Investing

Investing — yield, holding power and the exit

For households treating property as part of a longer plan, rather than as a home.

Investment property is judged on different criteria from a home. The unit you would love to live in and the unit that lets quickly and sells easily are often not the same unit.

These notes focus on the three things that actually determine the outcome: what it yields after real costs, whether you can carry it through a vacancy, and who buys it from you later.

What this covers

The questions worth settling first

Net yield, not gross

After maintenance, property tax, agent commission, repairs and a realistic vacancy assumption.

Holding power

Whether you could service the property for twelve months with no rental income at all.

ABSD and structure

What a second property actually costs upfront, and why decoupling is rarely the shortcut it appears to be.

Exit liquidity

Who the eventual buyer is, how many similar units they will be choosing from, and how long that usually takes.

Start here

Investing

Rental yield, holding power, entry price and exit liquidity for people treating property as part of a longer plan.

All investing articles

Investing

Rental Yield: What Actually Counts, And What Gets Left Out

Gross yield is a headline. Net yield — after maintenance, property tax, agent fees, vacancy and income tax — is the number that decides whether a property carries itself.

9 Jul 20263 min read

Common questions

Is Singapore property still a good investment?

That question cannot be answered generally, and I would be suspicious of anyone who answers it quickly. It depends on entry price, holding period, financing cost, your tax position and what you are comparing it against. What I can say is that the households who do well with property are usually the ones who could comfortably hold it through a bad year.

Should I buy a smaller unit for higher yield?

Smaller units often show a higher gross yield, but they also tend to face more direct competition when letting and when selling, since there are more of them and they are less differentiated. Gross yield is one input. Tenant depth and exit liquidity are the ones that decide how the position feels in a slow market.

New insights, when they're worth sending

Occasional emails when I publish something useful. No listings, no blasts.