Friday, November 02, 2007

Right time to buy a property?

Dear Mr Tan :

I really enjoy reading your blog - it offers practical advise and alternate views which sometimes is so obvious. We are influenced by other people around us and does not see the alternative options.

I have been working in Singapore for about 15 years, and recently became a citizen. I have been renting a property and the rental will seen be increased sharply. I have about $500,000 in my CPF and liquid investments.

I am interested in buying a permanent home. What is your opinion in this matter? I do not qualify for a new HDB flat. Should I buy resale HBD?

REPLY

I am not really familair with this matter. I wonder if it will help for you to visit HDB and talk to the officer there?

Generally, I think that HDB resale represents a good investment, as there is a large pool of people who are willing to sell, to move to another new HDB property. So, you should get a reasonable price.

Perhaps, if you talk to a property agent and get some quotes of what are available, you may be able to make a better decision. If you have some possible offers, you can ask me to help you make an analysis.

4 comments:

Khiat Han Hwee Adrian said...

Just my opinion.

If your intention is to stay in Singapore for long and have extra cash, getting a own house is ok. Need not be a big house to avoid losing too much of your assets for investments.

Even if you leave Singapore, you can still rent the house out for an income.

If you are thinking of buying the property for investment, be selective about it and I believe property prices will still go up for the next 6 months or even 1 yr.

If you are not buying a house, make sure you invest your money well and get a good returns to compensate the opportunity cost of not having a house.

Anonymous said...

Hi. if i may offer my 2cents worth. now its not really the right time. You will just be fuelling the hot property market.Some HDB flat owners are asking for more than 50K above valuations. These are hard earned cash, not some monies that drop from the sky or from toto winnings. When the pool of enblocers downgrading to HDB dries up, many will be unable to sell off their flat, price will start to fall. As for private ppty, I do expect the govt to introduce more cooling measures ahead such as the capital gains tax etc. when that happens it will be a better time. Just wait. I could be wrong of course...cheers.

Anonymous said...

Just my opinion.
If you are buying a house to stay, it doesn't matter whether it is high or low. But when it is for investment, then it matter.

Anonymous said...

When talking to your property agent, be aware that his agenda and yours may be different.

Buying a resale HDB flat is good value for money. With right location, basic amenities are nearby i.e. MRT, bus, market, library, polyclinic, etc.

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