Your views on the current surging property market

[goon]

Hi all!
I'm wondering if any of u out there like me who are are hunting for a home but are put off by the current surge in property prices whether it's in the HDB or private market.
I'm getting married and looking for a new home but the red hot property prices especially the resale HDB market is sky high and I'm wondering if I should wait or take the plunge??
I know it's a burden shared by all working adult unless yr family is rich but The thought of paying off years of loan for a house here in S'pore is a frightening prospect.
Are we over-paying especially our pay/salary ratio compared to other developed countries are not/or below the current world standard.:thumbsd:

 

[Virgo]

Hi all!
I'm wondering if any of u out there like me who are are hunting for a home but are put off by the current surge in property prices whether it's in the HDB or private market.
I'm getting married and looking for a new home but the red hot property prices especially the resale HDB market is sky high and I'm wondering if I should wait or take the plunge??
I know it's a burden shared by all working adult unless yr family is rich but The thought of paying off years of loan for a house here in S'pore is a frightening prospect.
Are we over-paying especially our pay/salary ratio compared to other developed countries are not/or below the current world standard.:thumbsd:

The thing about property is this. Pay for only what you can afford. Don't over commit. A rough guide is to finance not more than 30% of your currently salary for your house.

 

[agentmonkey]

yeah it is frightening isn't it? a lot of friends i know, their parents only just recently..at the age of 50+, pay of the loans for their flats and all.

 

[goon]

If their parents only finished paying theirs in their 50's ,imagine our generation ( 20's to 30's )!!!! Now even a HDB flat can command from S$500-700 K+. I guess ( from a non expert) we are currently paying close to double or more what most home buyers paid for 10 or 15 yrs ago?! Walau can't imagine what prices for homes will cost the next 5-10 yrs!!!!!

 

[Virgo]

If their parents only finished paying theirs in their 50's ,imagine our generation ( 20's to 30's )!!!! Now even a HDB flat can command from S$500-700 K+. I guess ( from a non expert) we are currently paying close to double or more what most home buyers paid for 10 or 15 yrs ago?! Walau can't imagine what prices for homes will cost the next 5-10 yrs!!!!!

True, but the government never ask you go pay for a flat with that price right? Of course, if you want good location and big floor area, that's another story, although I do agree wit you that the pricing of current HDB flats are high nowadays. However, I'm sure there are flats in some location which are still affordable.

 

[melvin]

Its a crazy market out there!:bsmilie:

 

[goon]

True, but the government never ask you go pay for a flat with that price right? Of course, if you want good location and big floor area, that's another story, although I do agree wit you that the pricing of current HDB flats are high nowadays. However, I'm sure there are flats in some location which are still affordable.

Actually quite true but I think it all depends on where u work cos if u work in Shenton way,u wouldn't really want to buy a flat say in Jurong West if given a choice even if it's much less pricey.

 

[flowerpot]

ask the agents out there... bring u view a few flats... sign on a agreement and u pay them 3-4K... what a wonderful job... ask the garment since they claim to have enough "affordable" flats out there... i really pity the later generations... it will be worst...

 

[melvin]

Actually quite true but I think it all depends on where u work cos if u work in Shenton way,u wouldn't really want to buy a flat say in Jurong West if given a choice even if it's much less pricey.

FYI snice the Prices in Jurong have gone up much compared to the past!

Think now u will not have much of a choice but to buy within your limits! As the sellers think its their market thus pushing COV higher n higher!:sweat:

 

[Reno]

I also looking for HDB flats now... the price is crazy.... i was looking for bedok area for resale and BTO in punggol.

The resale market is crazy. the 3 room in bedok are valued at around 250K-280k and they are more than 30 years old. 4 room are around 330K-350K for more than 30 years old flat, those 10 year below cost 375K-400K... crazy price... on top of that, these owners are asking $10k - $30k COV.... end up i take BTO.... lucky my queue number for punggol residence is good... i give up on resale. Crazy price.... how to afford?

 

[ckuang]

personally, I don't think the prices are going to get any cheaper. In fact, my gut feeling is that with the amount of money governments around the world are pumping into the monetary system, inflation is going to be a really big problem and prices are going to keep going up. With or without the financial crisis, Singapore is getting very very expensive.

 

[flowerpot]

I also looking for HDB flats now... the price is crazy.... i was looking for bedok area for resale and BTO in punggol.

The resale market is crazy. the 3 room in bedok are valued at around 250K-280k and they are more than 30 years old. 4 room are around 330K-350K for more than 30 years old flat, those 10 year below cost 375K-400K... crazy price... on top of that, these owners are asking $10k - $30k COV.... end up i take BTO.... lucky my queue number for punggol residence is good... i give up on resale. Crazy price.... how to afford?

not everyone so lucky... my cousin already got kids, after many tries then finally got it throught BTO... still has to wait a few years for it to be ready... i personally when throught almost 10 rounds of BTO, even went to see Pasir Ris MP Mr Teo for help... finally got it after close to 2 yrs of trying... well... i still dun understand why is there claims to have "enough" affordable housing out there... 1 day we will be like japan where the loan takes generations to pay back... i dun see anything done to curb these problems... or maybe "they" dun feel the problem...

 

[clioboy]

like our Miss World Ris Low will say..


