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Thread: Rising property prices to get airing in the House

  1. #1
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    Default Rising property prices to get airing in the House

    http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapor...ry_428627.html

    Sep 12, 2009 Saturday

    Rising property prices to get airing in the House

    By Jeremy Au Yong, Political Correspondent


    THE red-hot property market in Singapore will come under scrutiny on Monday when Parliament sits.

    At least two MPs - Madam Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC) and Ms Jessica Tan (East Coast GRC) - have put in questions on the impact of rising property prices.

    Madam Ho is worried that the buying frenzy could result in a property bubble.

    She told The Straits Times yesterday: 'If you look at what is happening in Singapore today, everybody is happily going shopping for property. Nobody seems to have concerns that there might be a risk in just going forward like that. It's very much like what happened in the United States before the sub-prime crisis.'

    Ms Tan is concerned about how the price spike may affect affordability. With HDB prices also rising, many have asked if the income ceiling for government housing grants could be raised. Now, any household earning more than $8,000 a month does not qualify for a grant when buying a resale flat.

    Ms Tan is bringing up the issue in Parliament, asking when the income ceiling was last reviewed.

    The property boom, coming amid a global economic crisis, has caught the eye of many, including those in the Government.

    National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan had said in July that signs of speculation were reappearing. He stressed that the Government would monitor the situation closely.

    Property aside, a wide range of domestic issues will also be discussed in the House, from the Formula One race in the last weekend of this month to hotels that provide rooms at hourly rates.

    Nominated MP Calvin Cheng wants to know if the period the roads are closed for the race could be shortened. In Monaco, roads are closed for only a few hours before each session, he added.

    Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) wants to know if the Government would consider tightening the rules for hourly rated hotels.

    He sees a worrying trend of such hotels - which typically attract activities such as prostitution - creeping out of the red- light districts.

    He told The Straits Times: 'I have been getting feedback from constituents who are seeing an increase in vice activities beyond the conventional boundaries of Geylang. One way to address this is to clamp down on hourly rated hotels.'

    He is raising it as 'a possible solution and would like to see what the Government has to say'.

    On Monday, three Bills tabled during the last sitting will also be debated - the Private Education Bill, the Copyright (Amendment) Bill and the Casino Control (Amendment) Bill.

    The Private Education Bill seeks to tighten controls on private educational institutions. Several have closed, leaving thousands of students stranded, with many unable to recover their fees.

    The casino Bill will impose stiffer penalties on those giving incorrect tax returns on gaming revenue, while the copyright Bill will widen the scope of the Copyright Tribunal for resolving rows between owners and users of copyrighted material.

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    garmen agree that people who buy more than 1 property is usually for investment so why is the garmen making such a fuss over rising property prices? if they allow people to buy for investment and later talk about curbing rising property prices or have the intention to do so, would it seem rather illogical? Short term investment (ie shortterm speculation and flipping) or long term, they are both property investments.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Regulators
    garmen agree that people who buy more than 1 property is usually for investment so why is the garmen making such a fuss over rising property prices? if they allow people to buy for investment and later talk about curbing rising property prices or have the intention to do so, would it seem rather illogical? Short term investment (ie shortterm speculation and flipping) or long term, they are both property investments.
    Because "people who buy more than 1 property" are outnumbered by people who dislike "people who buy more than 1 property".

    Singapore is a democracy, hence we have to respect the will of the majority.

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    going by ur reasoning, we shud all be communist
    Quote Originally Posted by jlrx
    Because "people who buy more than 1 property" are outnumbered by people who dislike "people who buy more than 1 property".

    Singapore is a democracy, hence we have to respect the will of the majority.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Regulators
    garmen agree that people who buy more than 1 property is usually for investment so why is the garmen making such a fuss over rising property prices? if they allow people to buy for investment and later talk about curbing rising property prices or have the intention to do so, would it seem rather illogical? Short term investment (ie shortterm speculation and flipping) or long term, they are both property investments.
    It becomes a concern coz it affects the affordability of
    upgraders and new buyers.

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    funny u said that coz all recent sellout projects are to upgraders
    Quote Originally Posted by ksh
    It becomes a concern coz it affects the affordability of
    upgraders and new buyers.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Regulators
    going by ur reasoning, we shud all be communist
    Singapore is "socialist", not "communist".

    The government will listen to whoever makes the loudest noise.

