We have $1.5m to $1.8m for a second property — should we buy a new condo or HDB resale flat in 2026?

Dear Stacked,

My husband and I recently moved from a five-room HDB flat into a two-bedroom condo in the Jervois Road enclave. 

The move was a deliberate trade-off: we accepted a smaller living space so we could decouple and free up one name for a second property purchase without incurring Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD).

We are now deciding between a new launch and a resale property for the next purchase. Our budget is between $1.5 million and $1.8 million, with around $800,000 in outstanding loan on the current unit.

For new launches, our concern is that rental yield is uncertain and entry prices are high. 

At our budget, we would likely be limited to a one-bedroom condo in the Core Central Region (CCR) or a two-bedroom condo outside the CCR. 

For resale, we see potential for stability in cash flow and near-term returns, but possibly at the expense of capital appreciation. 

We have visited several city-fringe and CCR projects including Zyon Grand, Promenade Peak, Vela Bay, and Hudson Place, but have not committed to any. 

We are also wondering whether it makes sense to stretch our finances for a three-bedroom unit to future-proof its later saleability, given that we are a family of four and may outgrow the current unit in six to eight years.

Thank you.

Hi and thanks for writing in!

The underlying question in your case is whether you’ll be purchasing the next property solely as an investment asset, or do you prioritise it as a potential fallback home for your family in six to eight years time.

Addressing this will help you figure out if the next property purchase should be a unit in a new launch project, or a resale property.

Whether you feel your next purchase should be from an investment approach, or as a potential family home will point toward different regions, different unit types, and different trade-offs at your budget. Deciding on which takes priority will help to narrow down your options.

To help you work through it, we will look at what the pricing data actually shows across different regions, how new launches and resale properties have compared on long-run returns, and what that points to given your budget and family situation.

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What the price gap between the new launch market versus the resale actually looks like.

In general, new launch projects are expected to cost more compared to resale alternatives, and on a psf basis, the data confirms this. Based on data compiled by Stacked, the price premium ranges from 30–51per cent, depending on the specific unit type.

But the price gap in terms of total purchase price is narrower, because new launch units are increasingly smaller due to the harmonisation of Gross Floor Area (GFA) and price management strategies by developers.

Average $PSF for transactions in 2025 by unit type

Average price for transactions in 2025 by unit type

Average size (sq ft) for transactions in 2025 by unit type

We have excluded ECs for the new sale figures above since you will not be eligible, but have included resale ECs in the resale figures.

For the two-bedroom comparison, the psf premium for a new launch over resale is 43.7 per cent, but the gap in terms of absolute price narrows to 17.1 per cent because an average new launch two-bedroom unit of about 679 sq ft is 164 sq ft smaller than its resale equivalent at 843 sq ft.

We think that purchasing a new launch unit may be within your budget, an assumption that is based on the broad response from most buyers in the market today, who are willing to accept new units with a relatively smaller floor area in exchange for a newer product. 

This trade-off matters more for you than it might be for a typical real estate investor. 

As you’ve shared, you have a family of four living in a two-bedroom unit. 

A new launch two-bedroom unit in the 650–700 sq ft range would be smaller than many resale alternatives at the same price, which is fine if this property stays permanently tenanted, but limits its usefulness as a fallback home.

Now let’s take a look at how the trade-offs differ by region.

Average two-bedroom transactions in 2025 by region

In the Outside of Central Region (OCR), your budget sits comfortably within the range of new launch two-bedroom units. 

It also opens the door to afford some larger resale two-bedroom units, or even some resale three-bedroom units, depending on the project and its location.

In general, buyers pay a higher psf price and a higher overall absolute price for a new launch development, while purchasing a unit that is almost 18 per cent smaller compared to older resale alternatives.

Over in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), the transaction data seems to be more consistent with the type of projects you have visited. 

On average, new launch two-bedroom units that are priced from $1.9 million are in the upper end of your budget, while resale two-bedroom units tend to go for an average of $1.64 million. 

Given your estimated budget, and with some financial flexibility, it suggests that your RCR resale options may even extend to older three-bedroom units in the region.

On the other hand, the Core Central Region (CCR) property market does not behave the same as the RCR and OCR housing markets. 

The average price of new launch two-bedroom units there exceeded $1.96 million in 2025, a price that is above your stated affordability ceiling.

