Bought the Small Unit to Save Money? You May Have Bought the Smaller Profit.

Many buyers pick the smaller unit to keep the price down and assume the gains scale with it. Across 2,321 resale transactions, three-bedrooms made almost 50% more in percentage terms than one-bedrooms. That changes the question you should be asking.

What 2,321 sales show

Source: Stacked Homes, May 2024, new launch to resale and subsale transactions from 65 projects. The holding periods are almost the same, about four years, so the three-bedroom gains do not come from holding longer. The study covers profit on sale only, without rent.

The pattern held in the city centre, the city fringe and the suburbs, and three-bedrooms came out ahead in most of the 27 projects that had all three unit types. The city-centre samples were small, so read those with care.

Why bigger units did better

Families buy bedrooms. Most condo buyers are families, many of them HDB upgraders, and families need bedrooms. Agents interviewed by Stacked said three-bedrooms sell faster and the buyer pool for small units is smaller. That explanation comes from agents, not from the data itself.

Prices point the same way. Between 2020 and 2024, resale units of 1,001 to 2,000 sq ft rose 26.1% to $1,595 psf, while units of 500 sq ft and below rose 25.3% to $1,828 psf, the slowest of the three size groups (EdgeProp, May 2024).

Project size adds a twist. In mega condos of 1,000 units or more, four-bedrooms averaged a 30% gain against 25% in regular condos (Stacked Homes, May 2025). My mega condo vs smaller condo article covers why.

Does location change the answer?

Source: Stacked Homes, May 2024. Three-bedrooms led in every region. The surprise is the city centre: every unit type did worse there, which undercuts the idea that small units are the smart buy downtown. The city-centre samples were small, 12 one-bedroom and 42 three-bedroom sales, so treat that row as a signal rather than a rule.

Where the small unit fights back: rent

Rent changes the maths. Small units usually yield more. In Stacked's example, a $900,000 shoebox renting at $2,800 a month yields about 3.7% gross, against about 3% for a $1.8 million three-bedroom renting at $4,500. For a landlord, that extra yield can close some or all of the profit gap.

A psf average can also hide which unit type you are really paying for. My article on reading psf by unit type shows how.

The catch: you have to afford the bigger unit

A three-bedroom at a 2027 launch could cost well over $2 million. At the low end of analyst estimates, a 950 sq ft unit at One Chuan Grove works out to about $2.47 million. Stretching only helps if your loan passes the bank's test and you keep a cash buffer.

My price quantum guide sets out the four numbers to check first. Speak to a licensed financial adviser for advice specific to your financing.

What this means for the 2027 launches

Most 2027 launches are large and family-focused. One Chuan Grove has 1,056 homes and four primary schools within about 970m, and Chencharu Central has Peiying Primary about 260m away. In projects like these, the next buyer is most likely a family, which is the buyer pool the Stacked data favours.

The River Opus in River Valley is a different case. City-fringe units rent well to professionals, so a smaller unit there may earn more of its return as rent. Before choosing a size, decide whether you are buying for the next family or the next tenant.

One more check: compare the psf of each unit type in the same project. Small units often cost more per square foot even when the total price is lower. EdgeProp's resale figures show units of 500 sq ft and below averaging $1,828 psf, against $1,595 for 1,001 to 2,000 sq ft.

My view

If you will live in it, buy the bedrooms you need, because that is also what the next family will want. If you are buying to rent, compare yield and total return, not profit on sale alone. Bought the smaller unit only to keep the price down? The data says you may have bought the smaller profit too.

Questions readers ask

Sources