Beyond The Bricks

30/07/2026

Exploring your next property move this year?
Here's a quick infographic comparing the upcoming new launches and the key location highlights of each development.

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24/07/2026

𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦.

Beyond the Bricks #002

The First-Time Buyer

The day I said “No” to a private property.

G**** came to me through a referral.

I wasn’t the first agent she met.

But I became the last.

Today, she’s a friend.

⸻

She was 35.

Excited to buy her first private property.

She had done her homework.

She had spoken to several agents.

Almost every recommendation was the same.

“Buy a one-bedroom condominium under $1 million.”

Immediately, alarm bells rang.

Not because one-bedroom condos are always a bad choice.

But because I had just gone through my own painful lesson with one.

Before recommending anything, I needed to understand why.

So I asked,

“How much loan have you been approved for?”

She could just afford a one-bedroom new launch.

Technically, she qualified.

Financially, she’d be stretching herself.

Then I asked the question that changed everything.

“Why do you want to buy a private property?”

She smiled.

“For my retirement.”

I paused.

Then I said something she wasn’t expecting.

“I don’t think you should.”

Instead, I recommended a three-room HDB using the Singles Grant.

A home near an MRT.

Close to the city.

Just ten minutes from her parents.

It probably sounded like I was bringing her back to the “boring” HDB market.

Yet she trusted me.

⸻

She rented one bedroom to a close friend.

The rental almost covered her monthly mortgage.

More importantly…

She gained something far more valuable.

Choices.

The freedom to enjoy life without constantly worrying about her monthly repayments.

She even took a six-month sabbatical to pursue something she had always wanted to do.

⸻

Six years later…

Her HDB has generated an estimated gross gain of around $300,000.

The one-bedroom condo she almost bought?

It would have delivered a much smaller gain.

More importantly…

The HDB gave her something the condo couldn’t.

Financial breathing room.

The flexibility to take a career break.

And the confidence to decide her next move on her own terms.

Today, she can comfortably afford to upgrade to a private property.

But should she?

I honestly don’t know.

Because before recommending another property…

I’d ask the same question again.

“Why?”

Property isn’t about buying the biggest home.

Or the most expensive one.

Or the one everyone else is buying.

It’s about making the right decision for the stage of life you’re in.

Sometimes that means buying.

Sometimes that means waiting.

And sometimes…

The best property decision is having the courage to say no, even when everyone else is saying yes.

⸻

Beyond the Bricks

Every property decision is an emotional one.

What’s your story?

23/07/2026

We have something similar

A few years ago,we were marketing a rental in Geylang.

The prospective tenants were introduced as an uncle and nephew.

Nothing was obviously wrong.

But our sixth sense tells us otherwise .

1)Uncle and nephew renting a unit together isn’t impossible—but it’s uncommon.

2)They were insistent on fitting a queen-size mattress in the common bedroom, even though it could barely fit

3)This is Geylang

None of these, on their own, proves anything.

But when several unusual details appear together, it’s worth asking a few more questions.

So we asked about their occupation to which they mentioned they are in the renovation industry

We then asked if they had a company name card or any proof of employment, since they were about to submit an offer and they are unable to provide or I would say ,defensive about the need to provide the namecard

We didn’t proceed.

Could they have been genuine tenants?

Absolutely.

Could we have been overly cautious?

Perhaps.

But when we are representing the landlord, the responsibility isn’t just to secure a tenant.It’s to secure the right tenant.

This was the first time he had encountered such a case in his 13 years in the real estate industry. https://asia1.news/4ft68wi



📸: Veroy Chua

22/07/2026

🏡 Beyond the Bricks

Lentor Gardens Residences recorded a 54% take-up on launch weekend.

Many will focus on the percentage.

I found the buyer behaviour even more interesting.

Here are my 3 key takeaways:

✅ 3BR Compact emerged as the fastest-selling layout.

✅ 2BR Premium (with Household Shelter) outperformed both the traditional 2BR and 2BR + Study. Could buyers now value practical storage more than an additional study?

✅ 4BR Premium saw a slower take-up, suggesting higher-quantum buyers are taking more time to compare their options.

With Lucerne Grand and Thomson Reserve launching next, buyer preferences today could influence where demand shifts tomorrow.

I’ve summarised my observations in the attached 3-slide report

What are your thoughts?

22/07/2026

54% sold.

That’s not the story.

The real insight is which layouts buyers rushed to secure—and which they largely ignored.

Here are the 3 takeaways every buyer and investor should know.

19/07/2026

19/07/2026

𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦.

𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀 #𝟬𝟬𝟭

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴.

Years ago, we bought a one-bedroom freehold apartment in the CCR.

At that time, it felt like the perfect investment.
• Affordable entry price
• Strong rental demand
• Freehold tenure
• Excellent upside

For a while, we were right.

The property’s value rose by almost $𝟐𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎.

But we didn’t sell as the Seller’s Stamp Duty period was still in force, and we couldn’t bring ourselves to pay almost $𝟓𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 in SSD.

We told ourselves,
“𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧.”

Then the market changed.

ABSD revisions came one after another, gradually reducing demand for one-bedroom investment properties in the CCR.

Before we knew it…

Our $𝟐𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐙𝐄𝐑𝐎.

Imagine how that feels.

You were once up by $200,000.

You didn’t take profit because you wanted to save $50,000 in SSD.

And now…

Everything is gone.

That’s when the emotional battle began.

We kept telling ourselves:
“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥.”
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥.”
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦.”
“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.”

Every statement was true.

But none of them was the real reason we held on.

𝗪𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴.

What was meant to be a three-year investment quietly became an eight-year journey.

Eventually, we asked ourselves one question:
“𝗜𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆, 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆?”

The answer was no.

Demand had changed.

Buyers wanted more efficient layouts.

Lifestyle and liveability had become more important than a freehold title alone.

The market had already left the station.

𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.

So we sold.

Yes, at a small loss.

Looking back, the loss wasn’t what hurt the most.

Holding on was.

Because every year we refused to sell, we weren’t protecting our investment.

𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹.

The hardest decision wasn’t accepting a loss.

It was accepting that the market had changed—and finding the courage to change with it.

That experience taught us something we’ll never forget.

𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿.

⸻

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆?