Are 1 bedroom condos still a good investment in 2026 ?

Introduction

As a primer, we operate a consultancy which specialises in helping investors procure 2nd investment properties. Due to the fact that the property is a 2nd investment property, budget is naturally constrained within the range of a 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom compact unit type.

Having established that, we fully understand the dilemma you might have when considering the commitment of investment capital to a 1 bedroom condo.

On one hand the allure of low capital input and high rental yield serve as a pull factor, on the other hand the on-going doomsday narrative of 1 bedroom units being unprofitable investment with limited exit buyer pull serves as push factors.

This sets the context and goal of this research article, we will tackle the question of whether a 1 bedroom condo is still a good investment in 2026, holistically and extensively with data from 18 condo developments across different locales, covering both new launch and resale developments.

Throughout the articles, we will layer the data driven insights with on-ground experience derived from our consultancy work and the experience gained from operating our own investments.

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Why are investors attracted to 1 bedroom condo as an investment property?

To get the ball rolling, we will establish the key draw of a 1 bedroom condo from an investor’s perspective.

1. Lower Barrier to Entry

Putting the 2026 price points into context, a 1 bedroom unit in a new launch development would cost between $1.0 mil (OCR) to $1.2 mil (RCR/CCR) depending on location, while a 2 bedroom unit would cost between $1.3 mil (OCR) to $1.6 mil (RCR/CCR).

From a capital input perspective, you are will looking a incremental cost of $300k to $400k to purchase a 2 bedroom unit.

This lower purchase quantum which translates to less daunting upfront downpayment, positions 1 bedroom condos as an investment product that offers a lower barrier of entry into owning an investment property as compared to other unit type like the 2 or 3 bedroom unit type.

2. Greater ease in creating passive rental cashflow

A key draw for many investors is to be able to derive positive cashflow from their investment property. And positive cashflow is largely influenced by 2 factors, rental income and mortgage expenses. Again, due to the lower purchase quantum of a 1 bedroom unit, the mortgage expenses are also lower as compared to larger and more expensive unit types.

This allows greater ease in nurturing one bedroom units towards positive cashflow by a repeated cycle of mortgage principal paydown leading to interest expense reduction.

3. Real estate capital appreciation with lesser capital input

Again the last factor is centered around the lower purchase quantum of a 1 bedroom unit type. With a lower purchase quantum, a 1 bedroom condo provides the notion to investors that one is able to partake in the capital appreciation of a real estate asset class with a lesser and more manager capital input.

We highlighted this with the word “notion” as this may not always be true, especially in 2026, a 1 bedroom unit may not always bring you positive capital appreciation. We will touch more on this in the sections that follow.

What has changed in 2026 that requires us to revisit this consideration?

While we have highlighted the 3 key propositions that attract investors to 1 bedroom unit type. We must also emphasize that there has been a lot of change over the years and it is crucial to take stock of these changes and revisit our investment case for a 1 bedroom condo.

1. Negative on-ground narrative against 1 bedroom unit type

Real estate buyer’s demand is heavily influenced by the narratives and “advises” that real estate agents propagate on the ground. This often creates a self-fulfilling cycle of increased or decreased demand. Unfortunately, this is currently working against 1 bedroom condo, the current narrative on the ground advises buyers against the purchase of 1 bedroom condo, mainly based on the concerns of a limited exit buyer pool.

2. Tapered foreign buyer demand due to heightened ABSD rates

Historically, the core resale buyer pool for 1 bedroom units comprises of foreign investors and 2nd property investors, with the heightening of ABSD rates targeting both foreign investors and 2nd property investors, raising foreigner property buyer ABSD from 30% to 60% and Singapore citizen 2nd property buyer ABSD from 17% to 20%.

This buyer pool has been reduced and the core buyer audience now comes from local buyers purchasing larger units for their own stay.

3. Evolving price points of 1 Bedroom and 2 Bedroom units

Established earlier, the core investment proposition of a 1 Bedroom unit is centered around its low purchase quantum and its lower purchase quantum relative to the adjacent 2 Bedroom unit type. While this is true historically, recent upwards price movements in 2025 leading up to 2026 would have an impact on both the overall price point of a 1 bedroom unit and the price gap between a 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom unit.

To put things into perspective, one can easily purchase a 1 bedroom condo with a budget under $1.0 mil, in 2026, using 2025 new launch price points as a gauge, the cheapest OCR 1 bedroom unit would cost $1.07 mil, which is hard to come by, while most 1 bedroom units fall within the range of $1.2 mil.

