Property Market Commentary

5 Mental Models To Rethink Your Property Investment Choice In Singapore

Some people call them mental models. Some call it frameworks. To me, it is simply a way to think about the world and the evolving situation. I adopt mental models as a way to focus on the important levers –…

• 20 Jun 2022
• 6 min read
• 1

Is It Really Mad To Pay $1 Million For A Woodlands HDB? We Find Out If There Are Better Condo Alternatives

I can’t help but notice that Singapore’s resale HDB prices have been performing inversely to the stock market (for the last few weeks at least). It was just earlier in May that a 5-room flat at City Vue @ Henderson…

• 10 Jun 2022
• 8 min read
• 1

7 Key Residential Towns To Know From URA’s 50-Year Plans + A Tour Of Singapore’s City Gallery

Truth be told, I’ve never been one that was too keen on exhibitions. But I must say that the URA has done a fantastic job with the exhibition (called Space for Our Dreams) that showcases the planning concepts and proposals…

• 7 Jun 2022
• 11 min read
• 0

Are HDB Flats Really As Unaffordable As Everyone Claims? We Look At 468,600 Transactions To Find Out.

With the fresh new record of a $1.4 million HDB flat being sold at Henderson, it has yet again sparked conversations about whether HDB prices are getting increasingly unaffordable. Which brings to mind a statement from the Ministry of National…

• 23 May 2022
• 12 min read
• 0

7 Highly Impractical Condo Design Features That We’d Be Happy To See The End Of

When it comes to condo design features, novelty can sometimes get in the way of practicality. There are features that have appeal just on the basis of being new or unusual. Give it a few years, however, and you might…

• 23 May 2022
• 6 min read
• 2

Record Breaking $1.4 Million HDB Costs Too Much? The Alternatives May Not Be Any Better

If you haven’t heard by now, a 5-room HDB flat at Henderson just broke the record for the most expensive HDB ever transacted – at a stunning price of $1.4 million. The unit is located in City Vue @ Henderson,…

• 21 May 2022
• 8 min read
• 8

5 Things Property Agents Are Not Required To Do (But Might Anyway)

Singaporeans expect quite a bit from their property agents, given the service fees they pay. You may be surprised, however, to learn how limited the job scope technically is; quite a number of services provided are not actually within the…

• 17 May 2022
• 6 min read
• 0

Why You Will Never Buy When There Is A Market Crash

The stock market is the only market where people run away when things are on sale.  A seemingly innocent sentence, but perhaps none truer than what is happening in the markets right now. Stocks, crypto, the shocking implosion of Luna…

• 13 May 2022
• 7 min read
• 0

Is $2,000 PSF Going To Be The New Norm For New Launches In 2022 And Beyond?

There’s an old saying that, if you want to view a more expensive property, you should just revisit the same unit next week. It’s an exaggeration of course; but as of 2022, it’s closer to the truth than some home…

• 5 May 2022
• 5 min read
• 4

We Ask Gen Zs About The Metaverse: Not Everyone Thinks It’s The Next Big Thing

If you’ve been wanting to start investing in the Metaverse or digital real estate, I’d pay attention to what the Gen Zs are doing. Many people like to dismiss the younger generations, but you’d be foolish to discount the first…

• 4 May 2022
• 8 min read
• 0

Will Rich Foreigners Still Want Your Prime District Condo In 2022?

As of December 2021, there’s been an ongoing debate on whether Singapore property is still attractive to foreigners. Some believe the answer is a definite no, with stamp duties hiked by a whopping 10 per cent; yet others point to…

• 29 Apr 2022
• 5 min read
• 2

The Case Of A “Matrimonial” Bukit Timah Home: Why A Woman Was Denied A Share

There was a bit of a surprise this February, when a lady was denied her one-third share of a property after a divorce. This was after an appeals court ruled that the house did not constitute a matrimonial asset; an…

• 20 Apr 2022
• 7 min read
• 2

Is $700,000 For A Keppel Club Site BTO Worth It?

When the Greater Southern Waterfront (GSW) was announced in 2013, one of the first things to draw attention was the announcement of public housing. How was it fair, we wondered, if future owners could land a flat in such a…

• 18 Apr 2022
• 5 min read
• 0

Are Property Valuations A Hidden Culprit In Rising Property Prices?

An often overlooked, but important, element of home loan financing is the valuation. For anyone buying a resale private property, the valuation can impact the initial cash outlay, the stamp duty, and which bank gets chosen. But is the hunt…

• 15 Apr 2022
• 4 min read
• 0

23.8% Senior Citizens By 2030: How Singapore’s Ageing Population Will Affect Physical Real Estate

We recently came across this article in Straits Times with quite eye-opening statistics on Singapore’s ageing population: The proportion of Singapore residents who are seniors is estimated to double from 16 per cent in 2021 to 33 per cent by…

• 13 Apr 2022
• 6 min read
• 0

Resale HDB Flat Prices Reach A Record High For Q1, But There’s Hope For Buyers Yet

Let’s start with a bit of bad news for homebuyers: resale flat prices ended Q1 2022 at a record high. This is, in fact, the highest we’ve ever seen in around a decade – we’ve even beat the previous peak…

• 11 Apr 2022
• 5 min read
• 1

Are Executive Condominiums A Better Investment Now With The New Cooling Measures?

Executive Condominiums (ECs) are more in demand than ever, given peak home prices in 2022. We’re expecting at least four EC launches before the year is out, and a big question now is how they’re impacted by new cooling measures….

• 5 Apr 2022
• 6 min read
• 1

Is Housing In Singapore Still Affordable To The Average Singaporean In 2022?

Home prices are at record highs in 2022, and now we face the threat of higher interest rates; we’re not surprised that home buyers are starting to get anxious. This leads us to that old battleground of divisive opinions: how…

• 29 Mar 2022
• 7 min read
• 0