AGM minutes
• Maintenance fund balance relative to likely near-term works
• Any resolved or proposed special levy
• Property tax, based on the unit's annual value

Point 5 — Net rental yield, not gross

Gross yield is a marketing number. The comparison that matters is net:

Net yield = (Annual rent − maintenance fees − property tax − vacancy allowance − routine repairs) ÷ purchase price including stamp duty and legal fees.

Worked illustration: a unit at S$1,600,000 renting for S$4,000 per month gives a gross yield of about 3.0 per cent. Subtract S$450 monthly maintenance (S$5,400), an estimated S$4,800 property tax, and a one-month vacancy allowance of S$4,000, and net income is roughly S$33,800 — about 2.1 per cent on price. Include stamp duty and legal costs in the denominator and the figure falls again. That is the number to compare between projects, not 3.0 per cent.

Points 6–7: Unit Mix and Exit Liquidity

Point 6 — Unit mix

A project's unit mix determines who you are competing against when you sell. A development dominated by 400–500 sq ft one-bedroom units has a large, homogeneous supply of similar stock — convenient for rental comparability, brutal for resale competition. A development with a balanced mix of two- and three-bedroom family units tends to have a healthier owner-occupier base and less simultaneous selling pressure.

Ask for the unit mix breakdown and the proportion of units held by investors. High investor concentration often correlates with many units hitting the market at the same point in the cycle.

Point 7 — Exit liquidity

Liquidity is how quickly a reasonably priced unit finds a buyer. Check transaction volume in the project over the past 24 months, average time on market, and the dispersion of resale prices. A project with 3 transactions a year carries more exit risk than one with 25.

This single point often separates two units that look identical on psf. In a thin market you may be the only seller of your unit type — and the buyer knows it.

Points 8–9: Future Supply and Building Condition

Point 8 — Future supply within roughly 1km

Check the URA Master Plan and the Government Land Sales programme for pipeline launches on nearby sites. A large upcoming launch within walking distance adds competing supply and can absorb demand for years. A nearby site zoned for a park or a school adds amenity instead.

Point 9 — Building condition and reserves

Two developments of the same age can be in very different physical and financial shape. Ask for:

• The last two years of AGM and EGM minutes
• The latest audited accounts — maintenance and sinking fund balances
• Any professional engineer's report or structural inspection history
• Resolved or proposed special levies
• Arrears level across the development

A well-reserved development can absorb a major waterproofing or lift replacement project. A development that has kept fees artificially low for a decade will fund the same works by levy. The second is a deferred liability, and it will show up in your cash flow, not the seller's.

If a building has a live disputes or rectification matter, that changes the analysis — the mechanics are covered in my article on the defects liability period and the six-year limitation clock.

Worked Example: Two Condominiums, One Budget

Two buyers with a S$1,600,000 budget are considering two condominiums in the same district. All figures are illustrative and in SGD.

What the numbers say. Project B looks slightly cheaper on headline price but is around 20 per cent more expensive per effective square foot, and carries a higher monthly fee. Project A offers more liveable space and better exit liquidity, but has thinner reserves and pending facade works — which is a levy risk.

What the numbers do not say. Project B is newer and inside its defects liability period, which is a genuine transfer of risk. Project A's larger layouts appeal to owner-occupier upgraders, which supports its resale depth. The right answer depends on whether the buyer is optimising for space and liquidity or for newness and reserve strength — and that is a decision about the buyer's own plan, not about the projects.

Common Mistakes in Condominium Comparison

• Comparing psf across different definitions of area. Strata area versus effective area can differ by 10 per cent or more.
• Using asking prices as comparables instead of URA caveat data.
• Ignoring remaining lease because both projects are "99-year leasehold".
• Comparing gross yields and calling it a comparison.
• Treating the maintenance fee as a minor line item rather than a permanent yield deduction.
• Skipping the AGM minutes, then discovering a special levy after option exercise.
• Ignoring future supply within 1km.
• Never checking the MCST's arrears position, which can indicate underlying financial stress.

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