Frequently Asked Questions

Because the cost of one wrong decision — the wrong unit, the wrong ownership structure, the wrong timing between your sale and purchase — almost always outweighs whatever you think you're saving by going it alone. A misjudged ABSD exposure or a mistimed bridging loan can quietly cost you tens of thousands of dollars, and you usually only find out after the fact. Derrick's role isn't to "sell you a unit" — it's to run the numbers, stress-test the timeline, and catch the mistakes before they become expensive. If you're weighing a move, the smartest first step is a conversation, not a guess — book your free roadmap consultation and find out exactly where you stand.

It's the difference between buying a property and building a portfolio. Most people evaluate their next move on lifestyle alone — a nicer pool, a bigger room — and stop there. The Property Roadmap Strategy runs your decision through three checks before you commit a single dollar: your Clean Exit (what you actually walk away with from your current property), the Future Buyer Test (who buys this from you when you move again), and your Portfolio Runway (does this purchase leave you room for the next one). It's built for people who want their next move to still make sense two moves from now — if that's you, let's map yours out.

Nothing. It's a complimentary, no-obligation session — there's no catch, no pressure to sign anything, and no cost to you whether or not you decide to move forward afterward. What you get instead is real clarity: your numbers, your timeline, and your options laid out plainly, from someone who's done this analysis hundreds of times. The only real risk is not having this conversation before you make a six- or seven-figure decision. Claim your free consultation — there's genuinely nothing to lose.

HDB resale, private condos, and new launches island-wide — with particular depth in the scenarios that trip most people up: upgrader transactions where your sale and purchase have to line up perfectly, decoupling and ownership restructuring, bridging loan timing, and multi-property portfolio planning for investors. If your situation has any moving parts — a flat to sell, a loan to coordinate, a family member's name to add or remove — that's exactly the kind of complexity worth talking through before you commit to anything.

Click through to the contact page, send a short message about your situation, and Derrick will personally get back to you to set up a time that works — no call centre, no hand-off to a stranger. Most people who've been putting off "figuring out their next move" find that one focused conversation gives them more clarity than months of scrolling listings on their own. If you've read this far, you already have questions worth answering — book your free roadmap consultation now and get them answered properly.

HDB flats are public housing with eligibility conditions (citizenship, income ceiling, Minimum Occupation Period of 5 years before resale or renting out the whole flat) and a subsidised price. Private property has no such restrictions but costs significantly more and doesn't come with housing grants. In 2025, HDB resale prices grew a more sustainable 2.3% (versus 44% cumulative growth from 2020–2024), while a record 1,598 HDB flats crossed the $1M mark — so the HDB-to-private upgrade path is increasingly viable, which is exactly the kind of timing question worth mapping out in a roadmap consultation.

For a first home loan, the Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit is 75% of the purchase price or valuation, whichever is lower — meaning a minimum 25% downpayment (at least 5% in cash, the rest via cash/CPF). If this is your second property loan, LTV drops to 45%; for a third or subsequent loan, it falls to 35%, requiring substantially more cash/CPF upfront. The exact figure that applies to you depends on your existing loans and CPF position, which a Portfolio Runway check can work through in detail.

Every buyer pays Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD) on a progressive scale (e.g. $69,600 on a $2M purchase, $119,600 on a $3M purchase). On top of that, Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) applies based on your profile: 0% for a Singapore Citizen's first property, 20% for a second, 30% for a third or more; 5%/30%/35% for Permanent Residents; a flat 60% for foreigners. Add legal fees, and for resale purchases, a renovation budget — new launches typically need far less renovation spend since units are sold bare but move-in ready at TOP. Since ABSD alone can swing your total outlay by hundreds of thousands, it's worth getting a precise number worked out together before you commit to a price range.

A resale transaction usually takes 8–12 weeks from exercising the Option to Purchase (OTP) to completion. New launches follow the Progressive Payment Scheme tied to construction milestones, completing over roughly 3–4 years — but this also means lower interest cost during construction; on a $2–3M purchase, buyers typically save $64,000–$128,000 in interest versus paying for a completed resale unit upfront. Which timeline actually suits your situation is something worth talking through in a quick consultation.

Yes — foreigners can buy private condos and apartments freely, but are generally restricted from landed property without specific approval, and cannot buy HDB flats. The catch is Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty: foreigners pay a flat 60% ABSD on top of BSD (citizens of the US, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland are treated like Singapore Citizens under Free Trade Agreement provisions, so this is worth checking case by case). Given how material this cost is, getting your specific eligibility reviewed directly before house-hunting will save you from any surprises.

Bank loans (fixed or floating rate) for private property, and HDB housing loans or bank loans for HDB flats. Every loan must pass the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework, which caps total monthly debt obligations at 55% of gross monthly income (stress-tested at a 4% interest rate), regardless of the actual rate you're offered. Running your actual income and existing debt through this framework — the kind of cash-flow check covered in a roadmap consultation — tells you your real budget before you start viewing units.

A new launch condo is a project sold directly by the developer, typically before or during construction. Units come with no renovation needed, and prices are paid progressively as construction proceeds rather than in one lump sum. In 2025, new launches saw 10,815 units sold — a 4-year high and 67% above 2024 — so there's real depth of choice right now, but also real variance in quality between projects, which is worth walking through together before you shortlist.

TOP stands for Temporary Occupation Permit — the date the building is structurally complete and safe to move into, marking the point where construction-stage payments end and the final Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC) payment milestone begins. Prices also tend to move through this cycle: Stirling Residences, for example, rose from roughly $1,600+ psf at launch to $2,300+ psf by TOP. Whether a particular project's TOP timeline fits your own plans is exactly the kind of thing a quick consultation can map against your timeline.

On launch day, you pay a 5% booking fee in cash to secure the unit (the Option to Purchase). Within the 3-week option period you exercise it, then within 8 weeks of OTP you sign the Sale & Purchase Agreement and pay a further 15% (up to 5% of which can come from CPF) — 20% total in the first 8 weeks. The remaining 80% is then drawn progressively from your home loan as construction passes each milestone (foundation, structural work, roofing, and so on), through to TOP and the final CSC payment. This staged structure is also why new launches typically save buyers $64,000–$128,000 in interest versus paying for a resale unit upfront on a $2–3M purchase — worth running the actual numbers for your budget in a roadmap consultation.

The booking fee (Option Fee) is 5% of the purchase price, paid in cash on launch day to secure your chosen unit. If you don't proceed, you forfeit a quarter of that (1.25% of the price) and the rest is refunded. Exercising the option and signing the Sale & Purchase Agreement within 8 weeks brings your total initial outlay to 20%, consistent with standard bank loan structures — getting this cash/CPF split confirmed before launch day avoids any last-minute scramble.

These are market segments: CCR (Core Central Region, e.g. Orchard, Marina Bay) is the most premium at roughly $2,683 psf on average; RCR (Rest of Central Region, e.g. Toa Payoh, Novena) sits around $2,428 psf; OCR (Outside Central Region, e.g. Tampines, Woodlands) covers the heartlands at roughly $1,858 psf and is typically the most affordable. The gap has also been narrowing — some OCR launches like The Orie at Toa Payoh now price near $2,704 psf, closing in on CCR. Which segment actually fits your goals (yield vs. prestige vs. affordability) is worth mapping out properly rather than guessing from headlines.

Beyond stack orientation (sun direction, view, noise), floor level, and proximity to facilities (pool-facing units can be noisier), look at unit mix and bedroom count for resale liquidity — 3-bedroom and larger units tend to show the strongest demand-supply ratios for capital appreciation in most districts, while 1–2 bedroom units suit yield-focused buyers. Developer track record and project size matter too: projects above 500 units generally see more consistent transaction volume and price discovery at resale. This is precisely the kind of unit-level analysis worth doing one-to-one before you commit to a specific stack.