Propnex says home buyers may snag good deals if they want to upgrade

Propnex says home buyers may snag good deals if they want to upgrade

By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 20 March 2008 2235 hrs


Propnex says home buyers may snag good deals if they want to upgrade

SINGAPORE: For those with an eye on property, it's a buyers market now, and home hunters who've done their homework may be able to snag some good deals, especially for those looking to upgrade.

This, according to real estate agency Propnex's CEO, Mohamed Ismail, who held a talk for alumni members at the National University of Singapore.

Prices of HDB flats jumped 17 per cent in 2007 and it is set to continue its climb in 2008, though at a more modest pace.

Industry players also expect robust demand with HDB ramping up its building programme.

But the private residential space is seeing prices moderate.

So, some property agents said it's an appropriate time to upgrade if home owners can afford it.

Mr Mohamed Ismail said: “If someone wants to buy a mass market property or upgrade to a landed property, I think this is the best time for the HDB owners.

“It makes sense for them to sell their public housing when the market is positive and go look for a bargain buy to upgrade themselves when the market shifts and starts to move.

“A 10 per cent increase in the private property would mean that a million dollar property would cost 1.1 million. While at the same time, a 10 per cent increase of a HDB property that is worth S$400,000 is going to grow by 40,000. The net result - you are going to lose out.”

Agents said the private mass market segment will continue to do well this year, with prices creeping up slowly.

"Look at today’s public housing pricing, and the DBSS (design Built and Sell Scheme) pricing per square foot. They are already going at almost S$600 if one would want to buy at a mass market price that is less than S$800 with full facilities," the Propnex CEO continued.

In the high-end space, prices are expected to fall by between five and ten per cent from six months ago.

But prices of landed homes may be steady.

Property agents expect the dust kicked up by the US sub-prime crisis and the rising oil prices to settle by 2009.

They are also confident that the future is still bright for the property market. That's because Singapore has the right fundamentals in place.

These include a tight labour market, stable economy and a series of high-profile international events lined-up such as the Formula One Grand Prix in September, and the Youth Olympics in 2010. - CNA/vm

More transaction means More money goes into agents pockets.

The agent talk here is irresponsible especially about the 10% gain for $1m private property versus $400,000 HDB flat.

He is encouraging speculating investment but HDB is meant for self stay. Affordability and not being financially over stretch has to be the key consideration whether upgrade to private or HDB flat.

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Originally Posted by Unregistered

More transaction means More money goes into agents pockets.

The agent talk here is irresponsible especially about the 10% gain for $1m private property versus $400,000 HDB flat.

He is encouraging speculating investment but HDB is meant for self stay. Affordability and not being financially over stretch has to be the key consideration whether upgrade to private or HDB flat.

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No lah. We all know that to upgrade or not is depending on the individual affordability. If you can not afford, please continue to stay in your HDB. For those who can afford and have some risk appetite, go ahead and grow with the economy when situation improve.

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Originally Posted by mr funny

Propnex says home buyers may snag good deals if they want to upgrade

By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 20 March 2008 2235 hrs


Propnex says home buyers may snag good deals if they want to upgrade

SINGAPORE: For those with an eye on property, it's a buyers market now, and home hunters who've done their homework may be able to snag some good deals, especially for those looking to upgrade.

This, according to real estate agency Propnex's CEO, Mohamed Ismail, who held a talk for alumni members at the National University of Singapore.

Prices of HDB flats jumped 17 per cent in 2007 and it is set to continue its climb in 2008, though at a more modest pace.

Industry players also expect robust demand with HDB ramping up its building programme.

But the private residential space is seeing prices moderate.

So, some property agents said it's an appropriate time to upgrade if home owners can afford it.

Mr Mohamed Ismail said: “If someone wants to buy a mass market property or upgrade to a landed property, I think this is the best time for the HDB owners.

“It makes sense for them to sell their public housing when the market is positive and go look for a bargain buy to upgrade themselves when the market shifts and starts to move.

“A 10 per cent increase in the private property would mean that a million dollar property would cost 1.1 million. While at the same time, a 10 per cent increase of a HDB property that is worth S$400,000 is going to grow by 40,000. The net result - you are going to lose out.”

Agents said the private mass market segment will continue to do well this year, with prices creeping up slowly.

"Look at today’s public housing pricing, and the DBSS (design Built and Sell Scheme) pricing per square foot. They are already going at almost S$600 if one would want to buy at a mass market price that is less than S$800 with full facilities," the Propnex CEO continued.

In the high-end space, prices are expected to fall by between five and ten per cent from six months ago.

But prices of landed homes may be steady.

Property agents expect the dust kicked up by the US sub-prime crisis and the rising oil prices to settle by 2009.

They are also confident that the future is still bright for the property market. That's because Singapore has the right fundamentals in place.

