Buying an HDB flat now or wait?


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fengwei

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Aug 25, 2004
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Hi All,

I've been living in a rental flat for 7 years, now my wife got tired of it and she wants to buy a flat of our own :(

Well, we should have bought our house 2 or 3 years back, but I don't know what I was thinking back then, probably I was hoping the price would go even lower :dunno: Guess I thought it wrongly :cry:

Here is the Q, do you think I should buy an HDB flat now or wait until another bottom out price like 2 years back? Currently the rental is way too high (I've been lucky though 'cause our landlord hasn't raised our fee much, but I don't know how long this is gonna last), probably it's worth it to buy a flat of our own?

Now a 4 room flat can easily cost over 300K, a 5 room one can easily go over 400K already, don't know if the price is gonna stay like this or no where but down :dunno:

I'd like to hear what you guys think, and thanks in advance for your comments and replies.
 

For 5 rooms flat, I would think wait for lower pricing since market price probably top now, with recession coming, it should fall.

In last recession, more people downgrade from 5 rooms flat to 4 rooms flat or below, end up pushing the price of 4 rooms or below flat up, but drop in 5 rooms and executive flat.
 

Keep monitoring the price for the next few months & whack if the price is within your comfort range or budget.

There were 4 rooms around 270k range last few months depending on locations, I am expecting them to drop by this year end so I am waiting also..

Lastly, make up your mind lah! 4 room or 5 room for you?:dunno:
 

Better to wait.

You can expect property prices to go down in the coming months. :sweat:

Btw, you buying resale or new flat from HDB?
 

Thanks guys. I think I'd go w/ a resale 5rm flat. Those new flats from HDB are either too expensive or too far from an MRT station :(


As you guys said, the recession just started, we probably should wait until the price is more affordable. Currently price for private properties has gone down a bit, but prices for those resale flats still keep going up :dunno:
 

resale price still going up
1. depend on location
2. new flat expensive and some couple don't want to wait for the 6 mth lucky drawn
3. PR buying resale HDB. Some PR are cash rich which push up the COV price
4. valuation price didn't drop. Thanks to HDB price their new flat high. :rolleyes:
 

Hi All,

I've been living in a rental flat for 7 years, now my wife got tired of it and she wants to buy a flat of our own :(

Well, we should have bought our house 2 or 3 years back, but I don't know what I was thinking back then, probably I was hoping the price would go even lower :dunno: Guess I thought it wrongly :cry:

Here is the Q, do you think I should buy an HDB flat now or wait until another bottom out price like 2 years back? Currently the rental is way too high (I've been lucky though 'cause our landlord hasn't raised our fee much, but I don't know how long this is gonna last), probably it's worth it to buy a flat of our own?

Now a 4 room flat can easily cost over 300K, a 5 room one can easily go over 400K already, don't know if the price is gonna stay like this or no where but down :dunno:

I'd like to hear what you guys think, and thanks in advance for your comments and replies.

Before u really decide to buy ask u a few question,

After ur first wait, do u still want to wait some more?

If u were thinking of waiting for prices to fall, how much do you think the price of the flats will fall to? And how fast would that occur?

Those flats which are near to amenities such as MRT stations, a good neighbourhood and with good view, good schools etc.....they will not suffer much!:D
 

I have really never see HBD prices drop like private sectors. As melvin (he is into real estate) mentioned, those HDB near MRTs and so on will never fall to your expected level. My brother bought a 3 room unit at Braddel MRT (Block 112 about 12 years back) for $170,000 and he just sold it for $265,000. In that 12 years (includes SARS and Asian Finiancial Crisis), his unit price did not go below $185,000.

If you keep on waiting and waiting and waiting.............all your money will go to waste. Why wait when you can afford it now?

Instead of throwing money back at yourself and see it burn away in renting.

And you have been working long enough to have at least a decent amount of CPF with your wife to purchase a second hand one. New HDB maybe cheaper but you have to wait and queue up.

I was renting HDB for about 5 years and the amount which I calculated could have been my downpayment for my current HDB.

There is no right or wrong time to buy a HDB unit. As long as you are ready with enough cash, go ahead. I am very happy and proud to own a house of my own. You can do whatever to it (within the HDB regulations lar).

Plus if you plan to renovate, it's also a good time as renovaters/interior design firms as pricing has actually gone up bit by bit due to the material cost. If you were to renovate in the near future, it will cost you more.

