Introduction
The predominant focus on evaluating a condos investment potential typically revolves around its macro factors i.e proximity to reputable school, proximity to mrt, potential demand from upgraders and ura transformation.
But in actual fact, there are micro factors that play a pivotal role in making or breaking property’s resale potential.
It’s layout or floor plan.
Your condo’s floor plan is one of the most underrated drivers of resale value. It can trigger objections during the resale process and that affect how quickly your unit sells, and at what price.
This article dive deep into floor plan attributes. We’ll break down what attributes drive resale demand and what are the red flags to avoid.
Quick intro – Decoupling Expertise
Quick introduction, before you decide to commit the next 5 mins reading this article.
We are decoupling expertise, a team of specialist realtors that specialise in helping Singapore property owners derive the best strategy to purchase their second investment property without ABSD.
While decoupling property is often the go-to strategy that property owners adopt. We pride ourselves for helping our client explore and evaluate other alternatives that best suit individual circumstances and objectives.
Drop us a text to explore the best strategy to minimise ABSD on your next property purchase.
Positive Floor Plan Attributes
If you’re serious about capital gains, you need to start with the end in mind, your future buyer.
Every buyer type has a different set of needs. And if your unit’s layout doesn’t match those needs, it will struggle to attain product market fit.
As an example, if your exit buyers are HDB upgraders with children, they’ll look out for the following in a unit’s floorplan
- An enclosed kitchen for daily cooking
- A proper yard for laundry
- And a utility room that can double as a helper’s room or storage
A layout that lacks these will face resistance, no matter how new or well-located the development is.
On the flip side, if you’re buying a 2-bedder in a CCR project targeting affluent couples without kids, their priorities differ significantly.
Daily practicality takes a back seat. What they care more about is the view, the exclusivity of the address, or having a layout that facilitates gatherings and entertaining guests.
So, the key is product-market fit — matching the unit’s layout to your buyer profile.
In the sections that follow, we’ll break down the specific floor plan attributes that are key to driving stronger resale demand and capital gain potential.
Attribute 1: Enclosed Kitchen
Why an Enclosed Kitchen Matters
Whether or not an enclosed kitchen is a dealbreaker depends heavily on the profile of you exit buyer.
For 2-Bedroom Units
In 2-bedders, especially in CCR or central RCR projects, the target buyer is usually a couple without kids. They don’t cook often, so you might assume an enclosed kitchen isn’t a deal breaker.
But here’s what we’ve seen on the ground: even if they don’t use it much, many still appreciate the compartmentalization an enclosed kitchen offers.
It creates a clearer separation between the kitchen, living room, and balcony. This spatial segmentation gives a stronger sense of order and privacy, which makes the unit feel more liveable.
It’s not just about utility, it is psychological.
So while an enclosed kitchen isn’t mandatory for a 2-bedder, it’s definitely a strong bonus. It helps differentiate your 2 bedroom unit from other 2 bedders within the development that do not have an enclosed kitchen.
For 3-Bedroom Units
In 3-bedders, an enclosed kitchen is no longer optional, it’s a mandatory requirement .
These units are almost always bought by families. Whether they’re cooking themselves or have a helper doing the cooking. They expect an enclosed kitchen to keep cooking smell and grease from drifting into the living room and clinging onto furniture or laundry that are out for drying.
An open-concept kitchen in a 3-bedder will raise instant objections. It limits your buyer pool and reduces perceived livability.
If you’re investing in a 3-bedder, whether in the OCR, RCR, or even CCR, an enclosed kitchen is non-negotiable.
Bad Example: Sant Ritz
From our experience helping our client procure investment properties. The 3 bedroom unit at Sant Ritz stands out as an example, whereby the lack of an enclosed kitchen drives strong objection from resale buyers.
The 3-bedders come with an open kitchen and a large proportion of space allocated to balconies instead of functional areas like a proper yard or kitchen. As a result, resale performance lags behind neighbouring condos with enclosed kitchens and more efficient layouts.
Sant Ritz 3 Bedroom Unit floor plan without enclosed kitchen
Good Example : Bartley Residences
On the flipside, Bartley Residences 3 bedroom unit sees strong buyer appeal due to its kitchen layout.
Its 3 bedroom unit consists of a spacious enclosed kitchen with gas stove, window for ventilation, and a proper yard area that includes a helper’s room, all highly valued by family buyers.
Bartley Residences floor plan with enclosed kitchen
Enclosed Kitchen the leads to a dry kitchen
Waterbay EC: A 3-bedder layout that includes both a wet and dry kitchen. The enclosed wet kitchen opens into a dry kitchen island space, offering versatility and impressive presentation value.
