Recent blog posts - Property Launches & Investments

Is the Singapore property market still a safe haven for investors?

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Saturday, 10 November 2018 in Property News

SINGAPORE: With all the turmoil of a Trump presidency and Brexit, we wouldn’t be surprised if analysts eventually suggest hiding your money in a sock.

In the aftermath of the last crisis years (2009 to 2013), the Singapore property market — particularly its luxury segment — was considered a safe haven investment destination and recorded huge price increases.

But will that still be the case today? It certainly seems so. Singapore properties surprisingly recorded price gains for luxury properties in the third quarter of 2018, outshining even Hong Kong.

Clearly, and despite the cooling measures, well-heeled investors are still seeing value and opportunity in the Singapore housing market.

Executive condominiums: Are upcoming ECs in 2019/2020 worth the wait?

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Friday, 12 October 2018 in Property News

Executive Condominiums (ECs) are always popular; how else can you can buy private properties with the help of government subsidies? For first-time homeowners above a certain income, ECs* are the logical choice. This is especially so for those who exceed the income ceiling for BTO flats ($12,000 vs $14,000 for ECs) but find the price point of non-EC condos out of their reach. On top of that, they could also have reservations about buying a resale flat. So, ECs have the spotlight all to themselves right now. Bookmark this page to stay updated on all the EC launches to look out for in 2019 and 2020 (there are no launches in 2018).

Over 100,000 Jobs, 20,000 Homes To Be Created In Jurong

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Wednesday, 03 October 2018 in Property News

While Jurong may be considered ulu by some home buyers, Singapore’s industrial heartland is set to become a more vibrant and attractive neighbourhood to live in.

There are various factors contributing to the bright outlook, but three stand out as game changers.

Singapore deemed fairly valued in UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Wednesday, 03 October 2018 in Property News

Most cities in UBS Group's Global Real Estate Bubble Index are overvalued or at risk of a bubble, according to the Swiss bank's 2018 report on housing prices.

Chicago is the only undervalued housing market in the 20-city index, while Milan, Singapore and Boston are deemed fairly valued, the report released on Thursday shows. Ten cities, from New York to Sydney to Stockholm, are overvalued, while six are in bubble-risk territory, with Hong Kong's market the most inflated. A year ago, New York had been scored as fairly valued.

Economists hold on to 2018 growth forecast of 3.2% for Singapore: Mas Survey

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 06 September 2018 in Property News

SINGAPORE: Private-sector economists have maintained their growth forecast for the Singapore economy this year at 3.2 per cent though downside risks including trade protectionism continued to loom large, the latest quarterly survey from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) showed on Wednesday (Sep 5).

This forecast falls within the Government’s estimates for full-year gross domestic product (GDP) to come in between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent. Official data released last month showed second-quarter GDP coming in at a slightly better-than-expected 3.9 per cent from a year ago.

New Housing curbs expected but extent of measures "heavy-handed"

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 06 September 2018 in Property News

SINGAPORE: The new property cooling measures announced on Thursday (Jul 5) were not entirely unexpected given the recent euphoria in the housing market, but the speed and timing at which the measures were introduced as well as the extent of the curbs were “heavy-handed”, some analysts told Channel NewsAsia.

Among the curbs are a 5 percentage point hike in Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates for citizens and permanent residents (PRs) buying second and subsequent homes, as well as a 5 percentage point tightening for loan-to-value limits for all housing loans granted by financial institutions .

Older HDB flats 65% lower in price!!

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 26 August 2018 in Property News

Are changes in HDB and CPF policies, and remarks by politicians causing a crash in the prices of older HDB flats?

I refer to the article “Owners worry older HDB flats a depreciating asset” (Sunday Times, Apr 15).

How big a price premium do integrated developments command?

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Monday, 20 August 2018 in Property News

Over the past decade, condominium projects linked to an MRT station have generated strong sales. This is especially so for projects that are not only linked to an MRT station, but also part of an integrated development with a sizeable commercial component such as a shopping mall.

According to Alice Tan, head of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, an integrated development is defined as a mixed-use development with a residential and large commercial element that is seamlessly connected to a transport node and public spaces.

Cooling measures raised home ownership costs, dampened property demand: Redas president

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 19 July 2018 in Property News

SINGAPORE - The imposition of heftier additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) on developers is "a big setback for the property market in Singapore", Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (Redas) president Augustine Tan said on Tuesday (July 17).

Referring to the government's recent cooling measures that also include tightened loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, he said that the changes have raised the cost of home ownership and cooled demand from investors and foreigners, while possibly eroding the confidence of developers, investors and buyers.

En Bloc Potential: 7 Reasons Why a Collective Sale Tender Fails

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 15 July 2018 in Property News

Having en bloc potential is not a sure sign you’ll hit the jackpot. Even when enough signatures are gathered, some collective sale attempts appear to have as much chance of going through as a US-North Korea peace deal. Many condos have proceeded to the tender stage, such as Faber Gardens, Windy Heights and Casa Meyfort (just to name a few), only to find a lack of interested developers at their stated reserve price.

Widening public-private home price gap may not dent upgrading demand

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Monday, 09 July 2018 in Property News

While price data might underscore such fears, market watchers note that there are many mitigating factors to keep the upgrading momentum from owners of Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats going, who sell their flats to move to private housing.

First, the truth be told, price indices do not tell the whole story, said Edmund Tie & Company CEO Ong Choon Fah.

The HDB resale landscape has been uneven, with larger flats in mature and sought-after estates such as Toa Payoh, Bishan, Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah, Geylang and Queenstown holding up in prices or even registering an increase in Q4 2017 from Q4 2012, based on median resale prices published on the HDB website.

How Can We Retain the Benefits of Globalization?

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 05 July 2018 in Property News

Koichi Hamada is Professor Emeritus at Yale University and a special adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In the last few years, for many people and their leaders, globalization has become a scourge to be purged in favor of greater protectionism and unilateralism. This represents a sharp departure from the recent past, when globalization was widely regarded as a positive force. What changed, and why?

Economy of Singapore will be negatively affected by coming changes to global economic order

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 05 July 2018 in Property News

The economy of Singapore will be severely and negatively impacted if there is any changes to the established economic world order. The prospect of a trade war between the United States of America (US) and China has not died not despite the leaders of both countries being more measured in their comments in the past few weeks. In tit-for-tat actions, US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on US$150 billion worth of goods on everything from solar panels to aircraft to cars, after China’s Xi Jinping imposed preliminary antidumping tariffs of 178.6 per cent on sorghum (a crop used to make alcohol and biofuels).

Trade war between USA and China could spring nasty surprise on en bloc mania

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 05 July 2018 in Property News

If the trade war between the United States of America (USA) and China gains further steam, it may deal a nasty blow to the en bloc mania. On Thursday, the President of the USA doubled down on the potential trade war with China. He was responding to the Chinese announcement that $50 billion in American products would be hit by tariffs – including soybeans and pork.

China’s announcement was a tit-for-tat move against the Trump Administration which had earlier slapped a 25 percent tariff on Chinese products in a sweeping trade measure aimed at penalizing the country for its trade practices.