Latest news with #StackedHomes
Independent Singapore
3 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
5-room HDB loft at Queenstown sells for S$1.658 million
SINGAPORE: A five-room loft in Queenstown fetched the eye-watering price of S$1,658,888, StackedHomes reported on Jun 5 (Thursday). The buyer of the Premium Apartment loft unit, located on the 22nd to 24th storeys of Block 92 Dawson Road, may well have found it worth the high price. The report described the 122 sqm Premium Apartment Loft as 'a true unicorn' that's 'as rare as they come,' given its location, among public housing units. And of course, its high ceilings, yard area, and great views probably had something to do with it as well. Moreover, it still has 89 years and 10 months on its lease. It made the news last year when a five-room flat at Skyoasis @ Dawson on Margaret Drive changed hands for S$1.73 million . However, StackedHomes noted that the transaction in Queenstown officially makes the unit the most expensive five-room flat across Singapore, pointing out that it appears on the database of the Housing & Development Board (HDB). See also Landed property sales decline in Q3 as buyers exhibit caution Interestingly, what the piece highlights is that not all Home and Development Board (HDB) units are created equal, and rare ones, such as the Dawson Road unit, appear to be in a different league from others. 'At the end of the day, S$1.658 million is a lot of money for any HDB flat, but for someone who wanted a genuinely unique living space in a convenient central location and didn't particularly care about condo facilities or status, this loft unit offered something that simply isn't available anywhere else. Whether that's worth $1.658 million is, of course, entirely up to the buyer. What's clear is that Singapore's property market has evolved to the point where certain HDB units are playing in a completely different league from traditional public housing,' the piece reads. In April of last year, a four-room HDB flat in the area was sold for a record-breaking S$1,238,000. The 109 sqm flat is located between the 19th and 21st floors of 90 Dawson Road, where units carry an average price of S$800,000. The property portal noted that the S$1.238 million price tag is the highest ever recorded for four-room flats in the area, largely due to its location, which is close to many amenities and offers good connectivity, with the Queenstown MRT station within walking distance. Several schools, grocery stores, clinics, and local parks are also conveniently located nearby. 'This sale not only establishes a new standard but also underscores the constant demand for prime residential locations in Singapore,' said at the time. /TISG Read also: 5-room Sengkang HDB flat sells for $1.058 million
New Paper
23-05-2025
- Business
- New Paper
They tried to disrupt property agents - and built a top blog instead
When the three founders of Stacked Homes saw one of their house-tour videos hit one million views on YouTube in 2021, they knew they had discovered something few others in Singapore's property scene had managed to tap: The desire for millennial-flavoured and social media-savvy content that not only offers a glimpse into other people's homes, but also lends insight into trends and data shaping Singaporeans' property purchases. Under 36-year-old co-founders Druce Teo, Adriano Tawin and Adam Wham, Stacked Homes has emerged as a go-to website for property advice and home design inspiration. Although it is best known for its property-advice blog and YouTube channel taking viewers through in-depth house tours, the company's first iteration set out with a very different goal: eliminating real estate agents. In 2017, amid Singapore's en-bloc fever, it launched as a direct-sale property platform for condos, hoping to disrupt the agent model that dominates the country's real estate market. "This was from the point of view that the commissions are high," says Mr Teo, referring to property agent fees. "The question is always: What value does the property agent bring? People always want to find ways to cut that out." The team initially saw an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of successful overseas models like the United States' Redfin and Purplebricks in Britain. In the end, the endeavour proved to be a tough lesson on the realities of Singapore's property market. "We realised that though people like to complain about agents, the truth is that because they buy or sell a property only once in 20 years - maybe once in their life - they end up using an agent because they are a bit afraid," says Mr Teo. While their property platform failed to gain traction, they noticed something unexpected: the blog they created was resonating in ways they had not anticipated. Pivoting to media At the end of 2018, Stacked Homes began to pivot towards what would become its winning recipe: tapping the shift in attitudes towards social media and online property-hunting that was reshaping the market in the late 2010s. At the time, developers were reluctant to permit videos or photos to be taken of their properties, fearing this would diminish interest in their showflats. Many property agents had yet to embrace social media as a way to reach clients. Stacked Homes' millennial and at times irreverent writing style on its blog and social media accounts took a different approach, striking a chord with younger property hunters looking for candid reviews from a buyer's perspective that did not gloss over flaws. "In the beginning, developers didn't like some of the things we were writing as they prefer content that is very much in their favour," says Mr Teo, who leads the company's editorial arm. "To this day, they can't pay us to write about a new development. They can't pay for our reviews." "Back then, a lot of businesses were using social media purely to drive traffic to a website," adds Mr Tawin, who heads Stacked Homes' YouTube channel. This