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14 Nov

Property prices heading skywards

Cooling measures have met their match as the property market here heats up. Healthy sales from recent new property launches such as eCo in Bedok South and Sky Green off Upper Paya Lebar Road are indicating a rebound in property sales following a slight dip after announcements of the most recent property cooling curbs which were more to safeguard the banking system from excessive lending rather than deter investors or buyers from snapping up properties.

Skyline ResidencesAs long as investors still have sufficient funds to afford the cash upfront payments for properties, and have holding power to support their purchases, the buying may continue well into the next year or two. Instead of a complete stop, they could simply be turning their attention to smaller, more affordable units. Will shoebox apartments benefit from this change of direction?

Areas which showed the most positive sales were homes in the city-fringe and suburban areas. They held a average rise of 4.5 per cent and 4.2 per cent in October. Industry players cite rising construction and land costs as one of the reasons for this continued price hike. Corresponding rise in prices of resale HDB flats may have also provided a boost in the suburban homes market.  The narrowing price gaps between city-centre and suburban homes might be the next trend to watch, as that could very well be the sign of the next property bubble. Whether it will burst and when is a path to be lightly treaded.

9 Nov

Sentosa Cove home prices reach yet another high

At $32.5 million, more than $4 million more than the previous high of $28.2 million in 2010. The 10, 111 sq ft bungalow at Ocean Drive was sold at $3, 214 psf.  As one of the only areas where foreigners can purchase landed properties, Sentosa Cove has been seeing hearty responses from property investors this last quarter.

Sentosa Cove Bungalow.

The prestige, luxury and exclusivity of Sentosa Cove has lured many foreign home buyers to the area and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data has shown a rise of 1.1 per cent in landed property alone. Overall, the residential property prices rose 0.6 per cent.

Across on the mainland, Serangoon landed properties registered the highest growth with a 33 per cent gain. 156 properties were sold in the third quarter of this year alone. As land becomes more scarce and home sizes shrink, landed properties have become rare and thus reflected in their sales value. Do you know how much your landed property is worth and what should be watching out for when purchasing an existing landed home? How should you work out the numbers and how much should you put aside for reconstruction, renovation and maintenance?

15 Oct

Property investment not as easy as before

For cash-rich property investors who have holding power, buying property right now might be a win-win situation. But for the other folks out there, its risky business.

City Square Residences at Kitchner Link used to go for $1000 psf in 2009. Now it is going for $1,600 psf.

In the 1960s, properties went for between $10,000 to $100,000. Now resale private properties are going for hundreds of thousands, and most of them crossing the million dollar mark. Landed property prices are going off the charts as well. In 2006, flipping properties within a few months and making back your downpayment amount of a few hundred thousand, if not more, kept the momentum going in the real estate market. Then came the 2008 crisis. Property buyers who dared to foray into the then-unstable property market might have made a tidy sum if they had been able to hold on to their properties, but now, making a 100 or 200 per cent upside is no longer a guarantee.

Need to live near schools along the Bukit Timah stretch? Units at Cascadia private condo apartments are available for rent.

As the government delivers on their promise to roll out more HBD flats and with new properties nearing completion within the next two to five years, another roller coaster ride might be in the the books. Instead of the fast lane, property investors might now have to take a slow but steady route – through rental. What this would mean is that investing in smaller units, or units which are easier to rent out in popular locations, could be the way to go. As long as Singapore remains a stable hub of trade and commerce in the region, the demand for rental units will exist. The motivation behind property investment decisions may need to change. Don’t hope for a windfall. Rather, give more thought to the type of property which will give you long-term returns.

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