Ridiculous HDB Prices
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Times are bad.
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Originally posted by mancha:
This is from not knowing the ground.
The condo owners are driving BMW and Lexus.
Their mother, father, uncle, aunties, maids, teenagers, FT, ex-Pat, tenants, all take MRT and bus, and also walk!
Besides, many are buying for investment...and being close to MRT will be easy to rent out. Foreigners prefer to rent places near MRT!!
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http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/primary-one-registration/allocation/
A SMALL STEP FORWARD by MOE
From the 2012 P1 Registration Exercise onwards, when balloting is necessary in a specific phase, SCs will be given absolute priority over PRs. SCs and PRs will continue to be eligible for the same phases, and all applicants will be admitted if the total number of applications in any phase does not exceed the number of vacancies. However, if the number of applications exceeds the number of vacancies in a specific phase, SCs will be admitted first ahead of PRs, before home-school distance is considered
HDB policy needs to address these problems:
Every year there are about 1,000,000 visiting FT to SG and many have turn themself into PRs and proceeded to buy re-sale HDB flats and chasing the prices up and up,this motion carry on year by year even when they decided to go back to their home town to work and lease the HDB to collect rent..in no time a 5-ROOM HDB may cost S$1,000,000 soon..isn't it its time for a big change?
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When hdb flats reach 1 million dollars, i don't know whether Singaporeans will laugh or cry.
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Originally posted by charlize:
When hdb flats reach 1 million dollars, i don't know whether Singaporeans will laugh or cry.
if your flat worth 1 million bucks, renounce citizenship to get CPF money out then migrate already !
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Originally posted by Another Clone:
if your flat worth 1 million bucks, renounce citizenship to get CPF money out then migrate already !
ok.
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Originally posted by Another Clone:
if your flat worth 1 million bucks, renounce citizenship to get CPF money out then migrate already !
Migrate to Indonesia, there you will be a multi-trillionaire.
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well..it happened right before yr eyes...in 1984 new 5 room HDB flats at Clementi was sold at S$32,000 (YES�not 320,000) so u may ask the uncles whats the re-sale market price of this 27yr old flat now...is it S$500,000 and above? i.e. 1,500% increase right? so the current $500,000 just up 100% = $1,000,000 its so simple...
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1984 was still official fixed price + cash outside the offical forms.
It was later around 1992 like that, that market forces was allowed to determine the price.
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what is this official or non-official? who is this official? can we blame officials? NO because they helped yr uncle to turn $32,000 to $500,000 in 27 yrs...that market forces was allowed by who? to determine prices...?
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The high HDB price is created by PAP government. Why was PAP government under building HDB flat when itself was importing large number of foreigners into Singapore? Was it intentional so that HDB can increase the price of new HDB flat since it is benchmarked against resale price, increase stamp duty collection, increase the land cost selling to private developer (HDB selller will have more money to pump into private residential property), etc ? If it was not intentional, PAP government has yet to tell us why they have chosen to under build while they were importing such a huge number of foreigners?
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Originally posted by 1888:
what is this official or non-official? who is this official? can we blame officials? NO because they helped yr uncle to turn $32,000 to $500,000 in 27 yrs...that market forces was allowed by who? to determine prices...?
Please know the HDB pricing history first, before you slap your own forehead.
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Huat ah.
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Are there still people buying hdb flats now ?
Can price still go up ?
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Property agents huat.
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Originally posted by charlize:
Are there still people buying hdb flats now ?
Can price still go up ?
High demand
Huat ah! -
Originally posted by poker69:
High demand
Huat ah! 30 posts since 2005.
You win.
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Life is surreal.
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Originally posted by mancha:
1984 was still official fixed price + cash outside the offical forms.
It was later around 1992 like that, that market forces was allowed to determine the price.
No such thing as market forces in Sg.
demand and supply are controlled.
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Supply controlled yes. Land hold and released accordingly. Vacant flats witheld or released accordingly.
Demand?
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More S'poreans cross Causeway to buy homes
Favourable exchange rate and lure of landed property are among the reasons cited
Melissa Tan
Teo Cheng Wee
When Ms June Chan first went to Johor Baru to scout for potential properties in February, she spotted a villa going for a pretty price.
Built on a sprawling 16,000 sq ft compound was a single-storey bungalow with three rooms and a swimming pool. It was in the Leisure Farm development, in Johor's Iskandar region. The price: RM3.8 million ($1.52 million).
Within two months, Ms Chan, 52, decided it was a good deal and plunged in.
"It's a second home for living in while my Singapore house is for rental," said Ms Chan, who is single and retired from a multinational corporation two years ago. She is now doing humanitarian work.
With property prices rising in Singapore, more Singaporeans have begun looking to Malaysia for investment or to buy their second homes. The weakening Malaysian ringgit, the lure of owning landed property and familiarity with the country are reasons they cite for looking north.
The Malaysian property market has been heating up in recent years, much like in the rest of Asia.
