HDB resale prices increase at fastest pace in 8 years, expected to continue rising

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 22 November 2020 in Property News

SINGAPORE — With prices trending downwards since 2013, the market for Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flats may have turned the tide as prices have now increased at their fastest pace in eight years.

This is according to the HDB’s public housing data for the third quarter of 2020 released on Friday (Oct 23), which also showed that transaction volumes have reached a 10-year high.Analysts expect this upward trend to continue with prices increasing between 1.5 and 3.5 per cent for 2020.

Based on HDB’s data, resale prices went up 1.5 per cent compared to the previous quarter — the highest growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2012. The resale price index is now at 133.9, back to levels seen in two quarters of 2017.

New ECs versus private condos: price gap widening

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Monday, 01 December 2014 in Property News

THE price gap between new executive condominiums (ECs) and private condos is widening, as rising condo prices have outpaced the fairly steady prices of its public-private counterpart since 2011.

According to a study by STProperty, buyers who bought an EC this year would have saved 31.7 per cent on average over purchasing a private property from developers. This is higher than the 23.1 per cent savings EC buyers would have enjoyed in 2011. This makes ECs a good value proposition to the aspiring sandwiched class who do not qualify for public housing but can ill-afford private condos, STProperty says.

Going down, down and away: Mortgage servicing ratio drags resale flat prices

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Saturday, 30 August 2014 in Property News

4 price drops in a row.

Another proof that the government's cooling measures are getting effective has come. Resale flat prices drop to its lowest point in 2 years and has been dropping for 4 consecutive quarters in a row.

A PropNex analysis said that the HDB resale market continued to cool in Q2 2014; this is also the fourth consecutive quarter of price drops.

Govt Unlikely to Remove Curbs Soon

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Monday, 02 June 2014 in Property News

Home prices are likely to fall further before the government rolls back the property cooling measures which were imposed since 2009, according to Standard Chartered in media reports.

“You would start to take away some of these measures if price growth reaches a certain level of equilibrium,” said the bank’s CEO for ASEAN, Lim Cheng Teck. However, he believes this is not the case yet.

Chesterton Singapore’s Managing Director Donald Han also holds a similar view: “It’s still too early to remove curbs. The government will monitor but their fingers won’t be pressing any buttons at this point in time.”

Summary of the Singapore Property Cooling Measures

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Tuesday, 29 April 2014 in Property News

This page aims at giving an overview of the current regulations regarding residential property transactions in Singapore, result of the 8 rounds of cooling measures made by the authorities since 2009.

List of Property cooling measures by URA/MAS.

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 27 April 2014 in Property News

Here is the full list of the 8 recent property cooling measures.

Property Trends in Singapore for 2014 and beyond

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 27 April 2014 in Property News

Suffice to say, the numerous property cooling regulations imposed by MND, URA, MAS, IRAS have done much to curb the speculative fever and more.

Background of Singapore's housing woes.

Exemption from TDSR, MSR

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 20 April 2014 in Property News

MAS Makes It Easier to Refinance Properties Bought Before the Introduction of TDSR

On Feb 10, 2014, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced some exemptions that would please owners having difficulties refinancing older properties due to the TDSR measures. In their press release entitled, "MAS Broadens Exemption from TDSR Threshold for Refinancing of Owner-Occupied Residential Properties Purchased before the Implementation of TDSR Rules", it was announced that some exemptions will be allowed for owner occupied and investment properties.

MAS eases TDSR rules for some home owners refinancing loans

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 20 April 2014 in Property News

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has widened the existing exemptions from the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) to cover the refinancing of loans for owner-occupied properties that were bought before the measure was introduced last year.

In a statement, the MAS said it had received feedback from borrowers who have faced challenges refinancing such loans.

Under the revised rules, a borrower who bought a residential property before the TDSR rules were introduced will be exempted from the TDSR threshold as long as the buyer occupies the home that is being refinanced.

