Hold firm, first-time home buyers

[mr funny]

http://www.straitstimes.com/Invest/S...ry_414450.html

Aug 9, 2009

small change

Hold firm, first-time home buyers

Patience, research and sticking to 'affordable psf' should result in a headache-free home

By Jessica Cheam


Two Sundays ago, my editor wrote in this column about property advice his parents gave him just before he bought his first home.

He was unaware, but on the day his column was published, I took the plunge and bought my very first property with my partner.

His words obviously resonated with me: My purchase was an apartment way below $1,000 psf and under $1million, and reasonably near an MRT station by 2015.

But beyond these guidelines, I discovered that buying the first home was a lot more difficult and agonising than I had ever imagined - a process determined by so many pressures and factors.

For the longest time, the classified advertisements on Saturdays were my best friend. I zoomed in on cheap private properties because my partner and I were deemed ineligible for HDB flats (he is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident).

I pored through every single column, rang countless property agents and viewed so many apartments that one blurred into the next, and I had to start remembering them by something like the colour of the owner's cat.

At the start of the year, I had seen some potential homes, but told myself to be patient - wait till year-end for prices to bottom out.

Well, apparently, that period of time was the bottom, and I had missed the boat.

Asking prices for properties soared as much as $50,000 to $100,000 more in just the difference of a month from April to May.

Queues started appearing at new project launches, blank cheques were being written for agents and a certain euphoria started to grip the market.

As my search deepened, the further my heart sank, for my dream apartment seemed unreachable as unrealistic sellers priced in Singapore's economic recovery even before any evidence of it.

All through the hype, I had to remind myself not to be pressured into making a rash decision just because Singaporeans' infamous 'kiasuism' for property was manifesting itself again.

One key factor which kept me grounded was this: affordability.

According to one widely used international standard to measure housing affordability, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent to 30per cent of a household's total monthly income.

Do the sums to derive your comfortable monthly outlay, ask banks to calculate from that what your total home loan is, and you get what I call your 'affordable psf price'.

Often, you will get tired of the hunt like I did sometimes, see a nice home out of this budget and contemplate upping the psf just to get the search over and done with.

At times like these, I wanted so much to believe the usual spiel that agents give about land-scarce Singapore and how home values will always rise, even if the price you pay now seems high.

But whatever you do, do not budge from this price.

A story I was told warned me this could only be foolhardy.

During the 1997 property boom, my friend's parents had bought a unit in the area I was looking at - a time when it was highly fashionable to invest in new suburban homes to ride the property wave - not unlike now, actually.

But when the Asian financial crisis hit the region, the property boom-turned-bubble eventually burst. The value of their property plunged more than $200 psf thereafter and has still not recovered to the original level a decade on.

With this in mind, I did more homework, studying historic psf prices of the estate at its lowest and highest levels, and made sure I bought only at a price that had potential upside.

It baffles both me and some analysts I speak to that new suburban homes in Ang Mo Kio, for example, are selling for $1,100 psf.

Where is your upside when you are already paying city-fringe prices for suburban estates?

Be firm about saying no to unrealistic sellers who like to test the market with bullish prices if they are beyond your budget.

If everybody kept a level head about purchasing properties, it would certainly help avoid turning a property boom into a property bubble as in the last decade.

No matter how heartbreaking, I said 'no' to many dream homes before finding one with sincere sellers who sold at a price that was a win-win for both parties.

My home-hunting journey ended only after I had made hard decisions to narrow down my options to specific projects, doing research and keeping to my affordable psf price.

As a result, National Day this year has taken on a special meaning for me because for the first time as a citizen, I have a physical stake in the country.

Our very own home: a spacious apartment set on a hill at the edge of a rainforest, a quiet, green haven away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Finding that first home can be an exhausting experience, but also a rewarding one if you safeguard yourself against huge risks which could otherwise come back to haunt you.

Good luck with the hunt, and Happy National Day!

