Good post Atobe on the quandary facing Singapore and Singaporeans at the moment. We're always told "Times are bad, we have to swallow the bitter pill" But is the government prepared to swallow this very bitter pill?Originally posted by Atobe:It is not just the GST that affect the cost of land that is released for Property Developers to snatch up.
The entire exercise starts with the minimum price that URA expects for the parcel of land that it is releasing for biddings by the Property Developers.
Then when the piece of land is purchased and paid for by the Developer, he will have to pay URA a Development Charge for the type of building that is allowed; with additional costs being imposed if certain design criteria do not comply with the standard guidelines with regards to plot ratio; or additional fees to be paid as penalty to get waiver from the plot ratio guidelines.
Then there is the Stamp Duty to be paid for the various contracts that are being formalised to legalise the entire transaction process; and also the legal fees incurred at the various stages of transactions.
Finallly, there is the cost of funds that will be incurred in the entire process from the purchase of the raw piece of earth, to the building stages, and to holding period before sale, and during the sale period.
The entire COST is kept artificially high, so as to support the past high costs that have been fixed.
To do otherwise, will simply deflate the property prices, and put into jeopardy the entire credit worthiness of the loans that have been extended for the purchase of high price properties in the past thirty years.
Any attempts to force the ridiculously high property prices downwards at this stage, can only cause a panic in the entire financial and property sector.
Are we prepared to take this step ?
This is the devil's trap in the greed towards an artificial dream of a Swiss Standard of Living - which was announced by the PM during his first term of office, without telling the Citizens the implication of the costs that are involved.
pls pardon my english, it's not very goodOriginally posted by Atobe:It is not just the GST that affect the cost of land that is released for Property Developers to snatch up.
The entire exercise starts with the minimum price that URA expects for the parcel of land that it is releasing for biddings by the Property Developers.
Then when the piece of land is purchased and paid for by the Developer, he will have to pay URA a Development Charge for the type of building that is allowed; with additional costs being imposed if certain design criteria do not comply with the standard guidelines with regards to plot ratio; or additional fees to be paid as penalty to get waiver from the plot ratio guidelines.
Then there is the Stamp Duty to be paid for the various contracts that are being formalised to legalise the entire transaction process; and also the legal fees incurred at the various stages of transactions.
Finallly, there is the cost of funds that will be incurred in the entire process from the purchase of the raw piece of earth, to the building stages, and to holding period before sale, and during the sale period.
The entire COST is kept artificially high, so as to support the past high costs that have been fixed.
To do otherwise, will simply deflate the property prices, and put into jeopardy the entire credit worthiness of the loans that have been extended for the purchase of high price properties in the past thirty years.
Any attempts to force the ridiculously high property prices downwards at this stage, can only cause a panic in the entire financial and property sector.
Are we prepared to take this step ?
This is the devil's trap in the greed towards an artificial dream of a Swiss Standard of Living - which was announced by the PM during his first term of office, without telling the Citizens the implication of the costs that are involved.
Originally posted by Viper52:Letting property prices settle from their ludicrous levels to a more realistic level determined by current market forces would be the ultimate sacred cow, but are we prepared to slaughter it?
It will hurt the government's pockets a lot, but it will hurt the majority of asset-rich, cash poor Singaporeans who've all too often invested their lives into their overpriced "pigeon holes in the sky" much much more.
So whats the real reason we refuse to come down from the ivory tower which is property prices? The former or the latter?
We set about with a lofty aim, but never stopped to consider the consequences when we took the road towards a "Swiss standard of living". Now we're not there yet, and it already looks like we'll soon have to pay the price for trying it.
Land is worth a lot when it enriches the government's pockets. Its worth $1 when the government has to buy it back. All that talk about benefiting when the MRT runs through it, bollocks! What aboutOriginally posted by the Bear:let's see... 17 car parks in a private condo is worth $1
also, part the carpark of a church is also worth.. $1.
wtf?
i agree with Azrael.. i think i'll start making preparations to go somewhere else..
The “Paradise” promised equality regardless of race, language or religion – yet some race is more trusted in sensitive posts then others, advancement in career is dependent on selected language skills – and discussion about religion is restricted and best left unsaid.You're suggesting that racism does exist in Singapore?
Are you implying that you knew about the events surrounding the supposed transfer of the properties at Holland Road ?Originally posted by SingaporeTyrannosaur:Basically this book does not tell us anything new that any smart and prehaps streetwise singaporean has already figured out.