By Khalil Adis 

Lessons from an honest conversation over breakfast at Nomads, Seletar Aerospace Park.

Interviewing Romesh Navaratnarajah felt less like an interview and more like two old friends catching up over a no-holds-barred conversation. 

Having known each other for close to 20 years (we first crossed paths when I was editor at Property Report and he was at PropertyGuru) sitting down together at a charming black and white colonial estate at Seletar Aerospace Park felt completely natural.

For the newly initiated, Romesh spent over two decades in the media industry. 

For a significant part of that time he was the editor of PropertyGuru Singapore, one of the country's most read property platforms.

At PropertyGuru, he interviewed property agents, developers and investors. 

He covered policy changes, market cycles and the stories of Singaporeans who felt locked out of a system that seemed designed for everyone but them. 

Suffice to say, he understood Singapore's property market better than most people in the country.

And yet, for a long time, he did not own a single square foot of it.

Over coffee and truffle fries at Nomads - a black and white colonial bungalow that, as Romesh pointed out, Singaporeans can rent but cannot buy - we talked about what two decades in property media actually teaches you. 

And what it does not.

What most people don't know about Romesh

Before his current role in public relations, Romesh spent more than 20 years in the media industry.

Most people who know him know the PropertyGuru chapter. 

What they may not know is that the journey from media to PR, from editor to property owner, involved more anxiety, more patience and more honesty about his own financial situation than his professional profile might suggest.

That candour is what made this one of the most genuine property conversations I have had in 18 years of covering this region.

Watch part 1 here.

What the PropertyGuru editor's chair actually taught him

"It's very dynamic. It's changing ever so often. There are lots of rules and regulations to keep abreast of," said Romesh.

That might sound like a standard observation. 

However, coming from someone who spent years inside one of Singapore's most read property platforms, it carries a specific weight.

The rules and regulations he is referring to aren't just the headline policies that make the news. 

They are the constantly shifting framework that governs how Singaporeans buy, sell, rent and finance property.

Mind you, most buyers only discover this when they are already in the middle of a transaction, wishing someone had explained it earlier. 

Some got caught in the middle of cooling measures that forced them to abort their selling or purchase plans entirely.

However, the technical knowledge wasn't what Romesh found most valuable.

"The most rewarding part of the job was being able to tell the stories of Singaporeans who live on the fringes, who were kind of marginalised. They felt it was very hard for them to buy a property because it was too expensive,” he said.

Romesh is talking about single Singaporeans who 18 years ago had very limited housing options. 

At the time, they could only buy resale flats which came with a catch. 

Most sellers were asking for sky-high cash-over-valuation (COV) that sometimes ran to $100,000 on top of the purchase price. 

Many simply could not afford it. 

Some felt unfairly penalised for being single, despite having served National Service (NS).

"It was very rewarding. I was able to tell their story,” he recalled.

Those stories got picked up beyond PropertyGuru such as Yahoo and other media. 

Interestingly, HDB has since revised their policies to allow singles to buy BTO flats. 

As Romesh put it simply: "We have come a long way."

Watch part two here.

Watch part three here.

The editor who didn't own property

"I was talking to people, property agents, property owners, some of whom own multiple properties.

Here I was, the editor of PropertyGuru, and I didn't own my first property at the time," said Romesh.

The irony was not lost on me. 

I could relate to exactly what he was saying.

There he was, the person Singaporeans turned to for property guidance, sitting across from people with multiple investment properties, listening to them talk about their gains, their rental yields, their property journeys. 

Yet, he did not own a single unit.

"It definitely, to some extent, made me a little bit jealous," he said.

That honesty is why this conversation matters.

Housing anxiety does not discriminate by professional credential. 

It doesn't matter how much you know about the market intellectually. 

The emotional experience of watching other people seem to have figured something out that you have not is universal.

To make matters worse, there are people out there who may feel property is out of reach and an unattainable dream due to their unique circumstances.

This is exactly the same anxiety that Anita Kapoor had described over thosai in Little India. 

It is the same anxiety that a significant number of Singaporeans carry quietly every day.

Watch part four here.

Why he went straight to private property

Most Singaporeans start with HDB. 