[email protected]

[Regulators]

This article is obviously written by a poor sod that missed the pty boat n lamenting like a baby when prices go up. We have not even reached anywhere near to Tokyo or HK yet so why is this idiot so worried

http://www.straitstimes.com/Invest/S...ry_414450.html

Aug 9, 2009

small change

Hold firm, first-time home buyers

Patience, research and sticking to 'affordable psf' should result in a headache-free home

By Jessica Cheam


Two Sundays ago, my editor wrote in this column about property advice his parents gave him just before he bought his first home.

He was unaware, but on the day his column was published, I took the plunge and bought my very first property with my partner.

His words obviously resonated with me: My purchase was an apartment way below $1,000 psf and under $1million, and reasonably near an MRT station by 2015.

But beyond these guidelines, I discovered that buying the first home was a lot more difficult and agonising than I had ever imagined - a process determined by so many pressures and factors.

For the longest time, the classified advertisements on Saturdays were my best friend. I zoomed in on cheap private properties because my partner and I were deemed ineligible for HDB flats (he is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident).

I pored through every single column, rang countless property agents and viewed so many apartments that one blurred into the next, and I had to start remembering them by something like the colour of the owner's cat.

At the start of the year, I had seen some potential homes, but told myself to be patient - wait till year-end for prices to bottom out.

Well, apparently, that period of time was the bottom, and I had missed the boat.

Asking prices for properties soared as much as $50,000 to $100,000 more in just the difference of a month from April to May.

Queues started appearing at new project launches, blank cheques were being written for agents and a certain euphoria started to grip the market.

As my search deepened, the further my heart sank, for my dream apartment seemed unreachable as unrealistic sellers priced in Singapore's economic recovery even before any evidence of it.

All through the hype, I had to remind myself not to be pressured into making a rash decision just because Singaporeans' infamous 'kiasuism' for property was manifesting itself again.

One key factor which kept me grounded was this: affordability.

According to one widely used international standard to measure housing affordability, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent to 30per cent of a household's total monthly income.

Do the sums to derive your comfortable monthly outlay, ask banks to calculate from that what your total home loan is, and you get what I call your 'affordable psf price'.

Often, you will get tired of the hunt like I did sometimes, see a nice home out of this budget and contemplate upping the psf just to get the search over and done with.

At times like these, I wanted so much to believe the usual spiel that agents give about land-scarce Singapore and how home values will always rise, even if the price you pay now seems high.

But whatever you do, do not budge from this price.

A story I was told warned me this could only be foolhardy.

During the 1997 property boom, my friend's parents had bought a unit in the area I was looking at - a time when it was highly fashionable to invest in new suburban homes to ride the property wave - not unlike now, actually.

But when the Asian financial crisis hit the region, the property boom-turned-bubble eventually burst. The value of their property plunged more than $200 psf thereafter and has still not recovered to the original level a decade on.

With this in mind, I did more homework, studying historic psf prices of the estate at its lowest and highest levels, and made sure I bought only at a price that had potential upside.

It baffles both me and some analysts I speak to that new suburban homes in Ang Mo Kio, for example, are selling for $1,100 psf.

Where is your upside when you are already paying city-fringe prices for suburban estates?

Be firm about saying no to unrealistic sellers who like to test the market with bullish prices if they are beyond your budget.
A
If everybody kept a level head about purchasing properties, it would certainly help avoid turning a property boom into a property bubble as in the last decade.

No matter how heartbreaking, I said 'no' to many dream homes before finding one with sincere sellers who sold at a price that was a win-win for both parties.

My home-hunting journey ended only after I had made hard decisions to narrow down my options to specific projects, doing research and keeping to my affordable psf price.

As a result, National Day this year has taken on a special meaning for me because for the first time as a citizen, I have a physical stake in the country.

Our very own home: a spacious apartment set on a hill at the edge of a rainforest, a quiet, green haven away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Finding that first home can be an exhausting experience, but also a rewarding one if you safeguard yourself against huge risks which could otherwise come back to haunt you.

Good luck with the hunt, and Happy National Day!

