Property Market Commentary

How Do We Keep HDBs Affordable & Accessible? Singaporeans Share Their Opinions On PSP’s Public Housing Scheme

The recent debate on affordable housing has brought up several possible alternatives, but we don’t think all of them will go down well with everybody. It’s beginning to look a bit like a zero-sum game, where someone – be they…

• 14 Feb 2023
• 6 min read
• 2

Should You Pay Off Your Existing Home Loan In 2023?

In 2023, mortgage interest rates are a key concern. This is a steep difference between the tail end of 2008 to 2021 when the average interest rate seldom broke past two per cent (it’s three per cent and climbing at…

• 9 Feb 2023
• 5 min read
• 0

Should You Be Upgrading To A Condo In 2023?

If there’s a single defining feature of the 2022/23 property markets, it’s an increasing low supply and historical highs across the board. This has led many to wonder if it is still the right time to make their big step:…

• 4 Feb 2023
• 6 min read
• 0

How I’d Invest $12 Million On 4 Properties: My Toto Hongbao Draw Winning Plans

Ever wondered what are your chances of having identical quadruplets? 1 in 13 million. Winning the yearly Toto Hong Bao draw? 1 in 14 million. When put in such a perspective, it’s much easier to see just how insanely fortunate…

• 1 Feb 2023
• 10 min read
• 0

Sell Your HDB Today, Get $0: How Negative Cash Sales Can Still Be Found In Today’s Property Market

This is a question that has come to the forefront of late. For those looking to upgrade to a condo, there are two counterbalancing factors: higher resale flat prices seem to lower the risk of negative cash sales; but at…

• 24 Jan 2023
• 7 min read
• 0

Are You In Danger Of Negative Cash Sales? Here’s How Much Your HDB Has To Appreciate To Avoid It

With resale flat prices at record highs, there’s a tendency to assume negative cash sales won’t happen right now. But it’s not always true that selling your flat right after MOP will yield sufficient cash for a condo down payment,…

• 14 Jan 2023
• 6 min read
• 0

Love It Or Hate It: Singaporeans Weigh In On Common HDB Rules

HDB flats are a staple of Singapore living; but amid the rules and regulations to create a harmonious estate, some things aren’t well received. This week, we want to find out the main likes – and dislikes – of existing…

• 12 Jan 2023
• 7 min read
• 0

I Sold 3 Condos In My First Month As An Agent, But Nothing For 18 Months After: Here’s Why New Agents Need To Worry

With the property market being at a new peak, we’ve seen a familiar phenomenon; one that we also witnessed back in 2013: there’s a flood of new realtors looking to join the market. The Straits Times reported 4,487 new agents…

• 10 Jan 2023
• 6 min read
• 0

2022 Year-End Review Of The Singapore Property Market: Key Numbers And Trends You Need To Know

At the end of 2021, we expressed hopes that 2022 would see a return to normalcy. We shouldn’t have done that, because we jinxed it. 2022 ended up being even more volatile than the previous year, as we move from…

• 31 Dec 2022
• 9 min read
• 0

Our 10 Most Read Articles About Singapore Real Estate In 2022

As 2022 draws to a close, it’s time to look back and see which of our editorial pieces has really resonated with you, our readers.  And from what we can see, it’s probably safe to say that effort sometimes doesn’t…

• 30 Dec 2022
• 7 min read
• 0

Better Housing Policies For Singles? 4 Things We Wish To See In The Singapore Property Market In 2023

2022 was one of the toughest years on record for property buyers. Home prices reached record highs across the board, and it was pricey even to rent. Nonetheless, there were some silver linings, and both developers and government bodies were…

• 29 Dec 2022
• 7 min read
• 0

Should We Build More HDB Maisonettes? 5 Convincing Reasons Why

HDB stopped building maisonettes way back in 1995, but Singaporeans never got over their love for it. As we’ve pointed out before, a significant portion of million-dollar flats are maisonettes; and if Singaporeans are buying them despite the advanced lease…

• 23 Dec 2022
• 5 min read
• 0

How Can War Affect The Price Of Your Home

Like the pandemic, no one could have predicted the onset of war in 2022. Just as things seemingly were getting better with vaccinations and travel, Ukraine was invaded by Russia on 24th Feb 2022. This rattled investors’ nerves and sapped…

• 23 Dec 2022
• < 1 min read
• 0

The Untold Mystery Of The Luxury Condo That Was Never Built In Singapore: The Ferrari-Themed Ferra In Orchard

Singapore’s property development scene has a nearly 100 per cent rate of successfully completed projects. It’s a rare occasion when a developer can’t follow through, or willingly abandons a project midway (and perhaps even more so when it’s with one…

• 22 Dec 2022
• 7 min read
• 0

The Trivelis DBSS Vs Clementi Ridges Issue 10 Years On: Did Trivelis Owners Really Lose Out?

Several years ago, the DBSS project Trivelis made the news, but not in a good way. Besides some quality complaints, the biggest issue was due to their newer neighbour next door. Buyers were miffed when a BTO project – Clementi…

• 20 Dec 2022
• 6 min read
• 1

The Story Of HDB’s Struggles With The DBSS: Why It Was Doomed To Fail

The Design Build And Sell Scheme (DBSS) was first introduced by the then Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan in 2005. It aimed to involve private developers in the building of public housing to offer buyers with higher incomes…

• 15 Dec 2022
• < 1 min read
• 0

Can Executive Condominiums Actually Be Unprofitable? 3 Interesting Points To Note From The Data

Last week we put out a list of the most profitable Executive Condominiums, that were sold right after the five-year MOP. Our plan was to put out a companion piece this week, on the least profitable ECs; and to be…

• 14 Dec 2022
• 5 min read
• 2

We Spoke To BCA To Clear Common Property Misconceptions In Singapore: Here Are 9 You Need To Know

Singapore has a high-quality built environment, so most of us don’t’ ponder questions like “what if my condo runs out of money?” Or “will the government kick out an incompetent management council?” These are questions to which we often receive…

• 29 Nov 2022
• 6 min read
• 2