EC penthouse sold for record S$2.05m

[3Boys]

pirate:

Actually, I have no issue with people gaming the system so long as they do not rent the flat out.


I have no issue with rich people buying a BTO, so long as it is limited to one per household. Heck, even if it is limited to 2 bites of the cherry as it is now, I still have no issue with it. This is provided that we are talking about basic BTO flats up to 5-rooms. After all, rich people pay more taxes.

What I have an issue with is HDB getting into providing housing that goes beyond basic housing such as DBSS and EC. We should not be subsidizing anything more than basic housing. If the basic HDB is not good enough for you, go buy a private property. Needs can be subsidized. Wants should not be.

Forget all these complicated rules on what developers can or cannot do. Just scrap DBSS and EC and keep public housing simple.

I agree in general, except the well off buying BTO.

[SaltySalt]

super ex. why housing nowadays become so expensive.

[doodbug]

3Boys:

Asset enhancement and affordability are somewhat in conflict with each other, and the g'ment are trying to do both with public housing. At some point someone's got to make a decision about which is the more important objective with public housing.


My opinion on property policies have swung around in light of the massive rise in property prices in Singapore. Yes, QE and US printing of dollars, Asian economic boom have a lot to do with it. At the same time, Singapore is a small place with limited land. If central areas are expensive you can't just move to the rural areas and have cheap housing.

I feel even more draconian measures need to be in place to dampen foreign inflows. Yes it will impact me as I am vested in property myself, but there has to be common sense and fairness in all of this, and I really fear for my kids.

I fully agree. I work in a tertiary institution and it strikes me how graduate couples feel today. A young graduate couple today, finds cars and housing out of reach. And I don't think their expectations are unreasonable - they're typically looking for a 4 room resale flat near their parents' place etc. It will take them years to save up for the COV. They compare themselves with their parents, and some feel that they are 'worse off'. They feel that so much is out of reach. If this continues, we will have a growing group of apathetic and disenfranchised electorate.

Sky-high property prices will also eventually hurt Singapore's business competitiveness.

We have to bite the bullet some time somewhere. But no government will have the resolve to do so - politically impossible.

[3Boys]

doodbug:

3Boys:

Asset enhancement and affordability are somewhat in conflict with each other, and the g'ment are trying to do both with public housing. At some point someone's got to make a decision about which is the more important objective with public housing.


My opinion on property policies have swung around in light of the massive rise in property prices in Singapore. Yes, QE and US printing of dollars, Asian economic boom have a lot to do with it. At the same time, Singapore is a small place with limited land. If central areas are expensive you can't just move to the rural areas and have cheap housing.

I feel even more draconian measures need to be in place to dampen foreign inflows. Yes it will impact me as I am vested in property myself, but there has to be common sense and fairness in all of this, and I really fear for my kids.

I fully agree. I work in a tertiary institution and it strikes me how graduate couples feel today. A young graduate couple today, finds cars and housing out of reach. And I don't think their expectations are unreasonable - they're typically looking for a 4 room resale flat near their parents' place etc. It will take them years to save up for the COV. They compare themselves with their parents, and some feel that they are 'worse off'. They feel that so much is out of reach. If this continues, we will have a growing group of apathetic and disenfranchised electorate.

Sky-high property prices will also eventually hurt Singapore's business competitiveness.

We have to bite the bullet some time somewhere. But no government will have the resolve to do so - politically impossible.

I feel particularly miffed when the young couples have to cough up so much cash and take massive loans, and the property developers are laughing all the way to the bank.....on so-called subsidised PUBLIC housing projects!

[Mawar]

3Boys:

doodbug:

[quote=\"3Boys\"] Asset enhancement and affordability are somewhat in conflict with each other, and the g'ment are trying to do both with public housing. At some point someone's got to make a decision about which is the more important objective with public housing.


My opinion on property policies have swung around in light of the massive rise in property prices in Singapore. Yes, QE and US printing of dollars, Asian economic boom have a lot to do with it. At the same time, Singapore is a small place with limited land. If central areas are expensive you can't just move to the rural areas and have cheap housing.

I feel even more draconian measures need to be in place to dampen foreign inflows. Yes it will impact me as I am vested in property myself, but there has to be common sense and fairness in all of this, and I really fear for my kids.

I fully agree. I work in a tertiary institution and it strikes me how graduate couples feel today. A young graduate couple today, finds cars and housing out of reach. And I don't think their expectations are unreasonable - they're typically looking for a 4 room resale flat near their parents' place etc. It will take them years to save up for the COV. They compare themselves with their parents, and some feel that they are 'worse off'. They feel that so much is out of reach. If this continues, we will have a growing group of apathetic and disenfranchised electorate.

Sky-high property prices will also eventually hurt Singapore's business competitiveness.

We have to bite the bullet some time somewhere. But no government will have the resolve to do so - politically impossible.