[email protected]

[tantan]

http://www.straitstimes.com/Invest/S...ry_414450.html

Aug 9, 2009

small change

Hold firm, first-time home buyers

Patience, research and sticking to 'affordable psf' should result in a headache-free home

By Jessica Cheam


Two Sundays ago, my editor wrote in this column about property advice his parents gave him just before he bought his first home.

He was unaware, but on the day his column was published, I took the plunge and bought my very first property with my partner.

His words obviously resonated with me: My purchase was an apartment way below $1,000 psf and under $1million, and reasonably near an MRT station by 2015.

But beyond these guidelines, I discovered that buying the first home was a lot more difficult and agonising than I had ever imagined - a process determined by so many pressures and factors.

For the longest time, the classified advertisements on Saturdays were my best friend. I zoomed in on cheap private properties because my partner and I were deemed ineligible for HDB flats (he is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident).

I pored through every single column, rang countless property agents and viewed so many apartments that one blurred into the next, and I had to start remembering them by something like the colour of the owner's cat.

At the start of the year, I had seen some potential homes, but told myself to be patient - wait till year-end for prices to bottom out.

Well, apparently, that period of time was the bottom, and I had missed the boat.

Asking prices for properties soared as much as $50,000 to $100,000 more in just the difference of a month from April to May.

Queues started appearing at new project launches, blank cheques were being written for agents and a certain euphoria started to grip the market.

As my search deepened, the further my heart sank, for my dream apartment seemed unreachable as unrealistic sellers priced in Singapore's economic recovery even before any evidence of it.

All through the hype, I had to remind myself not to be pressured into making a rash decision just because Singaporeans' infamous 'kiasuism' for property was manifesting itself again.

One key factor which kept me grounded was this: affordability.

According to one widely used international standard to measure housing affordability, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent to 30per cent of a household's total monthly income.

Do the sums to derive your comfortable monthly outlay, ask banks to calculate from that what your total home loan is, and you get what I call your 'affordable psf price'.

Often, you will get tired of the hunt like I did sometimes, see a nice home out of this budget and contemplate upping the psf just to get the search over and done with.

At times like these, I wanted so much to believe the usual spiel that agents give about land-scarce Singapore and how home values will always rise, even if the price you pay now seems high.

But whatever you do, do not budge from this price.

A story I was told warned me this could only be foolhardy.

During the 1997 property boom, my friend's parents had bought a unit in the area I was looking at - a time when it was highly fashionable to invest in new suburban homes to ride the property wave - not unlike now, actually.

But when the Asian financial crisis hit the region, the property boom-turned-bubble eventually burst. The value of their property plunged more than $200 psf thereafter and has still not recovered to the original level a decade on.

With this in mind, I did more homework, studying historic psf prices of the estate at its lowest and highest levels, and made sure I bought only at a price that had potential upside.

It baffles both me and some analysts I speak to that new suburban homes in Ang Mo Kio, for example, are selling for $1,100 psf.

Where is your upside when you are already paying city-fringe prices for suburban estates?

Be firm about saying no to unrealistic sellers who like to test the market with bullish prices if they are beyond your budget.

If everybody kept a level head about purchasing properties, it would certainly help avoid turning a property boom into a property bubble as in the last decade.

No matter how heartbreaking, I said 'no' to many dream homes before finding one with sincere sellers who sold at a price that was a win-win for both parties.

My home-hunting journey ended only after I had made hard decisions to narrow down my options to specific projects, doing research and keeping to my affordable psf price.

As a result, National Day this year has taken on a special meaning for me because for the first time as a citizen, I have a physical stake in the country.

Our very own home: a spacious apartment set on a hill at the edge of a rainforest, a quiet, green haven away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Finding that first home can be an exhausting experience, but also a rewarding one if you safeguard yourself against huge risks which could otherwise come back to haunt you.

Good luck with the hunt, and Happy National Day!

[email protected]

The development should be at Hillview. My guess is Summerhill. A friend of mine is staying there. There are pros & cons, which I will not mention. But definitely not so ideal as what was written above.

