SG Home Affairs

17/01/2025

What To Buy In Today's Property Market?

If you still prefer new condos, here are two projects that I highly recommend:

What if I told you that there is still a new launch priced at $13xx PSF and it will TOP this year? Do you know the layout is pretty efficient for 3-bedder and 4-bedder?

The price is still similar to it's original launch price. At $13xx PSF, it is the SAME price as compared to a 7-year old condo in the vicinity. This makes the entry price SAFE!

Yes, it's not near the MRT, but it is near a mall (5 min walk) and it's within 1km from a very good school in the North.

Furthermore, there is transformation in this district and upcoming BTO flats that are going to TOP soon! This means that the HDB upgraders will be JUST in time to buy your condo in 5 years' time.

Yeah. It's North Gaia EC! Only 22 units are left and I reckon that it will be snapped up very soon with the upcoming EC launch Aurelle of Tampines.

This brings me to the second project that I highly recommend ---- Aurelle of Tampines!

At $15xx-$16xx PSF, it is near Tampines North MRT and the upcoming mixed development (shopping mall). With it's TOP around 2028, it is 13 years NEWER than comparable condos (EC) the Trilliant and the Citylife, which have already transacted at $16xx PSF.

This makes your entry price SAFE!

With the new launches of private condos at $21xx PSF and above in OCR area, you have a healthy gap of at least $500 PSF!

For more info, you can reach out to me at 91118426 as my company is doing both projects.

I hardly recommend new projects in recent years. But these two, IMO, are great to purchase if you can afford them.

In His grace
A different kind of property agent

02/01/2025

The Orie - Good Buy Or GoodBye?

When the estimated price of The Orie came out, I got different vibes about this condo.

The starting price is estimated to be around $24xx-$25xx PSF. This means that the estimated average PSF should be around $25xx-$26xx PSF.

For a RCR (Rest of Central Region) project, this seems to be at a decent price. It's definitely better than the Lentor (OCR) condos. However, since the last condo (Gem Residences) was launched 9 years ago, the pent-up demand in Braddell/Toa Payoh will be very strong.

The actual launch price might be higher if the demand way exceeds the supply.

HDB upgraders in Toa Payoh will not find it difficult to buy at $25xx PSF, since the HDB flat price had even hit $1.568 mil last year.

Nonetheless, I won't say that The Orie is a good buy or a good bye.

The reasons are as follows:

1) Emerald Of Katong, while sold at similar prices, is in District 15 where many resale condos have crossed $26xx-$30xx PSF. When the resale condo prices are HIGHER than the new condo, you know that it is a GOOD buy!

The Orie might have a decent RCR price. But it's latest resale condo Gem Residences (TOP in 2019) has only transacted at $19xx-$20xx PSF now. No other project in the vicinity has even hit $21xx PSF yet.

While The Orie (TOP: 2029) at $25xx PSF is 10 years apart from Gem Residences and is at a healthy price, there is no proven resale record in the same area yet.

2) Trevista (TOP in 2011) has transacted at the SAME price as Gem Residences. Despite being EIGHT years older, it transacted at $19xx-$20xx PSF. This is due to its larger and more efficient layout (though there are bay windows). It's also slightly nearer to the Braddell MRT and within 1km from CHIJ Primary.

This reveals that Toa Payoh has a different demographic which is common in an older estate. There is a generation who prefers a larger layout. They go for older condo despite that the newer condo is sold at the same PSF.

With different vibes, I prayed about The Orie. If you are stretching your finances, do NOT buy. If you are very comfortable purchasing it due to your income level, you can consider buying it IF it is indeed launched at $25xx PSF. Avoid buying higher than that.

Just my five cents worth.

Yours sincerely,
A different kind of property agent

17/11/2024

As shared before, Emerald Of Katong is the best launch in 2024. This is definitely much better than Chuan Park.

Indeed, it was 98.7% sold within the launch day yesterday!

Smart buyers and hopefully, they become pineapple in time to come!

18/09/2024

This is why most launches are not good to enter in today's market.

Singapore new-home sales are likely to fall this year to the lowest since the global financial crisis, according to property consultancies that cut their forecasts after yet another month of weak transactions. Read more at The Business Times.

20/08/2024

The govt is doing their part to reduce the prices of HDB flats.

15/08/2024

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/new-home-sales-july-dive-nearly-60-year-year-softer-property-market

87% of the transactions are less than $1.5 mil. This is revealing the kind of quantum that the majority in OCR are comfortable with.

If you buy at a high price, who is comfortable to buy from you in future?

NEW private home sales plunged by nearly 60 per cent year on year in July, as homebuyers remained selective and cautious amid a slowing property market. Read more at The Business Times.

03/08/2024

Every step that my family and I take in our personal real estate journey is what I talk about and share with my clients.

Enough of sales talk. Let's walk the talk so that we can talk the talk.

26/06/2024

DIY HDB Portal

Recently, the gahmen launched a new HDB portal for the HDB sellers to DIY the sales of their HDB flats.

Primarily, they wanted to control the resale prices of HDB flats, which have gone crazy. Bear in mind that election is coming.

Some have asked me if this would reduce the need for property agents. My answer is Yes and No.

Because we still have private residential properties, commercial and industry properties as well as rental and co-living.

Why YES? Because those who want to DIY the sales of their HDB flats will always find ways to DIY.

