Marcus Luah bought a landed 2.5 Years Ago. Now He's Shopping for a $20 Million Home
Marcus Luah is a property agent, but this time he isn’t the one selling the houses. He bought and renovated a landed home, moved in about 2.5 years ago, and is already viewing detached houses around $20 million because he wants more land, a pool, basketball space and a layout that keeps his family closer together. That isn’t normal, and it isn’t a problem most of us can afford to solve by moving.
You need to be very wealthy to change landed homes just because your lifestyle requirements have evolved. Most of us would take a taxi to a public pool or a real basketball court. It is still cheaper than buying a $20 million house with one small corner pretending to be a court.
Nonetheless, we are exploring in detail why he’s doing so and what he is really looking for.
This time, he is the buyer
The series can look like another set of sales tours because Marcus is an agent. But these homes are marketed by other listing agents; he is viewing them as a potential buyer.
You can watch Part One, Part Two and Part Three. You don’t need to sit through every bedroom, bathroom and wine cellar, though. The interesting part is why his current home already feels wrong.
What he actually wants
His current house already has around 7,000 sq ft of built space and a basement. The basement suited his son when he was younger, but he is now eight and the family rarely uses it. More built-up area doesn’t always mean more usable space.
Marcus now wants more land, a visible and accessible pool, somewhere to play basketball with his son, practical parking and a quiet Bukit Timah location near schools, nature and public transport.
Most importantly, he wants a home his family will actually use together.
Why he prefers two storeys
This may be the best lesson from the series. Marcus wants shared spaces downstairs and the immediate family sleeping together upstairs.
Many landed buyers see every extra floor as more value. But spread the bedrooms, gym and entertainment rooms across three or four levels, and everyone can disappear into a different part of the house.
A bigger house can give a family more privacy. It can also make them spend less time together.
The reality of his hunt so far
Part One is the most complete, with a pool, basement and almost 9,000 sq ft of built space. Part Two has the best location but repeats the problem of spreading family life across too many floors. Part Three has the most land and outdoor potential, but may need around $2 million of work.
None gives him everything. Together, they make his real priorities clearer: usable land, family connection and flexibility matter more than simply having the largest house.
The house is permanent. The lifestyle isn’t
A pool is a lifestyle. So is a basement or basketball court. The problem is that these are permanent parts of a house, while lifestyles change quickly.
Marcus has already seen this with his basement. Basketball could follow: his son may choose another sport, while Marcus may not want to play as often in 5 or 10 years.
Knees hurt with old age. The basketball court doesn’t.
The pool carries the same risk. It may be wonderful while the children enjoy splashing around, then sit mostly unused when they become teenagers. And if someone genuinely wants to swim laps, a short residential pool isn’t always the best place to do it.
The feature remains. So does the maintenance.
Will the next house last?
The better question is whether the house still works after nobody wants to swim or play basketball. Location, family layout and flexible space will probably last longer than any hobby.
If Marcus had understood all this before buying his current home, perhaps he could have chosen one that lasted 20 years instead of reconsidering it after 2.5.
Now he risks repeating the same mistake. Will the next house still suit them in another 3 years?
At $20 million, the expensive mistake isn’t missing a basketball hoop. It is buying the answer to a question your family stops asking three years later.
Perhaps, this is all just part of his property marketing.
