Commentary

China’s $90 Billion Property Crisis: 4 Important Lessons We Can Learn From In Singapore

China’s developer crisis has wiped out around US$90 billion in market value, and home prices there have fallen for 11 straight months. It’s often a shock to the public when this happens to property developers – there’s an image of…

• 19 Aug 2022
• 6 min read
• 1

We Reveal 4 Truths About Property Agent Commissions That You Need To Know

Property agent shenanigans are much more toned down these days, thanks to the Internet/social media. It also helps that buyers/sellers are much more educated than before, and are able to provide more resistance. However, this sensitive issue can still prompt…

• 18 Aug 2022
• 7 min read
• 0

Your Condo Management Or MCST Can Affect Your Future Profits: 7 Must Know Tips To Deal With Issues

Singaporeans have a bad habit of ignoring the condo MCST, until it’s way too late. Sometimes they only take an interest when they suddenly hear about an en-bloc attempt; or when something happens that directly affects them (e.g., a side-gate…

• 9 Aug 2022
• 8 min read
• 1

5 Hard Truths About Being A Property Agent In Singapore No One Tells You

Everyone has an agent friend whom they’ve known from secondary school/army and is now seemingly leading a glamorous life. It’s almost a parody by now that a successful agent will be driving a BMW/Mercs/Audi, along with the regular social media…

• 1 Aug 2022
• 8 min read
• 6

5 Certain Property Predictions That Ended Up Very Wrong (No Thanks To Covid-19)

As Covid-19 was the most major event in the country (and possibly the world at the time), it’s inevitable that many of the causes below are directly or indirectly linked to the pandemic. We’ve often said there’s no good crystal…

• 26 Jul 2022
• 8 min read
• 0

Why SERS Is Tough On Elderly Singaporeans And What Should We Do Beside 50-Year Leases?

Most Singaporeans consider the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) to be a good thing. The recent SERS in Ang Mo Kio, however, shows it’s not always a bed of roses: older Singaporeans can suffer greater drawbacks from SERS, and it’s…

• 18 Jul 2022
• 6 min read
• 3

10 Old Iconic Private Apartments In Singapore In The 1970s/80s: A Conversation With Finbarr & Samantha

Did you know that high-rise apartments have actually been accused of many unpleasant outcomes? Chief of these are themes like fear, dissatisfaction, stress, behaviour problems, suicide, poor social relations, reduced helpfulness, and hindered child development. (Adapted from Robert Gifford, The…

• 11 Jul 2022
• 8 min read
• 0

What The Future Of Singapore Real Estate Could Look Like: 6 Exciting Predictions

Let’s imagine for a second that you are in art class and the teacher gave you this description to create: “A medieval painting of the wifi not working” How would you go about drawing that? As crazy as it might…

• 27 Jun 2022
• 9 min read
• 0

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

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

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

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

Fab Or Fail: We Rate These 7 New Condo Trends Of The Past Decade

Every now and then, a developer tries something new that takes off – then before you know it, every other developer is following suit, and you have the makings of a trend. But how practical are these? Will they go…

• 30 Mar 2022
• 8 min read
• 0