Guide · Buying resale

OCR hits $3,000 psf. Here's what still works in resale

By Melissa Chan · From my YouTube video of 27 July 2026 · Updated 8 October 2026

How do you actually spot a good resale property? At the end of the day, it's not just about buying. It's about knowing that when you're ready to exit, you can exit safely and walk away with the maximum profit. Over the last few months prices have gone up fast, and new launches in the Outside Central Region (OCR) have crossed $3,000 psf, a new benchmark for the suburbs. Every area has its own demand and supply, so your situation may not match mine exactly, but here are the frameworks I use to cut out the noise and zero in on the right options if you're hunting for a resale property now.

Prefer to watch? This guide follows the video, with extra detail on how to check each point yourself.

Step 1: four traits I always check

From an investment point of view, there are four traits I always look at: the size of the development, its visibility, the developer and the layout.

1. Size of the development. When I filter for my clients, I look for projects with at least 300 units. The logic is simple. In a small development of, say, 40 units, there might be only one transaction a year. If that one sale comes in 20% below the previous one, it becomes the new benchmark, and it takes a long time for volume and prices to recover. With 300 or more units you get more facilities and, most importantly, more transactions, and that volume is what pushes prices up over time: one bad sale doesn't pull the whole project down.
   How to check: the project's unit count and land size are in its sales brochure or on property portals.
2. Visibility. Condos tucked away off the main road, in places nobody drives past, struggle to build organic demand: nobody knows the name, nobody's curious about it. A brand-new project gets attention for free around its TOP. Once it's older, it needs physical visibility to stay top of mind, so future buyers recognise it and consider it when it's your turn to sell.
   How to check: drive or walk past it, or look on Street View. Can you see the project and its name from the main road or the MRT?
3. Developer. This matters more the older the project gets. Say you buy into a 20-year-old condo and plan to sell at the 35-year mark: that's 15 years of wear and tear ahead, from lift breakdowns to facade repairs. A reputable developer and a good management corporation (MCST) that looks after the estate help it hold value through the years, so when your future buyer walks in, it doesn't feel run-down or neglected. That comfort factor directly protects your resale value.
   How to check: look at the common areas, ask about the sinking fund and any major works coming up, and ask the seller for recent MCST minutes.
4. Layout. The most important one. For 2- and 3-bedrooms especially, an enclosed kitchen matters a lot: open kitchens have fallen out of favour, and nobody wants the whole living room smelling of last night's cooking. An open kitchen isn't an easy sell for a family. For a 3-bedroom, a household shelter or utility room is often a deal-breaker. It all comes down to who's buying: in many areas, the next buyer is an HDB or BTO upgrader who wants the upgrade without compromising on space. They want something that feels like the flat they're used to, just better.
   How to check: the floor plan. Look for an enclosed (or enclosable) kitchen, a household shelter or utility room for 3-bedrooms, and few awkward corners.

Run any project through these four and you can filter fast. Take Serangoon: there are a lot of boutique projects of 40 to 50 units, and the same goes for the East Coast. In areas like these, only a handful of projects are really worth investing in; the rest just ride the wave of whatever the wider area does. If the whole area's growth is sluggish, those boutique projects lag along with it.

Step 2: three checks, with real examples

Now a level deeper: three things to look at when you do your own homework on an area, each with a real example, so you know exactly what to look for.

1. Is your entry price supported by what's around it?

Three projects launched around the same area at about the same time:

On paper, The Woodleigh Residences looks like the obvious winner: integrated, near the city, connected to the mall. Yet JadeScape, the least impressive of the three on paper, delivered the strongest growth. Why? Because it had the biggest entry price gap. It started $500 psf cheaper than The Woodleigh Residences, and that gap created the room to run.

This isn't theory. Buyers who got into JadeScape in 2018 and 2019 entered at around $1,300 psf, and many are sitting on profits of well over $1 million today; one unit alone made about $4.35 million. Would Park Colonial or The Woodleigh Residences make you money too? Absolutely, but not at that scale, because you didn't have the same entry price gap working in your favour.

Applied today: at the time of my video, OCR resale was averaging around $2,500 psf, with peaks around $2,700 psf. Now zoom in on Tampines. The Tampines Trilliant, a resale EC with most blocks within 1 km of Poi Ching School and St. Hilda's Primary, trades at about $1,500 to $1,780 psf. Nearby, the new launch Pinery Residences, an integrated development also near St. Hilda's, sold at about $2,500 psf and more, up to about $2,728 psf. That's a gap of around 50%.

At Pinery's entry price, you'd probably need to reach about $3,000 psf to make a solid profit. At The Tampines Trilliant, entering at about $1,700 to $1,800 psf, you only need it to reach $2,300 to $2,500 psf: a price comparable homes have already transacted at. That isn't a stretch target, just catching up to where comparable units have already sold, with a much lower capital outlay and a bigger safety margin. For me, that gap is what makes resale here a no-brainer.