Official figures from Malaysia Property Inc - an agency that promotes Malaysia's real estate internationally - the total transaction value of real estate in Malaysia was RM137.8 billion last year, up 28 per cent from RM107.4 billion in 2010.
About 2 per cent of that figure is foreign investment.
Johor has seen the strongest surge in interest from foreign investors in the past year, according to the agency.
In the first half of 2010, foreigners made up only 4 per cent of Johor property transactions, for properties priced above RM1 million. In the corresponding period last year, however, that figure shot up to 25 per cent.
Much of the demand has been generated by the buzz over the Iskandar region, earmarked by the Malaysian government as a major growth area for the country.
There are also now big Singapore companies investing in Iskandar.
Temasek Holdings has a joint-venture project with Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional to develop land in Iskandar. CapitaLand has been appointed project manager for a 2ha urban wellness project in Medini North, a region in Iskandar.
Growing interest
Property agents have also been pulling out the stops to get Singaporeans interested by advertising, conducting roadshows and taking busloads of potential investors on property tours.
Ms Donna Lim, property agency HSR's overseas department head, said the number attending its property exhibitions has risen sharply from last year. Agents say the number of transactions by Singaporeans has also risen.
While there is no official data, agents like Propnex say that Singaporeans bought 50 units in the second quarter of the year, compared to around 25 units in the first three months. It is marketing five projects there in total, located in Johor, Kuala Lumpur and Cyberjaya.
Mr Peter Lim, head of Leisure Farm Singapore, which arranges free trips for buyers, said Singaporeans had bought 35 units in the development over the past two months, compared to about a dozen in the first two months of the year.
Mr Edwin Tan, director of the Paragon Residences @ Straits View Malaysia project, also in Iskandar, said Singaporeans booked 116 units at a roadshow earlier this month, compared with 54 bookings from Malaysians.
Apart from Singaporeans, Malaysians living in Singapore have also been buying property there.
Lecturer Jude Nesa Rajah, 51, bought his first JB property on impulse eight years ago after seeing the developer's promotional booth at a shopping centre. He paid RM100,000 for the 1,016 sq ft unit in Bukit Indah. It is now worth RM220,000.
A Singapore permanent resident and father of two, he said: "My investment is literally paying for itself... we've been renting out the place for seven years now, for RM1,000 a month."
He said he is looking to invest in more properties when the market cools, adding that he hopes to retire there with his 48-year-old wife, a teacher.
While Johor properties have always seen demand, now Singaporeans are also heading further north, scouting for potential investments in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Malacca.
Ms Lily Tan, senior marketing and sales manager at Hunza Properties, said Singaporeans were the top buyers of Hunza's newest condominium Gurney Paragon in Penang, making up about 15 per cent of total unit sales.
But unlike those who buy property in Johor as their second or retirement homes, Singaporeans who buy in Kuala Lumpur and Penang tend to view purchases as investments, said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail.
Ms Goh Yu Ming, 32, bought a 4,000 sq ft condominium unit in Kuala Lumpur's main shopping district, Jalan Bukit Bintang, last year for RM2 million. Ms Goh, who works in investor relations, believes she can get a rental yield of 6 to 8 per cent.
Rental yields in commercial hubs like Kuala Lumpur and Penang range from 5 per cent to 6 per cent, while in Johor they are typically 4 per cent to 6 per cent. In contrast, Singapore residential properties generally yield 2 per cent to 3per cent, consultants said.
The weakening of the ringgit against the Singapore dollar is expected to further stimulate demand. It has fallen by 2.7 per cent in the past year to reach a 14-year low against the Singapore dollar.
'Here, I live like a millionaire'
A DREAM HOME IN JOHOR: Mr Talib is happy with his double-storey corner terraced home in Johor Baru, which has five bedrooms and a swimming pool. He took a 30-year loan from a Malaysian bank to finance the RM500,000 (S$200,000) house. He lives with his homemaker wife, 55, and their 27-year-old businessman son, and shuttles between his JB home and Singapore for work. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
With five bedrooms and a swimming pool, 55-year-old Singaporean Abdul Talib Jantan's corner terraced house in Johor Baru's Setia Eco Gardens is his dream come true.
"I planned this for a long time," said the operations manager at an engineering firm here.
Three years ago, he started looking for a suitable retirement home in JB, and settled on the double-storey unit by listed Malaysian developer SP Setia that is a 15-minute drive from the Tuas Checkpoint.
He took a 30-year loan from a Malaysian bank to finance the RM500,000 (S$200,000) house.
After he got the keys last year, he sold his four-room Housing Board flat in Jurong West for $450,000. He had bought it for $216,000 in 2004.
He spent nearly half the $330,000 he had in hand to renovate and furnish the house, and add a swimming pool.
He is happy with his home, not least because something similar in Singapore would be beyond his reach.
"My house is surrounded by mountain scenery, and security is tight. You need to clear two layers of security gates to come in."
He said many of the homes there are owned by Singaporeans.
He lives with his homemaker wife, 55, and their 27-year-old businessman son; they shuttle between JB and Singapore daily for work.
Mr Talib said: "There's no way I could live like this back home. Here, I'm a millionaire."