These include a tight labour market, stable economy and a series of high-profile international events lined-up such as the Formula One Grand Prix in September, and the Youth Olympics in 2010. - CNA/vm

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The dynamics for Singapore real estate market has changed a lot in the last 2 years. The best segment to be in now is the resale HDB and resale mass market condo.

Just tell me how is prices going to come down when there is hardly any stock of HDB new flats. Everything is BTO and the demand/supply imbalance is at least 20:1. Some many HDB flats are now tenanted at sky high price and these further reduce the supply of resale flats in the market. COV will continue to remain.

Now is the time to upgrade when you get COV over your old resale HDB flats and buy into a older resale mass market condo where you might still find sellers willing to let go at or below valuation. Think about it construction cost lone for new entry level mass market condo today is going at $350-450 psf and still climbing without land cost. You can still buy some EC at under $500 psf. For me, upgrading is not only an opportunity, it is a no brainer.

iF this is buyers Market ,then how the prices are going to increase .This looks to be a quite one sided news

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Originally Posted by Unregistered

iF this is buyers Market ,then how the prices are going to increase .This looks to be a quite one sided news

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aiyah, it is a property agent's prediction mah, what u expect?

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Originally Posted by Unregistered

aiyah, it is a property agent's prediction mah, what u expect?

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ok lah .so message from agents is just buy& Sell

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Originally Posted by Unregistered

iF this is buyers Market ,then how the prices are going to increase .This looks to be a quite one sided news

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What they mean is; the prices are not going to increase that fast as before, buyers can get good buy if the some sellers are in need of money now. As the market are now in the 'grey' lining that it may go North or South in any direction now. What these people are predicting that they are very confident that the future is still bright for the property market. That's because Singapore has the right fundamentals in place.

These include a tight labour market, stable economy and a series of high-profile international events lined-up such as the Formula One Grand Prix in September in 2008, Casino in 2009, and the Youth Olympics in 2010. And of course the 6 million population in Singapore.

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Originally Posted by Unregistered

What they mean is; the prices are not going to increase that fast as before, buyers can get good buy if the some sellers are in need of money now. As the market are now in the 'grey' lining that it may go North or South in any direction now. What these people are predicting that they are very confident that the future is still bright for the property market. That's because Singapore has the right fundamentals in place.

These include a tight labour market, stable economy and a series of high-profile international events lined-up such as the Formula One Grand Prix in September in 2008, Casino in 2009, and the Youth Olympics in 2010. And of course the 6 million population in Singapore.

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Do you think Singapore gov can digest all these projects with higher steel price and sand ben ?Its creating another kind of inflation bubble (lable shortage, housing shortage, construction material shortage, office space shortage). Living cost here will go sky high. Especially if US$ is stronger then S$ in near future, the impact will be more obvious.

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Originally Posted by Unregistered

Do you think Singapore gov can digest all these projects with higher steel price and sand ben ?Its creating another kind of inflation bubble (lable shortage, housing shortage, construction material shortage, office space shortage). Living cost here will go sky high. Especially if US$ is stronger then S$ in near future, the impact will be more obvious.

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The rising COST, be it petroleum, water, sand (concrete), etc., is not a bad thing after all because it motivates R&D into new resources. Without the water problem with Malaysia, how can we have Newater?

Biodiesel and electric cars are going to replace petrol cars, thanks to the higher oil prices, with less pollution.

And for sand and concrete, the new building material, at 30% cheaper than concrete, less than one-third the weight of concrete, is now available -- the MgO walls or dry walls.

Yes, construction costs for private condos used to be in the $150 to $180 psf range, shot up to about $250 psf now, and threatening to go further although the Indonesian sand problem has cooled. But with MgO walls, building costs will return to the $180 level by 2009 or 2010 at latest. The reduction in weight will reduce piling and foundation costs and because the walls are dry, construction time can be reduced by a third.

Don't worry, everything goes up must come down (Newton's law), but everything that hits the bottom must rebound in order to come down again later.

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Originally Posted by Unregistered

Don't worry, everything goes up must come down (Newton's law), but everything that hits the bottom must rebound in order to come down again later.

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Don't anyhow misquote Newton. Newton definitely did not say that "everything goes up must come down".

According to Newton's law of gravitation, only objects slower than the escape velocity (11.2 km/s) will come down. On the other hand, objects equal or faster than the escape velocity will continue going up, up and away. Read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_velocity

For example, after Farrer Court was en blocked for $2.15 million per unit even though they were bought for only $100,000 each 30 years ago, are other privatised HUDB estates such as Pine Grove, Normanton Park, Lagoon View and Laguna Park going to fall back down to $100,000 again?

It's not possible because even an HDB 3-Room flat costs more than that.

So we can say that privatised HUDC estates, for example, have attained escape velocity.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Unregistered

Don't anyhow misquote Newton. Newton definitely did not say that "everything goes up must come down".