    Today, ZaoBao headline reads:

    转售组屋溢价两个月内飙涨
    民众请愿要求政府调控市场

    Resale flats' Cash Over Valuation (COV) shot up in two months
    Public petitions the government to rein in the market.


    Actually, in terms of numbers, there should be more people owning resale flats than there are people wanting to buy resale flats, since 80% of Singaporeans stay in HDB flats. However, owners are usually quiet while buyers are very loud.

    The government listens to whichever side is the loudest.

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    I think the main pt is, not many people are able to afford property investments. And, this new rule is perhaps to weed out those who may over-stretch.

    Scenario:
    • Most people who flock to showflats are "HDB upgraders"
    • From their perspective, monthly repayment to HDB is fixed (and probably low, a couple of hundred dollars- or even zero cash if use only CPF).
    • They use savings to punt in property (only pay 20% upfront), looks like logical thing to do coz: 1)"economy is recovering" and 2) assess high probability of selling sub-sale within 2-3 years (before TOP) at a profit.
    Question is, what if property cannot be sold before TOP (for whatever reason)? Can this buyer afford to make the loan instalment payments? Maybe not many can do so comfortably. Government likes to nanny Singaporeans - good and bad.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jlrx
    Singapore is "socialist", not "communist".

    The government will listen to whoever makes the loudest noise.

    Today, ZaoBao headline reads:

    转售组屋溢价两个月内飙涨
    民众请愿要求政府调控市场

    Resale flats' Cash Over Valuation (COV) shot up in two months
    Public petitions the government to rein in the market.


    Actually, in terms of numbers, there should be more people owning resale flats than there are people wanting to buy resale flats, since 80% of Singaporeans stay in HDB flats. However, owners are usually quiet while buyers are very loud.

    The government listens to whichever side is the loudest.
    Actually it is also like this in this forum.
    Loud loud when buyer.
    Quiet quiet when owner.

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    Quote Originally Posted by dunatos
    Actually it is also like this in this forum.
    Loud loud when buyer.
    Quiet quiet when owner.
    That's human behaviour.

    Once a "buyer" turns into an "owner", he'll have to quieten down. It'll be quite embarrassing for a vested person to ask the government for help. Can you imagine ...


    转售组屋溢价两个月内猛跌
    民众请愿要求政府调控支持市场


    Resale flats' Cash Over Valuation (COV) crashed in two months
    Public petitions the government to support the market.

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    Quote Originally Posted by silver023
    I think the main pt is, not many people are able to afford property investments. And, this new rule is perhaps to weed out those who may over-stretch.

    Scenario:
    • Most people who flock to showflats are "HDB upgraders"
    • From their perspective, monthly repayment to HDB is fixed (and probably low, a couple of hundred dollars- or even zero cash if use only CPF).
    • They use savings to punt in property (only pay 20% upfront), looks like logical thing to do coz: 1)"economy is recovering" and 2) assess high probability of selling sub-sale within 2-3 years (before TOP) at a profit.
    Question is, what if property cannot be sold before TOP (for whatever reason)? Can this buyer afford to make the loan instalment payments? Maybe not many can do so comfortably. Government likes to nanny Singaporeans - good and bad.
    I agree...we will soon see if those people who bought in the high of 2007 are genuine buyer with holding power or not...

    Coming out with 100k as downpayment for a property is not difficult but to live with the 3-4k repayment per month is a heavy commitment. So even if buyers doesn't buy with IAS, it doesn't mean they are not speculators/investors....

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    Quote Originally Posted by silver023
    I think the main pt is, not many people are able to afford property investments. And, this new rule is perhaps to weed out those who may over-stretch.

    Scenario:
    • Most people who flock to showflats are "HDB upgraders"
    • From their perspective, monthly repayment to HDB is fixed (and probably low, a couple of hundred dollars- or even zero cash if use only CPF).
    • They use savings to punt in property (only pay 20% upfront), looks like logical thing to do coz: 1)"economy is recovering" and 2) assess high probability of selling sub-sale within 2-3 years (before TOP) at a profit.
    Question is, what if property cannot be sold before TOP (for whatever reason)? Can this buyer afford to make the loan instalment payments? Maybe not many can do so comfortably. Government likes to nanny Singaporeans - good and bad.
    Well said, I totally agreed with you, I had mention in this forum many many many times that it is not the price problem, it is about the affordability.

    People are greedy, they are blinded by gain, they can't see the reality in the market, just like the share market and the casino, people always think they are the king...sure win...and finally....everything gone..

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