Ownership and upgrade
Why one landed home suited their plans better than two properties
They planned to keep their condo and buy a cluster house. Selling the condo opened up a landed purchase with more space and stronger growth potential.
This family owned a four-bedroom condo in a large District 28 development. They wanted to keep it and buy a $3M-plus cluster house in the wife’s name. They’d have two properties, with one held under each name.
Their plans called for a comparison of both properties they’d own with the landed home they could buy together. Selling the condo would free up money towards that purchase. My assessment was that a suitable landed home offered stronger appreciation potential than their existing condo.
What selling the four-bedder would allow them to buy
Keeping the condo meant leaving a substantial amount of money in it. Even after buying the cluster house, they’d still depend on that four-bedder for part of their property growth. My recommendation was to sell the condo so they could put that money towards a landed home with stronger growth potential.
Why a turnkey landed home below $4.5M stood out
During the search, entry-level landed homes below $4.5M were getting harder to find. Turnkey homes with a newer structure were rarer still among the options available. That combination of price and condition was the reason behind the stronger growth assessment.
A family wanting landed space at that budget would have fewer move-in-ready alternatives to compare. Buying an older house could mean paying for major renovations or a rebuild before moving in. A newer home below $4.5M could therefore appeal to buyers wanting landed space without taking on that project.
For these clients, the $4.188M home offered five bedrooms and a three-year-old structure within that price range. They could use the space now, with only the kitchen to renovate. Future buyers with similar needs would have the same reasons to consider it.
My assessment was that fewer alternatives at this price and condition could support demand and price growth. That gave the family a reason to move their money out of the condo and into this landed home.
Market context: EdgeProp, 29 February 2024, reported Knight Frank’s view that newly developed landed homes appealed to buyers weighing the alternative of rebuilding. EdgeProp, 14 August 2025, reported ERA’s observation of upgrader demand for landed homes below $5M. These reports provide broader context; the observation about turnkey choices below $4.5M comes from this client search.
Market update: buyers priced out of semi-Ds are considering terraces
In an EdgeProp report published on 26 October 2026, Huttons noted buyers shifting towards terraced homes after being priced out of semi-detached properties. Terraced homes transacted at an average of $4.7M in 3Q2026, compared with $6.9M for semi-Ds.
That gives further context for demand at more accessible landed prices. Buyers seeking landed space can turn to smaller homes when a semi-D exceeds their budget. A move-in-ready home below $4.5M could appeal to those buyers without requiring them to fund a major rebuild.
This is a later market update, added in October 2026. Huttons’ figures exclude GCBs and strata landed homes; they don’t measure turnkey supply below $4.5M.
A five-bedroom home for $4.188M
We found a five-bedroom landed home in District 28 with a three-year-old structure. They only needed to renovate the kitchen to their liking. They could get the extra bedroom and landed space without taking on a major renovation.
The $4.188M price was above their original cluster-house budget. Selling the condo changed what they could put towards the purchase, and they bought the landed home in both names. They chose to put their money into that home instead of keeping the condo alongside a cluster house.
Their condo sale was secured over Christmas
An Option to Purchase was issued within three days of marketing, over the Christmas period. The condo sold at $1,614 psf, with a sale price $957,000 above their original purchase price. That difference excludes costs such as stamp duties, agent fees and loan interest.
They bought the landed home at $2,2xx psf. The purchase gave them five bedrooms and a newer structure. The recommendation also considered the landed home’s potential to grow their property investment.
How the two property types have moved since
After their sale, other four-bedroom units in the same condominium development transacted at $1,7xx psf. Just under two years after their landed purchase, the highest landed transaction in the area reached $2,9xx psf.
The condo’s later transactions were modestly above their $1,614 psf sale price. The landed area’s highest transaction had moved much further above their $2,2xx psf entry price. The comparison helps explain the recommendation to put their money towards landed, even though they would own one property.
The landed comparison uses the area’s highest transaction, involving a different home. It doesn’t establish this client’s property value or their own percentage gain.
For this family, selling the four-bedder made a larger landed home possible without a major renovation. They could put the money from their condo into a property with stronger growth potential, based on my assessment. The recommendation considered both the home they would live in and what they wanted their property investment to achieve.