meant that much social media content on real estate and home design in Singapore was promotional, calling on users to "read more" by moving to a different site. To differentiate itself, Stacked Homes met users where they were, with content that can stand alone even when read in its entirety on Instagram. These decisions proved prescient when the Covid-19 pandemic forced everyone online. Many agents launched Instagram accounts and the reluctance developers had with content creation was eroded by necessity. Tapping this demand for candid analysis meant a fast-growing audience. Stacked Homes now has over 49,000 subscribers to its property-advice newsletter, as well as over 450,000 subscribers on YouTube and 260,000 followers on Instagram. "The way the younger generation buys properties is very different from older generations. Younger homebuyers look at a lot of reviews and research. That is the trend and developers understand they have to work with this," Mr Teo says. "We started the YouTube channel at the start of the pandemic, when everything kind of exploded just in terms of people staying home, people being interested in other people's homes." Rather than displacing agents as intended, Stacked Homes now connects buyers and sellers with agents, taking a cut of commissions from sales. The company, which employs 12 workers, also generates revenue from its YouTube channel and its online store selling home goods and decor. Demystifying real estate Co-founder Druce Teo's home taps the Japandi and minimalist aesthetic. PHOTO: JUSTIN ANG Mr Teo and Mr Tawin are friends from secondary school, while Mr Wham - the company's chief operating officer - was Mr Teo's university mate. They come at the business from different angles, something reflected in the design of their homes. Mr Teo's three-bedroom condo in central Singapore has a warm Japandi aesthetic, drawing inspiration from boutique hotels he encountered across his travels. What interests Mr Teo is the money and lesser-known aspects behind the real estate market, fostered by his parents' many visits to showflats when he was young. "When I asked agents questions and they couldn't answer, I was surprised by the lack of knowledge," says the Manchester Metropolitan University graduate, who studied merchandising at the institution in England. He is married with a son, five, and daughter, three. To generate ideas for Stacked Homes' analyses, the team speaks to home owners, developers and agents to get a sense of emerging trends. For instance, Mr Teo points to one recent trend of buyers experiencing regret over not moving more decisively on resale purchases, as homes are flying off the market faster than anticipated. Co-founder Druce Teo's home draws inspiration from boutique hotels he encountered across his travels. PHOTO: JUSTIN ANG "I see this house that's $2 million. My agent tells me to put in an offer that's higher, but as someone who hasn't bought in 10 years, I might hold back because I don't think it's a great deal," he says. Speaking to agents uncovered some interesting observations. One way to understand whether demand for a property is hot is to sit in a lobby after a viewing, to see how many other prospective buyers come to view as well. Alternatively, if it is difficult to change viewing timings on the weekend, that could indicate overwhelming interest. "These are some signs a general buyer wouldn't know," Mr Teo says. "We take that and turn it into a piece of content so someone reading it can make a more informed decision." "I've never thought of us as journalists. It's more that we look for good and helpful content," he adds. Making the Singapore home go global Mr Adriano Tawin's Instagram account dedicated to his home has over 240,000 followers. PHOTO: JUSTIN ANG Meanwhile, Mr Tawin's home is an earthy, mid-century-meets-Japandi three-room HDB flat, with textures and materials inspired by his Indonesian and Thai heritage. The social media native, who is married without kids, launched an Instagram account (@madspatial) in 2023 to document his home design journey. His pictures of rattan furniture, bamboo blinds and eclectic decor racked up over 100,000 followers over six months. Mr Tawin's home features eclectic and mid-century influences inspired by his Indonesian and Thai heritage. PHOTO: JUSTIN ANG Mr Tawin's interest in space and design stems from his upbringing - his family moved among 13 rented flats while he was growing up. He moved to the US to pursue university studies in engineering and later worked for a Brooklyn-based developer on over 40 residential properties. His time there taught him the power of understated content on social media. While living in New York, he amassed over 70,000 followers on his street-photography Instagram account, with photos shot on an iPhone. The Stevens Institute of Technology graduate's interest in social media and design is the driving force behind Stacked Homes' design-focused content on YouTube. Looking back, he says: "When we started, not many YouTube channels were covering homes domestically. Even internationally, there were only a few covering mostly Australian or US homes - but no South-east Asian homes." Mr Adriano Tawin's home. PHOTO: JUSTIN ANG The bread and butter of Stacked Homes' YouTube channel is its tours of homes in Singapore and South-east Asia - complex productions which involve research on a property's history, interviews with home owners, and exploring the implications of small design choices. Their first hit, a clip of an architect's house, racked up over one million views and catapulted Singapore design onto social media feeds across the globe. "It's not just the numbers," Mr Tarwin reflects on that milestone. "It's the fact that we were able to showcase Singapore homes on a global stage. We started seeing comments that were obviously international, like, 'Is this a Singapore home? I didn't know.' That was a nice feeling that we were going in the right direction."