[yowetan]

I believe she is refering to the project Merawoods. It is indeed a green haven at least to me. I like that project very much, but the asking price nowadays are crazy. Good for her!

[HP65]

This article is obviously written by a poor sod that missed the pty boat n lamenting like a baby when prices go up. We have not even reached anywhere near to Tokyo or HK yet so why is this idiot so worried

I think you are the real poor idiot sod who is blinded due to holding on to a hot potato who wants prices to continue to go up or somebody vested in wanting prices to continue to go up unsustainably, like recently joining the singaporean kiasu bandwagon in buying a property to flip. Or did you fail your english comprehension?

The writer already stated in the 2nd line, she has bought an apartment with her partner 2 weeks ago.

Instead of throwing bard at the writer, why dun you spend more time to try to use this fast closing window of opportunity to pass the hot potato to the next person before the music stops. Once china authorities close the flow of hot money to non-productive assets, funds will not flow to properties, be it in china or overseas. You really dun have to worry for her, better worry for yourself.

[yowetan]

I think you are the real poor idiot sod who is blinded due to holding on to a hot potato who wants prices to continue to go up or somebody vested in want prices to continue to go up unsustainably. Or did you fail your english comprehension?

The writer already stated in the 2nd line, she has bought an apartment with her partner 2 weeks ago.

I think she must be a very happy owner now. I feel glad for her.

[wqmai]

I think she must be a very happy owner now. I feel glad for her.

Yup, I am glad for her too. At least she did her homework.

[teddybear]

Yap, think so. As she is buying for own stay, future price fluctuations is immaterial. Even if general property prices drop, so what? Property is different from stocks. If she miss the one she likes, she may not get it again as there may not be sellers at a particular stack, facing, floor etc (not like stocks), particular for those projects with limited units. If price rise, it is a consolidation prize, nothing much (as she still need a place to call home & not going to sell anyway).

I think she must be a very happy owner now. I feel glad for her.

[yowetan]

Yap, think so. As she is buying for own stay, future price fluctuations is immaterial. Even if general property prices drop, so what? Property is different from stocks. If she miss the one she likes, she may not get it again as there may not be sellers at a particular stack, facing, floor etc (not like stocks), particular for those projects with limited units. If price rise, it is a consolidation prize, nothing much (as she still need a place to call home & not going to sell anyway).

I hope regulators can feel the way we do, and not sprouting sour grapes over this lady's purchase.

[PN]

Really nice to see so many forumers supporting this 1st time home buyer.

There are a few things which she mentioned.
1. One is Affordability - she bought within her budget.
2 She like the place - what else is more important than this. This is where you will be staying. Who cares what others think.
3. She did not follow the herd in purchasing the overpriced new launch.
4. She does not want to be part of another property bubble

If there are more 1st time buyers who can think like her. Not rushing in when everyone is and uses some brain powers in making the decision, the greedy developer would not have enjoyed success in pricing the new launch at 1000psf in the suburb.

Nice work. Congratulation to her.

[Regulators]

bozo, cant u even read the self-consolatory tone of her article? Of course I wud want for pty prices to go up coz i think land is still undervalued in our tiny little island state. Of course any idiot who looks at prices retrospectively n cmpare with the now, they feel that our prices have gone too far.

I think you are the real poor idiot sod who is blinded due to holding on to a hot potato who wants prices to continue to go up or somebody vested in wanting prices to continue to go up unsustainably, like recently joining the singaporean kiasu bandwagon in buying a property to flip. Or did you fail your english comprehension?

The writer already stated in the 2nd line, she has bought an apartment with her partner 2 weeks ago.

Instead of throwing bard at the writer, why dun you spend more time to try to use this fast closing window of opportunity to pass the hot potato to the next person before the music stops. Once china authorities close the flow of hot money to non-productive assets, funds will not flow to properties, be it in china or overseas. You really dun have to worry for her, better worry for yourself.

[Lord Anus]

The development should be at Hillview. My guess is Summerhill. A friend of mine is staying there. There are pros & cons, which I will not mention. But definitely not so ideal as what was written above.

