News

Why The $16,000 Income Ceiling For Executive Condos Is Too Low

The minimum down payment on an EC can be more than 25 per cent. Consider this: as of 2024, ECs have an income ceiling of $16,000 per month. Now along with this income ceiling, there’s a Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR)…

• 1 Dec 2024
• 4 min read
• 0

The Differing Sale Tactics Of Chuan Park And Emerald of Katong

Fast or slow: what’s the best way to sell a condo?  The answer seems obvious right? But not quite. Speed does count to some extent: condo developers work within tight time constraints – if the project isn’t completed and sold…

• 24 Nov 2024
• 4 min read
• 0

Why Are New Launch Condos In Singapore Selling Like Hotcakes Again?

I’m told that US politics is badly affected by the “echo chamber,” but perhaps our property market is as well.  The echo chamber effect happens when algorithms match you up to people with similar views and concerns, so you end…

• 17 Nov 2024
• 5 min read
• 0

Why This New HDB Rule Is A Big Win For Singles (After Years Of Being Overlooked)

Caring for singles is caring for seniors. Which is why I like the new family care scheme, starting in mid-2025. Under new rules coming next year, singles applying for BTO flats will get priority, so long as their intended home…

• 10 Nov 2024
• 4 min read
• 0

6 New Launch Condos In Singapore This Weekend… Which Is The Hot Favourite?

Watch out for the “surge in private home transactions” news report soon. Every quarter, the local media will publish a story on private home transactions; often one that sensationalises how high or low they are, while completely ignoring the number…

• 3 Nov 2024
• 4 min read
• 0

What Would Singapore Property Prices Be Like In 30 Years?

Singapore real estate is in its own class, when it comes to inflation Maybe you’ve seen this old ad going around; and granted, it’s American, but the entire world has been feeling the effects of inflation lately. Most Singaporeans can…

• 27 Oct 2024
• 4 min read
• 4

Is The Cost Of Land Too Expensive In Singapore Right Now?

No one wants government land anymore. We’ve entered the Government Land Sales (GLS) winter. For the third time, with the Media Circle land plot, there have been no winning bids. For long-time market watchers, this is a bit disorienting –…

• 20 Oct 2024
• 4 min read
• 2

What Makes An HDB Flat Prime Or Plus?

What makes a flat Plus, and what makes it Prime?  I’m convinced this is the next (mostly) unresolvable argument we’ll see in the coming decades; on par with the age-old “freehold versus leasehold” argument. As I’m writing this, we’re about…

• 13 Oct 2024
• 3 min read
• 0

What’s Better Than A Condo Next To An MRT?

What do MRT stations and condo concierge services have in common? They both seem to get less impressive every year. Having a concierge and a reception desk was once the hallmark of a luxury condo. Today, home buyers just shrug…

• 6 Oct 2024
• 3 min read
• 0

What Would Happen When We Relax Property Cooling Measures?

Sometimes, a good way to gauge cooling measures is to check who’s doing the opposite. How do we tell if the cooling measures in Singapore are working? Well, the most obvious answer is to check the results in a few…

• 29 Sep 2024
• 4 min read
• 0

Sweden Sells Land For Just 13 Singapore Cents… What’s The Catch?

Fancy a landed property that’s cheap, scenic, and really doesn’t need air-conditioning? Any of you with classic Singaporean “polar bear” syndrome? By that I mean you make you scream when someone raises the air-con past 22 degrees. There’s now a…

• 22 Sep 2024
• 4 min read
• 0

Should You Pay For A Buyer Agent?

You know those guides that say you should bang pots and pans, to scare off a bear?  Or that you should talk calmly to an armed kidnapper to humanise yourself?  Those are the kinds of solutions only someone in my…

• 15 Sep 2024
• 3 min read
• 0

What Is An Affordable Home In Singapore?

When it comes to housing affordability, the word “entitled” gets thrown around too much. There’s a certain kind of judgment that gets levelled on you, when you define affordable housing not just as a roof over your head. If you…

• 8 Sep 2024
• 5 min read
• 0

The US Just Changed How Property Agents Get Paid: Will Singapore Be Next?

Every now and then, it’s good to take a page from how other countries regulate their property agents Because everywhere in the world, there’s a general similarity in their profession: it’s a shark-eat-shark world out there, and the administrative work…

• 1 Sep 2024
• 5 min read
• 0

Is $1.1 Billion For PropertyGuru A Good Deal?

What is so expensive, you can have US $1.1 billion and still find yourself coming up short? That’s what makes me scratch my head, when the grand-daddy of property portals has been cutting jobs and closing some units. The portal I’m referring to is…

• 25 Aug 2024
• 5 min read
• 0

Why Cash Over Valuation (COV) Doesn’t Matter Anymore

It seems concealing Cash Over Valuation (COV) isn’t helping to slow down flat prices anymore. First, we had a $1.73 million flat, and now a listing in Bishan Block 261 is pushing for $1.88 million. This is for a maisonette;…

• 18 Aug 2024
• 4 min read
• 0

Are Resale HDBs Really Unaffordable In 2024?

When it comes to housing, always rethink using the “a” word. By that, I mean affordability, which is the most dangerous thing one can say about Singapore housing. Bringing it up is bound to hit a nerve on either side…

• 11 Aug 2024
• 3 min read
• 0

Here’s How Much Landed Homes Used To Cost In Singapore (We Found An Actual Advertisement)

You’ve probably heard landed homes used to be cheap in Singapore; but maybe you didn’t realise just how cheap:  As a point of comparison, average landed home prices (resale) in District 19, where Serangoon Gardens is located, was $1,853 psf…

• 5 Aug 2024
• 5 min read
• 0