Yesterday’s news in the Straits Times Online about how the prices for HDB resale flats have risen despite the downturn (wait, there is a downturn right?) is a real downer for us especially when Lyn (my boo) and I are contemplating getting one sometime late this year. Given that prices are going up while our pay, bonuses and pretty much anything related to money is heading the other direction, everything seems to be going downhill.
Don’t get me wrong, we can still afford a new HDB, but waiting for a good three years for one to be completed isn’t exactly what we have in mind. Yes we do want our privacy after the big project. And adding to that, a new one would be located so far that it would take eons for us to get to work or anywhere else. Sure we do have an Off Peak Car but we like it the way it is and have no plans for a conversion. At the rate things are going, keeping our heads up high and and looking positive amid the gloomy future don’t seem to cut it for us anymore. How we managed to keep ourselves optimistic all these years despite getting screwed from just about any direction is a wonder to me. So where do we go from here?
HDB resale prices up 1.2% – Taken from Straits Times Online
Surprise increase in index reverses first quarter’s dip to reach new high
PRICES of HDB flats have staged a surprising comeback, reversing a first-quarter dip of 0.8 per cent to rise 1.2 per cent in the second quarter and reach a historical high.
Flash estimates from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) released on Wednesday show the resale price index rising to 140 – a record level not seen since the current index started in 1990. It beats the previous record set in the fourth quarter of last year when it hit just over 139.
Market analysts said they were caught off-guard by the turnaround, as many had been predicting 2 to 10 per cent declines in HDB resale flat prices for this year after a descent began in the first quarter – the first one since 2006.
Wednesday’s numbers have changed expectations, with analysts reversing their forecasts for HDB flat prices to hold or increase by up to 5 per cent this year. Industry observers attribute the latest surprise figures to three factors.
First, talk of an economic recovery has gathered momentum, backed by the recent stock market rally and brisk private property sales. This has slowed the slide in private property prices islandwide. Flash figures capturing sales prices in the first 10 weeks of the quarter, released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday, show prices falling 5.9 per cent in the second quarter, compared to a 14.1 per cent decline in the previous quarter.
The marked slowdown in the price decline is in line with rising transaction prices evident since the strong rebound in home sales since February, said Colliers International’s director for research and advisory, Ms Tay Huey Ying.
More bullish sentiment, coupled with the strength in HDB resale prices, has supported the private market, say analysts.
High HDB valuations is another key factor. HDB upgraders – buyers with HDB addresses buying private property – have been able to sell their units at high valuations and for tidy profits to fund private property purchases.
Due to the high valuations, buyers do not need to dig deep for upfront cash – otherwise known as cash-over-valuation – to purchase resale flats.
The third factor, flagged by Chesterton Suntec International head of research Colin Tan, is that demand far outstrips supply. HDB launched 7,793 new flats last year and will launch another 3,700 in the first nine months of this year. A Credit Suisse report released recently notes that total public and private housing supply for 2008 to 2012 is 16,000 on average per year – 42 per cent lower than the 10-year historical average.
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Don’t believe everything put out by the media (hahaha..yes no pun intended:P)
Check with agents, friends, better still, friends who are also agents and ask them what is the situation on the ground, and also the latest home loan rates.
And if you think carefully about it, 1.2% out of 300k, unless my math is horribly wrong, accounts to a ~4k increase in price. While that may be quite a bit, i doubt it so will significantly dent someone’s intentions of buying a place.
(By the way have you heard of a person saying its much hotter due to a temperature increase by 1.2% to 35DegC? If its already that hot, it will always be hot!)
But as i always maintain, where ever you move, i want to move there and be your neighbour, and most importantly be Lyn’s neighbour – cos i heard she’s a great cook.
Hahaha!
feel ur pain bro..it is starting..just be more patient..wait for Q3..
anyway here is a reason why things are looking up..but if u have to..i contemplate renting on a short term basis first to get a more ideal location and more worth it waiting for prices to come down..
http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2009/07/hdb-resale-prices-hit-record-highs.html
Isn’t the government providing more subsidies amounting to thousands and thousands of dollars? I could be wrong…
KP: Well its stats so unless there is a mistake this is something I can’t avoid. Either way ah..the reason why I’m pissed is that at this point of time prices are still up (not matter how small) and my bank account is really not growing accordingly.
Oh btw..yeah…u bring the wines and the beer yah? Expensive one ah…and we’ll cook..heh..
Len: Yeah, I got till the year end before my rent at home goes up. Q3 would be good I think..we approaching it soon anyways..
Hillary: Dunno about subsidies man..all I know is that my tax went up, despite making less money last year and car insurance really escalated. So dunno where I go from here..tsk..