My guess is The Raintree

[HP65]

bozo, cant u even read the self-consolatory tone of her article? Of course I wud want for pty prices to go up coz i think land is still undervalued in our tiny little island state. Of course any idiot who looks at prices retrospectively n cmpare with the now, they feel that our prices have gone too far.

Er, stupid, you are the only one who can't read plain english, so please do not venture deep into article tone least you embarrassed yourself with your shout for higher prices. Only idiots or speculators holding hot potatoes now would look retrospectively and say prices can only go higher without looking at rental demand and affordability.

At current prices, I much prefer and STRONGLY suggest owner seekers rent from landlords and let them subsidise your accomodation costs. When they advertise $4.3k, offer $3.4k. Dare to slash 25%-50% like in fish-market, try it, there are enough desperate landlords out there who are willing to subsidise your costs.

Come 2010, it will be even worst i'm pretty sure. Li-Ka-Shing has already slashed 20% off his unsold properties to push sales. I'm sure he knows what lies ahead, that is doomsday for hot potatoes holders.

[teddybear]

Unfortunately, Li Ka Shing's Co (Cheung Kong) foray into Singapore's property market was 3 times all badly timed (as seen in below news article). So better don't follow him or his company.

"Cheung Kong's residential forays into the Singapore market began back in 1996 with acquisition by Li Ka-shing of a site in Thomson Road for $130 million. A year later, Cheung Kong bought an East Coast site for the then astronomical sum of about $680 million, 30 per cent higher than the next highest bid. The two purchases came just before the Asian financial crisis.
The developments came under considerable media scrutiny, not least because everyone wanted to know how Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest and shrewdest businessman, would get out of this one.
The task of moving units in a stagnant market fell on Justin Chiu and Cheung Kong's Singapore property arm, Property Enterprises Development. Mr Chiu got creative.
For starters, he devised an incentive scheme for the 390-unit Thomson project - Thomson 800 - something that had not been done before.
Under its Guaranteed Appreciation Plan, Cheung Kong was prepared to offer buyers a 10 per cent capital appreciation in about five years for units at Thomson 800 as well as protecting buyers against price falls of up to 10 per cent. If the valuation increased by less than 10 per cent above the purchase price, the developer would pay buyers the difference.
In essence, it was a kind of discount but unlike other developers who were offering outright money-off, this sounded more like a value-add. Clever.
The Asian financial crisis and its repercussions sent all property markets in the region into a tailspin. Only about half the units of Thomson 800 were sold, with City Developments finally buying the remaining units in 1999.
For the East Coast development - Costa del Sol - the situation was more dire because there were 906 units to move. Even the help of the bikers on Harley Davidsons could not stir the market, and only a third of the development was sold.
Amazingly, Cheung Kong went on to buy another site, this time in Cairnhill for $370 million, and again the property market dived with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001.
The 248-unit Cairnhill Crest was launched in 2004 and Mr Chiu remembers how selling 40 units - after putting on an extravagant launch party with him dressed as James Bond - was quite an achievement at the time."

Er, stupid, you are the only one who can't read plain english, so please do not venture deep into article tone least you embarrassed yourself with your shout for higher prices. Only idiots or speculators holding hot potatoes now would look retrospectively and say prices can only go higher without looking at rental demand and affordability.

At current prices, I much prefer and STRONGLY suggest owner seekers rent from landlords and let them subsidise your accomodation costs. When they advertise $4.3k, offer $3.4k. Dare to slash 25%-50% like in fish-market, try it, there are enough desperate landlords out there who are willing to subsidise your costs.

Come 2010, it will be even worst i'm pretty sure. Li-Ka-Shing has already slashed 20% off his unsold properties to push sales. I'm sure he knows what lies ahead, that is doomsday for hot potatoes holders.