But it doesn't always point to resale. Flip the scenario: The Panorama in Ang Mo Kio, about 7 years old, trades at about $1,900 to $2,100 psf, while Lentor Modern nearby trades at about $2,300 to $2,400 psf. That gap is only about 13%. When the gap is that tight, the brand-new development can make more sense, because you're not paying much of a premium for a newer, fresher asset. This isn't a blanket rule that resale always wins: sometimes the numbers favour a new launch, sometimes a resale.

2. How much supply is there for the unit you want?

JadeScape's growth wasn't only about entry price; it was also about how limited the supply around it was. Filter District 20 for relatively new 4- and 5-bedroom homes and you find just three projects, AMO Residence and JadeScape among them. If you want to live in this area in a big, newer home, those are basically your only choices. That's why JadeScape's bigger units did so well: a 5-bedroom made up to about $1.7 million in profit, and even the 4-bedrooms easily made more than $1 million.

That's the power of scarcity. When there are only three real options in the whole district for a unit type, buyers who want to live there have no choice but to compete for what's available, and that competition drives prices up. Scarcity gives you two things:

• Defensive value. Low supply means your unit stays in demand, which protects you from stagnating prices.
• Pricing power. When you eventually sell, there may be only one or two others selling, so you can set a higher price.

If you know a unit type is scarce in the market you're looking at, that's a real advantage five to seven years down the road.

How to check: on a property portal, filter the district for your bedroom count and for projects completed in the last 10 to 15 years, and count how many projects come up. Then look at what's under construction nearby with the same unit type.

3. In a high-supply area, does your layout stand out?

Lentor is the opposite situation: massive supply, with over 1,000 family units in the estate once it's built up. Search PropertyGuru for a 3-bedroom within 1 km of Lentor MRT and you'll see hundreds of listings. This is the listing trap: everyone is filtering for the same standard 3-bedroom, and your unit looks just like everyone else's. In a high-supply area, scarcity won't save you. What will is a layout that stands out from hundreds of near-identical options on the same page.

Picture yourself as a buyer viewing ten units in one day. Every one has the same portrait living and dining area. Then you walk into Hillock Green, and suddenly there's a wide, open living and dining space. That's the layout you'll remember. In Lentor, this kind of configuration is only about 10% of the units in the whole estate, so it's not just nice to have: it directly affects the profit you walk away with when you sell.

In quick summary: in high-supply areas, you want a layout that stands out. In low-supply areas, you don't need to overthink it; go for limited competition, because when you're ready to exit there may only be one or two others selling, and demand will easily match that supply.

Before you make an offer: a viewing checklist

• Recent transactions for the same unit type in the project, not just asking prices. That's what buyers and the bank's valuation will look at.
• The estate's condition: lifts, facade, pool and gym, and how the common areas are kept.
• The MCST's finances: the sinking fund balance, any special levies, and major works planned in the next few years.
• The unit itself: signs of water seepage or cracks, the age of the air-conditioning and wiring, facing and noise at different times of day.
• What's coming nearby: new launches, roads, MRT lines or anything that could block a view.
• Remaining lease for leasehold condos: CPF can be used in full only if the remaining lease covers the youngest buyer to at least age 95, so older leases can limit how much CPF you use, and how easily the next buyer can finance it.
• Schools, if that matters to you or your future buyer: check the primary schools within 1 km and 2 km on my schools pages.

Questions people ask me

Is it still worth buying resale when OCR new launches are near $3,000 psf?

Often, yes, if the resale is priced well below the launches around it. The wider the gap, the more room it has to catch up. Where the gap is narrow, a new launch may be the better buy.

Why do you look for at least 300 units?

More units means more transactions, so one low sale doesn't become the benchmark for the whole project, and you usually get more facilities too.

Does an older condo hold its value?

It can, if it's well run, visible, has practical layouts and is priced well against newer projects nearby. A poorly maintained estate with big upcoming repairs is harder to sell.

Should I always choose the biggest unit?

No. Choose the unit type that's scarce in the area, or a layout that stands out where supply is high. In JadeScape's case, scarce 4- and 5-bedrooms did best; in Lentor, a standout 3-bedroom layout matters more.

What's an enclosed kitchen worth?

For families, a lot. Open kitchens are harder to sell, especially in 2- and 3-bedroom units, so it widens your pool of future buyers.

Related guides

• Don't buy a resale condo before you understand GLS and harmonisation.
• The next 6 months could be a trap for buyers: the exit risk in resale and how to judge a new launch.
• When launch hype doesn't mean gains: AMO Residence's 2-bedrooms against its 3-bedrooms.
• MOE just killed the 1 km school premium. Is your property still worth it?

Prices and gains are as shown in my video of 27 July 2026, rounded, and change with the market. CPF's remaining-lease rule: cpf.gov.sg. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. This guide is general information, not financial advice.