--- title: "Actor Zhang Zetong buys new home due to issues with renting" url: "/entertainment/actor-zhang-zetong-buys-new-home-due-issues-renting" published: "2026-01-19T04:42:03.000Z" updated: "2026-01-19T04:52:18.000Z" section: "Entertainment" tags: ["celebrity","home"] --- # Actor Zhang Zetong buys new home due to issues with renting *Mediacorp actor Zhang Zetong has disclosed why he was “forced” to upgrade from being a tenant to a home owner.* Lim Ruey Yan The Straits Times Jan 18, 2026 Mediacorp actor Zhang Zetong has disclosed why he was “forced” to upgrade from being a tenant to a home owner. The 32-year-old said on social media on Dec 5 that he has hit a life milestone and bought his first home. “I’ve successfully unlocked a new identity – mortgage slave – after working for 10 years,” he quipped. “From now on, it’s all about working hard to pay off the loan.” The Malaysia-born actor bought a condominium unit in the western part of Singapore and received the keys in late 2025. The apartment is under renovation and he is scheduled to move in in April. “Buying a home brings a sense of stability. After nearly 16 years of staying in rentals, finally having my own home feels like an achievement,” Zhang told Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao in a recent interview on the set of upcoming local crime drama No Other Way. The winner of Star Search 2019 said he had never considered buying a house as a life goal, but the various situations he encountered while renting made him no longer want to be a tenant. He had a landlord who suddenly sold the house and asked him to move out at short notice, while another raised his rent by 70 per cent at one go during the Covid-19 pandemic. The actor thus made up his mind to give himself a year to find suitable lodgings. Zhang will be playing the leader of a police investigation unit in No Other Way, which also stars Nick Teo, Hong Ling, Tay Ying and Adam Chen. Filming for the 20-episode series is expected to wrap in late January, with the show scheduled to air on Channel 8 in July.