Selling your flat for a 3 bedroom condo in the same area: how much more does it cost?

A 3 bedroom condo resells for more than two and a half times the price of a 4-room flat in the same planning area: 2.75 times in the typical area, over the 12 months to September 2026. This note compares homes in the same planning area, so it measures what it costs to stay in your area. The multiple runs from 2.19 times in Queenstown to 5.01 times in Marine Parade.

In dollars, the amount a family must add has grown in every one of the 26 areas since 2017, to $1.27m in the typical area from $786,000. As a multiple of the flat's price it has barely moved, 2.71 times in 2017 against 2.75 now: the two prices rose together, so the flat covers about the same share of the condo, but the gap left to fund is far larger in dollars.

From a 5-room flat the step is smaller: 2.26 times and $1.05m in the typical area, against 2.23 times and $669,000 in 2017.

What is in this note

• How much more does a 3 bedroom cost than a 4-room flat?: the two prices, the dollar gap and the multiple in each planning area, now and in 2017.
• And than a 5-room flat?: the same comparison for a 5-room flat.
• And than an executive flat?: the same comparison for an executive flat, in the areas where enough sell.

How much more does a 3 bedroom cost than a 4-room flat?

Find your planning area. The gap is what the 3 bedroom costs above the flat; the multiple is how many times the flat's price it costs.

The typical area is the middle one of the 26 planning areas that have both, ranked on that figure; each figure is ranked on its own, so the typical gap and the typical multiple can come from different areas.

Planning area	4-room flat	3 bedroom condo	Gap	Multiple	Gap in 2017	Multiple in 2017
Ang Mo Kio	$615,000	$2,000,000	$1,385,000	3.25	$767,000	2.64
Bedok	$593,000	$1,950,000	$1,357,000	3.29	$862,000	3.06
Bishan	$788,000	$2,549,000	$1,761,000	3.23	$1,054,000	2.86
Bukit Batok	$630,000	$1,900,000	$1,270,000	3.02	$806,000	3.01
Bukit Merah	$935,000	$2,550,000	$1,615,000	2.73	$1,205,000	2.77
Bukit Panjang	$570,000	$1,929,000	$1,359,000	3.38	$905,000	3.48
Bukit Timah	$938,000	$2,850,000	$1,912,000	3.04	$1,188,000	2.77
Choa Chu Kang	$555,000	$1,370,000	$815,000	2.47	$565,000	2.64
Clementi	$822,000	$2,160,000	$1,339,000	2.63	$895,000	2.64
Downtown Core	$870,000	$3,100,000	$2,230,000	3.56	$1,558,000	2.90
Geylang	$740,000	$2,055,000	$1,315,000	2.78	$715,000	2.47
Hougang	$619,000	$1,744,000	$1,126,000	2.82	$762,000	2.96
Jurong East	$548,000	$1,619,000	$1,071,000	2.95	$643,000	2.53
Jurong West	$535,000	$1,810,000	$1,275,000	3.38	$837,000	3.31
Kallang	$905,000	$2,300,000	$1,395,000	2.54	$1,047,000	2.96
Marine Parade	$647,000	$3,243,000	$2,595,000	5.01	$1,600,000	4.08
Pasir Ris	$635,000	$1,580,000	$945,000	2.49	$588,000	2.47
Punggol	$680,000	$1,760,000	$1,080,000	2.59	$606,000	2.37
Queenstown	$1,028,000	$2,250,000	$1,222,000	2.19	$760,000	2.08
Sembawang	$600,000	$1,600,000	$1,000,000	2.67	$685,000	2.97
Sengkang	$640,000	$1,663,000	$1,023,000	2.60	$684,000	2.65
Serangoon	$660,000	$2,100,000	$1,440,000	3.18	$971,000	3.19
Tampines	$665,000	$1,730,000	$1,065,000	2.60	$603,000	2.40
Toa Payoh	$1,000,000	$2,250,000	$1,250,000	2.25	$925,000	2.55
Woodlands	$550,000	$1,367,000	$817,000	2.48	$571,000	2.66
Yishun	$550,000	$1,295,000	$745,000	2.35	$517,000	2.48
Typical area			$1,273,000	2.75	$786,000	2.71

Against 2017, the gap is larger in all 26 areas. The multiple is higher in 12, lower in 9 and within 0.05 of 2017's in 5.

