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How this young Singaporean investor bought 2 million-dollar condos by 24
Money Choice: Despite the high cost of private home ownership in Singapore, Damien Tan was able to purchase two private condominiums by the time he turned 24.
SINGAPORE — In a city where the cost of private housing is among the highest in the world, owning a private property would seem like a distant dream for many.
Yet, despite skyrocketing prices, 25-year-old real estate consultant Damien Tan has defied the odds for being an owner of two private condominiums. At age 24, Tan was able to purchase a S$1.25 million two-room private condominium by himself and co-purchase a S$1.26 million two-room mixed development condominium with his mother.
"Property is something that I strive hard to own as it's a safety net for my family and future family. It's a nest egg that continues to grow in value," said Tan in an interview with Yahoo Finance Singapore.
Tan's feat was mainly the result of his lucrative career at JNA Real Estate, an independent team under PropNex Realty. Tan, who joined in 2020, said he raked in about S$500,000 in commissions from real estate transactions he brokered in 2023.
Starting young in the real estate industry
Tan's passion for property and investing developed from an early age. Describing his upbringing in a single-parent household as "below-average", Tan was exposed to the real estate business early thanks to his mother, a property agent of more than 20 years. As a child, he would accompany her to viewings and was often inspired by the homes he saw.
"I've always thought if people who drive nice cars can do it, so can I," said Tan.
His determination for a better quality of life led him to pick up investing at 18. Tan attributes his first exposure to investing to the bestselling book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. From there, he sought to learn as much as he could about investing by practising through demo accounts and consuming content produced by financial influencers such as popular trading guru Adam Khoo, whom Tan said was his biggest influence.
"At the time, I felt like there was nothing much going on in my life. I was studying accounting and interning at an audit firm. Halfway through the internship, I knew that it wasn't for me," Tan recalled. He gradually grew into an avid investor, making sure to practice with a demo account before working up the courage to trade live with equities and commodities, starting off with about S$30,000 of his savings. While he initially lost some money, Tan said that it was an overall gain and he continues to stay invested to this day.
"All the intelligent investors said one thing: the first rule is to never lose money, the second rule is to never forget rule number one. I only wanted to invest in things that allowed me to sleep comfortably at night. My risk is very low when it comes to trading," Tan shared.
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No time for self-doubt
Having felt that he had somewhat mastered the art of trading equities and commodities and taking inspiration from his mother's own career path, Tan said that he then wanted to learn and master the art of investing in property.
"I'm not someone who takes orders well, in terms of working for other people. I wanted to see where I can contribute more, and not limit my earning potential," said Tan on his decision to become a property consultant.
It didn't take long for Tan to earn his first commission. Tan shared that he earned about S$70,000 in commission within the first month as an agent – he attributed it to "pure luck". However, Tan wasn't so lucky all the time, as there were plenty of slow sales periods. Those periods gave rise to moments of self-doubt for the relatively inexperienced consultant.
Let's say you face nine rejections in a day and feel demoralised. A new perspective (is) for every 10 people who rejected me, I got one lead. Therefore, every rejection that I get is a good thing because it brings me closer to closing a deal.Damien Tan
"I was doubting whether I was lucky or was it because I was good at what I do, whether I can consistently perform like that," said Tan. To make matters worse, Tan said that these feelings would amplify whenever he saw his colleagues perform well despite it being a lull period for real estate transactions. He also recalled how it became exhausting to constantly make cold calls and knock on doors only to be met with rejection after rejection.
To overcome these challenges, Tan said he spoke to his mentors and immersed himself in relevant content to find solutions. He soon went from a state of self-doubt to wanting to "get rejected fast".
"Let's say you face nine rejections in a day and feel demoralised. A new perspective (is) for every 10 people who rejected me, I got one lead. Therefore, every rejection that I get is a good thing because it brings me closer to closing a deal," Tan explained.
Reap what you sow
Despite his young career in real estate, Tan has some nuggets of wisdom to offer those keen on joining the industry.
"Take action. Don't focus your time on non-lead-generating activities or things that are not directly relevant to your income," he said. "Next is to not get burnt out. Focus on the process goals and don't compare. If you're not hitting anything in your first few months, and you are doing everything right according to your process goals but the leads still don't come, then keep doing it and don't give up. You have work consistently over a long period before you can reap what you sow."
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