Romesh did not.

"I kind of knew when I bought my first property I wanted to buy a private property. Primarily because I wanted to buy it for investment purposes and I wanted to rent it out," he said.

Having spent years studying the market at PropertyGuru certainly helped. 

He understood what he wanted and saved toward it. 

Location was a key consideration. 

Budget was a real constraint.

Finally, at 37, he found something that worked on both counts.

"I've owned it now for almost ten years. I haven't had issues with renting it out. It has been a good investment," he said.

Thankfully, his family and friends were supportive. 

So far, the rental income has been covering the mortgage consistently.

This brings us to the question most people are actually asking when they talk about private property investment.

Watch part five here. 



The tenant who could not pay during Covid

Having been a landlord for almost ten years, Romesh has had his fair share of tenant stories.

His assessment is refreshingly honest. 

”I wouldn't say my tenants are from heaven either. There are always some niggling issues," he quipped.

However, his most challenging moment was not a nightmare tenant. 

It was a good one.

"The most challenging situation I faced was during Covid when I had a tenant who, unfortunately, because of the work situation, wasn't able to pay me the rent in full and approached my agent and asked if I could offer some kind of a reprieve or discount on the rent," he said.

He said yes without hesitation.

"Here's someone who was a good tenant, who has been paying her rent on time but was going through a difficult point in her life. In such a situation, it's our responsibility as a human being to help people out."

That instinct - to see the person behind the tenancy agreement rather than just the missed payment - is what separates a landlord with integrity from one without it. 

It is also, I suspect, part of why Romesh has had a relatively smooth decade of property ownership. 

The relationships you build along the way reflect the kind of person you are in them.

Watch part six here.

Does the rental yield actually cover the mortgage?

"Yes, the rental does cover the mortgage," he said.

His property has been generating positive cash flow, enabling him to set aside money for his emergency fund and for further investments.

His advice for young Singaporeans who think private property is out of reach? 

"Take your time. Find something that is suitable for you. Don't feel like you need to rush into buying your property."

He adds the practical checklist nobody gives you when you're starting out - have enough money saved, do not be heavily in debt, make sure you can service the mortgage and talk to a mortgage broker about interest rates.

But what if private property genuinely is not within reach right now?

"There are a lot of nice HDB properties in the market. Maybe explore the HDB market first. After five years, you can choose to continue to stay on or if you decide that owning a private property is your dream, you can sell your property, make a decent profit and move up the property ladder,” he said.

Watch part seven here.

The one-bedroom he has been trying to sell

This is where our conversation got real.

Romesh has been trying to sell his private property for some time and it has been a challenge being a one-bedroom unit

As anyone who has tried to sell a one-bedder in Singapore knows, the buyer pool is genuinely limited.

"If you have a family, you are not going to buy a one bedroom apartment. So the type of buyers that would ideally buy my property would be a single person or someone who is looking to buy for investment purposes with rental yield," he said.

Thankfully, he is not in a desperate position. 

The property is still rented out. 

The mortgage, property tax and maintenance are all being serviced. 

He can afford to wait.

"I can afford to bide my time, for now, and just continue to rent it out,” he said.

However, it is also a reminder that even a well-chosen property investment comes with constraints. 

The same one-bedroom that worked perfectly as an investment vehicle for a decade becomes harder to exit when you want to trade up. 

The buyer pool that was adequate when you bought may be narrower when you want to sell.

Watch part eight here.

What he would tell his younger self

"I would probably tell myself not to be so anxious,” he quips.

That was Romesh's answer to the final question of our conversation. 

Coming from someone who had spent two decades covering Singapore's property market, his remarks lands differently.

"As long as you continue to be diligent, continue to set aside money every month, save up, do your homework, you will be able to make that property purchase. It could take some time. But I guess that's why they call it a journey, right?"

He adds one more piece of advice that I think is the most underrated thing he said in our entire conversation.

"I would probably talk to a lot more people who were property owners and talk to them about their journey because everyone's property ownership journey is very different,” he concludes.

If the editor of Singapore's biggest property platform, was carrying the same anxiety you are, and still got there, so can you.

One step at a time. At your own pace. On your own terms.

Watch part nine here.