Most people think about property in Singapore and picture HDB flats and condos. I went a different route. Between 2017 and 2025 I bought and sold three industrial units at Midview City, all of them while I had operating businesses that needed the space. Every one of them sold at a profit. The last two sold at record prices in the development.
Industrial units in Singapore sit in a category most residential property buyers ignore. The cooling measures that drove up ABSD for second and third residential properties don't apply. The quantum is lower. And if you run a business — which I did, between Vivre Activewear and later Snapbook — you actually need the space.
That's the angle I took. These weren't pure investment plays. They were functional assets that pulled double duty: my businesses used them for storage and operations, I collected rent when the businesses didn't need them full-time, and the underlying real estate appreciated on top. The income was a bonus. The asset value was the point.
A property that earns its keep operationally while it appreciates is a very different kind of asset. You're not just waiting for the market — you're using the space and getting paid to hold it.
Industrial also taught me something about buying below market. Residential buyers are generally well-informed. Industrial buyers are thinner on the ground, the information is less standardised, and motivated sellers exist. If you know what you're looking at, you can find pricing gaps that simply don't exist in the HDB or prime condo market.
| Bought | ~$748,000 |
| Sold | ~$788,000 |
| Profit | ~$40,000 |
| Own use | 2 years (business operations) |
| Rented out | 1 year |
The first unit was about getting comfortable with the asset class. I bought it at market price — no special deal — used it for two years for my own business, then rented it out for a year before selling. The $40k profit isn't the headline number, but that's not the right way to think about it.
For three years I had a functional business space I controlled. I paid no rent to a landlord. I got a year of rental income when I didn't need it myself. And I walked away with $40k more than I paid. The real gain was the operational leverage: I ran my business from an asset I owned rather than a lease I was burning through.
| Bought (each) | ~$768,000 |
| Market price at time | ~$880,000 |
| Sold (Unit 02) | Above $1,000,000 |
| Sold (Unit 03) | Above $1,000,000 |
| Combined profit | >$500,000 |
| Own use | 3 years (both units) |
| Rented out | 1 year (one unit) |
| Sale records | Both were record transactions in the development at time of sale |
The second and third units are the story. When I found them, market comps were trading around $880k. I bought both at $768k — roughly $110k below market each. That discount doesn't appear by accident. It requires knowing what you're looking at, moving when others won't, and not needing to borrow time to decide.
I used the units operationally for three years. One was rented out for a year during that period. Then the market ran. Both eventually sold above $1,000,000 — and when they sold, both were record transactions in the development. That's what decided it. I have a rule: I don't cash out because I'm tired of holding. I cash out when the price is a number that history will look back at as a peak. Record price in the building is that signal.
I wouldn't have sold if the price wasn't a record. That's the discipline. You don't quit a good asset because time has passed — you quit when the market pays you a number that justifies quitting.
The industrial chapter taught me three things that shaped how I think about every property decision since.
Dual-purpose assets compound differently. When a property pays for itself operationally — through your own use or rental income — you're not burning holding costs while you wait for appreciation. You're getting paid to wait. The math changes substantially when the asset is working while you hold it.
Below-market entry is worth the effort. Units 02 and 03 were bought at a $110k discount to market. That's not luck — it's the result of being present, informed, and willing to move fast. That $220k of combined discount (across two units) became part of the final profit. Entry price matters more than people admit.
Know your exit trigger before you buy. Most property investors have no exit plan beyond "sell when I need the money." That's not a plan. My exit trigger was simple: sell when the price is a record. When both units hit that mark, I acted. If the market hadn't run, I'd still be holding — and I'd be fine with that.
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