And than a 5-room flat?

Planning area	5-room flat	3 bedroom condo	Gap	Multiple	Gap in 2017	Multiple in 2017
Ang Mo Kio	$995,000	$2,000,000	$1,005,000	2.01	$567,000	1.85
Bedok	$795,000	$1,950,000	$1,155,000	2.45	$711,000	2.25
Bishan	$970,000	$2,549,000	$1,579,000	2.63	$841,000	2.08
Bukit Batok	$810,000	$1,900,000	$1,090,000	2.35	$665,000	2.23
Bukit Merah	$1,065,000	$2,550,000	$1,485,000	2.39	$1,137,000	2.52
Bukit Panjang	$696,000	$1,929,000	$1,233,000	2.77	$802,000	2.71
Bukit Timah	$1,108,000	$2,850,000	$1,743,000	2.57	$1,045,000	2.29
Choa Chu Kang	$670,000	$1,370,000	$700,000	2.04	$500,000	2.22
Clementi	$1,160,000	$2,160,000	$1,000,000	1.86	$712,000	1.98
Downtown Core	$1,473,000	$3,100,000	$1,627,000	2.10	$1,416,000	2.47
Geylang	$917,000	$2,055,000	$1,139,000	2.24	$563,000	1.88
Hougang	$785,000	$1,744,000	$959,000	2.22	$674,000	2.41
Jurong East	$715,000	$1,619,000	$904,000	2.26	$539,000	2.03
Jurong West	$635,000	$1,810,000	$1,175,000	2.85	$740,000	2.61
Kallang	$969,000	$2,300,000	$1,331,000	2.37	$870,000	2.23
Marine Parade	$979,000	$3,243,000	$2,264,000	3.31	$1,278,000	2.52
Pasir Ris	$732,000	$1,580,000	$848,000	2.16	$513,000	2.08
Punggol	$780,000	$1,760,000	$980,000	2.26	$610,000	2.39
Queenstown	$1,232,000	$2,250,000	$1,018,000	1.83	$641,000	1.78
Sembawang	$640,000	$1,600,000	$960,000	2.50	$625,000	2.53
Sengkang	$700,000	$1,663,000	$963,000	2.38	$659,000	2.50
Serangoon	$830,000	$2,100,000	$1,270,000	2.53	$895,000	2.72
Tampines	$810,000	$1,730,000	$920,000	2.14	$498,000	1.93
Toa Payoh	$1,050,000	$2,250,000	$1,200,000	2.14	$674,000	1.79
Woodlands	$655,000	$1,367,000	$712,000	2.09	$501,000	2.21
Yishun	$690,000	$1,295,000	$605,000	1.88	$400,000	1.86
Typical area			$1,054,000	2.26	$669,000	2.23

Against 2017, the gap is larger in all 26 areas. The multiple is higher in 14, lower in 9 and within 0.05 of 2017's in 3.

A 4-room owner faces a larger gap than a 5-room owner in every area, because the flat is cheaper while the condo is the same.

And than an executive flat?

Executive flats resold in enough numbers in 19 areas.