I feel particularly miffed when the young couples have to cough up so much cash and take massive loans, and the property developers are laughing all the way to the bank.....on so-called subsidised PUBLIC housing projects![/quote]I am more concerned that couples need their parents help to get their flats. The deeper the pockets, the better the units.

[JJ1111]

What can government say or do? They have RICH parent. Their parent able to "SUPPORT" them in CASH.


My colleague parent brought him a semi-d. All fully pay off. We can only ENVY. LOL!!!

I feel the government can only control the pricing of the EC. Eg. EC pricing cannot be more than how many % of the HDB PSF price and MAXIMUM pricing per house cannot exceed how many $X million. Like this developer don’t dare to bid too high for the land and don’t dare to built too big house.

[AC_Power]

Agree with most. EC and DBSS are flawed. Just scrap them.

[pirate]

doodbug:

I fully agree. I work in a tertiary institution and it strikes me how graduate couples feel today. A young graduate couple today, finds cars and housing out of reach. And I don't think their expectations are unreasonable - they're typically looking for a 4 room resale flat near their parents' place etc. It will take them years to save up for the COV. They compare themselves with their parents, and some feel that they are 'worse off'. They feel that so much is out of reach. If this continues, we will have a growing group of apathetic and disenfranchised electorate.

Actually, I personally think that the part I highlighted is unrealistic. What is now a mature estate was not necessary so when the parents bought their flats. It used to be, for example, that estates like Tampines, Clementi and Yishun were considered really ulu. When Marine Parade HDB flats were first launched, people were concerned about flats built on reclaimed land. Bishan was a cemetary... And so on and so forth... The present day equivalent to what they were back then is BTO in non mature estates.

As for cars, buy second hand. They are good enough for many millionaires. They should be good enough for a young graduate couple. And how many of their parents could afford to buy and maintain a car fresh out of school? Even in the 1990s, my contemporaries generally did not buy new cars until they were reasonably established in their careers. And these were people who were in the top 0.1% of their cohort. Are these young graduates even in the top 1% of their cohort, much less 0.1%?

[Lilac66]

I feel the HDB flats are still generally quite affordable for young couples if we are talking about just standard flats. A 3 rm flat in a location like Bukit Batok going at about $250K(w/o grants) should not be too much of a stretch for these couples.


Our system is fair as every citizen gets 2 bites of the cherry and most will upgrade from there . Selling these subsidised flats 5 years later will undoubtedly earn you quite a tidy sum.(provided economy is still strong then).
If course if these people are looking only at bigger flats in mature estates as their first home, then they must be prepared to pay a premium.

As for ECs,I’m sure KBW is not going to close one eye to this so there’ll be new rules soon for the developers to adhere to

[Rational_Parent]

Rational_Parent:

sleepy:

[quote=\"HVR\"]Income ceiling $12k. Let's say loan 80% then need to borrow 1.6 millions how to make monthly payment? Definitely have to pay cash and will any bank approves such loan? This being a 'public' and hence, 'subsidized' project, if the buyers have so much cash to pay upfront then shouldn't enjoy any grant at all.

Bank cap interests repayment at 40% of income. Even if wanna pay more than 40% bank don't accept.

My guess is this couple will not be taking 80% loan. Possibly much lower loan%. Alternatively, if they are young couple, can stretch loan for a loooong period. Interests component will be super high though :shock:

You have to think outside the box, if I may say so. Think savings, not just of the purchaser but of his/her relatives who are willing to contribute and may even agree to cohabit in that large unit or just as a joint investment. And then there are possibilities of the purchaser or his/her kin enjoying a windfall such as winning lotteries and/or come into a huge inheritance which the authority also cannot begrudge. With such a unique and only unit in a development, it is surely bound to attract tremendous interests and sell very profitably in the future. Therefore, bottom-line, it is a very sound investment and indeed a star buy. I think even banks will not be too perturbed in financing this purchase because of the above-mentioned, provided they are doing it within the rules. And one cannot begrudge the purchaser as well for he/she is also playing within the rules and wants to maximize his/her benefits like all sane humans do.

The issue is not with the purchaser but with the government and EC developers for lack of control and for blurring the original concept of ECs as being for the \"sandwiched group\". If the reason for the cost of housing to rise is due in part to supply is not catching up with demand then building such large unit is definitely not helping because three other reasonable sized units could have been built in place of it.

There will sure be new rulings in the pipeline concerning public housing, and changes to ECs rulings will definitely take centre-stage. But those lucky ones with penthouses will be just that - lucky ones.[/quote]And there you go, new rulings to cool the property market and some heated heads. Somehow one cannot help but feel sentiments, whether from public, feedbacks, and even forums such as this KSP, do get to the authority. The speed at which actions are taken is not really surprising, what with a by-election around the corner. The by-election will also hold back the imminent fare hikes in public buses and MRT for sure.

I wonder how those who bought properties for investment now feels. But that guy who bought the 2.05m EC unit can now smile forever and there's not a lot anyone can do about it. One lucky bloke.