Guide · Choosing a unit
Don't buy the wrong unit type: how to pick the profitable one
How do you pick a profitable property? There's one formula I always use when I help my clients choose a unit, and once you understand it, spotting the unit that's most likely to make you money is a lot easier than you think. It comes down to two things: how the developer priced the units, and how resale buyers actually buy them. Here it is, with real examples from two areas where it plays out in completely opposite ways.
Prefer to watch? This guide follows the video, with extra detail and what has happened since.
In short:
- Question 1: at launch, which unit type is the developer selling cheaper per square foot: the small units or the big ones?
- Question 2: in the resale market in that specific area, which unit type do buyers pay a premium for?
- When you go in at a lower psf and resale buyers later pay a higher psf for the same type, that gap is your profit.
- In one-north, the small units won: Normanton Park's smaller units gained about 34% against 23% for the big ones. In Clementi it was the opposite: at Clavon the big units gained about 33% against 24%.
- Today in Clementi, Elta's biggest homes are still priced well below its small ones per square foot.
The two questions
These are the two questions I always ask myself before buying a property.
- How is the developer pricing the small units against the larger units at launch? I look at the price per square foot, not the total price. A small unit will always cost less in total; what I want to know is which one the developer is selling cheaper per square foot.
- In the resale market, how do buyers value the small units against the larger units in that specific area? That last part matters. We're not looking at Singapore in general, because buyers in one estate can behave completely differently from buyers in another.
Here's why these two questions matter so much. Say the developer prices a unit type at a lower entry psf, and later, in the resale market, buyers are willing to pay a premium for that same type. You go in at a lower psf and come out at a higher one. The gap between what you paid at launch and what resale buyers are willing to pay is your profit.
The formula
Your gain per square foot = what resale buyers in the area pay for your unit type − what the developer charged you for it at launch.
The unit type to look at is the one that's cheaper per square foot at launch and in demand in that area's resale market.
Area 1: one-north and Buona Vista, where the small units won
Normanton Park: how the developer priced it
Normanton Park, Kingsford's 1,862-home project off Kent Ridge, first launched for sale in January 2021. On the transactions in my video, the small 2-bedroom units sold at about $1,600 to $1,700 psf, and the larger 4-bedrooms at about $1,700 to $1,800 psf. So at launch, the small units were cheaper per square foot than the big ones.
On its own, that doesn't tell you whether the small or big units were the better buy. It only answers the first question.
Normanton Park: what resale buyers pay
In the resale market, the small units turned out to sell at a higher psf than the large ones: $2,200 to $2,300-plus psf for the small units, against about $2,100 to $2,200-plus for the 4-bedrooms.
| Normanton Park | Smaller units | Larger units |
|---|---|---|
| Bought at launch (average psf) | About $1,718 | $1,779 |
| Resale (average psf) | $2,295 | $2,186 |
| Gain | About $577 psf, around 34% | About $407 psf, around 23% |
Averages of the transactions shown in my video.
You can actually see the two lines cross: the smaller units started below and ended above. That crossing is exactly what turned into the profit. They went in cheaper and came out higher.
Why resale buyers pay more for the small units here
This is the most important question: why are resale buyers at Normanton Park more willing to pay a premium for the smaller units? To understand that, you need to know who lives and works in the area.
- One-north is often called Singapore's Silicon Valley, with companies like Grab, Razer, Shopee, P&G and Shell in and around it.
- Professionals want to live near work, with greenery around them and a short drive to town.
- Doctors and medical staff work at the National University Hospital nearby.
- Researchers and academics work at Biopolis, Fusionopolis, NUS and INSEAD.
All of that makes the tenant pool here very strong, and that makes the 2-bedrooms very relevant: small units are easy to rent out and collect a very good rent. Once you understand the buyers, the resale prices make sense, and you're far more likely to spot the units with the higher potential profit.
