Video summary

What I Would Buy With $2 Million in Singapore Today

Main summary

Key takeaways

Business

Core premise / strategy (budget = $2M in Singapore property)

  • $2M is described as both:

    • a “sweet spot” budget, and
    • an easy budget to misuse, because agents can “show almost every property in Singapore,” causing buyers to confuse marketing appeal with investment and exit fit.

  • The preferred overall choice (“strongest combi”) is:

    • a home that is comfortable to live in, plus
      • amenities,
      • especially MRT access (to reduce reliance on expensive car costs),
      • future demand (who will buy from you later).

Decision framework / process (playbook mindset)

1) Define your time horizon before viewing

  • Long-term hold: ~7–10 years
  • Stepping-stone strategy: sell at ~year 4 to upgrade

2) Segment buyers into 3 groups

Align property selection to who you are optimizing for:

  1. Stay (comfort/lifestyle first)
  2. Investment (make money first)
  3. Both (often where people go wrong)

3) Watch for “objective drift” during viewings

  • Investment buyers may become emotionally attached and forget the investment value.
  • Investment value buyers may still hate living there, which hurts long-term outcomes.

4) Respect the sensitivity of small differences

  • The speaker emphasizes that small differences in selection criteria can change outcomes by hundreds of thousands.

What the speaker would NOT buy at ~ $2M (exclusion rules)

HDB bedroom-count exclusions

  • No 2-bedroom in the Central Region (explicitly “above my budget”).
  • No 2-bedroom new launch or old 2-bedroom in city fringe, because:
    • typical resale sizes: ~700–800 sq ft
    • brand-new sizes can be smaller: ~500–600 sq ft
    • exit risk: the “family buyer” pool often wants at least 3 bedrooms (HDB upgraders)

Avoid an “investor-target” selling approach

  • Selling to investors is discouraged because:
    • investor decisions are numbers-driven
    • areas that appeal to investors may show slower growth versus family-oriented demand
    • investor purchase thresholds are sensitive (e.g., if it doesn’t hit their target price, they won’t buy)
    • 2-bed rental yields may underperform compared with larger units in other areas
  • The issue is framed as worst when 2-bed prices are close to 3-bed prices.
  • “Good 2-bed” is referenced as low-quantum under ~S$1.3M.

Avoid freehold at ~ $2M (unless rare exceptions)

  • Freehold options at this price are said to usually have drawbacks:
    • weak location / low demand
    • poor layouts
    • very low quantum
  • While freehold can offer “bigger size,” genuinely good freehold at $2M is described as very limited.
  • Also noted: buying the right tenant at the wrong price is a risk.

Don’t buy “pretty/hype” units

  • Explicitly stated: do not buy for show-flat / hype appeal if they don’t meet the strategic criteria.

Concrete case studies & quantified examples (business-like evidence)

Case study: Lentor Hills (brand new) vs city fringe resale (real case)

  • Decision framing: compare a city fringe 3-bed project vs brand new 3-bed/3-bath at Lentor Hills.
  • Speaker’s advice: the resale option at similar price was “better” (resale entry deemed superior).

Reported outcome (as framed by the speaker):

  • Buyer chose brand new Lentor Hills at about S$2.1M.
  • Speaker claims no resale transaction yet for Lentor Hills; uses a comparable reference (Lentor Modern):
    • April 2026: same configuration “made” about S$400k (context implies capital appreciation tracking)

Speaker’s resale comparison (cited comp):

  • Feb 2023: same size at S$2.08M
  • Feb 2026: same size at S$2.7M
  • Implied gain: ~S$620k, then adjusted for floor/comparable assumptions:
    • comparable near-floor today estimated ~S$2.6M
    • implied gain ~S$500k

Result gap (speaker’s conclusion):

  • Brand-new path “made” ~S$400k
  • Resale path could have made ~S$500k
  • Difference: ~S$100k+, attributed to better area/exit dynamics (and possibly floor adjustments).

Second quick outcome example

  • Speaker asks: purchase price and date
  • Purchase: S$1.9M in April 2025
  • Today’s transaction level: ~S$2.1M
  • Reported gain: ~S$200k in ~1 year

New launch vs resale: operational “market signal” rules

At the $2M level, 3-bed new launches are hard

  • Getting 3-bed new launches is described as “very difficult.”

Likely new-launch outcomes at this budget:

  • 2-bed/2-bath in city fringe, or
  • 2-bed/1-bath in core regions (sizes are described as “super small”)

Checks if buying a new launch

  • Premium vs nearby resale: quantify how much more you pay than comparable resale units.
  • Supply/competition signal: if many surrounding units of the same small size sell around the same time, it suggests “got problem already,” implying lower appreciation potential.

Prefer “hard-to-buy” projects

  • “Always buy the hard-to-buy projects” because they are described as:
    • having higher appreciation
    • being easier to sell later

Avoid “easy-to-buy” saturation

  • If many units are for sale, the seller pool is too broad, leading to:
    • low or no appreciation
    • harder exits

Exit planning / buyer-pool matching

  • The speaker emphasizes exit readiness repeatedly:
    • Families have more money but want bigger sizes (3-bedroom minimum).
    • If you buy too small (2-bed), you may lack a strong exit buyer pool.
    • Investors are treated as a volatile buyer pool (price-sensitive), making resale demand weaker.
  • “Future demand” is treated like a KPI: ensure the next buyer segment can and will purchase.

Marketing / funnel mechanics (non-investment, but business execution)

  • The speaker heavily promotes a webinar as the venue for detailed filtering and specific project recommendations, including:
    • “three-bedrooms that you can get at 2 million with growth better than what you have shortlisted”
    • how to compare new launch vs resale
    • how to choose the right entry price
    • how to exit with a stronger buyer pool
  • Call-to-action timing:
    • “Register before you commit… not after you have paid the option fee.”

Key numeric thresholds / targets mentioned (KPIs-style)

Time horizons

  • 7–10 years, or
  • sell at ~year 4

Price thresholds

  • “Good 2-bed” under ~S$1.3M
  • Comparisons around ~S$1.9M → ~S$2.1M
  • Lentor-related transactions around ~S$2.08M, ~S$2.1M, ~S$2.7M, ~S$2.6M

Performance examples

  • ~S$200k gain in ~1 year (S$1.9M to ~S$2.1M)
  • ~S$100k+ potential difference from selecting resale vs new launch path (per the speaker’s framing)

Presenters / sources

  • No external sources or named organizations/case researchers are cited.
  • The content is presented by the video’s speaker (addressed by viewers as “hawkers” and “Hawkeye Leader”).

Original video