BOOM!



but there is a acute shortage due to influx of FTs.
Units are being snapped up asa they are listed with very high COV.

Lucky i secured my BTO last year and at $200k instead of the same type of BTO which HDB is asking for $90k more and at a lousier location. :sweat:

 

[Jukon]

Actually quite true but I think it all depends on where u work cos if u work in Shenton way,u wouldn't really want to buy a flat say in Jurong West if given a choice even if it's much less pricey.

It is more convenient to stay in Jurong West and work in Shenton Way than living in Woodlands. Many of my friends including me stay in Jurong West and work in Shenton Way
so what is the problems with you?
With regard - Jukon

 

[Gunbucker]

Even after the obscene 6.7% inflation adjustment, the present prices are at least 30% more than what they were a few years back.

There's a very fine line between investment and speculation, and it is the latter that is driving the prices up, by the herd that are "scared to lose out".

Ironically, the ones that are flush with money (local fat cows, indonesian millionaires etc etc) have already gone in way early and got the best deals. The "working herd" is what is left like a mindless mob of zombies queuing up at launches, at one retrenchment away from defaulting payments.

So that leaves the genuine home buyers (as opposed to real estate speculators) in the dry. My recommendation is to let this glutton of a year that is 2009 whither away. In fact, most expect this bubble to grow well into 2010. But like all bubbles, an oversupply will eventually outstrip the demand. That's when you go in.

Just my inflated 0.09 cents worth :bsmilie:

 

[Ninja23XX]

The thing about property is this. Pay for only what you can afford. Don't over commit. A rough guide is to finance not more than 30% of your currently salary for your house.

That's true. Example if i earned $5000, the max cap for my installment is about 1/2 of my salary. That leaves you for some to spend, and some to save. If you are married. Divide the household expenditure with your spouse. Plan out things nicely. Someone pays for the mortgage loan installments. Some one pays for the house bill, groceries, food etc. Some luxury spending once in a while. And most importantly save and build a reserve. Don't bank out all of your CPF as well. Try to pay off the loan ASAP, the longer you keep it, you are just paying off in interest. Have a house that fits your budget first. Plan well. And when you have saved a little more next time, then you can upgrade. Because your job isn't always going to be there. You cannot think that your cashflow would always be there and smooth. When it's gone, you'd be stuck with so many problems. It will affect you and your family, and ultimately destroy everything at the end. Then you would have to start back from 0.


GMAN

 

[Sion]

I've heard some people rent in Singapore but buy house in Malaysia.

After retirement take CPF out and live in Malaysia where things are cheaper.

Good strategy or not?

 

[scanner]

I've heard some people rent in Singapore but buy house in Malaysia.

After retirement take CPF out and live in Malaysia where things are cheaper.

Good strategy or not?

Why not, sounds good approach.
Most of the HDB potential purchasers is buying the unit to stay. But with the "limited" control in the number of new supplies, it forces newly weds couple to buy HDB from resale market at a sky high price.

At the end of the day, who is the one who suffered. Definitely, not the HDB's suppliers(their pocket grow fat), but they still can claimed that they subsidize .... :devil:

Quoting from Paul Krugman "Then reality struck, and it turned out that the worriers had been right all along. The surge in asset values had been an illusion — but the surge in debt had been all too real."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/opinion/16krugman.html?_r=3&partner=rss&emc=rss

 

[USM]

In reality, there are still many Singaporeans who are willing to buy even if the prices are high.

Most of the people believe that property prices will rise as time goes by given that land is so scare in Singapore. If you don't buy now, and buy later, it will cost you even more. With such expectation, that's why when the prices dropped due to recession fear last year to beginning of this year, you can see a sudden surge in demand of properties. There are many cash rich people sitting on the sideline, waiting for the right price to enter.

Our government will not intervene too much unless the speculation is getting out of hand. Mr Mah is aware that there are some forms of speculation in the market but the real demand outweight the speculation at this moment. Hence, HDB will not take too drastic action to curb it.

 

[obfuscate]

I don't have any evidence to support my suspicions, but I'll mention them anyway.

1. Too much cheap money in circulation, and this money is flowing into Singapore.

2. Low interest rate environment.

3. More people taking up PR, and these PRs are buying HDB apartments.

4. Cost of materials have spiralled upwards in the last couple of years, it is inevitable that new developments will cost more. When new developments cost more, buyers will look for older developments.

5. Insufficient new HDB apartments released in mature or popular estates.

These needs validation.

1. Has HDB relaxed the rules of subletting HDB apartments? As long as you have lived in it for 5 years, you are entitled to sublet the entire apartment. Can someone confirm if this is true? If so, there is the possibility that people are not selling their HDB apartments off when they do not stay in these apartments. Just look at the number of HDB apartments available for rental on the internet and the papers.

2. HDB agents are talking property prices up by scaring kiasu buyers. The idea isn't to get more money out from buyers but to make these buyers fork out more money fast so as to meet the sellers asking prices, thus closing the deal quickly. Closing delas means more commissions.

3. There is a flaw in the valuation process. For every HDB apartment sold, there are reasons. e.g. location, condition, buyers expectations, seller expectations etc. The valuation process is blind to some of these reasons resulting in very subjective valuations.

Happy for others to add on what they think.