Finding Houses in Singapore

Is it good to invest in a HDB? Recently there are many million HDBs sold.. -> https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/13-hdb-resale-flats-sold-for-at-least-1m-in-jan-prices-rise-for-7th-straight-month Is it a good investment? Taken from data.gov.sg, we see that the number of flats sold is decreasing since 2017, after reaching its peak. The number of flats for rent is about the same.  This is the resale price of HDB flats, as we can see, the price increased at of 2020 Q4. Despite the covid situation and the weak SG stock market, the price of HDB flats continue to increase.  Number of rental houses do not seem to show any signs of decrease.  According to these graphs, there seems to be good chance that you can sell away your HDB for a profit in the future, given that there is large number of lease years left in the HDB as there is a tighter restrictions for buyers to buy HDB with leases less than 50 years.  Even if you now is not the right time to sell t...

 Here's the Straits Times Index ETF from 2008. Here is the price chart of the Straits Times Index (STI) ETF (ES3), which tracks the performance of the Straits Times Index taken from yahoo finance. As you can see, if you entered and bought some STI ETF in the year 2010 at around 3.02, 10 years later in year 2020, you might incur a loss as the average price of 2020 is around 2.744. Hopefully the dividends earned from the ETF which yield is around 3-4% per year will help to cover the losses.  Let's compare it with the Price Index chart for HDB and Non Landed Private Housing. The trend of the price index of STI and Non Landed Private Housing looks similar, up to 2020, where we see the tanking of the STI while the prices of houses did not fall as much.  There are probably several reasons for this.   The covid that happened in 2020 has changed the lifestyle for many. During the circuit breaker, students have to learn from home while office workers work from home. Many...

 Let's take a look at the average price of Non-Landed Private Properties (eg. condo) This includes all the non-landed houses in Singapore, in all regions. At this time of writing Q4 2020 prices is not available yet. For Year 2020, it is the average price index of Q1-Q3. As you can see, after 2017, the price level of properties do not increase as much. How does it compare to HDB? The above shows the price index of Non landed private properties as compared to resale price index of HDB. As you can see, from 2015 onwards, the price of non-landed private properties continue to increase while the price levels of HDB remain relatively flat.  Which do you think is a better investment? For most people, to get a profit you have to buy low and sell high.  If you buy a HDB or non landed property at around the time of the first red circle at around 2009, you will likely be able to make a profit if you sell the property in 2013.  Similarly if you buy a non landed property in 2017 ...

The first thing to ask.. is it for investment or for own stay?  If it is for investment, let's take a look at the historical data: Source: https://data.gov.sg/dataset/price-indices-of-non-landed-properties-by-locality In case you are not familiar, here are what Core Central Region (CCR), Outside Central Region (OCR) and Rest of Central Region (RCR) includes: Core Central Region (CCR): include Orchard, Bukit Timah, Newton, Novena, Tanjong Pagr, Downtown Core and Sentosa Rest of Central Region (RCR):  Include Tiong bahru, Buona Vista, Harbourfront, Toa Payoh, Boon Keng, Bishan, Geylang, Paya Lebar, Little India Outside Central Region (OCR) includes Clementi, Ang Mo Kio, Serangoon, SengKang, Hougang Tampines, Bedok, Changi, Pasir Ris, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Batok, Woodlands, Yishun, Sembawang, Jurong. We can see that from 2012 onwards, the price index in outside central region increases quickly, more than core central region n outside central region.  One reason is also a...

I was always told "if you want to buy a house, buy a HDB." The government provides grants, and it is cheaper and bigger than a condo per sqft. Furthermore during those payouts more are given to those living in HDB.  To buy a HDB or condo? It really boils down to whether you are buying the flat for own stay, or for investment.  Take a look below, that shows the graph of the HDB Price index from 1990 Q1 to 2020 Q1  Source: https://data.gov.sg/dataset/hdb-resale-price-index   We have seen that from 1990 to 2013, the price of HDB flats have been increasing. But it has been falling ever since.   What happened in 2013?  All loans issued by banks and HDB for both HDB flats and ECs, have an MSR (Mortgage Servicing Ratio) of 30 percent, a decreased from 40 percent of a borrower’s gross monthly income. The MSR determines how much loan a buyer can get when purchasing HDB flat. In other words, buyers cannot get as much loan as before, and thus they ...