Easy to Rent Out, Hard to Sell: Why Buyers May Be Losing Interest in One-Bedroom Condos

According to PropNex data, annual new launch sales of one-bedroom units fell from an average of 1,808 a year between 2010 and 2015 to 1,157 between 2016 and 2020, then to 521 a year between 2021 and 2025. Resale transactions went the opposite way, from an average of just 108 units a year between 2010 and 2015, to 528 from 2016 to 2020, and 1,023 between 2021 and 2025. PropNex used private non-landed homes under 500 sq ft as a proxy, as URA Realis data does not specify the number of bedrooms. The share of sub-500 sq ft homes in resale transactions rose from 0.5 per cent in 2010 to 6.6 per cent in the year to date, while their share of new sales fell from 12.1 per cent to 2.5 per cent.

PropNex chief executive Kelvin Fong said this suggests one-bedroom units have become less prominent in the new launch market, while resale activity has grown as such units enter the resale market. Resale prices are lower: the median for non-landed private homes below 500 sq ft was S$818,000 in 2026, against nearly S$1.37 million for new sales. From January 2025 to October 2026, buyers with an HDB address made up 43.7 per cent of one-bedroom resales, compared with 23.2 per cent for units of at least 1,000 sq ft.

Since January 2019, URA guidelines have limited the number of small units in new non-landed developments outside the Central Area, using an average unit size of 85 sq m to calculate the maximum number of homes, or 100 sq m in nine designated areas. The rules were extended to the Central Area in January 2023, requiring at least 20 per cent of units in new developments to have a minimum net internal area of 70 sq m. In June that year, floor area definitions were harmonised, bringing all strata areas into gross floor area calculations and excluding voids from strata area. Colliers’ head of research for Singapore, Catherine He, said these rules make very small units harder to design efficiently, and that scarcity may help well-located existing one-bedders but is unlikely to lift all of them.

Recent launches show how buyers view one-bedroom units differently by location. Narra Residences and Tengah Garden Residences in Districts 23 and 24 planned just three and six one-bedders respectively, and both sold out their one-bed units, according to SRI data. In the CBD, Newport Residences sold 89 of its 108 one-bedroom units, close to half of the project’s 246 units. Vela Bay in Bayshore sold 21 of its 27 one-bed units. Still, PropNex’s analysis of seven major 2026 launches found expressions of interest for one-bedroom units at 80 per cent of available supply, below 87 per cent for two-bedroom units and 112 per cent for three-bedroom units.

Rental demand remains strong. SRI data showed rental transactions for non-landed one-bedroom homes rose 27.9 per cent, from 8,007 in the first half of 2023 to an estimated 10,240 in the first half of 2026. Alan Cheong, Savills’ executive director of research and consultancy, said gross rental yields for completed one-bedders range from 3.5 to 4.25 per cent. Property taxes and maintenance fees reduce net returns, but yields remain relatively attractive in a low interest rate environment. He noted that a resale unit may deliver a higher rental yield than a new launch, which carries a developer’s price premium, and offers immediate rental income.

Competition from co-living operators could limit rent growth. Cheong estimated city-fringe one-bedroom units typically rent for S$3,500 a month, compared with S$2,000 to S$2,500 for a co-living room. Colliers’ He said co-living is more likely to cap rent growth for one-bedders than to replace them. Prof Sing Tien Foo of the National University of Singapore’s Business School said co-living “competes at the margin”, especially for younger tenants, but a self-contained unit offers privacy and stability that shared accommodation cannot fully replicate.

For sellers, the key challenge is a narrower buyer pool than for family-sized units, so exit depends on pricing, He said. She added that buyers now have more choices, with about 9,320 units on the 2026 Government Land Sales confirmed lists and a large completion pipeline. Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at Realion Group, said resale prospects also depend on size and age. Before 2012, one-bedroom units were getting smaller, and so-called small-format units are harder to lease. Owners of larger studios or one-bedroom units are likely to find it easier to sell than owners of units below 350 sq ft. Prof Sing said units with inefficient layouts, high maintenance fees, short remaining lease tenures or weak transport access could struggle to find buyers, and that developments with many identical units face additional competition among sellers.

Longer term, demographics could support demand. Singstat data cited by PropNex showed the number of one-person resident households grew from 146,000 in 2015 to 247,900 in 2025. Cheong said an ageing population and a declining propensity to marry could further expand the pool of owner-occupiers, and that if the price of a one-bedroom private apartment fell to a meaningful discount relative to a larger HDB flat, a new pool of buyers may emerge. Prof Sing said one-bedders of a practical size, with a distinct study or flex space, efficient storage and proximity to MRT stations, business parks, hospitals or universities should stay relatively liquid, while units designed mainly for a low entry price but facing quick functional obsolescence may face greater illiquidity and exit risks.