Alvin Lim
Diversifying investment
THREE CONDO UNITS IN PENANG: Mr Tan Kok Nguan, 43, with his daughter Amelia, 13. He lives in a Serangoon condo with his family. -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Mr Tan Kok Nguan, 43, was so impressed by the location and design of a condominium in Penang that he bought not one, but three units.
The regional director for a logistics company bought the units at the seafront Quayside condominium in Tanjung Tokong, in the north-east of the island, for about RM1.05 million (S$420,000) each two years ago. Today, they are worth about RM1.4 million each, he said.
With the ringgit falling by about 10 per cent since 2010, this means his apartments are worth about $100,000 more per apartment now.
He said that he had wanted to diversify his investment portfolio but, with property in Singapore getting too expensive, he looked to Malaysia.
He considered Kuala Lumpur, but settled on Penang as he saw strong economic potential in the northern state. He is also familiar with the place as he goes on regular business trips there.
"Penang isn't just a nice place, it has got economic potential," he said, noting the presence of multinational companies such as Dell, and the influx of medical tourists.
He also believes that Penang is safer than other places in Malaysia.
But while he may have taken the plunge, Mr Tan said he did it with his eyes open.
For one thing, he believes that it is best to stick to developers with a track record.
In this case, the condo was developed by Eastern and Oriental (E&O), one of the largest luxury property developers in Malaysia.
Aware of the developer's reputation, he made his move after seeing an advertisement for Quayside in The Straits Times.
Mr Tan, who lives in a Serangoon condominium with his wife and two teenage children, said that he might be tempted to sell one unit if its value hits RM1.6 million.
In the meantime, he expects to collect the keys next March and hopes to rent out all three units.
But he is determined to keep one unit for his eventual retirement, adding: "It is just so beautiful there."
David Ee
BUYERS BEWARE
Buying property overseas is not all roses, the experts warn. Buying in Malaysia is not the same as buying in Singapore and there are risks, not least that buyers may not eventually get what they expect.
Disgruntled investors, including Singaporeans, of Sabah luxury development Nexus Residence recently took developer Karambunai Corp into arbitration for not paying almost one year in arrears on its "lease back" rental payments due to them, said a CNBC report last week.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Chua Hak Bin, who covers the Malaysian economy, said buyers would be left in the lurch "if the developer goes under" as they are not as well protected there as they are in Singapore.
"It wasn't uncommon after the Asian financial crisis (in 1997). Interest rates were soaring and developers couldn't bear the costs," he noted.
Political risk is another concern, said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail. 'The downside of buying in an overseas country is that the policies and the government can always change, so nobody can be very certain about the political stability and currency devaluation.'
There is also the issue of security, or the lack thereof.
Malaysian developers have been introducing extra features such as double-gated precincts and Nepali guards to help Singaporeans feel more comfortable about living in their Johor homes, said Mr Ismail.
Mr Ku Swee Yong, chief executive of International Property Advisor, said Iskandar properties might be overpriced right now due to the hype. He added that the Malaysia property market was murky in many locations because there was no clear data.
"There is no real secondary market. The market price is whatever developers manage to sell at and that is artificial," he said.
WHAT BUYERS NEED TO KNOW
Q: How can a buyer get financing?
As in Singapore, a buyer will be referred to a banker through property agents, sales executives working for the developer, lawyers, or via walk-ins at bank branches.
Q: What is the rate for a home loan?
Rates range from 4 per cent to 5 per cent.
Q: What loan-to-value (LTV) ratio can buyers get?
For foreigners, most financial institutions grant loans of 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the purchase price.
Q: What is the minimum purchase amount?
That depends on the state. It ranges from RM250,000 (S$99,700) in Johor to RM1 million in Penang.
The minimum is half a million ringgit in Kuala Lumpur.
Q: Is there stamp duty?
Locals and foreigners pay stamp duty from 1 per cent to 3 per cent for purchases.
Q: What other fees are there?
There is a tax of 5 per cent if Singaporeans sell the house after holding it for less than five years. The tax is 10 per cent if the house is sold within two years.
Buyers also have to pay property tax. This is generally 6 per cent of the annual rental value of residential properties and payable in two instalments.
Answers by Coreen Kwan, head of retail banking at CIMB Bank Singapore
top news, The Sunday Times, July 22 2012, Pg 6
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Originally posted by mancha:
Supply controlled yes. Land hold and released accordingly. Vacant flats witheld or released accordingly.
Demand?
The only demand in Sg is when Singaporeans demand this and demand that.
Lots of noise only.
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I think prices will keep going up.
Those with money can go flip a few more private properties.
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Originally posted by mancha:
Supply controlled yes. Land hold and released accordingly. Vacant flats witheld or released accordingly.
Demand?
There are guys rent a three room flat from garment. They need to share the three rooms flat with another FAMILY.
The population is growing fast
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Originally posted by Gimchow:
There are guys rent a three room flat from garment. They need to share the three rooms flat with another FAMILY.
The population is growing fast
really ?