Market Updates
New En Bloc Rules 2026: Easier to Finish, Harder to Start
6 min read
Investing
Investing — yield, holding power and the exit
For households treating property as part of a longer plan, rather than as a home.
Investment property is judged on different criteria from a home. The unit you would love to live in and the unit that lets quickly and sells easily are often not the same unit.
These notes focus on the three things that actually determine the outcome: what it yields after real costs, whether you can carry it through a vacancy, and who buys it from you later.
What this covers
The questions worth settling first
01
Net yield, not gross
After maintenance, property tax, agent commission, repairs and a realistic vacancy assumption.
02
Holding power
Whether you could service the property for twelve months with no rental income at all.
03
ABSD and structure
What a second property actually costs upfront, and why decoupling is rarely the shortcut it appears to be.
04
Exit liquidity
Who the eventual buyer is, how many similar units they will be choosing from, and how long that usually takes.
Start here
Investing
Rental yield, holding power, entry price and exit liquidity for people treating property as part of a longer plan.
Common questions
Is Singapore property still a good investment?
That question cannot be answered generally, and I would be suspicious of anyone who answers it quickly. It depends on entry price, holding period, financing cost, your tax position and what you are comparing it against. What I can say is that the households who do well with property are usually the ones who could comfortably hold it through a bad year.
Should I buy a smaller unit for higher yield?
Smaller units often show a higher gross yield, but they also tend to face more direct competition when letting and when selling, since there are more of them and they are less differentiated. Gross yield is one input. Tenant depth and exit liquidity are the ones that decide how the position feels in a slow market.
New insights, when they're worth sending
Occasional emails when I publish something useful. No listings, no blasts.