EdgeProp Singapore matched more than 5,000 subsales between January 2021 and August 2026 to the original developer sale of the same unit, using URA Realis data. A subsale is a home sold on before its development receives its certificate of statutory completion. After seller's stamp duty, 98.3 per cent sold above what the first buyer paid.
The 76 losses, 1.5 per cent, are the interesting part. They were small, mostly under 5 per cent, and totalled $7.5 million against $1.32 billion of profit across the winners. But they were not random. They clustered in two projects, in the smallest units, and in late 2025.
Where the losses were
By region, EdgeProp found losses in 7.1 per cent of Core Central Region subsales (18 of 255), 1.9 per cent in the Rest of Central Region (38 of 2,014) and 0.7 per cent Outside Central Region (20 of 2,807). The single largest was a 2,411 sq ft unit at The Avenir, subsold for $6.9 million in July 2025, about $1.1 million below its purchase price.
Two RCR projects, One Pearl Bank and Normanton Park, had eight losses each: a fifth of the islandwide total. At both, almost every loss was a unit under 600 sq ft. Half of One Pearl Bank's small-unit subsales lost money; none of its larger units did.
What Roov's records add, into 2026
Roov's URA records reproduce EdgeProp's price trend for those small units, and carry it past the end of their study. One caveat first: our records do not carry unit numbers, so these are medians across units of a size band, not the same unit bought and resold.
Normanton Park, units under 600 sq ft: launched at a median $1,898 psf in 2021 and $1,938 in 2022. Subsold at $2,051 in 2024, $1,887 in 2025, and $1,781 so far in 2026. The 11 resales since completion this year came in at a median $1,793 psf. That is about 6 per cent below the 2021 launch median.
Normanton Park, 600 sq ft and above: launched at $1,818 psf in 2021. Resold this year at a median $2,030 psf across 54 sales, about 12 per cent above launch.
One Pearl Bank, units under 600 sq ft: launched at $2,691 psf in 2021 and $2,775 in 2022. Subsold at $2,625 in 2023, $2,483 in 2024 and $2,346 in 2025. The one resale this year was $2,295 psf.
One Pearl Bank, 600 sq ft and above: launched at $2,335 psf in 2021, subsold at $2,587 in 2025 and $2,657 this year.
Same buildings, same launch window, same completion date. The larger homes gained; the smallest ones gave back everything and more.
Why size decides it
A shoebox costs more per square foot to build, because the kitchen, bathroom and front door cost about the same whatever the floor area around them. So it launches at a higher psf. Then, when it is time to sell, it is sold to a narrower pool of buyers, mostly investors, who have every new launch to choose from. EdgeProp points to the 4,000-plus new units launched in the third quarter of 2025 alone, when new home sales nearly tripled. A family looking for a three-bedroom has fewer alternatives, and that is who the larger units were sold to.
The same pattern shows up in HDB: we looked at why bigger flats in Tampines are pulling ahead for multigenerational families.
What this means if you are buying off plan
The headline number is reassuring, and it is fair: most people who bought new and sold before completion made money. But the 2021 to 2024 run was one of the strongest the market has had, and the lesson from the losses is about exit, not entry.
Buy a size someone else will want. Before committing to a small unit, look at who buys that size in the area and how many alternatives they have. Roov's valuation tool shows recent prices by size nearby.
Know your holding period. Seller's stamp duty applies to a sale within the holding period, and a subsale almost always falls inside it. Our seller's stamp duty guide explains the timing, and the stamp duty calculator works out the figure.
Price the whole trade, not the gap. EdgeProp's figures are before buyer's stamp duty on the original purchase, commission and financing. The break-even tool adds those costs back so you can see the price you actually need, and the returns tool turns it into an annual figure.
Remember what you paid along the way. Progressive payments on a new launch mean interest and cash flow before completion; the BUC payment tool shows the schedule, and our guide to buying a new launch condo covers the rest.
Subsales themselves are fading as the 2021 to 2022 launches complete. Roov's records show 190 in 2021, rising to 1,347 in 2023 and 1,420 in 2024, then 961 in 2025 and 417 so far this year. For a comparison of launch and resale pricing in one district, see what District 20 resale costs before Thomson Reserve launches.
Thinking of selling before completion, or weighing a small unit against a bigger one? Roov's agent can pull the recent prices for your size band in your project and tell you what an exit realistically looks like. Get in touch.