[proud owner]

My guess is The Raintree

i have a few guesses :

Pepys Hill condo < 800 psf FH Kent ridge park
Le Hill < = 800 psf FH Kent ridge Park
Normanton Park < 800 psf LH
Clementi Park < 800 psf FH

somehow i feel she bought SW Singapore ...

near town and loads of greenery .. she mentioned her partner was not local .. i assume ang mo

and SW is really popular among them more so than Hillview area

[Regulators]

i have been buying and selling properties continuously for the past 5 years netting handsome profits which are enough to buy me another condo for free. I do not understand why you are so against rising property prices and please do not forget that people who bought at the high in 2007 are also waiting to bail themselves out. have a heart to think for those guys, and btw i did not buy anything at the peak in 2007....

Er, stupid, you are the only one who can't read plain english, so please do not venture deep into article tone least you embarrassed yourself with your shout for higher prices. Only idiots or speculators holding hot potatoes now would look retrospectively and say prices can only go higher without looking at rental demand and affordability.

At current prices, I much prefer and STRONGLY suggest owner seekers rent from landlords and let them subsidise your accomodation costs. When they advertise $4.3k, offer $3.4k. Dare to slash 25%-50% like in fish-market, try it, there are enough desperate landlords out there who are willing to subsidise your costs.

Come 2010, it will be even worst i'm pretty sure. Li-Ka-Shing has already slashed 20% off his unsold properties to push sales. I'm sure he knows what lies ahead, that is doomsday for hot potatoes holders.

[SL]

Honestly.. I can overlook some of the thiings you posted before but this one that u have just posted is totally out of line.. we are talking about condo here not charity right?

Going by what you said we should also help those that invested in Pacific Century share in 1997?

i have been buying and selling properties continuously for the past 5 years netting handsome profits which are enough to buy me another condo for free. I do not understand why you are so against rising property prices and please do not forget that people who bought at the high in 2007 are also waiting to bail themselves out. have a heart to think for those guys, and btw i did not buy anything at the peak in 2007....

[Regulators]

remember what the goverment said recently when someone suggested wanting to cap hdb prices? please dont tell me private property home buyers are different from hdb home buyers coz most condo buyers come from hdbs ....

Honestly.. I can overlook some of the thiings you posted before but this one that u have just posted is totally out of line.. we are talking about condo here not charity right?

Going by what you said we should also help those that invested in Pacific Century share in 1997?

[orange]

moral of the story is: when li ka-shing starts to buy sites, SELL everything!

[proud owner]

moral of the story is: when li ka-shing starts to buy sites, SELL everything!

or when she takes over (temasek) .. be prepared for losses

[HP65]

i have been buying and selling properties continuously for the past 5 years netting handsome profits which are enough to buy me another condo for free. I do not understand why you are so against rising property prices and please do not forget that people who bought at the high in 2007 are also waiting to bail themselves out. have a heart to think for those guys, and btw i did not buy anything at the peak in 2007....

Most of us here own properties. I have 3 properties myself but that doesnt mean we all want properties pricies to swing wildly up & down. It only benefits traders like you (assuming you have already bought recently since u didnt buy in 2007) but not real home owners.

And its precisely because i have a heart for those caught buying at the peak in 1996 and 2007 that I do not want more to join the class of 2009.

Actually what traders like you really want is prices to swing wildly, not necessary rising coz that way you will earn more. In that respect, i'm glad the govt is zooming in exactly to people like you by taxing on freq buying & selling of properties.

While i admit i have benefited from these wild swings, i seriously do not think its good for the general population and thus much prefer a gradual appreciation of property prices. In fact, i'm quite happy if there is no foreign element in the property sector, rental yes, purchase no and thus i do not subscribe to the idea that rising property prices lead to rising wealth of the population, esp the 80% who stays in public housing. That to me is a flawed policy as it ends up asset rich but cash poor. That has lead to other policies that are tied to property value, eg annunity payouts, thus necessating an artifical support for property prices by a responsible future government. Thus i foresee a dangerous road that this country is going down imo where properties may not necessary be based on real income affordability.

[EBD]

Tend to agree with almost all the things you said.
Why would I want prices to rise so high that my children could never afford one?
Is Singapore as land scarce as people would have you believe? We can & do, always build upwards.

