Property Prices Have Crashed (see graph)

From the BBC article:

"Everyone took the property drug at the same time", he says, "everyone was up at the same time, everyone was buzzing.

Doesn't sound like what's happening in Singapore now.

"Now we are all in the middle of this huge comedown. And people are looking around and saying - 'what happened? Was that us?' And then we look at our bank statements and we realise - 'yes, it was'".

Will never happen here, cos government will keep welcoming people to our shores. A population of 6.5 million is the target. With so many people fanning supply, property prices will shoot through the roof!

If you don't buy now, you may not be able to buy ever.

Don't forget that even the global financial crisis managed to only cause a small blip in property prices here.

Now is the time to be a property bull.

Regardless of whether we reach the 6.5m population, one wonders who is going to rent the tens of thousands of bird cage apartments of 400-500 sq ft that Singaporeans are now snapping up like hot cakes at 1,000 psf. Perhaps, foreigners used to really tight spaces Certainly not Singaporeans who can get nice spacious HDB flats.

Foreigners will drive demand, but I see thousands of tiny apartments remaining vacant or renting for dirt cheap prices in the near future. Sentiment is a fragile thing and this alone can cause a crash.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Regardless of whether we reach the 6.5m population, one wonders who is going to rent the tens of thousands of bird cage apartments of 400-500 sq ft that Singaporeans are now snapping up like hot cakes at 1,000 psf. Perhaps, foreigners used to really tight spaces Certainly not Singaporeans who can get nice spacious HDB flats.

Foreigners will drive demand, but I see thousands of tiny apartments remaining vacant or renting for dirt cheap prices in the near future. Sentiment is a fragile thing and this alone can cause a crash.

When you have a lot of foreigners who are singles, these small apartments / studios will be in great demand. Though some foreigners bring along their families and children, I understand that most just come here alone and at most bring a spouse or partner. So your "bird cage" apartments are a good bet. Time will tell who's correct.

Still there is a word of caution in the article:
1. There is no guarantee that the foreigners will come with expat contracts. In my MNC most foreigners (Europeans) have a local contract and rent a room in a shared apartment for S$800 - S$1200. I'm wondering if they are willing to pay more for a Mickey-Mouse apartment. Would you if you were in the same situation?
2. Look at how many apartments are still empty at The Sail, Icon and other recently TOP condos. The rental market & yield is sluggish except for cheaper HDBs, which would explain the skyrocketing demand for resale HDB flats...

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Still there is a word of caution in the article:
1. There is no guarantee that the foreigners will come with expat contracts. In my MNC most foreigners (Europeans) have a local contract and rent a room in a shared apartment for S$800 - S$1200. I'm wondering if they are willing to pay more for a Mickey-Mouse apartment. Would you if you were in the same situation?
2. Look at how many apartments are still empty at The Sail, Icon and other recently TOP condos. The rental market & yield is sluggish except for cheaper HDBs, which would explain the skyrocketing demand for resale HDB flats...

On your second pt, why is it that condo prices are still at historical highs now? Or is there a lag before reality sets in? Or that prices have decoupled from rental yield?

[cityhunter66]

This is a good period to sell them, not buy them. Buy when nobody is buying, this will ensure you get a good price. Euphoria and buying frenzy now, 2 yrs later?

Originally Posted by cityhunter66

This is a good period to sell them, not buy them. Buy when nobody is buying, this will ensure you get a good price. Euphoria and buying frenzy now, 2 yrs later?

Well, I respectfully disagree. This is the time to buy. Economy is on a v-shape recovery and despite PM Lee's message of "moderation" Singapore will continue to bring in more foreigners to hit the planned 6.5 million target because we have already built our infrastructure and houses to accommodate this target. If not, there will be a worse backlash when we have "ghost malls", "ghost IRs" and "ghost condos". Between this backlash scenario and inflated housing prices, the government has no choice but to choose the latter.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

On your second pt, why is it that condo prices are still at historical highs now? Or is there a lag before reality sets in? Or that prices have decoupled from rental yield?

There could be a couple of factors. Personally I think there is a lot liquid money floating around in terms of savings, cheap mortgages etc. In addition people have lost a bit of faith in traditional investment products (shares, bonds etc.). These two combined push the people to invest in "safe" property and the best way to diversify a portfolio is to buy several small condos.

This is "dangerous" because the investors don't buy what the market demands what rather what they can afford. There are already ghost malls in Singapore. Two on Balestier Road alone...

Originally Posted by Unregistered

When you have a lot of foreigners who are singles, these small apartments / studios will be in great demand. Though some foreigners bring along their families and children, I understand that most just come here alone and at most bring a spouse or partner. So your "bird cage" apartments are a good bet. Time will tell who's correct.

With all respect but you have any hard numbers and facts to support this? This is the same story that developers and agents keep telling but I haven't found any data yet to support this.

Originally Posted by Facts & numbers

With all respect but you have any hard numbers and facts to support this? This is the same story that developers and agents keep telling but I haven't found any data yet to support this.

The fact is neither of us has any hard numbers and facts to support our predictions. The only fact I can give you is that property prices are on a record high now. They kept going up for the past few quarters when property bears kept shouting fire fire fire. Whether they will go higher is anyone's guess.