How to evaluate a Singapore new launch before you commit

1. Start with your budget, not the brochure

Before comparing developments, work out what you can actually commit. In Singapore that means your loan limits first: the Total Debt Servicing Ratio caps your monthly debt repayments at 55 per cent of gross monthly income, and the Loan-to-Value limit for a bank loan is 75 per cent for a first housing loan, stepping down for the second and third. For an HDB loan the LTV is 75 per cent with the additional 5 per cent paid in cash.

Then add the costs people forget: buyer's stamp duty, legal fees, and for a second property the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty at the prevailing rate. A comfortable ceiling is usually one where you can still service the loan after a two percentage point rise in interest rates, and still hold six months of mortgage payments in reserve.

2. Read the indicative price as an indication

New launch pricing is released in stages. A developer's preview price list may cover only part of the unit mix, and 'from' prices typically refer to the smallest or least favoured stacks. Compare price per square foot rather than headline price, and compare it against recent transactions at nearby resale projects of similar age, tenure and size.

Where a launch is still months away and no price list exists, treat any figure you see — including land sale psf — as context, not a forecast. Land price tells you what the developer paid; it does not tell you what they will ask.

3. Check the dates yourself

Preview dates, launch dates, booking days and vacant possession all move. Preview windows are often announced a few weeks ahead, and a preview can shift if approvals or showflat readiness slip. Vacant possession for a condominium typically falls around the expected TOP date in the sale and purchase agreement plus the legal notice period, and it is not a promise of a moving-in date.

If a date matters to your plan — a lease ending, a school enrolment, a wedding — build in a buffer rather than assuming the early end of the range.

4. Compare a new launch with what already exists

A new launch gives you a fresh 99-year lease, a progressive payment scheme during construction, and a unit nobody has lived in. A resale unit gives you a visible condition, immediate occupancy, and a price you can negotiate against evidence. Neither is automatically better.

For Executive Condominiums there is another consideration: an EC is subject to the 5-year minimum occupation period before resale, so it is a home first and an asset second. If your horizon is shorter than that, a private condominium or a resale flat may suit better.

5. Visit before you commit

A showflat shows the layout and finish, not the view, the noise or the neighbours. Walk the actual site at a weekday rush hour and again on a weekend, look at what is directly in front of your stack, and confirm the walking route to the MRT or bus interchange. Ask for the site plan and the unit's orientation, and check where the bin centre, substation and car park ramp sit relative to the unit you are considering.

Bring a list of questions to the viewing and get the answers in writing where they matter. It is far easier to walk away from a stack at the showflat than from a signed agreement.

6. Have someone on your side of the table

A developer's sales team represents the developer. A buyer's agent works for you: comparing alternatives, checking the unit's planning context, reviewing the sale and purchase agreement before you sign, and telling you when a project does not fit your brief. We do not charge buyers a fee for that work, and we will tell you when the honest answer is to wait.