A Singaporean couple upgraded from a four-bedroom condo to a penthouse near Methodist Girls’ School without renting in between.
They sold their unit at The Tresor and purchased a penthouse at Maplewoods.
How a profitable sale helped fund a bigger home
The couple first worked with Stacked Consultancy around five years ago when they purchased a unit at The Tresor for $3.7 million. At the time, their family consisted of a newborn and a helper.
Their agent, Sheng, helped them choose the unit for two main reasons. First, The Tresor was suitable as a family home. Second, Sheng was confident the future resale demand for the unit would be high.
The Tresor is a 999-year leasehold condominium on Duchess Road in prime District 10. The 62-unit development in Bukit Timah is close to Tan Kah Kee MRT station on the Downtown Line and several schools.
“At the time, we spotted that The Tresor is one of the relatively few condominiums in the Duchess Road area that’s within one kilometre of Nanyang Primary School,” says Sheng. “It’s also around a five-minute walk from Tan Kah Kee MRT station.”
The development is also close to several amenities, including Coronation Plaza – which houses a supermarket nearby.
The couple intended to stay in the unit long-term. However, schooling requirements changed as their family grew to include a son and a daughter. They realized they needed more living space as the children grew up.
This led them to move out of the four-bedroom unit at The Tresor earlier than expected, around five and a half years after the purchase.
Sheng notes that school proximity was a key reason for the move. “Their original decision to live near Nanyang Primary School became irrelevant; they decided not to send the children there,” he explains. “The husband was an alumni of ACS, so it meant it was easier for their son to get in,” he says.
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Before shortlisting properties, the first step was determining the proceeds from selling the unit at The Tresor.
Why The Tresor sold successfully
The qualities Sheng identified when purchasing the four-bedder at The Tresor became key during the sale.
The condo has few direct competitors in the immediate Duchess area. The luxury Watten House, a new alternative, emerged but with units priced above $3,000 psf.
In contrast, The Tresor’s average resale price was around $2,500 psf – a significantly lower entry point for buyers, despite being a freehold development with a good mix of family-sized units.
This gave Sheng confidence in marketing the unit. An initial valuation came in at approximately $4.7 million, though Sheng believed it could achieve slightly more. Based on the latest transaction data, he felt it reasonable to test the upper end of the resale price range – $4.88 million at the time.
When the four-bedder was listed, the number of inquiries indicated strong buying interest. Sheng scheduled numerous viewings, yielding several offers within the first two weeks of marketing.
Their 1,873 sq ft unit at The Tresor eventually sold for $4,753,800, or approximately $2,538 psf.
The couple’s next challenge was finding a replacement home that met their growing family’s needs.
PurchaseSaleDate
October 2019April 2025
Price
$3,700,000$4,753,800
Price PSF
$1,976$2,538
Nominal Gain
–+ $1,053,800
Finding a bigger home near MGS proved challenging
The couple began actively searching for their replacement home in February/March of the previous year. Based on the estimated sale price of their four-bedroom unit at The Tresor, they had a budget of about $5.5 million for the next property.
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Despite this substantial budget, they struggled to find resale condos with both ample living space and proximity to SCGS or MGS. Units of at least 2,000 sq ft were particularly hard to come by.
At one point, they considered landed properties. Sheng showed them several options, including Illoura, a cluster housing project on Old Holland Road, and Balmoral Residences. They also viewed a small semi-detached home at Sian Tuan Avenue and other landed homes in Binjai Park and Stevens Road.
Although most landed options were within budget, the couple felt uncomfortable with many of the houses they saw, eventually shifting their focus back to the area around MGS.
ProjectWhat appealed to themMain challenge
Binjai Park landed homeLanded living and proximity to MGSAbove $5.5 million, with perhaps another $1 million required for rebuilding
IllouraLanded living and proximity to MGSUltimately, it didn’t provide a better overall fit than Maplewoods
Stevens Road landed homePreferred SCGS location, convenient for CBD travelDidn’t like the size for the given price
Balmoral ResidencesWithin the preferred SCGS areaConsidered seriously, but lost out on overall space and layout efficiency
Sian Tuan Avenue semi-detached homeCost-effective, smaller despite being Semi-D, close to MGSUnusual subdivided configuration; relatively small for a landed home
The couple brought Sheng’s attention to a penthouse at Maplewoods that was on the market. It was one of the few projects near MGS offering homes of this scale.
The Maplewoods penthouse had an efficient layout. Although Maplewoods, built in 1997, is relatively older, it is a freehold development. The penthouse combined the needed unit size with proximity to MGS.
Additionally, Maplewoods is close to King Albert Park MRT station on the Downtown Line and will interchange with the future Cross Island Line, providing excellent public transport connectivity for the couple’s children.
The unit met all their requirements, and they quickly purchased the penthouse for $5.45 million, or approximately $2,136 psf. This closely matched their estimated budget.
However, the transaction timeline became complicated.
