Is Sentosa of Singapore in a ‘property trouble’? I think the property prices have been decreasing a lot. Reason is because the buyers of Sentosa are normally the foreigners and when markets are uncertain, these are the first ones to sell. Just look at BURSA of Malaysia and you would note this too; foreign selling. I think this is always an issue when you want the world to be attracted to you and yet when the world’s priorities changes, their first sell would be the foreign markets; you. An article online in nytimes.com said that the slowdown in Sentosa is getting worse. It gave One example of TWO units of condominiums being sold for less than half their original price while others sit empty. The article’s title? ‘A High-End Property Collapse in Singapore’.
Actually, I do not agree with the title. Collapse is perhaps too strong a word. Then again, if it had used ‘slowdown’ or ‘slowing’, it may not get enough attention. The article explained why Sentosa became popular and how now it is collapsing because of the government’s measures which had deterred new buyers. It also said that the current people staying there are mostly expatriates and these people are renting and not the owners. The rental has also been falling too. It also said that the recent few sales showed that the sellers are taking in losses by selling. Huge losses two. The article ended with another two cases of condos being sold at below their original purchase price. Read it here: nytimes article
Whether the market collapses or not I cannot say but my personal opinion remains that the property markets of both Singapore and Malaysia remain on sound footing if we are talking about collapsing. If we think about prices going down? Perhaps in some areas and some types but I cannot believe the market is close to collapsing. Think rationally and objectively. Demand would come back suddenly if the prices were to go down by 10%. Imagine thew current property you wanted at RM600k is suddenly down to RM540k. Would you wait or would you buy? If you say you will wait, good luck. I think many would buy as it represents a sudden bargain. Yes, I am not an international economist or even those famous property gurus. I am just a very small time property investor. Let’s see if I am right should the market really collapses, beginning with Singapore just as what the article said.
written on 21 Feb 2015
next suggested article: Singapore: Higher auctions and bargain hunters
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