Tag Archives: Singapore Property

OVERNIGHT queues, balloting, midnight crowds – these dramatic scenes at the Optima condominium at Tanah Merah recently were precursors to the 270 apartments selling out in three days, and fuelling concerns that a property bubble may be brewing in Singapore.

Industry players have largely shrugged off such concerns – attributing the recent property effervescence to pent-up demand, peak public housing prices, excess liquidity and a growing population.

However, Today’s checks on the ground reveal a less simplistic picture – one with buyers signing on the dotted line without even viewing the showflats, buyers asking agents to sell a property right after purchase; and irrational decisions.

While these instances are, by and large, uncommon, their very existence is proof of unhealthy streaks in the market.

The buyers (speculators included), said agents, are split between those who already own HDB flats and those who are holding onto private Continue reading →

Let’s do the comparisons right

I REFER to last Saturday’s report, ‘Homes more affordable as incomes rise’.

It is meaningless to compare the current property boom with the peak of 1996 and then conclude that things are better now compared to then. This is akin to comparing the current sub-prime financial crisis with the Great Depression of the 1930s and concluding that things are not so bad.

Likewise, it is meaningless for Citigroup economist Kit Wei Zheng to conclude that things are better now than in 1996. The fact that the current property boom is not the worst does not imply that it isn’t bad.

For a better appreciation of our current situation, we should note that from 1990 to last year, condominium prices increased threefold, whereas during the same period, median household income grew by only 2.1 times. Continue reading →