Property market sentiments 2011

[DC33_2008]

Waiting to pick some good stocks on Wed and Silver to drop to USD30.

election over, time for bad news. in BT today:

"SINGAPORE's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) took a surprise knock last month, dipping 1.8 per cent from a year ago, the first monthly decline in 1.5 years.

The fall, which came after a revised 9.9 per cent increase in March and went against market expectations of a 6.5 per cent rise, may presage a sequential drop in gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter, according to Wu Kun Lung, an economist at Credit Suisse."

[hopeful]

election over, time for bad news. in BT today:

"SINGAPORE's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) took a surprise knock last month, dipping 1.8 per cent from a year ago, the first monthly decline in 1.5 years.

The fall, which came after a revised 9.9 per cent increase in March and went against market expectations of a 6.5 per cent rise, may presage a sequential drop in gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter, according to Wu Kun Lung, an economist at Credit Suisse."

ministers bang balls. bonus cut already. anyway, would it affect property sentiment?

[richwang]

http://bnn-news.com/2011/05/05/world...ls-gold-silver

"Last month, his investment fund Soros Fund Management sold nearly all of its gold and silver, reports The Wall Street Journal."

I guess it's time to say "Cash is King" again. If George Soros doesn't even want to hold gold, he is likely in short position now.

I am not going to buy anything until QE3 comes (in August? when US passes the law to increase the limit for deficit - which expires on Sept).

Thanks,
Richard

[devilplate]

http://bnn-news.com/2011/05/05/world...ls-gold-silver

"Last month, his investment fund Soros Fund Management sold nearly all of its gold and silver, reports The Wall Street Journal."

I guess it's time to say "Cash is King" again. If George Soros doesn't even want to hold gold, he is likely in short position now.

I am not going to buy anything until QE3 comes (in August? when US passes the law to increase the limit for deficit - which expires on Sept).

Thanks,
Richard

Soro is the greatest devil!

I tink 2-3mths back telling ppl to buy precious metal! So tat he can sell!

Hahaha.....i took his hint n sell tgt

[bargain hunter]

don't think it will affect in short run (blame japan earthquake for supply chain problems in electronics exports) until the GDP no. really comes out no good in july. coincides with seventh month in aug? maybe then there could be some dent in sentiment?

ministers bang balls. bonus cut already. anyway, would it affect property sentiment?

[devilplate]

don't think it will affect in short run (blame japan earthquake for supply chain problems in electronics exports) until the GDP no. really comes out no good in july. coincides with seventh month in aug? maybe then there could be some dent in sentiment?

Stock market flattish oredi....if drop below 3k...danger

[dmonddd]

US in trouble...rating shld come down with so much debt $$$
1 more round of higher borrowing rates in US esp corporates
spill over to Asia ..

[dmonddd]

equity prices shld come down with investors switching portfolio mix

[DC33_2008]

watch out for the mortgage problem.

US in trouble...rating shld come down with so much debt $$$
1 more round of higher borrowing rates in US esp corporates
spill over to Asia ..

[dmonddd]

watch out for the mortgage problem.

doubt there will be another round of mortgage problem..i see more of the corporate problems this round

[DC33_2008]

mortgagee is suing the institutions.

doubt there will be another round of mortgage problem..i see more of the corporate problems this round

[Eldenfirefly]

Actually, I think Singapore property market still relatively ok. But must see if a dangerous trend starts to take off. Nowadays, more people considering taking up an equity housing loan.

This means that their existing property, which they pay down somwhat already, and the price has gone up. Then they go to the bank, get a bigger loan. So they get cash immediately, but its all actually borrowed money. And with that cash, they go and buy a second propery, or play stocks, etc.

If this trend becomes very common place here, then we will be in danger of becoming like the US - where the subprime loans caused the biggest housing crash there in decades.

So far, not quite popular yet, though I think more banks are now trying to encourage this kind of thing.

[DC33_2008]

It dangerous to play with fire. Too much risk for a conservative person.

Actually, I think Singapore property market still relatively ok. But must see if a dangerous trend starts to take off. Nowadays, more people considering taking up an equity housing loan.

This means that their existing property, which they pay down somwhat already, and the price has gone up. Then they go to the bank, get a bigger loan. So they get cash immediately, but its all actually borrowed money. And with that cash, they go and buy a second propery, or play stocks, etc.

If this trend becomes very common place here, then we will be in danger of becoming like the US - where the subprime loans caused the biggest housing crash there in decades.

So far, not quite popular yet, though I think more banks are now trying to encourage this kind of thing.

[dmonddd]

Actually, I think Singapore property market still relatively ok. But must see if a dangerous trend starts to take off. Nowadays, more people considering taking up an equity housing loan.