Planning area	Executive flat	3 bedroom condo	Gap	Multiple	Gap in 2017	Multiple in 2017
Bedok	$1,010,000	$1,950,000	$940,000	1.93	$575,000	1.82
Bishan	$1,293,000	$2,549,000	$1,256,000	1.97	$714,000	1.79
Bukit Batok	$868,000	$1,900,000	$1,032,000	2.19	$558,000	1.86
Bukit Panjang	$850,000	$1,929,000	$1,079,000	2.27	$685,000	2.17
Choa Chu Kang	$835,000	$1,370,000	$535,000	1.64	$375,000	1.70
Geylang	$1,070,000	$2,055,000	$985,000	1.92	$425,000	1.55
Hougang	$970,000	$1,744,000	$774,000	1.80	$500,000	1.77
Jurong East	$935,000	$1,619,000	$684,000	1.73	$354,000	1.50
Jurong West	$784,000	$1,810,000	$1,026,000	2.31	$640,000	2.14
Kallang	$994,000	$2,300,000	$1,306,000	2.31	$785,000	1.99
Pasir Ris	$926,000	$1,580,000	$654,000	1.71	$385,000	1.64
Punggol	$833,000	$1,760,000	$928,000	2.11	$498,000	1.90
Sembawang	$751,000	$1,600,000	$849,000	2.13	$558,000	2.17
Sengkang	$845,000	$1,663,000	$818,000	1.97	$544,000	1.98
Serangoon	$1,105,000	$2,100,000	$995,000	1.90	$714,000	2.02
Tampines	$980,000	$1,730,000	$750,000	1.77	$383,000	1.59
Toa Payoh	$988,000	$2,250,000	$1,262,000	2.28	$673,000	1.79
Woodlands	$918,000	$1,367,000	$449,000	1.49	$331,000	1.57
Yishun	$900,000	$1,295,000	$395,000	1.44	$280,000	1.48
Typical area			$928,000	1.93	$544,000	1.79

Against 2017, the gap is larger in all 19 areas. The multiple is higher in 12, lower in 3 and within 0.05 of 2017's in 4.

What this tells you

Moving from an HDB flat to a 3 bedroom condo in the same planning area takes a far larger sum in dollars than it did in 2017, in every area: the typical step from a 4-room flat is $1.27m against $786,000, and from a 5-room flat $1.05m against $669,000. Measured against the flat, it has barely changed. A family whose flat rose with the market holds about the same share of the condo's price as a family did in 2017, and needs a much larger loan, or more savings, for the rest.

The smaller the flat, the larger the step: a 4-room owner needs more than a 5-room owner to reach the same condo.

What this does not tell you

• Whether a household can make the move. That depends on the loan still owed on the flat, the CPF the sale must refund, the cash the purchase needs and when, and the income the new loan needs. A later note in this series works through it.
• What moving to a cheaper area costs. Every comparison is within one planning area. A household that moves faces a different gap.
• One household's trade. Each figure is a median of what sold. The flats and condos in an area differ in age, size and position, and the typical flat seller does not buy the typical condo.
• New launches. Only resales are compared. A new 3 bedroom costs more than a resale 3 bedroom, as what a 3 bedroom costs shows.
• Executive condominiums. They are left out of every figure. In 5 outer areas most 3 bedroom resales are executive condominiums, so the condo median there rests on fewer sales.
• Prices adjusted for inflation. Both years are in nominal dollars.

Method and data notes

Flats: HDB resale prices for 4-room, 5-room and executive flats, from HDB's published resale data. 3 bedroom homes: resales of condominiums and apartments from URA caveat data, collective sales excluded, with the bedroom count resolved from the unit record. Executive condominiums are not counted. Seven developments whose bedroom labels in the source records are under review are left out of every 3 bedroom figure here, and so are the Reflections at Keppel Bay units whose recorded size does not fit the bedroom count.

Each sale is placed in the URA planning area recorded for it. The windows are 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 and the calendar year 2017, by contract date. HDB publishes resale prices by month and URA by day; September 2026 is the latest month both cover in full (URA's October 2026 data so far is a few days), so both sides end on 30 September 2026 and cover the same 12 months. Sales recorded after that date are not used. A median is printed only where 11 or more sales sit on each side. The gap is the 3 bedroom median less the flat median; the multiple is the 3 bedroom median divided by the flat median. The typical area is the middle one of the areas with both medians, ranked on each figure on its own; with an even number of areas it is the mean of the two middle figures. The 2017 typical figures are taken over the same areas as today's. A multiple within 0.05 of 2017's counts as unchanged. Table prices are rounded to the nearest $1,000.