Liquidity risk: which condos are hardest to sell
- Bigger projects are far easier to exit. Mega (800+u) see ~36.2 resales a year vs ~1 for boutique (<50u) — about 36× the market depth.
- The oldest projects trade thinnest (~2.8% of units a year) — owners hold for en-bloc and buyers are fewer.
- Thin depth means guesswork pricing and a discount to move — and you rarely get paid for it (small blocks trade at a lower $psf, not higher).
- Best for: weighing exit risk — especially if you might need to sell in a hurry.
How easily can you actually sell?
Yield and growth mean little if you can’t exit when you need to. Liquidity is the quiet risk. What a seller actually feels is market depth — how many comparable sales happen, so a buyer appears quickly and the price is easy to read. We measure it as the number of resale transactions per year in each project.
Market depth by project size
| Units in project | Resales / yr | Projects |
|---|---|---|
| <50 | 1 | 670 |
| 50–149 | 2.8 | 566 |
| 150–399 | 8 | 350 |
| 400–799 | 19.2 | 250 |
| 800+ | 36.2 | 46 |
Trading rate by age & tenure
| Age | Turnover / yr | Projects |
|---|---|---|
| <10 yrs | 3.7% | 207 |
| 10–24 | 4.2% | 1,115 |
| 25+ yrs | 2.8% | 530 |
| Tenure | Turnover / yr | Projects |
|---|---|---|
| 99-yr leasehold | 3.7% | 515 |
| Freehold | 3.5% | 1,367 |
Adjusting for size (turnover = % of units resold per year), the pattern by age is clear: the oldest projects trade least often (~2.8%/yr for 25+ years) — owners sit tight on en-bloc hopes and the buyer pool thins. Tenure barely moves it.
Investor verdict
Boutique charm carries an exit cost. A small freehold block can be a wonderful home, but as an investment its thin market means a slower, choppier sale and a softer price signal — you may have to discount to move it. If exit flexibility matters, favour projects with scale and an active resale market.
And you rarely get paid for the illiquidity: our boutique-vs-large study shows small projects usually trade at a lower $psf, not higher. Scale helps on both price and liquidity.
How to use this before you buy
Treat thin depth as a risk premium
If a project sees only a handful of sales a year, demand a better entry price for the harder exit.
Read the project’s own sales history
Each condo page lists recent transactions — long gaps between sales are the tell.
Mind ageing stock
Very old projects trade thinnest; unless there’s a real en-bloc case, budget for a slow sale.