I must admit I always find it funny when people get upset that some people want the price to fall but have no problem of pushing the price beyond others reach.

Most people I know in Singapore are property rich / cash poor. Unless this is successfully changed, most people are in for a very tough time at old age.

BTW regulators, would you consider yourself to be a professional property trader given your own self professed admission of selling several properties over the last 5 years? Watch out taxman is coming for you!

Most of us here own properties. I have 3 properties myself but that doesnt mean we all want properties pricies to swing wildly up & down. It only benefits traders like you (assuming you have already bought recently since u didnt buy in 2007) but not real home owners.

And its precisely because i have a heart for those caught buying at the peak in 1996 and 2007 that I do not want more to join the class of 2009.

Actually what traders like you really want is prices to swing wildly, not necessary rising coz that way you will earn more. In that respect, i'm glad the govt is zooming in exactly to people like you by taxing on freq buying & selling of properties.

While i admit i have benefited from these wild swings, i seriously do not think its good for the general population and thus much prefer a gradual appreciation of property prices. In fact, i'm quite happy if there is no foreign element in the property sector, rental yes, purchase no and thus i do not subscribe to the idea that rising property prices lead to rising wealth of the population, esp the 80% who stays in public housing. That to me is a flawed policy as it ends up asset rich but cash poor. That has lead to other policies that are tied to property value, eg annunity payouts, thus necessating an artifical support for property prices by a responsible future government. Thus i foresee a dangerous road that this country is going down imo where properties may not necessary be based on real income affordability.

[jlrx]

At current prices, I much prefer and STRONGLY suggest owner seekers rent from landlords and let them subsidise your accomodation costs. When they advertise $4.3k, offer $3.4k. Dare to slash 25%-50% like in fish-market, try it, there are enough desperate landlords out there who are willing to subsidise your costs.

Most of us here own properties. I have 3 properties myself ...

Wei! Wei! Wei!

Which side are you on?

You own 3 properties so if you stay in one then you must be renting out the other 2, then you are also a landlord.

Why you advise tenants to squeeze the "desperate landlords"?

Is Singapore as land scarce as people would have you believe? We can & do, always build upwards.

Singapore is "land scarce" but not "space scarce".

That's why landed houses are the best investments.

[HP65]

Wei! Wei! Wei!

Which side are you on?

You own 3 properties so if you stay in one then you must be renting out the other 2, then you are also a landlord.

Why you advise tenants to squeeze the "desperate landlords"?



Singapore is "land scarce" but not "space scarce".

That's why landed houses are the best investments.

Hi jlrx,

honestly, I'm neutral. My point here is not about squeezing or not squeezing the landlords but rather that there are lots of empty units out there for rental. One do not have to accept the high rentals that these landlords wants to justify the yield due to the high price that they originally paid for. I'm pretty sure my fellow landlords has squeezed the desperate tenants in 2007 when lots of condos were demolished.

In property investment, besides location, timing is also a crucial factor to consider. If one enter at the wrong time, its stressful. And now is probably as bad a time to enter into property investment for long term holding. Short term flipping, i'm not sure though. But with headwinds like china authorities talking abt clamping down on flow of hot money to properties, stocks, and sg govt firing 2 warning shots, i prefer to stay on the sidelines. And if really need a roof, go rent one, there are so many new condos everywhere. I have seen enough friends join the chase in 2006-2007 to know that there will be desperate landlords out there. Not all units are held by rich indos or other foreigners.

And yes, I agree landed is good. But not exactly sure if they yield better than my condos. Thus I'm staying in it and utilising its utility while renting out the 2 condos.

[jlrx]

And yes, I agree landed is good. But not exactly sure if they yield better than my condos. Thus I'm staying in it and utilising its utility while renting out the 2 condos.

Landed's rental yield is of course much lower than those of condos of comparable price.

But landed provides a aura of calm and sense of achievement that condos cannot.

It's like owning an antique, or a luxury car, or a painting. It is no longer about yield.