When two condominium launches in Singapore advertise a high price per square foot (PSF), the immediate reaction is to compare them. However, savvy buyers should always look past the marketing metric and prioritise usable space, meaning the net internal area, because this is the main factor that determines how a home actually functions and holds value. This is especially true before recent regulatory changes to how developers measure floor area, since headline PSF did not tell the whole story.
What Changed In 2023 With GFA Harmonisation
GFA harmonisation is the government’s push to adopt a new standard known as Gross Floor Area (GFA) in 2023. Various agencies, including the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Building and Construction Authority (BCA), now all use the same definition of GFA. By standardising the calculation of gross floor area across projects, the practical effect is to remove or reclassify certain elements previously counted as saleable area.
Some items that were used to inflate a unit’s advertised area, such as planter boxes, bay windows and large air-conditioner ledges, are now more likely to be treated as non-strata and excluded from the saleable area. In the past, this meant headline PSF could be used to represent a smaller amount of livable space. After GFA harmonisation, the PSF price is more likely to accurately reflect what buyers will actually live in and pay to maintain.
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Two Launches That Illustrate The Gap Between PSF And Livability
Two recent launches show how market momentum and precinct narratives can push PSF higher even when usable area and layout efficiency vary.
Tengah Garden Residences attracted strong demand at launch with a record take‑up rate of 99% and an average launch PSF of $2,120. This reflected both its first‑mover status in a new town and the appeal of an ambitious car-lite forest town.
Vela Bay in Bayshore also recorded robust sales on launch day, with 72% of units sold. It commanded a higher average PSF of $2,886, possibly driven by high expectations of the future of the East Coast precinct and its goal to become a waterfront urban village.
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Both projects demonstrate that buyers are willing to pay premiums for location, branding and amenities, but those premiums do not automatically translate into more usable internal space.
A buyer comparing a three‑bed unit at Tengah, selling from $1.588 million at $1,993 psf, with a similarly sized three‑bed at Vela Bay, with prices starting at $2.2 million, could therefore face a surprising outcome: the unit with the lower PSF might actually offer more practical living area once balconies, ledges, and other non‑usable inclusions are stripped out.
Tengah Garden Residences, for example, offered buyers a choice of three configurations: compact units with the smallest PSF, standard units with storerooms, and premium units with walk-in wardrobes, household shelters and yard areas.
At launch, all units were sold out except for the largest premium units, suggesting that the higher-PSF units may have offered extra features that buyers did not value as much.
Of course, there could also be a more straightforward reason, the price.
How To Compare Units Beyond PSF
Usable space shapes not only how you live but also how much you pay every month. A lower headline PSF can look attractive until you translate that figure into the total purchase price, the loan you need, and the monthly mortgage payments you will carry.
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A unit that appears cheaper on a PSF basis but has less practical internal area can force you into a smaller, less comfortable layout while still saddling you with the same or higher monthly housing cost as a more efficient unit with a higher PSF.
Beyond monthly payments, usable space affects lifestyle choices that have financial consequences. A cramped living room or undersized bedrooms may force you to buy bespoke furniture or forgo certain uses of the home, while a well‑planned layout can reduce renovation costs and increase appeal to future buyers or tenants. Visit showflats with a clear furniture plan in mind and test whether the rooms will function as you need them to.
For example, just because a developer refers to it as a three-bedroom unit does not mean that you take it at face value. Do your own evaluation to ensure that each room is large enough to serve as a bedroom, with space for a bed, a desk, a closet, and other amenities.
Ultimately, it is the total price and the usable area which determine affordability and day‑to‑day comfort, not PSF.
