Guides

Singapore’s Major Integrated Developments: A 5-year Update

The term “integrated development” is bandied about quite a bit in the Singapore private property market. Often, it’s confused with mixed-use developments, or as just a condo with a few shops.  In actuality, an integrated development is one that combines…

• 15 Nov 2020
• 8 min read
• 0

How Does 2020’s Low Interest Rates Impact Your Property Purchase?

If you have been on the lookout for a home this year, you’ve probably heard this many times by now. Now is a good time to buy, as the costs of borrowing money is so much lower. Put simply, a…

• 12 Nov 2020
• 6 min read
• 0

What’s Driving The Aggressive Bids For The Tanah Merah And Yishun GLS Sites?

Given the current Covid-19 crisis, you’d think developers would want to play it safe. After all, who would dare to make aggressive bids for Government Land Sales (GLS) sites, when we don’t know how the market will look a year…

• 10 Nov 2020
• 7 min read
• 2

Is It Time To Refinance From An HDB Loan To A Bank Loan?

After almost seven years of consecutive decline, the HDB resale market seems to have turned a corner. They hit a 10-year high as of Q3 2020; and there’s a good chance the momentum will continue.  Perhaps you’ve been tempted into…

• 5 Nov 2020
• 7 min read
• 0

Neighbourhood Of The Week: Yishun (District 27)

Yishun is one of the most meme-worthy neighbourhoods in Singapore. It’s nicknames include “The Devil’s Ring” and to date, it’s the only neighbourhood to have inspired a website entirely about its strange happenings. It’s also one of the rare non-central…

• 1 Nov 2020
• 5 min read
• 0

Margin Calls: Possibly The Most Overlooked Risk In High-quantum Properties

You could say that the Singapore private property market has left many people puzzled. Despite Singapore seeing its worst recession in over 55 years, home sales and prices are rising across the board.  HDB resale flats are at a 10-year…

• 30 Oct 2020
• 5 min read
• 0

Working From Home: 3 Ways To Add A Working Space Into Your Home

You could say that working from home has been an unintended perk from the miserable Covid-19 situation.  It has been a little more than 6 months (where has all that time gone?) since circuit breaker measures were first introduced, and…

• 22 Oct 2020
• 7 min read
• 0

Why Are Landed Home Sales Hitting New Highs Despite Covid-19?

If you’re like most people, you might guess the most expensive property segment – landed property – will fare worst in the downturn. After all, who would buy a bungalow or Semi-D in Singapore’s worst economic situation to date, right?…

• 20 Oct 2020
• 5 min read
• 2

We Evaluate The Truths Behind 4 Common Property Sayings

The Singapore property market is awash with sayings and platitudes. Some old favourites include “If you want to see a more expensive house, come back to view this one tomorrow,” or “Selling this will be easy, people who stay on…

• 16 Oct 2020
• 8 min read
• 0

How Do The Additional Relief Measures For Developers Affect Home Buyers?

As of last week (9th October), property developers were granted another six-month extension to complete their projects. This is a second round of extension, with the last one being in May – altogether, property developers now have a full additional…

• 14 Oct 2020
• 6 min read
• 0

4 Practical Ways To Use Supply And Demand For Property Research

Supply and demand – it’s basic economics. It’s the reason why Hermes can sell $10,000 Birkin bags (which may sound incredulous to some), and yet still garner a long waiting list along with a booming resale market.  Or why certain…

• 10 Oct 2020
• 8 min read
• 2

Why Do Banks Even Bother Trying To Sell Home Loans With Higher Interest Rates?

You’ve called around to different banks and gotten all their interest rates, and now you have one burning question: why?  Why do some banks even bother trying to sell home loan packages, with interest rates way higher than all the…

• 8 Oct 2020
• 6 min read
• 1

How Much Must You Earn To Pay Off Your Property By 50?

Here’s a thought that will make any Singaporean heart turn cold: working past 50 to pay off a housing mortgage. Could you really still be attending 10 am presentations, and typing mind-numbing reports in your mid-50’s, all because of that…

• 6 Oct 2020
• 7 min read
• 0

How To Use The URA Master Plan To Do Your Own Research

You’ve just read the dozenth article, guide, blog post, etc. telling you to “check the URA Master Plan”. We even do that here on Stacked, as it’s good advice. But as you navigate to the URA home page, you may…

• 4 Oct 2020
• 6 min read
• 2

Neighbourhood Of The Week: Queenstown (District 3)

Queenstown is the first satellite town in Singapore. The entire concept of having a “self-contained” township, with its own council, amenities away from the city, etc. It all started here, as far back as the 1950s. In fact, Queenstown is…

• 2 Oct 2020
• 5 min read
• 0

The Underrated Advantage Of Paying Your Home Loan In Cash

Paying in cash when you can use CPF? There must be a method to this madness. And indeed, there’s a small demographic of home buyers who service that monthly loan out of their own pocket – even if they could…

• 29 Sep 2020
• 7 min read
• 0

New OTP Re-issue Restrictions: What Does It Mean For Property Buyers?

As of today (28th September 2020), the URA has put a stop to the re-issuing of an Option To Purchase (OTP) to prospective home buyers. We can’t call it a sudden move, as just last month the URA was already…

• 28 Sep 2020
• 5 min read
• 0

Neighbourhood Of The Week: Bishan (District 20)

Bishan had a bit of a rough start, back in 1983. At the time, some Singaporeans swore off the area entirely, due to superstition; present day Bishan used to be Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng, one of the largest…

• 23 Sep 2020
• 5 min read
• 0