Property Market Commentary

Can Resale Condos Maintain Their Momentum For The Rest Of 2021?

First-time buyers and upgraders were hit by more bad news, for end-June 2021. It was expected that a return to Phase Two (Heightened Alert) might cool prices a bit, and buyers aiming at the resale market were hoping new launches…

• 15 Jul 2021
• 6 min read
• 0

1 Of 3 HDB Resale Flats Now Include COV – Here’s What You Need To Know

Cash Over Valuation (COV) can be a real headache for resale flat buyers, as it’s not covered by your bank loan. COV started falling sometime in 2013; and for the past few years, zero COV had become a norm. So…

• 13 Jul 2021
• 5 min read
• 0

Are Home Prices Finally Cooling Again In 2021?

2021 has been a tough year for buyers; especially first-time home seekers. We’ve seen prices rise in almost every property segment, from resale flats to condos to landed homes. The end of Q2 2021, however, may give buyers a glimmer…

• 5 Jul 2021
• 6 min read
• 0

5 Unpopular, Slow-Selling New Launch Condos In 2021: What’s Going Wrong?

Despite the uptick in the property market, not all condos are doing well. Sometimes it’s due to oversaturation, like in Holland V, while other times it may be issues like unpopular unit layouts. That said, not everyone looks for the…

• 1 Jul 2021
• 11 min read
• 2

$42 Million For A Car Park: Can Car Parks Be An Investment In Singapore?

As far as property investments go, car parks are one of the most mysterious. There are few strata-titled car parks in the country today, and it’s believed the last of them were built around the 1980s. And yet, three such…

• 30 Jun 2021
• 5 min read
• 0

Holland V Condo Price War (Hyll on Holland vs Leedon Green): Should You Jump In?

The Singapore private property market is on an uptrend, to the point where even new cooling measures are being considered. Despite all that, even in this supposedly strong seller’s market, some new launches are struggling. We recently talked about a…

• 25 Jun 2021
• 8 min read
• 2

Is 2021 A Good Time To Sell Your HDB Flat?

2021 is shaping up to be as volatile as the year before. Covid-19 is still not a forgone conclusion, there’s talk of major construction delays, and prices are rising across the board (enough to perhaps justify new cooling measures). Whether…

• 22 Jun 2021
• 6 min read
• 0

How Hot Is the Singapore Property Market In 2021? Here’s My Experience From 3 Cases On The Ground

You might have seen the various headlines of how hot the Singapore property market is. The weird confluence of factors like a pandemic, construction delays, and the realisation that a bigger home is necessary in the new normal of WFH…

• 5 Jun 2021
• 5 min read
• 2

How Many Foreigners Are Really Buying Properties In Singapore? (A Breakdown From The Last 10 Years)

Back in the property heyday of 2013, foreigners were often denounced as the driving force behind inflation. But today, with Additional Buyers Stamp Duty (ABSD) for foreigners at 20 per cent, foreign ownerships are at a 17-year low (as of…

• 27 May 2021
• 5 min read
• 2

Parc Canberra vs Provence Residence: What Happens When Two ECs Are Side-by-side?

Even before the last units at Parc Canberra had been sold, Provence Residence launched (selling just over half its total units at launch day, to boot). Pure home buyers may think nothing of it; but the more investment-minded are likely…

• 25 May 2021
• 6 min read
• 0

Will Landed Homes Continue Their Momentum In The Singapore Market For 2021?

The landed property market saw a strong pick up in Q4 2020. Back then, we heard plenty of market watchers speculate that landed prices had to come down soon; it just took time for Covid-19’s effects to bite.  Well, it…

• 23 May 2021
• 7 min read
• 0

How Much Would It Take To Pay Off Your Flat By 30, 40, 50 or 55?

For many Singaporeans – heck, for many people across the world – paying off the mortgage early is a common aspiration. We get it too: most of us don’t like the thought of owing money, especially on something as major…

• 18 May 2021
• 5 min read
• 0

4 Major Chinese Developers in Singapore: An Overview Of Their Performance So Far

Make no mistake, China is big in many ways. It has a population of 1.412 billion people, and it has the 4th largest geographical area in the world.  Comparatively, Singapore is ranked the 20th smallest country in the world (by…

• 15 May 2021
• 8 min read
• 2

Can Young Singaporean Home Buyers Survive The 2021 Property Market?

Singapore’s property market is booming, with resale flat prices at eight-year-highs, and private home prices rising for four straight quarters. Coupled with job worries over Covid-19, and construction delays, all of this poses a problem for young, first-time home buyers….

• 4 May 2021
• 6 min read
• 0

6 Ways Covid-19 Construction Delays Can Impact Property Buying Decisions

Covid-19 has resulted in further delays to housing projects in Singapore. To date, about 43,000 homes will face delays of six to nine months, and that’s only for the HDB housing segment. In the private sector, construction firms are already…

• 2 May 2021
• 6 min read
• 0

Why Are Singapore Property Prices Returning To Pre-Covid-19 Levels So Fast?

There’s been some recent buzz over a report by Colliers, predicting a return to pre-Covid-19 levels for Singapore property. Before we get too excited, this isn’t specific to Singapore’s residential property scene only; the prediction is based on real estate…

• 21 Apr 2021
• 7 min read
• 0

4 Important Lessons From The Thomson Road Building Demolition. Yes, It’s About En-Bloc.

There was a bit of a shocker this week, when the government announced the demolition of 68 to 74 Thomson Road. While this is an old building, it’s also a freehold property; and because of its good location (it’s just…

• 20 Apr 2021
• 7 min read
• 0

The Trend of Commission Cashback – Why It Happens And Why It Can Be Harmful

This article below by The Business Times provided a look on the practice of commission cashback – or better known as agents sharing new launch commissions with their buyer. The reason this happens? Developers have to sell their units but…

• 4 Apr 2021
• 5 min read
• 4