Why are dual-key condo units struggling to sell in 2025?

Trends tend to come and go in the Singapore property market; and one of these is the dual-key unit. First introduced in Caspian in 2009, these units drew interested buyers for close to a decade, before the trend seemed to die down.

But as of the past two years (2024/25), we've seen developers bring back dual-key units into new launches — even though the response has sometimes been lukewarm:

Looking at the take-up rates for new launch projects:

To check the demand for dual-key units, we looked at the take-up rates for some recent new launches. Here’s what we found:

Grand Dunman

Grand Dunman is a leasehold mega-development (1,008 units) along Dunman Road, in District 15. You can see our full review of Grand Dunman here.

Initial sales were quite strong for the two-bedder dual-key units, with 22 out of 34 units sold. However, we can see that in subsequent quarters, the sales volume began to drag; and we saw only around one to three of these units sold per quarter. 

The three-bedder dual-key units have seen very weak demand, compared to other unit types. Only five of the 35 units were sold initially, and in some quarters there were zero sales for these units. 

We can see that for standard one to three-bedder units (except for the Grand variants), the take-up rates could reach over 90 per cent. So it's not that Grand Dunman is in any way unpopular; it's clear that the dual-key units, specifically, are seeing much weaker demand. 

Lentor Hills Residences

Lentor Hills Residences is a leasehold, 598-unit project, located at Lentor Hills Road (District 26).

Lentor Hills Residences	Total Units	Take-Up	2023-Q3	2023-Q4	2024-Q1	2024-Q2	2024-Q3	2024-Q4	2025-Q1
1 Bedroom	35	100.0per cent	35
1 Bedroom + Study	39	92.3per cent	30	1		2		2	1
2 Bedroom	108	100.0per cent	91	5	6	4	2
2 Bedroom + Study	111	100.0per cent	103	5	1	2
3 Bedroom	117	100.0per cent	72	16	10	15	3	1
3 Bedroom + Yard	74	100.0per cent	27	5	9	11	16	6
3 Bedroom Dual-Key	8	87.5per cent	4		1	1			1
4 Bedroom	98	100.0per cent	26	13	20	20	11	7	1
4 Bedroom Dual-Key	8	100.0per cent	4	1	1		1	1

It does look like the dual-key units here will sell out, despite it being a slow process. For both the three and four-bedder dual-key units, half of the units (four out of eight) were sold initially. After that, sales became sporadic. 

If we look at most standard unit types (one to four-bedders), there’s already a 100 per cent take-up rate. Notice the four-bedder (standard) sold 72 units after the initial launch, whereas the four-bedder dual-key only moved four more units gradually. 

The three-bedder dual-key lagged behind other three-bedder types; it looks to us like a struggle to clear the last few units.

Nava Grove

Nava Grove is a leasehold, 552-unit project, which is located at Pine Grove (District 21). You can see our full review of Nava Grove here. 

Nava Grove	Total Units	Take-Up	2024-Q4	2025-Q1
2 Bedroom	92	100.0per cent	92
2 Bedroom + Study	46	71.7per cent	30	3
2 Bedroom Premium	92	95.7per cent	86	2
3 Bedroom	115	83.5per cent	92	4
3 Bedroom Premium	69	92.8per cent	53	11
4 Bedroom	46	26.1per cent	10	2
4 Bedroom Dual Key	23	0.0per cent
4 Bedroom Premium (Pte Lift)	46	30.4per cent	11	3
5 Bedroom Premium (Pte Lift)	23	60.9per cent	13	1

There’s nothing much we can say, as while the development itself has sold well, there’s zero take-up for dual-key units at Nava Grove.

That said, we do notice the four-bedder units (standard and premium) also seem to struggle a bit. Speculatively, this may be due to the quantum for such large units being a bit too high, for the immediate vicinity. 

Parksuites

Parksuites is a 110-year lease project with just 119 units, at Holland Grove Road (District 10). You can see our full review of Parksuites here.

Parksuites	Total Units	Take-Up	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
1 Bedroom	10	40.0per cent	2	1			1
1 Bedroom + Study	28	32.1per cent	3				3	2	1
2 Bedroom	8	75.0per cent	3	2			1
2 Bedroom + Study	30	53.3per cent	7	3	1	1		4
2 Bedroom Dual Key	22	4.5per cent						1
3 Bedroom Dual Key	16	6.3per cent			1
4 Bedroom Triplex	5	20.0per cent	1
Grand Total	119		16	6	2	1	5	2	2

The take-up for dual-key units is anaemic. Of the two-bedder dual-key units, only one was sold in 2023. This is despite Parksuites being on the market since February 2018. Likewise, only one of the three-bedder dual-key units has been sold, back in 2020. 

It’s a stark contrast with the standard two-bedder and 2+ Study units (75 per cent and 53.3 per cent take-up rates). 

Interestingly enough, we note that one-bedders – which are usually the quickest to sell due to the low quantum – are also slow moving. If the intent was for Parksuites to be a rental asset (as one-bedders and dual-key units are often seen to be), that doesn’t seem to have taken off in the minds of buyers. 

The LakeGarden Residences

LakeGarden Residences is a leasehold project with 306 units, located next to the Jurong Lake Gardens, hence the name. This is in District 22.