This is the same as renovating your home. There will always be some who want to DIY themselves and avoid paying for Interior Designers.

But DIY also means that you must be willing to invest your time, energy, efforts, opportunity costs and for some, even penalty costs.

Transacting a property is different from buying and selling an item in Carousell. There are many other details and processes involved. It includes timeline, planning, administration, financial calculation, exploring options and many more.

Unless you have the time and energy to continually keep yourself updated and involved in the transaction, it can cost you unexpected and unnecessary money.

So you either pay for the professional service or you pay for lessons learnt in the process of DIY.

For my wife and me, we engaged an ID for renovation because we don't have the time and capacity to manage all the processes and details revolving renovation. Yes, it will definitely be cheaper to DIY and get own contractors but the stress and the unforeseen circumstances/cost might not be worth it.

Having said that, there will still be a small handful who can DIY the sales of their HDB flats successfully and smoothly. And my take is that they should go for DIY because they have the capacity to do so. Cut some costs in this expensive city where we live.

I'm a property agent but I must be objective in sharing the truth. So the answer is both Yes and No.

Attached is an example of a DIY HDB seller who tried the new HDB portal but decided that he couldn't manage part of the processes.

02/06/2024

Just when I was talking to my wife earlier that AirBnB is still doing illegal stuff and I'm going to write in to URA... I stumbled upon this.

Remember:
1) No private residential property can be rented out for less than 3 months

2) No serviced apartment can be rented out for less than 7 days

3) No HDB flat can be rented out for less than 6 months

4) No condo or apartment unit can become a serviced apartment on its own without the entire development becoming one and managed by one management.

5) Those listed on AirBnB as 'official serviced apartment' are not real serviced apartments if it's a condo or apartment unit on its own

Should you notice any such illegal rental, inform your condo management and/or URA.

Singapore forbids short-term rentals of residential units, but CNA found hosts on Airbnb offering stays of two or three nights in condominiums and HDB flats.

14/04/2024

In case we get caught up by the news headlines on property prices...

Zoom in and see what Minister Desmond Lee says. Because the gahmen is always dropping hint.

08/04/2024

DO NOT READ THIS POST UNLESS...

Unless you want to follow the hype and the sales talk that says "new launch condo has the first mover advantage and sure make better profits!"

I'm posting this to burst the myth and share with you why you should AVOID buying new launch condos.

Statistics:
Median income from 2020-2023 (excluding employer CPF contribution) is as follows. You must always exclude employer CPF because it's NOT in your gross monthly income.

2020: $4000
2021: $4000
2022: $4500
2023: $4550
Increment from 2020-2023 = 13.75%

Average new launch condo price increment from 2020-2023 = 39.69%

We can see that the average property prices went up 3 TIMES more than the median income over the same period.

It has always been the case. Property prices rise faster than our income.

Today, many young Singaporeans are buying 2 bedrooms (new condo) at 6xx-7xx sqft (average $1.5 mil) because they cannot afford 3 bedrooms. We are talking about $1.5 mil for a small 2-bedder at the outskirt (OCR) of Singapore.

Many Singaporeans have already been priced out of the new launch condo market.

If the property prices were to increase in 3-5 years' time, the gap between income and property price will only become BIGGER. This will price even MORE people out of the condo market.

What does this mean? The bigger the gap (between property price and income), the lower the demand for new condos.

Do you really think that there would be enough buyers to buy new launch condos in future?

This hits home when you think about those who presently buy/bought new launch condos thinking that they would make good profits in near future.

The lack of buyers (due to income) will PREVENT the future resale prices of those new launch condos (which are bought now) from going too high.

Can you really make good profits getting new launch condos now? What would be the total bank interest due to the high purchase price?

I have done a number of sharing in my FB posts before. A high quantum property purchase requires an estimated $2xx PSF growth in price (within 5 years) in order to break even for bank interest. We have not included monthly maintenance fees, buyer's stamp duty and agent's commission.

In other words, the higher you buy in price, the more PSF growth is needed to break even. Should you try to sell too high, you automatically price out many buyers, since median income grows slower, resulting in bigger gap.

Let's compare with resale condos. The gap between new condo and resale condo is at an average of $8xx PSF, which is about $8xxk in difference.

A good-sized new 3-bedroom condo (10xx sqft) will cost about $2.2x mil in the outskirt of SG.

A resale 3-bedroom (less than 10 years old) costs about $1.38 mil in the vicinity. That's a whopping difference of $8xx,###.

Which is more affordable for more pool of buyers? Which has more room for future growth yet it doesn't price out the buyers?

A larger unit also makes more profit even if the PSF grows little, as compared to a small unit with higher PSF growth.

I can show you many resale condos making good profits in these few years.

And I believe that you should enter into the resale market instead of buying new launch condos now.

03/04/2024

Make Yishun Great Again

"Yishun is a popular residential area due to its wide range of amenities, community facilities, well-connected transport links, and overall convenience, making it an ideal location.

In addition, Yishun’s careful urban planning and development projects have further enhanced its appeal. The multi-generation flat type, which is known for its spacious layout and adaptability, meets the changing needs of Singaporean families and is in high demand in the resale market."

Read about the recent ATH transaction of an HDB unit in Block 666 Yishun Avenue 4 and how, through this, we get to see a new ATH benchmark.