Waterbay EC floor plan with dry kitchen
2 bedroom with enclosed Kitchen
The Florence Residences: Their 721 sqft 2-bedder premium units come with enclosed kitchens. Only two stacks offer this configuration, and they’ve consistently been well-received by buyers.
Florence Residences 2 bedroom unit with enclosed kitchen
When enclosed kitchen did not matter as much.
This is a case where not having enclosed kitchens didn’t hurt resale value.
At The Reef, most of the 2-bedders did not come with an enclosed kitchen. But resale performance has still been strong.
Why? Because the target buyer, predominantly affluent couples looking to live near the Harbourfront area — aren’t looking to cook much. For them, a sea view, lifestyle amenities, and exclusivity rank far
Small Details That Matter
- Amount of cabinet storage space in the kitchen
- Windows in the kitchen for ventilation
- Gas stove over induction stove
Attribute 2: Utility Room That Can Double Up as a Helper’s Room
Why It Matters for Larger Units
Buyers shopping for larger 3, 4 and 5-bedroom condos are often home stayers with kids. And where there are young children, there’s often a helper.
These buyers look to avoid giving up one of the bedrooms to house their helper. They are often looking at an utility room that can double up as a helper’s room.
This is especially important in both the RCR and OCR markets, where a large proportion of buyers are HDB upgraders.
It’s Also About Storage
Families with kids come with a serious need for more storage space. There are strollers, bicycles and luggage that needs to be stove away.
On the ground, we see demand for decent-sized utility room where a bunk bed can be fitted for the helper with floor space below the bed to tuck bulky items underneath.
Ventilation Is Key
Some nuances to look out for in a utility room
- Have a small window of its own, or
- Be connected to a yard space that has natural ventilation
Case in Point: Jadescape
Take Jadescape as an example.
The compact 3-bedroom units without a utility room have seen more muted resale performance. In contrast, the larger 1,000+ sqft units with a proper utility room tend to command higher resale demand and better profit margins.
Jadescape 3 Bedroom compact vs 3 Bedroom with utility Room
Attribute 3: Reasonably Sized Balcony
Why Balcony Size Matters
A balcony is a feature that is well received by resale buyers but too much of it can work against you.
Ideally, you are looking at a single, well-sized balcony that is large enough to fit a dining table.
On the flip side it becomes a problem and triggers objections when a unit has multiple smaller sized balconies extending from its living room and master bedroom or have oversized balconies that are connected between the living room and the bedrooms.
We’ve seen many layouts where there’s a main balcony in the living room, a second one in the master bedroom, and sometimes even a third in the common bedroom.
This becomes an issue when buyers feel that there is a disproportionate amount of non-liveable space in the unit and they have to spend thousands to install zip tracks to make the space usable.
Don’t Fall for the Marketing Pitch
Agents often position the balconies as a lifestyle feature, a fresco dining area, yoga deck or a garden.
But here’s the reality: after a year or two, the novelty wears off. Singapore’s heat and humidity wins.
What you’re left with is square footage that looks good on paper but delivers no real utility. That’s a red flag for future buyers.
Bad Examples
Sky Habitat: Roughly 20% of its livable area is allocated to balconies.
Sky Habitat 3 Bedroom unit floor plan with oversized balconies
Sant Ritz: A 3-bedder unit here comes with three balconies — one in the living room, one in the master, and another in the second bedroom.
Sant Ritz 3 Bedroom floor plan with multiple balconies
Good Example: Waterbay EC
Waterbay EC offers a more balanced layout — one good-sized balcony in the living room, and that’s it.
Waterbay EC with good sized balcony
Attribute 4: The Layout of the Living Room
Why Living Room Layout Matters
When it comes to daily living and resale appeal, the layout of the living room plays a bigger role than most buyers realise. It is often the most frequently used living area aside from the bedrooms.
From our experience, there is a strong preference for landscape layouts over portrait layouts.
A landscape layout stretches wide and opens toward the balcony. It creates a perception of brightness and space.
On the other hand, a rectangular portrait layout — where the room is long and narrow — feels tight, creating a tiger and more claustrophobic feel.
Furniture Configuration Flexibility
Another key advantage of landscape layouts is flexibility of furniture configuration. There are more options to explore in terms of where you place your sofa, dining table and TV console.
Portrait layouts, on the other hand, often restricts options when it comes to furniture configurations.
Examples from the Ground
The Scala: Well-loved for its generous landscape living room layout. The space opens up beautifully to the balcony.