Straits Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Stacked Homes: They tried to cut out property agents, but created one of S'pore's top blogs instead
Stacked Homes: They tried to cut out property agents, but created one of S'pore's top blogs instead SINGAPORE – When the three founders of Stacked Homes saw one of their house-tour videos hit one million views on YouTube in 2021, they knew they had discovered something few others in Singapore's property scene had managed to tap: The desire for millennial-flavoured and social media-savvy content that not only offers a glimpse into other people's homes, but also lends insight into trends and data shaping Singaporeans' property purchases. Under 36-year-old co-founders Druce Teo, Adriano Tawin and Adam Wham, Stacked Homes has emerged as a go-to website for property advice and home design inspiration. Although it is best known for its property-advice blog and YouTube channel taking viewers through in-depth house tours, the company's first iteration set out with a very different goal: eliminating real estate agents . In 2017, amid Singapore's en-bloc fever, it launched as a direct-sale property platform for condos, hoping to disrupt the agent model that dominates the country's real estate market. 'This was from the point of view that the commissions are high,' says Mr Teo, referring to property agent fees. 'The question is always: What value does the property agent bring? People always want to find ways to cut that out.' The team initially saw an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of successful overseas models like the United States' Redfin and Purplebricks in Britain . In the end, the endeavour proved to be a tough lesson on the realities of Singapore's property market. 'We realised that though people like to complain about agents, the truth is that because they buy or sell a property only once in 20 years – maybe once in their l ife – they end up using an agent because they are a bit afraid,' says Mr Teo. While their property platform failed to gain traction, they noticed something unexpected: the blog they created was resonating in ways they had not anticipated. Pivoting to media At the end of 2018, Stacked Homes began to pivot towards what would become its winning recipe: tapping the shift in attitudes towards social media and online property-hunting that was reshaping the market in the late 2010s. At the time, developers were reluctant to permit videos or photos to be taken of their properties, fearing this would diminish interest in their showflats. Many property agents had yet to embrace social media as a way to reach clients. Stacked Homes' millennial and at times irreverent writing style on its blog and social media accounts took a different approach, striking a chord with younger property hunters looking for candid reviews from a buyer's perspective that did not gloss over flaws. 'In the beginning, developers didn't like some of the things we were writing as they prefer content that is very much in their favour,' says Mr Teo, who leads the company's editorial arm. 'To this day, they can't pay us to write about a new development. They can't pay for our reviews.' 'Back then, a lot of businesses were using social media purely to drive traffic to a website,' adds Mr Tawin, who heads Stacked Homes' YouTube channel. This meant that much social media content on real estate and home design in Singapore was promotional , calling on users to 'read more' by moving to a different site. To differentiate itself, Stacked Homes met users where they were , with content that can stand alone even when read in its entirety on Instagram. These decisions proved prescient when the Covid-19 pandemic forced everyone online. Many agents launched Instagram accounts and the reluctance developers had with content creation was eroded by necessity. Tapping this demand for candid analysis meant a fast-growing audience. Stacked Homes now has over 49,000 subscribers to its property-advice newsletter, as well as over 450,000 subscribers on YouTube and 260,000 followers on Instagram. 'The way the younger generation buys properties is very different from older generations. Younger homebuyers look at a lot of reviews and research. That is the trend and developers understand they have to work with this,' Mr Teo says. 