Our leaning
75%
sell
25%
hold
Sell & invest
Keep the condo
We lean toward selling — but it's not a slam dunk. Here's why, explained simply.
The big picture
AI is changing who has a job
Artificial intelligence is getting very good at doing office work — writing reports, analysing data, handling customer enquiries, even finding security flaws in software. The kind of work that many well-paid professionals do today.
What this means: Over the next 5–10 years, many office professionals earning $15,000–$20,000 a month may find their jobs replaced or significantly reduced. These are exactly the people who buy five-room condos in Singapore.
If fewer people can afford to buy a condo like ours, the pool of buyers shrinks. When there are fewer buyers for something, the price comes under pressure.
The condo
Why the condo may lose its advantage
The people who buy condos like ours are at risk.
Mid-tier condos are bought by professionals with good salaries. That's the group most exposed to AI replacing their work.
The rental income is modest.
After maintenance fees, property tax, agent fees, and vacancy gaps, we're earning roughly 2.5% per year on the property's value. That's not much for the risk involved.
Selling takes months, not minutes.
If conditions change, we can't adjust quickly. Finding a buyer takes 3–6 months in a normal market, longer in a weak one.
The market is already cooling.
In early 2026, condo prices rose only 0.3% — the slowest in 6 quarters. And 40% fewer units were sold compared to the previous quarter. Buyers are pulling back.
The alternative
What we'd do with the money instead
Sell the condo, pay off the remaining loan, and put the money into a mix of investments that are spread across the world — not all in one property, one country, or one industry.
Think of it this way: Instead of having all our eggs in one basket (a single apartment), we'd own small pieces of thousands of the world's best companies, plus some gold and commodities as a safety net.
~5.5%
Condo's yearly return
(rent + price growth, best case)
7–9%
Investment portfolio's
expected yearly return
Global company shares (~68%).
Funds that hold shares in thousands of companies worldwide — from Apple and Microsoft to companies across Europe and Asia. If AI makes these companies more productive, we benefit directly.
Gold & commodities (~19%).
Physical gold and raw materials hold their value even when markets are turbulent or currencies lose purchasing power. This is our safety cushion.
Bonds (~12%).
Loans to governments and large organisations that pay steady interest. Lower returns, but they stabilise the portfolio during stock market dips.
Fully liquid.
Unlike the condo, we can sell any part of this portfolio within minutes if we need the money or want to change strategy.
Fair warning
Why we're not 100% sure
Selling is not risk-free either. Here are the honest reasons we're 75% confident, not 100%:
Stock markets can drop sharply in the short term.
Even if AI companies do well long-term, their share prices could fall 30–40% in a bad year. We'd need to sit tight and not panic during dips.
Rich foreigners might keep Singapore property prices up.
Wealthy people from around Asia see Singapore as a safe place to park money. That demand could prop up condo prices regardless of what happens to local professionals.
AI could cause disruptions that hurt stocks too.
If powerful AI causes major cyber incidents or economic shocks, global stock markets could suffer. In that scenario, a physical property in stable Singapore might actually be safer.
Timing is uncertain.
We might be right about the direction but early on the timeline. The condo could still grow 10–15% before the buyer pool starts shrinking. Being early costs opportunity.
Bottom line
So what should we do?
The core argument: We're holding a large, hard-to-sell asset whose future buyers are the people most likely to lose income to AI. Meanwhile, we could put that same money into a diversified, flexible portfolio that earns more and can be adjusted anytime.
The condo isn't in trouble today. But the window to sell at a good price — while buyers are still active and the market is functional — won't last forever. Selling within the next 12–18 months, while conditions are still reasonable, gives us the best balance of price and certainty.