We’ve witnessed an interesting shift in the HDB resale market in recent years—an increasing number of homeowners are turning their attention to older flats, specifically those that are at least 40 years old. These older flats, once considered less desirable due to their age, have gradually become more prominent in the resale market. Rising Proportion of Older Flats Resold One look at HDB...
Real Estate
The Federal Reserve (Fed) has finally cut interest rates after keeping them elevated over a prolonged period. On 18 September 2024, the Fed announced a cut of 50 basis points (bps), lowering its target interest rate range to 4.75% to 5.00%. This marks a decrease from the previous range of 5.25% to 5.50%, the highest in 23 years. Notably, this is the first rate cut following a series of hikes that began...
A new MRT line always brings about hype and conversation. Truer words cannot be spoken for the colourful District 15, which has been patiently waiting for MRT access for decades.District 15, consisting of the East-Coast and Marine Parade residential estates, has a rich and prolific history. From the mid-19th century, the Katong precinct was occupied by the wealthy Peranakan community, a historical fact...
Overview August saw 208 new private homes sold, including seven landed units from the Pollen Collection. This figure represents a 63.6% month-on-month (m-o-m) decline, marking the lowest number of new private home sales since February 2024, when 149 units were sold. The steep decline can be attributed to the absence of new project launches during the Hungry Ghost Month, as well as the high sales base...
If all Government Land Sale (GLS) sites have a 99-year leasehold (99-LH) tenure, then why are there 999-year leasehold (999-LH) or freehold developments? Freehold land parcels were last sold prior to the introduction of GLS Programme in 1967, mostly taking place before Singapore’s independence.In land-scarce Singapore, selling residential land on a 99-year lease allows the government flexibility to...
Bukit Timah is traditionally known to be a prime residential area consisting predominantly luxury private condominiums and landed homes, as well as being located near the Core Central Region (CCR). But this could soon change over the next 20 to 30 years. So you see, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Housing & Development Board (HDB) has announced a development plan on May 2024 that will...
During his first National Day Rally this year, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong cast a spotlight on housing options with improved infrastructure for Singaporean seniors, highlighting that “there are seniors who prefer not to move” who desire to “age in place, where they currently live”. However, some seniors may not be able to preserve their current living arrangements – primarily those who live in...
For almost anyone doing it for the first time, buying a home in Singapore can be a confusing process. Throw in a bunch of acronyms, like ABSD (Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty) and MOP (Minimum Occupation Period), and things can get baffling real quick.However, if you’re intending to take out a loan on a new home purchase, two terms that you’ll absolutely need to know are TDSR and MSR.In their full...
The Ministry of Development (MND) and Housing Development Board (HDB) have jointly announced a set of cooling measures for the HDB resale market and additional grants to provide further support to lower-to-middle income first-time home buyers. Adjustment of Loan-To-Value limit for HDB loans With effect from 20 August 2024, the Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit for HDB loans will be lowered from 80% to...
Continuing the trend of moderate price growth for resale flats, the latest HDB quarterly transaction data indicates a modest uptick in prices for 2Q 2024, with the Resale Price Index rising to 187.6. This is a 2.3% increase from the previous quarter, and a 6.6% from the same period in the previous year.”Similarly, the volume of resale HDB flat transactions showed upwards movement, reaching 7,352 units...