This means that their existing property, which they pay down somwhat already, and the price has gone up. Then they go to the bank, get a bigger loan. So they get cash immediately, but its all actually borrowed money. And with that cash, they go and buy a second propery, or play stocks, etc.

If this trend becomes very common place here, then we will be in danger of becoming like the US - where the subprime loans caused the biggest housing crash there in decades.

So far, not quite popular yet, though I think more banks are now trying to encourage this kind of thing.

ok at current low interest rates...what if rates go up?
HK it happened when interest rates doubled...owners got screwed big time as rent not enuf to cover bank repayments.

everyone is now thinking rates will stay at this level for next 5 yrs..think so?

[bargain hunter]

seldom see sti falls affecting ppty buying sentiment (esp. in OCR) leh. in the past sti drop also pple buy and buy ppty. LOL.

Stock market flattish oredi....if drop below 3k...danger

[DC33_2008]

Unless US continues to print money. What is the likelihood?

ok at current low interest rates...what if rates go up?
HK it happened when interest rates doubled...owners got screwed big time as rent not enuf to cover bank repayments.

everyone is now thinking rates will stay at this level for next 5 yrs..think so?

[devilplate]

ok at current low interest rates...what if rates go up?
HK it happened when interest rates doubled...owners got screwed big time as rent not enuf to cover bank repayments.

everyone is now thinking rates will stay at this level for next 5 yrs..think so?

Money mgmt

Good debts vs bad debts

[devilplate]

It dangerous to play with fire. Too much risk for a conservative person.

Borrow out of equity loan actually safer....set aside for future installments or in case ask to top up for other ppty

Borrowing cost actually less den 0.5% now

[Eldenfirefly]

Equity loan is a great instrument, if you know how to use it well. But not everyone is good at money management. Most American who took up an equity loan ended up spending the extra money they received. They never realised it was a loan that they would ultimately have to pay back.

If used wisely for investment purposes, then it can be very powerful. Like what devilplate said, now housing loan interest rate is 0.5%. So, if the bank is willing to loan to hundredds of thousands of dollars, you are essentially playing with their money, not your own.

The problem is that investment is not a bao jai case. Will go up, and will go down also. Risk is there. Just have to remember, that its money you loaned and have to pay back eventually, so if you end up losing money, then you will be quite cham ...

[DC33_2008]

Each of us have different reserves and comfort level. Good debt can become bad debt when thing change for the worst quickly. Want to sleep peacefully at night and every night.

Borrow out of equity loan actually safer....set aside for future installments or in case ask to top up for other ppty

Borrowing cost actually less den 0.5% now

[Eldenfirefly]

Problem is, out of 10 people, how many would be truely a savvy investor? Maybe only 2 or 3? The rest will end up spend the money, panic when market crash, buy high sell low, etc etc.

And maybe out of the 3 who are savvy, 2 of them will not choose to take up an equity home loan. After all, if they are so savvy, they know that as long as they are patient, they will make money eventuallly, so dun need to be so impatient, play with borrowed money. Especially since if they are savvy, then they will know the risks of borrowed money.

That's why in the end, all the credit card companies, banks trying to get you to increase your loan. Most of them don't play on the investment factor. They try and tempt you to take up more loan so that you can spend the money on something immediate.

Far more people will choose immediate satisfaction of buying something nice, going on holiday, even if on borrowed money like an equity loan, rather than investing it, then have to be patient and wait for the returns to come in.

Think about it this way. Out of 10 people who sign up an equity loan. If it goes through, so you now find your bank account has increased by $200,000 or more! Will there not be a temptation to spend that money??? How many people got so much self control!

[teddybear]

Record new sales! Hooray! Either MBT's cooling measures are not targeted enough at new sales (actually favour new sales and penalize resale more) or could it be deliberate because after all they are selling more land at record prices? How to expect developers not to launch and sell more when MBT sell more land? Irony is it? MBT expect developers to buy 99LH land and keep to see them depreciate without selling properties to be developed?
Questions to answer:
1) New sales still increasing in big number, how about resale?
2) New sales price increase vs resale price increase/decrease?
3) 60% LTV and 4 years SSD seem to make buying new launch more favorable for buyers than resale because don't have to come out 40% cash upfront (only 20% cash upfront, the rest 20% cash cough out after 1-1.5 years where resale need to pay 40% cash upfront upon completion of sale!) and that 4 years SSD no effect on new launch since new launch property take 3+ years to TOP and they can then sell with negligible SSD penalty! Shouldn't SSD for new launch start from TOP date? I heard many people coffeeshop talk saying there is conflict of interest here as they can sell more land to developers at higher and higher prices!
4) Can MND be more transparent by defining upfront what they constitute as property bubble (is it just price increase only or sales increase or both and how much etc?), and when (based on their criteria) they will need to introduce more cooling measure? With so many cooling measures even before there is sign of property bubble, the policy makers may give people impression that they missed the boat and dying to get onto the boat to buy properties and hence want to cool down for them to board the boat very early before sign of property bubble? How many of the policy makers have bought properties since the first cooling measure?