The average price of resale two-bedroom units ran higher still, going for an average of $2.16 million. 

This is because  resale units in the CCR are significantly larger in terms of average size — at about 956 sq ft on average — compared to new launches in the same region where the average unit size is now approximately 663 sq ft.

Purchasing a property in the CCR may be within your budget, but it means either a compact new launch unit or an older resale property. In the CCR, the trade-off in terms of unit size is the sharpest among the three regions we’ve covered.

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Does proximity to the city-centre translate into better returns?

Based on the projects you have visited — including Zyon Grand, Promenade Peak, Vela Bay and Hudson Place — they point toward a preference for city-fringe or CCR locations.

The reason for that preference is understandable, since those areas tend to feature a stronger rental catchment of expats and professionals, there is a limited supply of new development and redevelopment sites, and it enjoys convenient proximity to the central business district.

However, buying a property that is closer to the city has not historically translated into stronger price growth for all projects. 

In fact, the transaction data seems to suggest that the opposite has more often been true.

Average new sale $PSF by region

Between 2015 and 2025, the OCR delivered the highest annualised new sale psf growth at 5.71 per cent, edging past the RCR which clocked in at about 5.51 per cent. 

The OCR is also well ahead of the CCR which recorded psf price growth of 3.74 per cent over the same period.

The CCR’s lower annualised price growth is partly a function of higher base prices, since there is less repricing headroom when new projects can start selling from $1,815 psf in the CCR, compared to $1,015 psf for some new projects in the OCR.

OCR and RCR projects have also benefited from a more consistently upgrader demand and lower entry price quantums, which tends to support more active price movement over time.

This is not an argument against purchasing property in the CCR. 

Instead, we are mindful to point out that the assumed connection between a centrally located development and realising stronger investment returns is not reliably supported by historical transaction data.

This is especially true given prevailing market conditions, when buyers are entering the CCR property market at elevated price points, which we see play out across many CCR and some RCR new project launches.

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When do new launches outperform, and when have this failed to materialise?

The type of private residential development seems to have a less significant impact on whether a new launch project or a resale property delivers better long-term growth.

Instead, a more crucial factor is the selling price relative to the surrounding resale price benchmark of the area. 

Several comparisons across different geographic corridors demonstrate this.

Sims Ave/Geylang corridor

When Penrose launched in 2020, its entry price was close to resale prices at alternative developments like Sims Urban Oasis. 

That modest initial price premium preserved room for future repricing, and prices at Penrose have grown more strongly as a result.

Sengkang / Buangkok

Sengkang Grand Residences launched at a substantial price premium over surrounding resale projects, reflecting its status as a new integrated development. 

But that premium also means that most of its future price growth was priced in from the outset.

Resale projects that entered from a significantly lower price base, including The Quartz and Esparina Residences, recorded considerably stronger annualised growth over the same period.

Redhill / Alexandra Rd

Artra benefited from its mixed-use composition and direct MRT access. But older projects like Tanglin View, which launched at a much lower price, achieved stronger annualised price growth. 

Conversely, projects that entered at more aggressive psf prices, such as Echelon and Alex Residences, have underperformed in the area over the same period.

West Coast / Clementi

The spread is tighter in the West Coast, with all three projects delivering annualised price growth in the four to five per cent range. 

While the two newer launches entered at slightly higher prices, they still broadly matched the resale Parc Riviera, which hit the market just two years prior in 2016.

Bishan

Sky Habitat launched with the highest psf price among the condos listed above, and the development has since recorded the lowest annualised price growth. 

On the other hand, Sky Vue, which launched for sale at prices close to the surrounding resale market, has matched and slightly outpaced the price growth of older condo alternatives.

The other three projects — Bishan 8, Bishan Loft, and Clover By The Park — all launched at substantially lower prices, and have broadly converged with the newer projects on an annualised basis.

Based on the data, the price growth pattern that we can see across all five precincts is consistent, namely, when a new launch project enters the market at a price that is not significantly above nearby resale alternatives, it often has more room for its selling price to appreciate more.

However, when a new project has already priced in its future expected price growth when it first hits the market, resale properties in the the surrounding area, which are now cheaper by comparison, tend to close the price gap or overtake it.

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How does this translate to your property decision, given your budget range.

With a budget of $1.5 to $1.8 million, the realistic options across the different regions roughly break down like this.