In parallel, developers have revised the strategy towards the 2 bedroom product, positioning it as the key product to appeal to investors, with that in mind, they have reduced the overall square footage of a 2 bedroom unit with the ultimate goal of reducing its overall purchase quantum.

This has resulted in the narrowing price gap between 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom units.

The narrowing of price gaps between 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom units in 2026

Source: Knight Frank – Singapore Residential Market Update (Q3 2025)

So are 1 Bedroom Condos still good investment properties in 2026? – Data first validation

Before we jump into conclusion and totally eliminate 1 bedroom condos from our consideration set, it helps to validate our assumptions with data and objectivity.

So to adequately address the definition of whether 1 bedders are good investment, we will address the following research question in the sections that follows.

1. Are 1 Bedroom Condo Profitable?
2. Which planning districts / locations produces the most profitable 1 bedroom condo
3. Are 1 bedroom condo in new launch development more profitable than 1 bedroom condo in resale development?
4. Are 1 Bedroom Condos more profitable than 2 Bedroom Condos?
5. Are 1 Bedroom Condos more capital efficient than 2 Bedroom Condos?
6. Does 1 Bedroom Condo produce higher rental yield than 2 Bedroom Condo?
7. How much capital do you need to scale up your purchase from a 1 Bedroom Condo to a 2 Bedroom Condo?

Need help shortlisting the best unit type to invest in ?

Finding the optimal unit type to invest in, requires research rigor in the following areas

• Review of supply for selected unit type in the location
• Competitive review, comparing the unit type layout with competing units in the development or the location
• Price Gap Analysis, establishing the price difference between unit type
• ROI Projection – projecting the potential return with every incremental dollar invested

Know the concepts, but outsource the work.

Research Method

We will be adopting the following research method to derive insights to support our analysis.

Central to our research, we believe directional insights trumps statistically empirical analysis, eg. we would rather work with a limited but meaningful data set than reviewing data from a large dataset. 

From our experience, we believe over generalisation, eg. the cluster of all developments type, freehold/leasehold, boutique/mega scaled, in a location for analysis will nullify useful insights.

Specifically, for this research, we reviewed 18 developments with 6 developments each in different planning districts OCR, RCR and CCR.

Within each district, review 3 new launch development and 3 resale development to develop insights on 1 bedroom performance in new launch vs 1 bedroom performance in resale development.

Metrics reviewed comprises of the following:

• Average annualised price appreciation – to understand potential for capital appreciation
• Average profit – to understand actual profit to be derived from investing in a 1 bedroom condo
• Average holding period – to get a sense of ease of selling a 1 bedroom unit
• Average minimal downpayment requirement – to derive minimum capital required for investing in a 1 bedroom unit
• Return on equity – to understand the relationship between per dollar capital infused vs per dollar profit derived. Eg. 1 dollar capital infused brings back how much profit.

1. Are 1 Bedroom Condo Profitable?

As an opener, let’s address the elephant in the room, is a 1 bedroom condo still profitable? if profitable, how profitable?

Referencing table 1 presented for this section, below, from a gross profit standpoint, a 1 bedroom unit is still decently profitable, we see profits ranging between $118,000 in OCR and CCR and peaking at $127,000 in RCR.

Table 1. Gross Profit Generated By 1 Bedroom Condo Across Different Planning Districts

From a nett profit standpoint, referencing table 2, after accounting for the deduction of buyer stamp duty and legal fee incurred as part of the purchase transactional expense, we still see a average nett profit of $85,065 for CCR, $99,884 for OCR and $100,629 for RCR.

Table 2. Nett Profit Generated By 1 Bedroom Condo Across Different Planning Districts

Source: URA Private Property Transactions 

So, it can be concluded that there is an over-generalization in the on-going market narratives that assumes that all 1 bedroom condos are not profitable.

Case Study – Avoiding Unprofitable 1 Bedroom Condo

But one must still be mindful that extra due diligence must still be exercised when selecting 1 bedroom condo units, unlike larger 3 bedroom unit types which enjoy an entrenched buyer audience purchasing for home stay purpose. The 1 bedroom unit type is highly sensitive to specific attributes. Falling short from these attributes could easily lead to an unprofitable investment.

Referencing the Duo Residences as a case study, highlighted in the table below. Its 1 bedroom units feature key negative attributes that would lead to a 1 bedroom unit becoming an unprofitable investment.