HDB resale prices edge up, strong rebound in volume

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Saturday, 12 April 2014 in Property News

RESALE prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats crawled slightly higher last month as price increases in smaller units offset the declines in larger ones, going by the latest data from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX).

But transaction volumes staged a strong rebound as buyers returned to the resale market after the Chinese New Year lull.

Flash estimates by SRX showed HDB prices edged up 0.3 per cent in March from a month ago. Prices for three- and four-room units rose by 0.5 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively as more buyers sought units with smaller quantums, given the loan cap under the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR).

Impact on TDSR and MSR

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Friday, 13 December 2013 in Property News

[SINGAPORE] Coming on the heels of a dramatic year peppered with policies aimed at cooling the property market and a number of firsts in public housing, 2014 appears poised to be a more subdued year by comparison.

Consultants say it is unlikely that the government will roll out any new policies next year, even though they do not rule out some tweaking of existing measures.

Bank lending breaches psychological barrier

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 12 December 2013 in Property News

Loans-to-deposits ratio crosses 100% mark despite slower lending; analysts preach prudence as leverage concerns grow

THE banking sector's loans-to-deposits ratio crossed 100 for the first time since the Asian financial crisis, providing evidence that the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS's) recent moves to curb excessive lending were timely, say economists.

EC buyer's buying power hit

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Wednesday, 11 December 2013 in Property News

The government's revision of the executive condominium (EC) scheme will see developers being more mindful of a buyer's income ceiling and the project's affordability.

"Affordability of ECs will be hit by the new mortgage servicing ratio (MSR) which is capped at 30 percent of the buyer's gross monthly income (previously, this only applied to HDB BTO and resale flats)," said Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex Realty.

Targeted cooling measures would be more effective

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Wednesday, 11 December 2013 in Property News

Curbs such as ABSD and TDSR do not seem to have produced the desired results

Housing loans

Completed private residences

Loans granted to homes under construction

THE first part of this article last week concluded that the Singapore household balance sheet is rock solid: household net worth is increasing because household assets such as shares, CPF, currencies and savings are increasing more than household debt.

Refining the Executive Condominium Housing Scheme

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Tuesday, 10 December 2013 in Property News

The Government will implement three measures for Executive Condominium (EC) developments to bring the terms for ECs closer to that for public housing, and help support a stable and sustainable EC market. This follows a review by MND on the EC Housing Scheme, taking into account feedback from the Our Singapore Conversation on Housing.

Spike in number of flats sold below valuation

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Monday, 02 December 2013 in Property News

THE number of Housing Board flats being sold below valuation has rocketed, as tighter mortgage rules eat into demand.

According to HDB's latest figures, 105 units were sold in October for less than their appraisal. This accounted for 7 per cent of the total resale volume, a marked increase on the average 0.3 per cent for each month of the first half of the year.

This means around four times as many flats were sold below valuation in October alone than over the whole of January to June, when there was an average of five such transactions every month.

Singapore has one of the highest household debts in Asia

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Wednesday, 13 November 2013 in Property News

Ralatively higher than Asian peers.

According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, it estimates Singapore's household debt at 77.2% of GDP in 1Q, relatively high compared to other Asian counterparts.

The government is taking steps to cool the secondary market for public housing and ensure that households do not over-leverage. In June, the Monetary Authority of Singapore introduced a total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) framework for property loans granted by financial institutions to individuals.

The MAS is mindful of the risks when Singapore interest rates begin normalizing (ie, rising), highlighting that an estimated 5-10% of borrowers have over-leveraged on property purchases.

HDB flats, ECs will feel brunt of new measures

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 03 October 2013 in Property News

The public housing sector, as well as the hybrid executive condominium (EC) market, will bear a significant load from the slew of cooling measures introduced by the government yesterday.

Beyond a broad range of measures that apply across residential properties, they will be subject to further specific policies announced by the authorities yesterday, which market watchers have welcomed.

The EC market, which has been in the limelight over escalating prices and whether it has served its purpose to cater to the sandwiched class, will see several measures put in place from today.

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