To sum up Normanton Park: at launch, the smaller units were already attractive because they were priced at a lower psf, and in the resale market, buyers were more willing to pay a premium for them. So the profit was bigger. The big units started at a slightly higher psf, and resale buyers weren't as willing to pay a premium, so their profits were much more limited.
Check a second project before you trust the pattern
When I want some assurance before buying into a project, I check other projects in the area too. If they tell the same story, you can take it as a pattern for the area, not a one-off. At One-North Eden nearby (Hong Leong and Mitsui Fudosan's 165-home project, launched in April 2021), the current transactions show the same thing: about $2,300 to $2,400-plus psf for the smaller units and about $2,200 to $2,300 psf for the 4-bedrooms. The small units command the higher psf again.
So if a new launch comes up in one-north and you spot that its smaller units are priced much cheaper per square foot than its bigger ones, that's a strong signal worth a serious look.
Area 2: Clementi, where the big units won
Clavon: how the developer priced it
In Clementi you see the exact opposite. Clavon, UOL and UIC's 640-home project on Clementi Avenue 1, launched in December 2020, and the developer priced it quite differently from Normanton Park: its small units were more expensive per square foot than its big ones. On the transactions in my video, the 1- and 2-bedrooms went for about $1,500-plus psf, and the 4-bedrooms for about $1,400-plus psf.
Clavon: what resale buyers pay
In the resale market, the bigger units, bought at a lower psf at launch, now sell at a higher psf than the smaller units: around $2,200-plus psf for the 4-bedrooms, against $1,900 to $2,100 psf for the smaller units. Resale buyers here are willing to pay a lot more for the big units.
It's obvious in the annualised returns, the profit averaged out per year, across all 130 profitable transactions at Clavon:
| Clavon | Annualised return |
|---|---|
| 1-bedroom | About 3.96% a year |
| 2-bedroom | About 5.12% a year |
| 3- and 4-bedroom | About 7.24% a year |
The bigger the unit, the higher the annualised return. On average, the smaller units gained about $391 psf, or 24%, while the larger units gained about $543 psf, or 33%. The big units launched at a lower psf and resale buyers were more willing to pay a premium for them, so they made a lot more profit.
Why resale buyers pay more for the big units here
Clementi is a mature HDB estate, and its buyers are very different from one-north's. They mainly buy to live in:
- Multi-generation families who need space for their parents, their children or a helper.
- HDB upgraders who want a practical layout: an enclosed kitchen, a usable yard, and no wasted corridor.
- Parents buying for schools, within 1 km of Pei Tong Primary for the balloting priority, who tend to hold long-term.
When you're buying a home to live in, the bigger it is, the more attractive. A slightly lower entry price or a higher rental yield only appeals to these buyers up to a point, because most of what they want is a home, and the unit and its layout have to be very functional. Once you understand that, Clavon's resale prices make a lot of sense: the bigger units sell better because there's more demand for them.
Using it today: Elta in Clementi
So how do you use this today? Look at the new launch selling nearby right now: Elta, on Clementi Avenue 1. On the transactions in my video, its smaller units have sold at about $2,700-plus psf, while some of its 4-bedrooms have gone for as low as $2,200 to $2,400-plus psf, about $390 psf cheaper than the small units on those transactions.
If you have the budget and you're considering Clementi, Elta's bigger units deserve a closer look: their entry price per square foot is already well below the small units', and Clavon tells us resale buyers in this area have been willing to pay a premium for big units. And if you already own a big unit at Elta, good for you: based on how this area has behaved, your unit is in a strong position against the smaller ones in the same project.
That's past data, of course, not a guarantee. But it's a far better starting point than just picking whatever fits your budget.
