The cheaper condo can still leave you with the larger cash problem. Before choosing between two homes, compare what you can verify about the units, the money needed by each payment date and the compromises your household would live with.
This due-diligence guide is for an individual comparing completed private condominium units in Singapore. It does not apply the private resale process to HDB flats, executive condominiums or uncompleted developer sales. Updated 1 Oct 2026.
Make a comparison file before paying for an option
CEA encourages buyers to use the relevant transaction checklist before entering a contract. Its completed-property checklist places checks on ownership, property specifications, restrictions, approved use, outstanding property tax, MCST charges and purchase funding before payment for the option. Engage a conveyancer early where you need help or special conditions.
Create one file for each shortlisted unit. Record the date, source and status of each answer: confirmed by a document, reported by the seller, or still unknown. Do not award the same confidence to a sales message and an approved plan. A missing answer is a question to resolve, not a favourable assumption.
| Comparison | Evidence or action |
|---|---|
| The property being sold | Match the unit and lot to title and plan information; have the conveyancer explain restrictions. |
| Space you can use | Compare the actual layout with approved plans and measure the rooms that matter to your household. |
| Price and funding | Separate asking price, relevant transactions and the bank’s property-specific assessment. |
| Costs after purchase | Obtain current contribution notices, repair estimates and the documents supporting proposed major works. |
| Occupation date | Establish the contractual possession arrangement, any tenancy and the time needed for works. |
Check the title, not just the development name
SLA provides title, ownership and lot information through land-title searches. When searching by address, it expressly cautions you to check that the address matches the lot number. Give your conveyancer the exact property details and ask what interests, restrictions and further enquiries affect this purchase.
A search is one part of the investigation. Ask which matters have been checked, which responses remain outstanding, and what the proposed contract says about an adverse finding. Do not assume that every encumbrance must disappear, or that every problem automatically entitles you to cancel. A promise that “the lawyer will sort it out” does not answer whether a restriction prevents your intended use.
Keep eligibility separate from tenure. Our property ownership guide explains why a freehold label does not establish who can buy, how co-owners should hold the home or how much financing is available.
Compare approved space with the home you see
URA warns that a buyer may become liable for unauthorised works or inappropriate use after taking over. Ask for approved plans, or use its planning-records requisition route. If the intended renovation is essential to making the home usable, establish its feasibility before budgeting on that layout.
For example, a study drawn on a marketing floor plan may not solve a family’s need for a quiet bedroom. Measure the usable room, door swing, storage and route to a bathroom. Test whether normal furniture fits without blocking circulation. These are viewing tasks, not claims that any particular unit has passed them.
Where there are cracks, staining, altered walls or uncertain works, ask an appropriate professional what investigation is needed and what their inspection excludes. A visual visit cannot promise to detect every concealed defect. Get written findings and an estimate for the scope actually identified, rather than inserting an unsupported “standard inspection price”.
Keep asking prices and transactions on different lines
URA’s transaction service distinguishes developer new sales from resale and subsale records. The latter rely on lodged caveats, and caveat lodgement is not mandatory, so the records need not capture every sale. A current listing price is not a completed transaction.
When comparing relevant sales, note the dates, floor areas, tenure and sale type. Ask what could explain a difference before importing another unit’s price per square foot into your offer. A larger balcony, different internal layout or different condition can change the household comparison even where the displayed sizes look close.
Do not treat an asking-price reduction as evidence that the home is below value. Likewise, a bank’s indicative assessment is not a promise to fund a signed purchase. URA advises checking bank financing early, preferably before an upfront deposit or commitment.
A cheaper purchase, but a higher cash requirement
Consider two hypothetical completed condos, A and B. This example illustrates funding arithmetic, not current listings or an entitlement to a particular loan. Assume a Singapore citizen buying their first residential property, with no ABSD, and that each agreed price is also its market value for BSD. The loan figures are assumed written approvals for the respective properties. Eligible CPF amounts below are assumed confirmed for purchase-price funding; duties and the other listed costs are paid in cash.
| Item | Condo A | Condo B |
|---|---|---|
| Agreed price | S$1,500,000 | S$1,560,000 |
| Assumed approved loan | S$1,050,000 | S$1,170,000 |
| Assumed eligible CPF for price | S$250,000 | S$250,000 |
| Cash portion of price | S$200,000 | S$140,000 |
| BSD | S$44,600 | S$47,600 |
| Assumed works and moving | S$80,000 | S$25,000 |
| Assumed other upfront fees | S$6,000 | S$6,000 |
| Selected cash requirement | S$330,600 | S$218,600 |
The cash portion of the price is price minus loan minus CPF. Option and exercise deposits paid towards that price are included in this total, not added to it again. A costs S$60,000 less to buy but requires S$112,000 more cash under these assumptions. B carries S$120,000 more debt, so its lower upfront cash figure does not establish lower lifetime cost or better affordability.
The BSD figures use IRAS’s residential rates effective from 15 February 2023: S$24,600 on the first S$1 million, 4% on the next S$500,000 and 5% on B’s remaining S$60,000. BSD uses the higher of price and market value. Different buyer profiles, values or ownership arrangements require a fresh tax calculation.
The table excludes mortgage interest, recurring property tax, maintenance, insurance, temporary accommodation and a household reserve. Replace every assumption with your own confirmed amount. Put the cash and CPF availability dates beside the contractual deadlines; a later sale receipt or expected CPF reimbursement cannot fund an earlier cash payment by itself. Have the conveyancer confirm the actual duty-payment deadline and funding procedure.
Compare the cost of living there
Ask for the latest MCST contributions and what they cover, then review accounts, budgets and minutes for proposed works. A low current bill is not a promise that future contributions will remain low. Our guide to reading MCST meeting minutes helps organise those questions.
Build a monthly household budget for each home, including the actual mortgage terms. Repeat it with a lower income or an unexpected repair. For an investor, separately test a vacancy period, lawful letting conditions and evidence for rent; an agent’s rental estimate is not a secured tenancy.
Visit at times that resemble your routine. Check the route with a pushchair or someone who needs step-free access, the lift journey, delivery arrangements and where household noise reaches the rooms. Record what you observed and when. Do not assume a single quiet visit proves the home is quiet every evening.
Resolve the conditions that would change your decision
Before the next payment, list your unresolved conditions: acceptable financing, possession, an essential alteration or a serious defect. Ask the conveyancer which protections can be agreed in the actual contract and what happens if the condition fails. Do not rely on a generic option period or verbal promise of a refund.
CEA says a property agent can act for only one party in the transaction. Establish who represents you. CEA also encourages direct, verifiable payments to the relevant payees instead of passing purchase monies through an agent. Independently confirm payment instructions with your conveyancer.
If one home still needs an optimistic loan, uncertain repair budget and unconfirmed possession date to work, obtain the missing evidence or reconsider it. The comparison should show which risks you can afford and accept. If one candidate is uncompleted, use the separate new launch versus resale comparison for construction, payment and occupation differences.
Sources checked 1 October 2026: CEA, SLA, URA and IRAS, linked above. The CEA completed-property checklist currently linked by CEA is dated 28 December 2020. Correction: replaced the former incomplete cash example, incorrect HDB option-period statement, blanket requisition and caveat claims, unsupported costs and timelines, and misleading defect and planning assertions. Three old diagrams were removed. No property visit, valuation, loan approval or independent professional review is claimed for this article.
Archive Singapore housing photograph for context; it does not show either hypothetical condo or establish a property’s legal status. Robertson Quay, Singapore – 20110731 (photographed 2011). Photo: Bryanmackinnon.. Source · CC BY-SA 3.0. Image resized for this website.