Think about it with your wife. Besides asking opinions from a few HDB owners in CS, asked your friends and family about it too.
 

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The rental for HDBs will keep on going up as ppl who sold their condos (not able to afford mortgage, raise cash to pay off lost on equity bought on margin etc) will now want to rent. Next few years as IR comes online, more and more foreigner will come in to singapore and they have to stay somewhere. HDB prices might drop either this year or next but how long do you want to wait? Remember every month waiting means you will be paying rent for another month. So you should continue waiting if you feel that prices will drop more in the coming 1 month than it cost you in rent. Buy one in a good location and prices are more or less guaranteed. Since you'll be staying there, any short term drop in price should not concern you too much right? I also renting haha.... contributing to someone's mortgage.
 

If the rental for the flat is equal to or more than the monthly installment, then can go buy lor :)

In a recession, HDB flat prices may not drop. Reason is because rich folks may sell their property and Dg to a HDB. HDB prices therefore go up. When resale prices go up, the new flat prices also go up, because HDB peg their new flats to resale flat price. Resale flat price therefore cannot go down below that new price; and therefore will only go up. Then the newer new flats also go up. HDB is therefore the price controller in HDB flat prices.
 

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Personally do not feel it is worth the wait as rental seem to go up. I doubt prices for 4-5 rm will change much even in recession. Have recently purchase a flat (near central/mrt) few weeks as we have waited for 5 yrs and have not seen the price falling during this five yrs even at last recession.

That is my personal view.
 

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That is one thing good about HBD as it's always cheaper than private housing and the price will not go rock bottom. Although it's only a 99 year lease but most old HDB will become enbloc.
 

An option from personal experience gained after five (sometimes painful) years of living in rented spaces:

- Buy a resale flat around an MRT slated for SERS (e.g. west area has some near Commonwealth MRT)

- You'd have to be a new couple OR HDB designation of a "family unit"

- It takes a few months to a year for things to get going then the government allows the resident to ballot for a new flat straight from HDB.

-The govmt will, in the meantime, credit the amount (at bank valuation rate) for the old flat back to the resident, and the resident can proceed to pay/process loans/sign with HDB and move into new flat.

- Five years later, if you choose to sell of the flat, you get a substantial amount from the returns. Quite "guaranteed" considering if you're a first time HDB buyer

- This is if you can afford the wait and paperwork.. Quite a few trips down to HDB for balloting, signing, key collection, lease handover etc.

Good luck and cheers.
 

actually i think main problem is the cash above valuation. The valuation of the HDB will not drop much even with recession, maybe drop a bit but not by a large margin. Its the cash portion that is killing me for my case, ppl are asking 30 to 50K cash, plus renovation means a 50-80K cash on hand, i dun have that kind of cash and no parental sponsor so too bad, its balloting for mi for new HDB/BTO, wait and wait and wait till i get a good queue number.

My best advice is to start look now, if the price is ok, just buy it if u can afford the cash portion.
 

have to agree with flowerpot.

The cash above valuation can be the main killer. We encounter couples asking from 20k to 150k cash above valuation.
 

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may be it's also a supply and demand issue, last time HDB built a lot of excess flat, so flat price is lower, but now all with BTO only, so there will be less likely to see a big fall in HDB flat selling price, as the quantity is "controlled".

Actually, when recession come, more foreign worker will lose job and end up return home, so the rental should go down instead?
 

have to agree with flowerpot.

The cash above valuation can be the main killer. We encounter couples asking from 20k to 150k cash above valuation.

:bigeyes: 150k above valuation? Must be tiled with gold or something....
 

may be it's also a supply and demand issue, last time HDB built a lot of excess flat, so flat price is lower, but now all with BTO only, so there will be less likely to see a big fall in HDB flat selling price, as the quantity is "controlled".

Actually, when recession come, more foreign worker will lose job and end up return home, so the rental should go down instead?

Hard to say really. On the one hand you have foreigners being retrenched, but even then they might not go home straight, they might stick around for 6 mths - 1 year trying to look for another job.... at least that was what I did after I graduated in UK... haha. It's like taking a gamble whether the rental will go up or down....
 

have to agree with flowerpot.

The cash above valuation can be the main killer. We encounter couples asking from 20k to 150k cash above valuation.

Now not so much liao la... on average between $30-$50k. Of cos depending on location!:)
 

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