Should you buy completed or uncompleted condos?
Are completed condos cheaper than uncompleted ones, and how big is the new-sale premium?
A completed condo is finished and has its TOP or CSC. A buyer of an uncompleted unit pays in stages, waits years for the keys and carries the market risk meanwhile. URA indices to 2013 Q1 show completed condos priced below uncompleted ones in 32 of 58 quarters. For the years after 2012 it compares new sales with resales.
MemberKey figures
Completed condos often traded below uncompleted ones; new launches cost far more than resales
URA indices 1998 Q4 to 2013 Q1; median psf from URA transaction records, 2021 Q4 to 2026 Q3
Members see the full chart. The data table and CSV download are for members too. See plans
Source: URA condominium price indices (archive data series); medians computed from URA transaction records. Computed from the index series and from psf_sale_type_nonlanded (new-sale median over resale median). The average gap in tile 2 is typed.. Preview only: the full chart, table and CSV are for members. Preview of the first part (to 2026 Q3). The full chart, table and CSV are for members.
Licence: amber class. Medians and counts only: no unit-level data.
FreeFlowchart
You carry the market risk from the day you sign until the building is finished
Diagram. Uncompleted means the building is not finished yet
Source: PropInsights diagram of the life of a new project.
View the data as a table
| Step | Detail | Leads to |
|---|---|---|
| Land | Developer buys. a site | New launch |
| New launch | You pick a unit. and sign | Construction; What you gain |
| Construction | You pay in. stages | TOP or CSC; What you risk |
| TOP or CSC | Building is. finished | Completed |
| Completed | Move in, rent. out or resell | What you get |
| What you gain | Wider choice of. unit and floor | |
| What you risk | Market can change. before keys | |
| What you get | You see what you buy. and the keys come soon |
FreeLine chart
Completed condos traded up to 13.9% below uncompleted ones, then caught up by 2013
Condominium price index (PPI), completed and uncompleted, 1998 Q4 = 100, quarterly, 1998 Q4 to 2013 Q1
Source: URA condominium price indices (completed and uncompleted) via the archive data series, compiled by PropInsights, 2013. No later data: the series end in 2013 Q1.. Data to 2013 Q1.
Licence: amber class.
View the data as a table
| Period | Completed | Uncompleted |
|---|---|---|
| 1998-Q4 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999-Q1 | 107 | 107 |
| 1999-Q2 | 118 | 118 |
| 1999-Q3 | 128 | 127 |
| 1999-Q4 | 137 | 131 |
| 2000-Q1 | 143 | 136 |
| 2000-Q2 | 143 | 141 |
| 2000-Q3 | 137 | 137 |
| 2000-Q4 | 131 | 134 |
| 2001-Q1 | 129 | 128 |
| 2001-Q2 | 128 | 128 |
| 2001-Q3 | 124 | 125 |
| 2001-Q4 | 119 | 117 |
| 2002-Q1 | 119 | 115 |
| 2002-Q2 | 118 | 115 |
| 2002-Q3 | 120 | 114 |
| 2002-Q4 | 119 | 114 |
| 2003-Q1 | 117 | 114 |
| 2003-Q2 | 116 | 113 |
| 2003-Q3 | 115 | 112 |
| 2003-Q4 | 114 | 112 |
| 2004-Q1 | 113 | 111 |
| 2004-Q2 | 112 | 111 |
| 2004-Q3 | 112 | 112 |
| 2004-Q4 | 113 | 112 |
| 2005-Q1 | 114 | 113 |
| 2005-Q2 | 114 | 114 |
| 2005-Q3 | 115 | 116 |
| 2005-Q4 | 116 | 120 |
| 2006-Q1 | 116 | 122 |
| 2006-Q2 | 118 | 124 |
| 2006-Q3 | 122 | 127 |
| 2006-Q4 | 123 | 133 |
| 2007-Q1 | 128 | 144 |
| 2007-Q2 | 142 | 155 |
| 2007-Q3 | 155 | 167 |
| 2007-Q4 | 163 | 181 |
| 2008-Q1 | 170 | 186 |
| 2008-Q2 | 172 | 186 |
| 2008-Q3 | 168 | 181 |
| 2008-Q4 | 158 | 168 |
| 2009-Q1 | 134 | 146 |
| 2009-Q2 | 126 | 139 |
| 2009-Q3 | 141 | 164 |
| 2009-Q4 | 153 | 170 |
| 2010-Q1 | 163 | 180 |
| 2010-Q2 | 169 | 189 |
| 2010-Q3 | 172 | 189 |
| 2010-Q4 | 174 | 193 |
| 2011-Q1 | 179 | 196 |
| 2011-Q2 | 183 | 197 |
| 2011-Q3 | 188 | 197 |
| 2011-Q4 | 190 | 197 |
| 2012-Q1 | 188 | 197 |
| 2012-Q2 | 193 | 193 |
| 2012-Q3 | 194 | 193 |
| 2012-Q4 | 199 | 194 |
| 2013-Q1 | 200 | 195 |
MemberLine chart
New condos sold 45% above resale psf in 2026 Q3, against 23% on average to 2012
Median price per square foot (S$), non-landed private homes, by sale type; mix-driven, not quality-adjusted. No data 2012 Q2 to 2021 Q3
A new sale is a purchase from a developer. A resale is the sale of a unit by an earlier owner. Medians move with what happens to sell.
Source: Median psf computed from URA transaction records (non-landed private, new sale and resale), 1995 Q1 to 2012 Q1 and 2021 Q4 to 2026 Q3. Gap: no unit-level data for 2012 Q2 to 2021 Q3.. Preview only: the full chart, table and CSV are for members. Preview of the first part (to 2012 Q1). The full chart, table and CSV are for members.
Medians and counts only: no unit-level data.