According to Newton's law of gravitation, only objects slower than the escape velocity (11.2 km/s) will come down. On the other hand, objects equal or faster than the escape velocity will continue going up, up and away. Read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_velocity

For example, after Farrer Court was en blocked for $2.15 million per unit even though they were bought for only $100,000 each 30 years ago, are other privatised HUDB estates such as Pine Grove, Normanton Park, Lagoon View and Laguna Park going to fall back down to $100,000 again?

It's not possible because even an HDB 3-Room flat costs more than that.

So we can say that privatised HUDC estates, for example, have attained escape velocity.

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Thanks for the lesson on physics, but you are barking up the wrong tree because Newton formulated several laws, including the famous one "to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".

This is a thread for property matters, not on physics, so don't show off with technical terms.

And don't forget, laws are not perfect either because there are always exceptions to the laws.

Farrer Court is one such exception, certainly not escape velocity, otherwise the market would not have taken a break and continue, as you claimed, to be up, up and away.

It is OK to state your point of view, but not OK to make allegations and slam other writers. So what you may be more knowledgeable on one peanut, but you could be a moron with coconuts.

And if you really know Newton's gravity, you should know that everything that goes up, ceteris paribus, must come down. If you still want to argue, show me how you can toss something up, and without holding it in any manner, keep that object in mid-air, including feathers, but not inert gases (which you can't toss anyway).

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Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for the lesson on physics, but you are barking up the wrong tree because Newton formulated several laws, including the famous one "to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".

This is a thread for property matters, not on physics, so don't show off with technical terms.

And don't forget, laws are not perfect either because there are always exceptions to the laws.

Farrer Court is one such exception, certainly not escape velocity, otherwise the market would not have taken a break and continue, as you claimed, to be up, up and away.

It is OK to state your point of view, but not OK to make allegations and slam other writers. So what you may be more knowledgeable on one peanut, but you could be a moron with coconuts.

And if you really know Newton's gravity, you should know that everything that goes up, ceteris paribus, must come down. If you still want to argue, show me how you can toss something up, and without holding it in any manner, keep that object in mid-air, including feathers, but not inert gases (which you can't toss anyway).

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He thinks he is in space, no gravitation force.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for the lesson on physics, but you are barking up the wrong tree because Newton formulated several laws, including the famous one "to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".

This is a thread for property matters, not on physics, so don't show off with technical terms.

And don't forget, laws are not perfect either because there are always exceptions to the laws.

Farrer Court is one such exception, certainly not escape velocity, otherwise the market would not have taken a break and continue, as you claimed, to be up, up and away.

It is OK to state your point of view, but not OK to make allegations and slam other writers. So what you may be more knowledgeable on one peanut, but you could be a moron with coconuts.

And if you really know Newton's gravity, you should know that everything that goes up, ceteris paribus, must come down. If you still want to argue, show me how you can toss something up, and without holding it in any manner, keep that object in mid-air, including feathers, but not inert gases (which you can't toss anyway).

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Firstly, let me point out that Newton's third law states "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and these forces act on mutually opposite bodies" hence it cannot be applied to the case of a body that goes up and then falls down again, because that is the same body.

Secondly, I am not the one showing off technical terms, but the sour grapes are. The sour grapes are the ones who are showing off their knowledge (or rather ignorance) of Newton's laws by misquoting Newton and claimed he said that "everything that goes up must come down" and hence that applies to property prices. Can anyone here produce a record that Newton ever said that "everything that goes up must come down"? In fact, applying Newton's law of gravitation, only objects projected from the Earth with a velocity lower than the escape velocity of 11.2 km/s will come back down; whereas objects projected with a velocity equal to or greater than 11.2 km/s will not.

Please take a few moments to go through this article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_velocity

Thirdly, Farrer Court has obviously reached escape velocity because it will never fall back to the ground level (which is the $100,000 price that the Government sold to the HUDC applicants 30 years ago).

Fourthly, yes I may be more knowledgeable on one peanut but a moron with coconuts. I am a moron about coconuts like commodities futures, options trading and financial derivatives. However, I am knowledgeable about a peanut called condos (which I believe this forum is all about) as I am an investor who has transacted several en bloc properties, in addition to commercial and landed properties. Hence I don't post in forums on commodities or options trading and make a fool of myself.

Lastly, I still disagree with you that "everything that goes up, ceteris paribus, must come down." If you want me to show you something that goes up but will not come back down, it is a projectile ejected away from the Earth with a velocity equal to or greater than 11.2 km/s, otherwise known as the escape velocity.

yah lah...to be honest here...not everyone can afford to own a property in sg...so if u can't afford one...u still can still buy "loti aka bread"...it's CHEAP & AFFORDABLE...not much price fluctuations too

Why talk about condo and non-related Newton's laws iin CONDOsingapore.com when you can't afford a condo?