- ST Jan 5, 2010
Resale HDB flat prices hit new high
Year's total increase amounts to 8%; private home prices too are up
By Jessica Cheam
HOUSING Board (HDB) resale flat prices continue to climb ever higher, with prices in the fourth quarter of last year setting a new record.
Flash estimates released by the HDB yesterday show prices rose by 3.8 per cent in the fourth quarter, bringing last year's total price rise to about 8 per cent - a surprise outcome for many property experts who had predicted price falls at the start of last year.
The Resale Price Index (RPI) hit 150.7 in the fourth quarter, up from the third quarter's 145.2 and far beyond the previous peak of 136.9 achieved in the fourth quarter of 1996.
HDB flat prices have risen almost 40 per cent over the past three years.
Guess who sold his HDB apartment in the last quarter? Heheh.
There is no such thing as a good market or a bad market - it all depends on which side of the market you're on. That is to say, whether you are a buyer or a seller.
Luckily for me, I bought my other home in March 2009, when the market was at its bottom. As a buyer, I caught the bottom, and as a seller I caught the high.
Nevertheless I do feel sorry for young Singaporean families who are now finding it difficult to buy their first home. And here's a big reason for their difficulty:
- ....... PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said that permanent residents easily made up 20 per cent of his agency's total HDB sales.
At C&H Realty, this group of buyers account for as many as 50 per cent of all HDB resale transactions, revealed managing director Albert Lu.
- ST Jan 1, 2010
Singaporeans come first for Govt: PM
Sharing benefits by raising per capita income is one big aim
By Kor Kian Beng, Political Correspondent
SINGAPOREANS are top priority for the Government, which will aim to grow the economy in a way that allows all citizens to share in the benefits, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has emphasised in his New Year message for 2010.
... At the same time, the Government will also 'manage and moderate' the inflow of foreign workers so that Singaporeans are not overwhelmed by the sheer numbers, he said.
- HDB yesterday moved to address supply concerns by announcing it would launch more build-to-order (BTO) flats this year if there was 'sustained demand for new flats'. It would, it added, 'ensure that there is an adequate supply of flats to meet prevailing housing needs'.
Some 1,300 new flats are to be launched for sale today by HDB in Choa Chu Kang and Hougang.
As an indication of the red-hot demand for homes, there was an overwhelming response to a recent launch by HDB of BTO flats at Dawson, where some flats were more than 11 times oversubscribed.
Meanwhile, many Singaporeans will still be needing a more immediate roof over their heads. One option is to rent. For the average Singaporean, renting HDB accommodation would traditionally be the most affordable route. Alas, what would be the problem here?
Integrated Resorts in Singapore upbeat about outlook in 2010
By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia
23 December 2009
SINGAPORE: Three years in the making and Singapore's two integrated resorts will finally open soon and the operators are upbeat about the prospects. Resorts World Sentosa, due to open in a matter of weeks, expects to attract 13 million visitors in the first year alone.
An entertainment industry like Resorts World is very labour-intensive. It's unlike, say, the pharmaceutical R&D industry at Biopolis, which will go a long way with a few dozen highly qualified, top-notch scientists.
The estimate is that when the two IRs are up and running, they will have created about 50,000 to 60,000 new jobs. If half the jobs go to foreigners, we're expecting a flood of 25,000 to 30,000 new foreigners coming to reside in Singapore, just for the IR jobs alone.
Most of these foreigners won't be the senior management types (the kind who will rent a District 10 condo or house to live in). Instead they will be the croupiers, the ticket sales staff, the cleaners, the ride operators, the F&B staff, the theme park guy who dresses up in the funny costume and entertains the kids.
These are the same foreigners who will need to rent a HDB flat. Their sheer numbers will push up the rental demand for HDB accommodation. When demand goes up, so will the rental price.
Many Singaporeans will be caught out. They can't afford to buy, they can't afford to rent. They will park themselves with their parents or in-laws, and defer marriage and/or childbirth.
A few years later, PM Lee will stare at his charts and numbers, and lament once again about how come Singaporeans are getting married later and later, and why are the birth rates falling lower and lower again.
Then in his great wisdom, he will conclude, "Oh we need to import more foreigners."