'We started the YouTube channel at the start of the pandemic, when everything kind of exploded just in terms of people staying home, people being interested in other people's homes.' Rather than displacing agents as intended, Stacked Homes now connects buyers and sellers with agents, taking a cut of commissions from sales. The company, which employs 12 workers, also generates revenue from its YouTube channel and its online store selling home goods and decor. Demystifying real estate Co-founder Druce Teo's home taps the Japandi and minimalist aesthetic. PHOTO: JUSTIN ANG Mr Teo and Mr Tawin are friends from secondary school, while Mr Wham – the company's chief operating officer – was Mr Teo's university mate . They come at the business from different angles , something reflected in the design of their homes . Mr Teo's three-bedroom condo in central Singapore has a warm Japandi aesthetic, drawing inspiration from boutique hotels he encountered across his travels. What interests Mr Teo is the money and lesser-known aspects behind the real estate market, fostered by his parents' many visits to showflats when he was young. 'When I asked agents questions and they couldn't answer, I was surprised by the lack of knowledge,' says the Manchester Metropolitan University graduate, who studied merchandising at the institution in England. He is married with a son, five, and daughter, three. To generate ideas for Stacked Homes' analyses, the team speaks to home owners, developers and agents to get a sense of emerging trends. For instance, Mr Teo points to one recent trend of buyers experiencing regret over not moving more decisively on resale purchases, as homes are flying off the market faster than anticipated . Co-founder Druce Teo's home draws inspiration from boutique hotels he encountered across his travels. PHOTO: JUSTIN ANG 'I see this house that's $2 million. My agent tells me to put in an offer that's higher, but as someone who hasn't bought in 10 years , I might hold back because I don't think it's a great deal,' he says. Speaking to agents uncovered some interesting observations. One way to understand whether demand for a property is hot is to sit in a lobby after a viewing, to see how many other prospective buyers come to view as well. Alternatively, if it is difficult to change viewing timings on the weekend, that could indicate overwhelming interest. 'These are some signs a general buyer wouldn't know,' Mr Teo says. 'We take that and turn it into a piece of content so someone reading it can make a more informed decision.' 'I've never thought of us as journalists. It's more that we look for good and helpful content,' he adds. Making the Singapore home go global Mr Adriano Tawin's Instagram account dedicated to his home has over 240,000 followers. PHOTO: JUSTIN ANG Meanwhile, Mr Tawin's home is an earthy, mid-century-meets-Japandi three-room HDB flat , with textures and materials inspired by his Indonesian and Thai heritage. The social media native, who is married without kids, launched an Instagram account (@madspatial) in 2023 to document his home design journey . His pictures o f rattan furniture, bamboo blinds and eclectic decor racked up over 100,000 followers over six months. Mr Tawin's home features eclectic and mid-century influences inspired by his Indonesian and Thai heritage. PHOTO: JUSTIN ANG Mr Tawin's interest in space and design stems from his upbringing – his family moved among 13 rented flats while he was growing up . He moved to the US to pursue university studies in engineering and later worked for a Brooklyn-based developer on over 40 residential properties. His time there taught him the power of understated content on social media. While living in New York, he amassed over 70,000 followers on his street-photography Instagram account , with photos shot on an iPhone . The Stevens Institute of Technology graduate's interest in social media and design is the driving force behind Stacked Homes' design-focused content on YouTube. Looking back, he says: 'When we started, not many YouTube channels were covering homes domestically . Even internationally, there were only a few covering mostly Australian or US homes – but no South-east Asian homes .' Mr Adriano Tawin's home. PHOTO: JUSTIN ANG The bread and butter of Stacked Homes' YouTube channel is its tours of homes in Singapore and South-east Asia – complex productions which involve research on a property's history, interviews with home owners, and exploring the implications of small design choices. Their first hit, a clip of an architect's house , racked up over one million views and catapulted Singapore design onto social media feeds across the globe. 'It's not just the numbers,' Mr Tarwin reflects on that milestone. 'It's the fact that we were able to showcase Singapore homes on a global stage. We started seeing comments that were obviously international, like, 'Is this a Singapore home? I didn't know.' That was a nice feeling that we were going in the right direction.' Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