1. Oversized 1 Bedroom Unit

The current modern 2025/2026, post GFA harmonisation, 1 bedroom unit size should not be more than 500 sqft, relative to a 2 bedroom unit averaging 600 sqft to 650 sqft.

The 1 bedroom unit in Duo Residences at 692 sqft is clearly oversized for its category. Layout efficiency aside, the over-sizing of the 1 bedroom unit result in a purchase quantum inflation issue, as the factoring of a larger square footage on a price per square feet pricing metrics results in an inflated purchase quantum.

2. Inflated Purchase Quantum

Carrying on with the previous section, an oversized 692 sqft one bedder multiplied by a price per square feet results in an inflated purchase quantum of $1.56 mil initial cost of purchase by its buyer, 4 years back in 2022. Relative to the price points of 2025/2026, you will be able to purchase a brand new 2 bedroom unit at $1.6mil.

This resulted in a built-in formula for unprofitability, without the intent of grave dancing on the losses of Duo Residences buyers, this serves as an important lesson for investors looking to invest in 1 bedroom condos.

1. Avoid oversized units, stick to units that are efficiently laid out and sized below 500sqft
2. Manage entry purchase quantum to ensure a significant gap versus comparable 2 bedroom units and seek to minimise gaps between comparable resale 1 bedroom units.

Average loss, size and purchase quantum for 1 bedroom condo in Duo Residences

2. Which planning districts / locations produces the most profitable 1 bedroom condo

Mentioned separately in our other research article on how to select 2 bedroom condo for investment, we highlighted the need to apply a different set of screening criteria for smaller 1 and 2 bedroom units, as the resale buying audience for these smaller units differs significantly for the conventional attributes valued by 3 bedroom resale buyers.

In this section, we dwell into the location factor that produces the most profitable 1 bedroom condo.

From our research, the RCR region which fringes the city center produces the most profitable 1 bedroom units.

The reason stems from the fact that it provides the optimal balance between proximity to city center which is a strong appeal to resale 1 bedroom buyers which are mostly lifestyle centric Singles and tenants that value proximity to city center and a balance in affordability in terms of purchase quantum.

On the flip side, a 1 bedder in CCR maximises conveniences but losses out in terms of affordability while a 1 bedder in OCR maximises affordability but losses out in terms of convenience and lifestyle appeal.

1 Bedroom Condo in RCR districts produces the most profits

1 Bedroom Condo in OCR region is the most capital efficient

Quantifying sheer profit generated is an important consideration, quantifying the capital efficiency is equally important.

Using return on equity as a metric, which tracks how much profit is being derived from a single dollar of your investment capital, is a useful lens to understand the productivity of your money and also how to limit the capital at risk to generate profit.

Using return on equity as a lens to review 1 bedroom condo across different planning districts brings about a different perspective.

While RCR produces the most profitable 1 bedroom units, OCR provides the opportunity to use the least capital to purchase a 1 bedroom unit to generate optimal profits.

Let’s put things into perspective using a case study in the section that follows.

1 Bedroom Condo in OCR districts is more capital efficient than 1 Bedroom Condo in RCR and CCR

Source: URA Private Property Transactions 

Case Study – Higher return on equity for 1 bedroom condo in OCR vs RCR

Using the following 3 developments spread across OCR, RCR and CCR as examples, you would see that average purchase quantum which is your initial cost of entry matters when you review 1 bedroom condo selection as investment targets. Optimising for the lost cost of entry while generating an optimal but not necessarily highest profit brings about the optimal return on equity, meaning you use 1 dollar of capital to generate the most profit.

In the example below, a 1 bedroom unit in Riverfront Residences in OCR would outperform both Normanton Park and Kopar at Newton in RCR and CCR, mainly because of its affordable $689,007 initial entry price which ended up generated a comparable average profit of $124,660 which is comparable to that of Normanton Park and Kopar at Newton.

3. Are 1 bedroom condo in new launch development more profitable than 1 bedroom condo in resale development?

One of the frequent recurring questions that most investors would have is whether a 1 bedroom condo in a new launch condo is a better investment that a 1 bedroom condo in a resale development.

As we are working on a smaller dataset, it is important for us to first put across the key principles of how to evaluate this consideration.

The most appropriate answer to this is that it really depends on the price gap between the 1 bedroom condo in the new launch condo versus the comparable 1 bedroom condo in the resale development. If the price gap is significant, meaning the resale development is significantly cheaper, but is attributed in terms of age, facilities, proximity to amenities does not lag behind then there is a cause of concern for the 1 bedroom unit in the new launch development.

