The Rise Of The Telegram/WhatsApp Group Chat: How These Chat Groups Affect Condo Living A subtle, powerful, change has taken place in the way condos are run. From older resale properties to new launches in recent years, condos have seen a surge in collective action, active resident committees, and – unfortunately – snooping around… 8 Mar 2023 6 min read 0
Slimmer Chance Of Getting A BTO If You Cancel The First Time: Here’s What Singaporeans Think It may be time to stop being choosy or gaming the system, as HDB clamps down with a new “choose it or lose it” policy. Those who fail to show up at BTO selection won’t just lose their chance at… 7 Mar 2023 5 min read 1
12 Reasons To Be Happy (Or Scared) About The Singapore Property Market In 2023 2022 was a wild ride for the property market, and for the world in general. From a new war in Europe, to record-high interest rates, to new cooling measures. There are definitely some bumps ahead in the coming year, but… 21 Dec 2022 9 min read 2
Will Property Prices Remain High In 2023? Here’s Why A Property Undersupply May Prop Up Demand Despite The Economic Uncertainty Every five years, there should be a cycle of en-bloc sales where property developers replenish land banks, and put up new developments. The last bout was in 2017; so why aren’t we seeing a major one in 2022? Compounding the… 12 Dec 2022 8 min read 0
A Surprising Lack Of Bids For Bukit Timah And Hillview GLS Sites: Are Developers Less Confident? The bids for two land plots at Bukit Timah and Hillview were a surprise to market watchers this week. These mid-sized plots in proven areas were expected to draw substantial developer attention; especially with new launches seeing continued demand and… 8 Nov 2022 5 min read 0
4 Ways URA’s New Move To Curb Shoebox Units In Central Areas Could Affect The Singapore Property Market The last time URA moved to curb shoebox units (one-bedder units, generally defined as 510 sq. ft. or smaller) was back in 2018. At the time, the impact was only for developments outside the central area. If you want a… 19 Oct 2022 5 min read 0
Are New ECs Still Attractive After The New Cooling Measures? After the December 2021 cooling measures, the general consensus was that Executive Condominiums (ECs) would be more attractive. At the time, we broadly agreed with the sentiments (even though it was more to do with rising prices across the board… 17 Oct 2022 6 min read 2
A Record 45 Million Dollar Flats In Sept 2022: But All Eyes On 4-Room And Smaller Flats The cooling measures on 30th September seem timely, after the latest results. September 2022 has seen a record number of million-dollar flats sold in a single month, and rising prices reveal December’s cooling measures had little to no impact. Despite… 11 Oct 2022 4 min read 0
Biggest Winners And Losers Of The Latest Cooling Measures In 2022: How Does This Affect You? With tighter loan limits and a 15-month wait for some for resale flats, the latest round of cooling measures is poised to shake up the property market. In these volatile and uncertain times, we’d say the changes are prudent –… 10 Oct 2022 5 min read 2
“I’m Essentially Homeless For 15 Months Now”: New Cooling Measures Leaving Some Homeowners In A Difficult Situation Ever since the July 2018 cooling measures (remember the one with the overnight queues at show flats), the Government has clearly learned well from that experience. The recent cooling measure announcements have been done in a swift ninja stroke of… 1 Oct 2022 4 min read 7
September 2022 Cooling Measures Announced: An Attempt To Cool The Hot Property Market And How It May Affect You The Singapore government has announced new cooling measures, in response to rising interest rates and record-high home prices. Some of these, such as a higher floor rate for measuring debt servicing ratios, was long expected; but others, like an increased… 30 Sep 2022 7 min read 11
Property Prices May Get Even More Expensive In 2023: Why New Land Betterment Charge Rates Will Affect Prices When it comes to new launch prices, most Singaporeans are quick to pick up on the most obvious factors like land scarcity, agent commissions, or developer stamp duties. However, one factor that often slips under the radar – and that… 26 Sep 2022 6 min read 3
6 New MRT Stations On The Cross Island Line: How Will It Impact Property Prices? If you haven’t heard already, the Cross-Island Line (CRL) will begin the phase two roll-out in 2023. This phase will see the opening of six new MRT stations, with interchanges at King Albert Park (Downtown Line), and Clementi (East-West Line)…. 21 Sep 2022 7 min read 1
Your East Coast Sea View May Disappear: How The Long Island Reclamation Could Affect You An old plan resurfaced in a URA exhibit this June, and it’s worth paying attention to – especially if you own property anywhere along the stretch of East Coast Beach, from Changi to Marina Bay. The conceptual “long island”, first… 5 Sep 2022 4 min read 0
Singaporeans Are Now Selling Coffee & Nasi Lemak From Their HDB: What You Need To Know About Running A Home-Based Business Beyond rental, resale, and just being a home, Singaporeans are always out to stretch what they can do with their flat. In recent years, more of us have started to experiment with running a business right out of our homes… 24 Aug 2022 5 min read 1
3 Interesting Upcoming Residential Sites To Watch Out For (Orto Yishun, Jalan Tiga Ratus, Teban Gardens) Now that we’ve seen the impact of limited land plots, perhaps there’ll be more Government Land Sales next year. A lot of developers still face depleted land banks, and this brings the threat of higher home prices. In recent news,… 15 Aug 2022 5 min read 3
Think Property Prices Will Fall In 2022? Here’s The One Statistic That May Say Otherwise It’s incredible how fast Singapore’s property market can change. Back in September 2019, we were warned of a massive housing glut, with around 31,948 unsold units. At the time, analysts said it would take around four years to clear. From… 26 Apr 2022 6 min read 3
The Most Expensive HDB Is Now $1.39 million: Here’s Why It Doesn’t Matter HDB resale flat prices climbed slower in Q1 this year; news that’s overshadowed by a flat at Pinnacle @ Duxton, which sold for around $1.39 million ($1,388,888.88, to be exact). This is a new record for HDB resale flats –… 4 Apr 2022 5 min read 0