Commentary: Why executive condominiums still offer a valid alternative for the ‘sandwich’ class

THE RELEVANCE OF ECs

Even amid rising prices, “sandwich” families who aspire to live in condominium-like gated developments would still consider EC as a financially accessible alternative for private housing.

Based on data gathered from the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s REALIS platform, the average new-sale prices for private apartments, condominiums and ECs were S$2,887 psf, S$2,642 psf, and S$1,852, respectively, as of March 2026.

This translated into average transaction prices of S$2.7 million and S$3.1 million for new private apartments and condominiums – about S$0.8 million and $1.2 million more than a new EC going at S$1.9 million.

It is worth noting that the divergence in prices between the private and EC markets began to pick up pace in 2019. Then, the average new-sale prices for private apartments and condominiums stood at S$1.5 million and S$1.4 million, while new ECs had a S$1.2 million price tag.

The widening price difference between the private and EC markets since 2019 suggests that ECs continue to offer an alternative that bridges the private and resale HDB markets for middle-class families, enabling them to achieve upgrading aspirations.

That said, the government will need to keep a close watch on new EC launches to ensure that the “sandwich class” does not get priced out of the market. Only when the pricing gap narrows to a level where ECs are no longer an alternative will ECs enter history, like other forms of public housing such as the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) and Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) scheme which were replaced when they were no longer deemed as plausible alternatives.