Moving forward to address this question, to compare the “profitability” of a 1 bedroom unit in a New Launch Development vs a comparable Resale Development. We would need to go beyond simple average profit numbers and include two more time based metrics, one being “average holding duration” and two being “profit per year”.

This is important as you can hold on to a 1 bedroom condo investment in a resale development for 10 years and make $200k, compared to holding on to a 1 bedroom condo investment in a new launch development for 4 year and make $150k. Which would you quantify as a better investment?

Holding duration and profit per year metrics put this in check.

Referencing the 3 metrics and the table below, 1 bedroom units in 9 different locations, 1 bedroom condos in new launch development outperformed 1 bedroom condo in resale development across every location.

1 Bedroom Condo in new launch development is more profitable than resale development in every location

Source: URA Private Property Transactions 

Case study – Why 1 Bedroom Condo in New Launch Condo Performed Better Than 1 Bedroom Unit in Resale Condo

1 Bedroom condos in a new launch development will always fare better if the following factors persist.

1. If its overall size is more efficient smaller but with equally if not more efficient layout

Evident across all 3 examples highlighted below, all 3 NL developments have got significantly smaller but more efficient layout compared to comparable 1 bedroom units in comparable development in the same location.

2. Small purchase quantum gap

All 1 bedroom units in 3 new launch developments stated below have got overall purchase quantum that is lower or only marginally higher than the comparable resale development in the area.

3. Younger lease life

Coupled with the more affordable purchase quantum and younger lease life this set 1 bedroom condo apart from 1 bedroom unit in resale development.

But as shared earlier, this really depends on a case by case consideration.

If consideration between a new launch condo vs a resale condo is something that is top of mind, refer to dedicated research article inline.

4. Are 1 Bedroom Condos more profitable than 2 Bedroom Condos?

Given that the price gaps between 1 bedroom condo and 2 bedroom condo is narrowing, one potential consideration would be are 1 bedroom condo more profitable that 2 bedroom condo or more importantly can I make significantly more profit if I stretched my budget to purchase a 2 bedroom unit.

We will answer this question in 2 parts, first we will address if a 2 bedroom unit is significantly more profitable in this section.

Getting straight to the point, a 2 bedroom condo significantly outperforms a 1 bedroom condo.

Across all 3 key planning districts, the 2 bedroom condo generated double the profits as compared to 1 bedroom condos.

This could be attributed to 3 factor:

1. A stronger investment narrative propagating on ground in support of 2 bedroom units over 1 bedroom units
2. A narrowing of price gap between 2 bedroom units vs 1 bedroom units, making 2 bedroom units more affordable and 1 bedroom unit less affordable
3. A broader buyer pool with greater buying power. Dual income couple with no kids, possesses stronger buyer power as compared to a single and they prefer a 2 bedroom unit over a 1 bedroom condo. Hence providing the 2 bedroom unit type with a stronger pool of exit buyers.

2 Bedroom Condos generate greater profit per year than 1 Bedroom Condo

5. Are 1 Bedroom Condos more capital efficient than 2 Bedroom Condos?

Now that we have concluded that 1 Bedroom Condos are less profitable than 2 Bedroom condos let’s consider if 1 Bedroom condo, due to their lower purchase quantum can be more capital efficient than 2 Bedroom condo, from the perspective of return on equity considering if 1 dollar infused in a 1 bedroom unit can bring about similar if not more profit than a 2 bedroom unit.

Referencing the table below, the 2 bedroom unit type outperformed the 1 bedroom condo, From a return on equity perspective, the 2 bedroom condo outperformed 1 bedroom unit in all locations.

This simply meant that despite the higher purchase quantum of a 2 bedroom unit, it generates a disproportionately larger profit than a 1 bedroom unit making it more capital efficient that investing in a 1 bedroom unit.

To put things into perspective, investing 1 dollar of capital in a 1 bedroom unit brings about the following outcomes:

CCR

• 1 bedroom – $1.0 brings about $0.4 profit
• 2 bedroom – $1.0 brings about $0.6 profit

RCR

• 1 bedroom – $1.0 brings about $0.5 profit
• 2 bedroom – $1.0 brings about $0.7 profit

OCR

• 1 bedroom – $1.0 brings about $0.7 profit
• 2 bedroom – $1.0 brings about $1.0 profit

On a separate note if you are budget constrained and are looking for an affordable 1 bedroom units, review the separate article on best 1 bedroom condo between 1 and 1.2 million. 