The Scala 3 bedroom floor plan with landscape living room layout
Forest Woods: A tighter, rectangular portrait layout. During on-site viewings, buyers often comment that the living space feels constricted, despite the overall unit size being decent.
Forest Woods Residences 3 Bedroom floor plan with rectangular layout
Attribute 5: The Size of the Bedrooms
Why Bedroom Size Requires On-ground Validation
Just because a unit is marketed as a “3-bedroom” or “2-bedroom” doesn’t mean every room is functional.
During on-ground viewings or when reviewing floor plans, one of the first things you should validate is the actual size of the bedrooms, especially the common ones.
It’s common for developers to compress bedroom sizes to keep the overall unit size and quantum attractive. But issues arise when the common bedroom sizes are too small to meet its functional needs..
Common Issues We See on the Ground
We’ve come across many layouts where:
- A common bedroom can barely fit a single bed
- Once a bed is in, there’s no space for a proper study desk
- In some cases, these rooms feel more like nooks to double up as a study room instead of a actual bedrooms
And that becomes a problem for families with plans of using the bedroom to house their kids.
Real Examples That Caught Buyers Off-Guard
Kingsford Waterbay: Marketed as an 958 sqft 3-bedder at an attractive price, close to a 2 bedroom unit price. But during physical viewings, buyers were surprised to find that one of the “bedrooms” could hardly fit a bed. In reality, it’s more of a 2-plus-study layout than a true 3-bedroom unit.
A unit with floor plan like this often attracts lots of enquiry for viewing due to its attractive pricing but faced the challenge of converting viewings to viable offer, as the undersized common bedroom does not fit into the use case of a 3 bedroom unit buyer.
Floor Plan Attributes That Will Negatively Impact Resale Demand and Capital Gain Potential
Now that we’ve covered the floor plan features that can drive demand and boost your capital gain potential…
It’s just as important to look at the red flags to avoid.
Spotting these early in a new launch floor plan or during a resale viewing can help you avoid costly investment errors.
Negative Attribute 1: Odd Shaped Living Room Layout
One of the biggest red flags when evaluating a floor plan is an irregular-shaped living room.
We’re talking about layouts that are curved, angled and not regularly shaped. These are commonly found in developments that try to stand out with unique architectural designs — but they often come at the expense of practicality.
Take One Pearl Bank for example. Its circular floor plates lead to curved walls and awkward room layouts. Sofa placement, TV alignment, even basic cabinet installation becomes a challenge.
These uniquely shaped layouts may look impressive in a custom designed showroom but often fall short during the actual resale viewing, when buyers are prioritising practicality.
One Pearl Bank floor plan with circular layout
Negative Attribute 2: West-Facing Unit
One of the most common deal-breakers for resale buyers? A west-facing unit.
It doesn’t matter how beautiful the layout is or how great the view might be — if the unit is fully west-facing, most buyers will hesitate due to exposure to the afternoon sun.
You can attest to this if you have lived in a unit that faces the afternoon sun. From 2pm onwards, the full force of the sun hits the west-facing walls and windows. The entire unit heats up, and walls retain that heat well into the evening.
We’ve personally brought clients to view units with stunning layouts, unblocked views, and ideal configurations, only for them to reject the unit the moment they realise it’s west-facing.
If you have options, choose a unit that avoids direct afternoon sun exposure.
Negative Attribute 3: Units That Are on the Low Floor
Floor level matters more than most people think, especially when it comes to resale demand.
There’s a clear psychological threshold that most buyers have. Units below the 6th floor tend to fall outside of what buyers find acceptable, unless the price is significantly discounted. In many cases, level 6 and above is the unofficial starting point for “safe” resale demand.
Low-floor units, especially those on level 2, 3, or close to ground and are often ranked last in buyer shortlists.
If your goal is capital appreciation, avoid low-floor units. Prioritise anything above the buyer comfort threshold, look out for units that start from the 6th floor or higher.
And here’s a tip for new launch buyers: be extra careful with developments where the lowest unit starts on level 4. The 5th floor unit might actually be the second lowest floor.
Negative Attribute 4: Units That Are Facing the Main Road
Another resale red flag that consistently shows up during on-ground viewings — road-facing units.
Buyers tend to reject units that directly face the main road, especially if it’s a busy one. The biggest complaint? Noise.
While developers often try to offset this with lower pricing, major road facing unit still remain a major push back from resale buyers.
Negative Attribute 5: Dual Key Unit
This one might be controversial, but it is worth taking note of.
Dual key units, while often marketed as high-yield investment assets, come with real challenges in the resale market.