In the OCR, both new launch and resale two-bedroom units are within your budget, since they are transacting at an average of $1.58 million and $1.27 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, in the OCR, the average price of a resale three-bedroom unit was approximately $1.7 million in 2025. 

This could make it a viable option for a property that is priced at the upper end of your affordability range, depending on the specific project and factors such as the height of the unit. 

This is the region where your budget opens up the most options.

Over in the RCR, the average price of a resale two-bedroom unit was about $1.64 million in 2025, and this sits comfortably within your affordability range. 

We saw the average price of new two-bedroom units in the RCR going for about $1.9 million, which exceeds your stated budget ceiling, though select units at lower floors or less sought-after facings may still fall within range, depending on the project.

Overall, our analysis suggests that your budget is more constrained across both new launch and resale projects in the CCR. 

Most new launch two-bedroom units in the CCR exceeded $1.96 million in 2025, which sits at or above your upper limit. 

Resale CCR two-bedroom units averaged higher still at $2.16 million, though they may be substantially larger units.

Thus, purchasing a unit in the CCR is accessible at your budget, but it generally means an older resale property or a very compact new launch unit.

Stretching your finances to afford a three-bedroom unit

You also raised the possibility of stretching your finances in order to afford a three-bedroom unit in order to future-proof its eventual saleability, and this is worth addressing because it changes what the data simply illustrates.

If this property is a pure investment asset, two-bedroom units typically draw a wider tenant pool and carry lower holding costs. 

But if you want to retain the option of moving in as a family of four within six to eight years, a compact new launch unit in the 650–700 sq ft range does not resolve the space problem you are already living with. It will only defer it.

At your budget, a resale three-bedroom unit in the OCR is achievable, and with some financial flexibility, it could extend to some locations in the RCR.

If preserving future optionality is a priority for your household, the asymmetry between a new launch and resale three-bedroom unit within your budget is probably the most decisive data point in this entire decision.

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So, what should you do?

In our view, the most pertinent question you have to ask yourself here is not new launch versus resale, but what you actually want this property to do.

The comparable project data we have cited in this article makes for a consistent case. 

New launch projects and resale properties can perform well when bought in areas with genuine growth drivers, and at entry prices that have not already fully absorbed expected future demand.

The question buyers should always ask themselves is how much of that expected future price appreciation is already reflected in the selling price at the point of purchase.

In your case, you have already accepted one significant space trade-off to make this purchase possible. 

Whether it makes sense to accept a second (a compact new launch unit that limits fallback options for your family) depends on how firmly you intend to treat this property as a pure investment that will not become your home.

If the investment purpose is paramount and you are confident you will not need to move in, the entry price discipline matters most. 

Look out for a project where the psf price gap to surrounding resale alternatives is not aggressive, and where the neighbourhood still has room to reprice. 

An OCR or RCR resale property bought at a reasonable discount to recent new launches in the same area fits that profile and also offers the rental income certainty you are looking for.

If there is a realistic scenario where your family moves in, a resale three-bedroom unit in the OCR or a larger resale two-bedroom unit in the RCR gives you more to work with on both fronts: Stronger immediate yield clarity and a unit that could actually accommodate four people.

Since the projects you mentioned have already launched for sale, you have the developer’s price list to work with. 

For each one, set the asking psf price against what comparable resale units in the same neighbourhood are transacting at today. 

That price gap is a more reliable guide to future upside than location or product type alone.

Frequently asked questions

What is the typical price premium of new launch properties compared to resale properties?

The price premium for new launch properties compared to resale units ranges from 30 per cent to 51 per cent, depending on the unit type, with new launches generally costing more on a per square foot basis.

How does the size of new launch units compare to resale units?

New launch units are generally smaller than resale units, with the size difference ranging from about 13 per cent to 21 per cent smaller depending on the unit type.

In which regions are new launch two-bedroom units within the budget of $1.5 million to $1.8 million?

In the Outside of Central Region (OCR), new launch two-bedroom units are comfortably within the budget, while in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), some resale options may also be affordable. 

In the Core Central Region (CCR), new launch two-bedroom units are generally above the budget.

When do new launch projects tend to outperform resale properties in terms of price growth?

New launch projects tend to outperform resale properties when they enter the market at a price not significantly above nearby resale alternatives, allowing more room for future price appreciation.

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