2 Bedroom Condos is still more capital efficient than 1 Bedroom Condos despite higher purchase quantum

6. Does 1 Bedroom Condo produce higher rental yield than 2 Bedroom Condo?

There are generally 3 ways to make money from an investment property, core being profiting from the capital appreciation of a property, second, and often understated, being the accumulation of principal via the monthly repayment of mortgage using rental income and the last being, the accumulation of positive cashflow from rental income.

In this section we will evaluate if a 1 bedroom condo is a more efficient investment vehicle in generating rental income as compared to a 2 bedroom condo.

Using rental yield as a metric, 1 bedroom condos have proven to be more effective in generating higher rental yield than a 2 bedroom unit, this is largely attributed to its smaller purchase quantum as compared to a 2 bedroom unit.

From experience, another understated aspect for 1 bedroom condo is the greater ease in nurturing it towards positive cashflow, given that the purchase quantum is lower than a 2 bedroom unit, especially 1 bedroom units in selected resale development, the interest expense and overall monthly mortgage overheads tends to be lower as well, providing greater opportunity for positive cashflow.

1 Bedroom Condo generally provides higher rental yield than 2 Bedroom Condo

7. How much capital do you need to scale up your purchase from a 1 Bedroom Condo to a 2 Bedroom Condo?

Now given that 2 bedroom units have proven to be more profitable that a 1 bedroom unit, one potential question that many investors would have top of mind would be how much more incremental capital in terms of initial down payment and loan must I undertake to purchase a 2 bedroom unit.

To address this consideration, we will be using the latest 2025 new launch price points as benchmarks.

From the data gathered in the table below, to scale up your purchase from a 1 bedroom to a 2 bedroom unit, you will need to account for an incremental purchase quantum of between $200,000 to $300,000 which translates to a incremental downpayment of $40,000 to $65,000 and an incremental loan quantum of $120,000 to $195,000.

The narrowing of price gaps between 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom units in 2026

Source: Data.gov

Summary – Are 1 Bedroom Condos Good Investment?

Let’s round up the insights that we have gathered throughout this analysis into a strengths and weaknesses summary.

Strength

• 1 Bedroom Condo are still profitable investment property – 1 bedroom condos are still generally profitable, with sufficient due diligence placed into unit and development selection, 1 bedroom units can still prove to be an affordable means to make an entry into real estate investing.
• Greater ease towards creating positive cashflow from rental income – the combination of lower purchase quantum, leading to lower monthly mortgage payment, provides more leeway to generate positive cashflow from rental income after deducting monthly overheads.
• Lower Barrier of Entry – for second property investors looking to make an entry into an affordable 2nd investment property after decoupling their current property, selected 1 bedroom condo with an affordable entry price provides the opportunity for them to do so.

Weakness

• 1 Bedroom Condo underperformed against 2 Bedroom Condo – 2 Bedroom condo outperformed 1 bedroom condo in terms of average profit generation and also out performed in terms of return on equity, generating more profits with every dollar of capital invested.
• Face headwinds in terms of negative on-ground narrative – current on-ground narrative with negative sentiments being propagated against 1 bedroom unit work against it.
• Smaller exit buyer pool as compared to 2 bedroom condo – due to its size, dual income couple without kids would prioritise a 2 bedroom condo over 1 bedroom condo, resulting in a smaller exit buyer audience as compared to 2 bedroom condo.

Gain an Edge in 2026 by Preparing Well

Generating profit when investing in a new launch condo is 3 part rigor, 1 part chance.

From experience, starting cold and jumping into purchase subjects investors to the sway of self serving sales pitches and emotional purchase.

Start early with the following covered

• Knowing what’s in the pipeline and how you should prioritise
• Research ahead to know the pros and cons for each development
• Shaping your entry price and walkaway price for each development
• Jump starting your pattern recognition via on-ground visits to know what sells and what doesn’t sell

Make Independent decisions with objective information. Drop us text, if you like us to assist you with the preparation work.

More Relevant Read Pertaining to The Procurement of Investment Property

• Full Cost of Purchasing a Second Property in 2026 ?
• Should I decouple EC to buy 2nd investment property in 2026 ?
• Complete Guide to Buying a condo as a Single
• How much do you need to invest in a new launch condo in 2026 ?
• New Launch Condo vs. Resale Condo 2026

FAQ: Are 1 bedroom condos still a good investment in 2026?