===================================
Today Online: Against expectations, new private home sales soar




by Jo-Ann Huang Limin
04:47 AM May 17, 2011

SINGAPORE - Defying market expectations, sales of new private homes surged 29 per cent last month from March to 1,788 units, driven by robust demand in the mass market sector from HDB upgraders, data released yesterday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed

That's the highest number of transactions since last November, as buyers returned in force after a temporary lull in February following the introduction of the fourth round of property market cooling measures in January that included stamp duties as high as 16 per cent.

PropNex's communications head Adam Tan said: "It is clear that homeowners and investors alike have assimilated the last cooling measures announced on Jan 13. This has resulted in continuing buyer confidence that has seen steadily increasing sales since February."

Analysts say the fear of runaway home prices may have further fuelled sentiment last month, adding to the snowballing effect as buyers bought their way through more property launches.

Ms Chia Siew Chuin, director of research and advisory at property consultancy Colliers International, said, "There are also buyers who probably entered the market because they could be fearing that they may miss the boat and therefore would commit to the market before prices run away again."

For April, suburban areas led private home sales again, with 1,010 units sold last month, while city fringe areas achieved sales of 477 units, and central region homes saw the least sales with 301 units.

And amid the persistently high liquidity environment, analysts remain upbeat, noting that most buyers are choosing smaller and cheaper units in suburban areas.

PropNex's Mr Tan noted that "56.2 per cent of all the units sold were in the mass market, or under S$1,200 per square foot. The strong showing in the mass market indicates the sustained interest in private property by HDB upgraders."

Two mass market projects accounted for 564 units or roughly one-third of April's transactions, PropNex noted, with 340 units in Eight Courtyards in Yishun (picture) sold at a median price of $789psf, while 224 units Hedges Park in Upper Changi were sold at a median price of $889psf.

Mr Ku Swee Yong, chief executive officer at International Property Advisor, said: "Next two months, depending on how many new projects are in the pipeline, if there are 1,500 units launched, we could see a take up of maybe about 1,300 to 1,500 units again."

Including Executive Condominiums, new home sales totalled 1,901 last month, up from 1,543 units in March.

Developers also rolled out more properties last month, after fears of a nuclear crisis caused by the March 11 earthquake in Japan eased. A total of 2,046 units were launched, a 64 per cent rise from March.

With the property market remaining hot, some analysts expect it won't be long before the Government takes action again.

Colliers' Ms Chia said: "Further measures are likely to be imposed going forward should the numbers continue to show that it is going to be so robust."

Other analysts say the Government will more likely introduce further measures to help first-time HDB flat buyers instead of targeting speculation in the private property market.

[devilplate]

Let say one own a few ppty n dun hf much spare cash n dun wish to sell any of the ppty....can take equity loan n set aside for rainy days in case downturn , cant find tenants....

Or just apply spare credit line just in case

[DC33_2008]

MBT is barking up the wrong tree. Owners of Appreciating hdb homes r buyimg private properties. They shld conduct a study.

[ysyap]

Waiting to pick some good stocks on Wed and Silver to drop to USD30.

Gold and silver going south... dangerous to enter now...

[ysyap]

Unless US continues to print money. What is the likelihood?

Double edged sword... US already reached 14.29 trillion dollars debt ceiling... cannot go up further liao... If print more money, economy suffer, if don't print, economy also suffer...

[DC33_2008]

Gold and silver going south... dangerous to enter now...

Thks. Will wait.

[ysyap]

MBT is barking up the wrong tree. Owners of Appreciating hdb homes r buyimg private properties. They shld conduct a study.

Don't you understand? MBT seeks only to offend less people. 80% of Singaporeans stay in HDB so if he come out with rule that forbids HDB upgraders to enter private market, sure kanna big time during GE. Offend less people is always more prudent that offending more...

[DC33_2008]

Don't you understand? MBT seeks only to offend less people. 80% of Singaporeans stay in HDB so if he come out with rule that forbids HDB upgraders to enter private market, sure kanna big time during GE. Offend less people is always more prudent that offending more...

Unfortunately he sabotage george yeo nd team in aljunied grc as lim hwee hua has lowest atbcos ofc serangoon garden, gct, vivian, etc win a lot of private properties.

[ysyap]

Unfortunately he sabotage george yeo nd team in aljunied grc as lim hwee hua has lowest atbcos ofc serangoon garden, gct, vivian, etc win a lot of private properties.

You win some, you lose some.. in this case, lose many... All awaiting his response to April sales figures...