Last Thursday, Managing Director of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Ravi Menon mentioned at the annual report media conference that it is “not time yet to ease the cooling measures”, “they remain necessary” and “easing the measures now would send a wrong signal”. Sorry, cooling measures are to stay Menon cited two reasons for the decision: 1) Good pick-up of … [Read more...]
4 traits of millennial homebuyers and how they impact properties
Still remember my previous blog post “3 disruptive trends that will forever change the property industry”? There is a fourth trend on millennial homebuyers. Millennials (not the yellow color “minions” in the Despicable Me movie) are also known as Generation Y. They are referred to those who are born between 1982 and 2004 (or between 13 to 35 years old). Every … [Read more...]
Why unemployment is the real killer in the property game
Last Wednesday Federal Reserve announced a quarter-point rate hike as the industry has expected. This is the second approved raise by the central bank this year. There will still be a third round most likely in September. Why rate hike is not a big concern But who cares about the raise of a quarter point? Banks don’t need any excuse to raise interest rate. Mortgage … [Read more...]
3 disruptive trends that will forever change the property industry
Two months ago at SMART Expo, I spoke about '5 Disruptive Trends That Are Changing the Singapore Property Industry'. In my presentation, I shared with the audience how digital technologies like Big Data, Fintech, Virtual Reality and Smart Homes are reshaping the Singapore property market, while highlighting the emergence of the DIY generation. Let me recap 3 of the … [Read more...]
Are Singapore developers forced to walk a tightrope?
Government Land Sales for residential sites in Singapore just crossed the S$1 billion mark. A 99-year leasehold site in Queenstown Stirling Road was sold at a top bid of S$1.003 billion. (Read article in Bloomberg.) The winning consortium is China’s Nanshan Group and Logan Property (a Chinese developer listed in Hong Kong). Nanshan has been eyeing at the Singapore property … [Read more...]