This articles gives 5 reasons to buy a property now:
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/10/15/five-reasons-why-you-should-buy-a-property-now/
But, you should ask the people in Japan (20 years of stagnating property prices) and America (housing prices will continue to slump for at least 3 to 5 years) to know that property is NOT an appreciating asset.
The article was written by a Property Agent, Kelvin Fong. He is not an analyst. If he writes otherwise, oops, his pockets will hurt.
ReplyDeleteIn my view "timing to buy" is important because property is not so liquid.
I have given my own insight perspective in my blog "The Property Bubble & Investment Trap" Part I to X... link below
http://de-leviathan.blogspot.com/
I believe that local property prices will be sustained in the near and medium term. the correction will most likely come when the HDB floods the market with new BTOs (but in far flung area) and immigration inflow gets moderated.
ReplyDeleteMr Tan, I agree with you that most people (especially middle-income folks) have been seeing Singapore HDB as a sure win proposition. Even on the Straits Times Page 2, a journalist said that even if prices were to stagnate, rental yield on HDB are attractive.
But the point you brought out which is pertinent, is that the Singapore population (local and foreign)cannot grow exponentially.
By betting that local property prices will go up, these aspiring property investors are just waiting to tie an albatross round their neck.
Never ask a barber if you need a haircut. --- Warren Buffet
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, never ask a property marketing & advertising portal whether it's a good time to buy property. LOL
In 1989, when I was still a student studying in Japan, I asked my Japanese classmate's father why he did not sell one of his three properties (the smallest one, which is a 2-room condo in Kobe) and use the funds to buy a ranch in Australia. This was what he said: "young man, Japan is a country with lots of mountains and the land suitable for housing is scarce. Land prices has always go up and will always do so in the future. Australia is a huge country with lots of land. You see the difference?"
ReplyDeleteIn 2006, when I was working as an Investment officer, a senior portfolio manager of a big well know US Investment Management company told me this, "while US is a big country, not all the land are suitable for residential usage. Also, more US people are now looking to own their homes rather than renting a place to stay. The demand of homes will only go up as more people realize that owning their home is a good thing."
ReplyDeleteProperty is still a viable investment if you are prudent in managing your cashflow and mortgage loan. It is true that land planning and population growth policy will directly affect housing price. Building, material and labour cost will rise due to inflation. If you are prudent enough to be able to manage cash flow for 2-5 yrs mortage in the worse case of losing income than i would be a safe investment in Singapore. If govt plan to raise median pay up to 30%, then what do you think property price will be in 5-10 yrs time?
ReplyDelete