On paper, they look great. Two separate living spaces under one title. You get flexibility to live in one and rent out the other or rent out both to maximise rental income.
But in actual resale scenarios, we’ve seen buyer objections due to challenges with the floor plan. As net liveable space is being compromised when additional space needs to be allocated to common walkway, foyers and additional kitchen to cater for the separate sub unit with the dual key setup.
We’ve written a separate article that dives deep into the profitability of dual key units, refer to link inline.
Negative Attribute 6: Private Lift
Here’s another controversial one, private lifts.
Private lifts often come with a notion of prestige and exclusivity. But if your main goal is capital appreciation, not prestige, you may want to avoid them.
Private lifts come with several practical downsides that often get overlooked during the initial purchase, but surface sharply during resale:
- The sacrifice of liveable space for lift foyer
- Higher maintenance fees are charged to upkeep the private lift
For practical homestay buyers, especially families, these could be seen as unnecessary compromise to the liveable space that they are paying for
We’ve seen this first-hand in projects like Thomson Grand, where 3-bedroom units are served by two lifts. While impressive on paper, a large portion of the unit’s internal floor area is lost to the lift lobby.
Thomson Grand floor plan with private lift and lift foyer
Negative Attribute 7: Excessive Bay Windows and Large Planter Boxes
This is a common issue in older condo developments.
From a buyer’s perspective, they’re paying for square footage that doesn’t serve a functional purpose. These non liveable square footage inflate purchase quantum without adding value to a unit’s liveability.
The Sail’s 2 Bedroom units with large oversized bay windows and planter boxes
Understanding the Post-GFA Harmonization Floor Plan
When reviewing floor plans today, one key distinction you need to understand is whether the layout follows pre-GFA or post-GFA harmonization guidelines.
What is GFA Harmonization?
GFA harmonization as covered in one of our earlier articles. GFA harmonisation refers to URA’s move to standardize how gross floor area is calculated.
Under the old system, certain square footage allocated to balconies, aircon ledges, planter boxes were excluded from GFA. This meant developers didn’t get charged for building them but they could still market and sell these spaces as part of the unit’s square footage.
With GFA harmonization, these “bonus” spaces are now counted as part of the official GFA. That means developers are charged for them, and can’t inflate unit sizes with large non-livable areas with the goal of maximising profits.
Why This Matters for Investors
With post-GFA harmonization units, what you see is much closer to what you actually get. You’re less likely to end up with a layout bloated with unusable space like oversized balconies or ledges.
On the flip side, pre-GFA harmonization layouts might look more spacious on paper — but you’ll need to dig deeper to see how much of that space is truly liveable.
Investor Checklist: Items You Need to Check in a Floor Plan
| Attribute | What to Check | Why It Matters |
| Enclosed Kitchen | Especially important for 3-bedroom units. | Essential for family buyers who need a proper cooking space. |
| Utility Room | Should be usable as a helper’s room and storage area. | Adds practicality and appeals to family demographics. |
| Balcony Size | Should be functional, not excessive or fragmented. | Oversized balconies reduce usable indoor space. |
| Living Room Layout | Look for landscape (wider) layout over portrait (narrow) layout. | Landscape layouts feel more spacious and flexible. |
| Non-Master Bedroom Size | Should fit at least a super-single bed and a study table. | Critical for families with children. |
| Unit Orientation | Avoid west-facing units. | Afternoon sun creates heat issues and increases cooling costs. |
| Floor Level | Aim for units above the 6th floor, or at least above the project’s ground threshold. | Low floors face weaker resale demand and lower privacy. |
| Facing | Avoid units that face a main road. | Road noise can be a strong resale deterrent. |
| Dual Key Layout | Only choose if your target buyer values it. | Challenges with allocation of square footage to common foyers and additional kitchen for subunit. |
FAQ
What is a good floor plan for condo investment?
A good floor plan has an enclosed kitchen, functional bedroom sizes, minimal wasted space on balconies or bay windows, and caters to the needs of the expected exit buyer.
What makes a condo unit hard to sell?
Units with west-facing exposure, low-floor location, excessive balconies, odd-shaped layouts, and niche configurations like dual key or private lift foyers can possess significant challenge during the resale process.
Are dual key units a good investment?
They may generate better rental yield but can be harder to sell due to limited buyer pool and less efficient layout.
What is GFA harmonization and why does it matter?
GFA harmonization refers to the standardization of how gross floor area is measured. It prevents developers from developing units with oversized unusable spaces like large balconies or air con ledges.
Should I avoid west-facing condo units?
Yes, especially in Singapore’s climate. Afternoon heat makes them less desirable.