What has happened since
On the developer's list of 12 October 2026, Elta had 75 of its 501 homes left (85% sold), and every 2-bedroom had gone. The pattern from my video is still there in what's left: the biggest homes are the cheapest per square foot.
| Elta, still for sale | Size | Left | Asking psf |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-Bedroom + Study | 506 sq ft | 4 | $2,775 to $2,820 |
| 3-Bedroom | 926 sq ft | 2 | $2,906 to $2,930 |
| 4-Bedroom | 1,184 sq ft | 7 | $2,812 to $2,883 |
| 4-Bedroom Dual Key | 1,313 sq ft | 18 | $2,597 to $2,788 |
| 4-Bedroom Premium | 1,313 sq ft | 3 | $2,699 to $2,718 |
| 4-Bedroom + Study | 1,507 sq ft | 21 | $2,457 to $2,709 |
| 5-Bedroom | 1,776 sq ft | 20 | $2,318 to $2,595 |
Pricing as of 12 October 2026, subject to changes by the developer. Every unit and its price is on my Elta page.
One thing to weigh: the cheapest psf is in the biggest homes, so the total price is the highest. A 5-bedroom at Elta starts at about $4.1 million. The formula tells you where the value is; your budget and loan still decide what you can buy.
How to run the two questions yourself
- Read the price list by unit type, per square foot. Compare units on similar floors and facings, so you're comparing the type, not the view.
- Pull the resale transactions of completed condos nearby. URA's private residential transaction search lets you filter by project and size. Group them into small and big units and compare the psf over the same period.
- Check a second project. One project can be a one-off; two or three telling the same story is a pattern for the area.
- Ask why. Who buys and rents in this area? Tenants near business parks and hospitals favour small units; own-stay families near schools favour big ones. If you can't explain the pattern, be careful relying on it.
- Then check the rest. Layout, facing, the total price against your budget, and how long you'll hold: seller's stamp duty applies if you sell within four years of buying (for homes bought from 4 July 2025).
What this means for you
- If you're investing: don't assume small units are always the investor's unit. In an own-stay area like Clementi, the big units made the higher return.
- If you're upgrading from HDB: in a mature estate, the bigger unit you want to live in may also be the better exit, especially if it's priced lower per square foot at launch.
- If you're looking at a launch now: ask both questions before you choose a type, then pick the stack. The upgrade calculator shows what you can afford.
If you've used this method and spotted a profitable unit for yourself, tell me about it; I'd love to hear it. And if you're looking at a project right now and want me to run these two questions on it with you, drop me a message.
Questions people ask me
Are small condo units a better investment than big ones?
Not always. It depends on the area. Near one-north, with a strong tenant pool, Normanton Park's small units gained about 34% against 23% for the big ones. In Clementi, an own-stay HDB estate, Clavon's big units gained about 33% against 24% for the small ones.
Why compare price per square foot instead of the total price?
Because a small unit always costs less in total. The price per square foot shows which unit type the developer is selling cheaper, and that's what you compare with what resale buyers pay later.
Where can I see resale prices by unit type?
URA publishes every private home transaction with its size, price and date. Filter by the projects near the one you're considering and group the units by size. Or send me the project and I'll run it with you.
Does the developer always price small units higher per square foot?
No. At Normanton Park the small units launched cheaper per square foot than the big ones; at Clavon and Elta it was the other way round. That's why question 1 is worth asking for every launch.
Is past resale data a guarantee?
No. It shows how buyers in an area have behaved, which is a far better starting point than picking whatever fits your budget, but layout, facing, supply and the market at the time you sell all matter too.
Related guides
- Most buyers overpay in new launches. Spot the sweet spot unit.
- Bigger unit or better location: which made more profit?.
- When launch hype doesn't mean gains.
- Your property might appreciate. But can you sell it later?.
- MOE just killed the 1 km school premium. Is your property still worth it?.
Launch dates and developers: EdgeProp and other press reports (Normanton Park, January 2021; One-North Eden, April 2021; Clavon, December 2020). Elta's prices and units left: the developer's list of 12 October 2026, as on my Elta page. Transaction ranges, averages, gains and annualised returns are as shown in my video of 12 October 2026. This guide is general information, not financial advice.