Condo comparable sales checklist
A comparable sale should resemble the unit a buyer is considering, not merely share its district. Start inside the same project, remove the weak matches, then widen carefully when the recent evidence is thin.
Published Jul 2026. Data is for research and comparison only.A comparable is a competing home, not a nearby pin
The useful question is simple: what would a sensible buyer have considered instead of this unit? The answer is rarely every condo within a kilometre. It is a smaller group of homes that compete on project, floor area, layout, tenure, age, condition and total budget.
Property searches often begin with an asking price and a district average. Both are broad clues. Neither tells you what one unit is worth. A D09 median can blend luxury towers, older family condos and small freehold apartments. Those buyers may have very different budgets and priorities.
Build the comparison set before deciding whether the listing looks cheap or expensive. Otherwise the asking price becomes the anchor, and every later number gets used to defend a view that was formed too early.
Start with completed sales in the same project
Same-project sales usually deserve the first look because the units share the address, facilities, management, tenure and general access. Open the project page and scan the latest completed transactions before looking across the district. Keep total price, PSF, floor area and floor band visible together.
Do not choose only the transaction closest to the asking price. Review the cluster. If several similar units sold around one range and one sale sits well above it, the outlier needs an explanation. It may have a rare view, premium renovation or unusually high floor. It may also be a poor anchor.
The same-project rule is strongest when the project has recent activity across similar unit sizes. It becomes weaker when the last sale is old, the available transactions are different unit types, or the development contains very different blocks and layouts.
Recent does not always mean relevant
A transaction from last month can still be a bad comparable if it is half the size, a penthouse, a new sale or a low-floor unit facing a different environment. Recency matters because markets move, but relevance comes from the unit itself.
A slightly older sale can be more useful when it matches the floor area, layout and floor band closely. In that case, use the project's later sales and PSF trend to understand whether the older price needs adjustment. Do not automatically lift it by a district-wide percentage.
Use a recent window first, then widen only when the match is too thin. The objective is not to collect the largest possible table. It is to keep enough credible evidence to describe a reasonable price range.
Match floor area before counting bedrooms
Bedroom labels can hide major differences. A compact two-bedroom unit and a large two-bedroom unit may serve different households and clear at different total prices. Floor area gives the comparison a firmer base, especially when project layouts changed across stacks or phases.
Begin with a narrow size band around the target unit. If that leaves too few sales, widen the band gradually and note the compromise. Compare the internal layout as well. Bay windows, private lifts, oversized balconies and inefficient corridors can change how much usable space the buyer feels.
For mixed projects, check whether the transaction belongs to the same broad unit family. A small investment unit should not set the price for a family apartment simply because both appear under the same project name.
Read total price and PSF together
Total price answers the household question: how much cash, CPF and borrowing does this purchase require? PSF answers a different question: how is the market pricing each square foot relative to other units? One number should never replace the other.
Smaller units often trade at higher PSF because their total price remains accessible to more buyers. Larger units can show lower PSF while demanding far more money. Calling the larger home better value from PSF alone ignores the size of the cheque and the narrower buyer pool.
Put total price, floor area and PSF on the same line for every candidate. If a listing carries both a high total price and high PSF, identify what earns the double premium. A stronger view, better floor, rare layout or exceptional condition may explain it. The asking price by itself does not.
Floor band, stack and view can move the range
A high-floor sale should not automatically price a low-floor unit. Floor premiums vary by project and become more meaningful when the higher floor delivers a real difference, such as an open view, less road noise or better light. In some developments, a few storeys make little practical difference.
Stack matters for similar reasons. Facing a pool, road, school, construction site or neighbouring block can change the daily experience. Afternoon sun, lift proximity and privacy are not fully captured in the URA transaction fields, so the viewing still has work to do.
Use floor band as a filter, then inspect the target unit and the known comparable stacks. When those details are unavailable, keep the price range wider rather than inventing a precise adjustment.
Condition deserves a budget, not a vague premium
Renovation can justify paying more when it saves time, risk and immediate cash. The premium still needs a budget behind it. Estimate what you would spend to bring an ordinary comparable to the same condition, then discount for taste, age and work that may not matter to the next buyer.
New appliances and attractive styling are easy to notice. Plumbing, waterproofing, windows, electrical work and air-conditioning can be more expensive when they fail. Ask what was changed, when it was done and whether records are available.
A renovated unit is not automatically worth the renovation invoice. Buyers rarely value every design choice at full cost. Price the permanent advantages first, then decide how much convenience the finished interior is worth to your household.
Keep sale type and completion stage visible
New sale, subsale and resale transactions can behave differently. A new launch price may include a new-building premium, payment timing and years until completion. A resale buyer is purchasing a home that can be inspected and occupied on a different schedule.
Do not mix the categories without noticing. If a resale listing is being justified by new-launch PSF nearby, compare the actual product, tenure, completion date, facilities and total price. The new project may be a credible alternative, but it is not the same evidence as a completed sale in the target building.