The LakeGarden Residences	Total Units	Take-Up	2023-Q3	2023-Q4	2024-Q1	2024-Q2	2024-Q3	2024-Q4	2025-Q1
1 Bedroom	21	95.2per cent	11	2	3		2	2
1 Bedroom + Study	2	50.0per cent			1
2 Bedroom + Study	19	100.0per cent	11	3	1	2	2
2 Bedroom Compact	19	94.7per cent	6	7	1	2	1	1
2 Bedroom Compact +	38	65.8per cent	16	2	1		5	1
2 Bedroom Premium	38	97.4per cent	12	4	4	6	8	3
3 Bedroom	39	59.0per cent		1		4	12	6
3 Bedroom + Study	55	50.9per cent	7	3	1	9	6	1	1
3 Bedroom + Study Premium	19	42.1per cent					3	3	2
4 Bedroom	20	75.0per cent	6	1		2	5	1
4 Bedroom Dual Key	18	5.6per cent					1
5 Bedroom	17	35.3per cent	2	1		2	1
5 Bedroom + Study	1	0.0per cent

Again, we don’t have much we can say here: there’s only one dual-key unit that was sold, in 2024. 

As you can see, most standard one, two, and three-bedder units are selling well (particularly 2 + study and two-bedder premium), highlighting decent overall demand. While the big five-bedders are also a struggle to sell, we more or less expect that, as they’re the units with the highest quantum. 

So the issue again seems specific to the dual-key layout.

The Orie

The Orie is a leasehold project with 777 units, located in Toa Payoh (District 12). You can see our full review of The Orie here. 

The Orie	Total Units	Take-Up	2025-Q1
1 Bedroom + Study	78	62.8per cent	49
2 Bedroom	155	100.0per cent	155
2 Bedroom + Study Premium	78	100.0per cent	78
2 Bedroom Premium	77	98.7per cent	76
3 Bedroom	117	100.0per cent	117
3 Bedroom Dual-Key	39	51.3per cent	20
3 Bedroom Premium	39	100.0per cent	39
4 Bedroom	78	89.7per cent	70
4 Bedroom + Study Premium	39	53.8per cent	21
5 Bedroom	77	62.3per cent	48

Dual-key units aren’t doing too badly at The Orie, at least in contrast with the other new launches we’ve looked at. A decent 20 of the 39 dual-key units have been sold already. Whilst this is slower than standard three-bedders (already sold out), it still shows moderate demand. 

That said, we still can’t claim dual-key is “popular” here. The strong demand for standard two and three-bedders still dominates, and dual-key units are getting only niche attention. 

TMW Maxwell

TMW Maxwell is a leasehold, mixed-use project with 324 residential and 11 commercial units. It’s located at Tras Street, in District 2. You can see our full review of TMW Maxwell here.

TMW Maxwell	Total Units	Take-Up	2023
1 Bedroom Suite	51	2.0per cent	1
1 Bedroom + Study	34	0.0per cent
2 Bedroom Dual-Key	34	0.0per cent
1 Bedroom Loft	5	0.0per cent
2 Bedroom Premium	16	6.3per cent	1
Flip / Switch	184	2.2per cent	4
Grand Total	324		6

TMW Maxwell seems to be struggling all across the board. Zero dual-key units have been sold so far; but we could say the same for the 1+Study and the one-bedder Loft units. Perhaps all three of these configurations lack appeal to the current market. 

Then again, even the larger and potentially more flexible Flip/Switch units have seen low take-up; so perhaps the overall demand for the project is weak. For Maxwell, we're not as confident in saying the dual-key layout is unpopular, as we may be looking at a wider problem across the project. 

Why would the demand for dual-key units be lower?

In theory, the conditions are right for dual-key units to make their return. One of the main appeals of a dual-key unit is avoiding the ABSD: because it counts as a single unit (albeit subdivided into two), you don’t count as buying a second property.

As Singapore ages, the need for intergenerational living should also rise. A dual-key unit allows both sides of the family greater privacy, as each subunit is its own space. 

However, the low demand suggests the market sees things differently. We’ve heard several theories from realtors, including:

• The perception of higher cost, as dual-key units tend to cost more than standard counterparts (although this may be due to dual-key units having a higher quantum because they’re larger, and not because they cost more per square foot; this varies by project.)
• The subunit is too small to be comfortable for intergenerational living
• Most condo buyers don’t want to also rent out the unit they’re living in, even if the unit is subdivided

Finally, there is a fear of weaker resale prospects, as dual-key layouts are still considered very niche. Our dive into the data suggests otherwise though, as we found that while dual-key units take longer to sell, they aren't always less profitable. In fact, dual-key units can move up in price right alongside regular units (see the link for details), even if they may take a bit longer to sell.

Why do developers still bother building dual-key units then?

There is, to be clear, a good role for dual-key units in our ageing society. From word on the ground, we have seen these units being purchased by retirees: a dual-key property can be fully occupied by intergenerational families, as children or grandchildren can live with them.

In a pinch, retirees with a dual-key unit can rent out one part of their property: they can choose where to live in the larger or smaller subunit and rent out the other.

What this means, however, is that developers should be looking to build dual-key units in mature areas, or wherever they find more buyers of this demographic. 

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This article was first published in Stackedhomes.