Inside one project, check whether the latest records came from a launch phase, developer inventory or ordinary resale activity. The label does not make a transaction unusable. It tells you which question that transaction can answer.
When same-project evidence is thin, widen in stages
Boutique projects and tightly held developments may have only a handful of recent sales. That does not make them unimportant. It means the final range carries more uncertainty and the nearby comparison set needs more care.
Widen first to projects on the same road or immediate neighbourhood with similar tenure, age, unit size and building type. Then check nearby projects at the same total budget. A buyer's realistic alternative is more useful than a project selected only because its PSF happens to support the listing.
Use the district page as context after the close alternatives. District movement can show whether the broader market has changed, but it should not erase meaningful differences between a small freehold apartment and a large leasehold condominium.
Tenure and age belong in the comparison
Freehold, 999-year and 99-year projects can attract different ownership preferences. Tenure may support a premium, especially for long holding periods, but the market does not apply one fixed percentage. Location, condition, building age and entry price still compete with the title.
A newer leasehold project can trade above an older freehold neighbour because buyers prefer the layout, facilities and maintenance. An established freehold project can command more when its location, land value and buyer demand remain strong. Compare like tenure first before crossing the line.
Age matters beyond tenure. Major repairs, lift replacement, façade work and common-area condition can affect future costs and buyer confidence. The transaction table shows what people paid. The building visit helps explain why.
Rental evidence is a useful second opinion
Rent does not value a condo directly, but it shows what tenants have paid to use the project. When a sale premium is large and project rent looks ordinary beside nearby alternatives, an investor should understand what ownership benefit is creating the gap.
Compare similar rental sizes rather than using one project-wide median blindly. Furnishing, lease timing and condition can move individual contracts, while a deep rental history gives a clearer sense of the usual range.
Owner-occupiers can use rent as a flexibility check. A project with steady rental demand may be easier to hold through a relocation or change in family plans. That does not make an overpriced purchase sensible, but it adds useful context to the decision.
Turn the evidence into three price ranges
After removing weak matches, sort the remaining sales into three groups. The lower group covers units with a disadvantage such as condition, floor or view. The middle group contains the closest ordinary matches. The upper group contains units with advantages that support a higher price.
Place the target unit inside that structure. If it belongs near the upper end, write down the reasons. If those reasons depend mostly on the seller's renovation taste or an ambitious asking price, move it back toward the middle.
A range is more honest than one exact valuation. It also improves negotiation. You can explain which completed sales support the offer, what adjustment you made, and which new information would justify moving.
A worked comparison without false precision
Imagine a 1,100 square foot resale condo with three close same-project sales. One is slightly smaller on a lower floor, one is nearly identical, and one is renovated on a higher floor with an open view. Those three records form a better comparison set than the ten newest transactions across the district.
Start from the near-identical sale. Use the lower-floor record to test the downside and the renovated high-floor record to test the upper boundary. Compare both total price and PSF, then estimate the value of condition and view without assuming the seller recovered every renovation dollar.
If the asking price exceeds the strongest comparable, ask what the target unit adds. A clear, permanent advantage may support the gap. If the answer is simply that another buyer is interested, the evidence has not changed.
The checklist before an offer
Record the closest same-project sales, their dates, sizes, floor bands, total prices, PSF and sale types. Add notes for stack, view and condition where you can verify them. Mark any comparison that requires a substantial compromise.
Then list the best nearby alternatives at the same total budget. Keep tenure, project age, recent sale depth and rent visible. Run the mortgage, stamp duty and purchase timeline using the upper end of the price you may actually pay.
Set an opening offer, a fair range and a walk-away number before the negotiation accelerates. A strong comparable set will not guarantee the deal. It will make sure the final number belongs to your research rather than the listing.
Projects with deep recent sale evidence
These projects have enough recent transactions to show why size, total price, PSF and timing need to be read together.
Quick answers
Short answers based on the current data view.
What is the best comparable sale for a condo?
Start with a recent sale in the same project that has a similar floor area, layout and floor band. Check total price and PSF together, then account for view, stack and condition.
How recent should condo comparables be?
Begin with the latest twelve months, but relevance matters too. A slightly older same-project sale with a close size and layout can be more useful than a recent transaction for a very different unit.
Should I compare a condo by total price or PSF?
Use both. Total price determines the household budget and financing, while PSF helps compare units of different sizes. Either number can mislead when viewed alone.
What if the condo has very few recent sales?
Widen gradually to similar projects on the same road or nearby, keeping tenure, age, unit size and total budget close. Use a wider price range because the evidence is less certain.
Can a renovated condo be priced above recent sales?
Yes, but estimate the work and separate permanent advantages from personal design choices. Buyers rarely value every renovation dollar at full cost.
Suggested properties
Project pages connected to this guide, with rent, sale, tenure and transaction signals.
