All articles

Why developers keep submitting aggressive GLS bids despite headwinds from a softer job market

Developers keep bidding aggressively because land bought today only launches two to four years later, so bids are priced against future market conditions rather than today's softer job data. A thinning launch pipeline, the need to keep replenishing landbanks, and past vindication of earlier aggressive bids all reinforce this behaviour, leaving buyers to bear the cost of financing and pricing risk when the units eventually launch.

Sarah Chen·8 Sept 2026

Buying property in someone else's name: what it actually costs you

Buying a second property in someone else's name to dodge ABSD is not a real saving because it creates an unsecured, informal loan against an asset you don't legally own, and IRAS can claw back the avoided duty plus a 50% surcharge under Section 33A. It also shifts loan-to-value limits and TDSR obligations onto the nominee, reducing their future borrowing capacity, and exposes the property to risks like the nominee's divorce, bankruptcy or death.

Sarah Chen·7 Sept 2026

August produced the highest number of million-dollar resale transactions on record

August 2026 set a record for million-dollar HDB resale transactions, but this was driven primarily by a large cohort of BTO flats reaching their five-year Minimum Occupation Period, not by the removal of the 15-month wait-out rule for private property sellers. The policy change only affected who could bid on an already fixed, pre-scheduled supply of eligible flats, while the broader resale price index actually declined, showing the record count reflects a narrow supply cohort rather than a general price trend.

Sarah Chen·4 Sept 2026

A record S$1,537 psf ppr in Bedok: working backwards to what buyers will pay

Sarah Chen·2 Sept 2026

Gilstead Court en bloc: why this S$198 million Novena site keeps failing to sell

Gilstead Court's fourth en bloc attempt in 18 years is struggling because its low plot ratio of 1.4 allows only about 98 new flats, spreading development costs across too few units despite the site's freehold status and District 11 location. A nearby government land sale at Peck Hay Road shows almost the same price per square foot but yields nearly four times as many homes with clean title and no owner consent needed, undermining the case for Gilstead Court's asking price.

Sarah Chen·1 Sept 2026

The hidden subsidy in a sub-three-year BTO wait

Roughly 1,200 sub-three-year BTO flats are being built in Toa Payoh and Sin Ming, with completion around mid-2030 but no launch date yet, so price, flat mix and application timing remain unknown. The key benefit of a shorter wait is avoiding years of non-recoverable rent while renting, illustrated as a possible S$96,000 saving versus a five-year wait, though this pulls forward financing commitments and shortens the time available to save. Buyers should watch for the launch date, flat mix and pricing before treating this as an actionable plan.

Sarah Chen·31 Aug 2026

En bloc reform could drive more collective sale activity, especially for elderly owners of ageing properties

En bloc reform in Singapore targets the collective sale committee and objection timeline to speed up consent, not the consent percentages or sale prices themselves, so more deals are expected but not a repeat of the 2017-2018 boom. For elderly owners, age-based loan tenure and LTV caps mean sale proceeds are heavily reduced after mortgage discharge and CPF refunds, often forcing a drop from 75% to 55% LTV; however, the scrapped 15-month wait-out period now lets private owners buy HDB resale flats immediately, often without needing a loan.

Sarah Chen·28 Aug 2026

Chee Hong Tat says HDB can build fast enough. The real question is whether supply catches up with demand.

Minister Chee Hong Tat says HDB can build BTO flats faster and expects more resale flats to enter the market, but whether this actually keeps pace with demand from a higher income ceiling remains uncertain. Signals such as the removal of the resale wait-out period and record resale prices, including a S$1,150,000 Pasir Ris DBSS flat, suggest demand pressure may be outrunning supply in the near term. Because the income ceiling change is also tied to marriage and family-formation policy goals, the government is unlikely to reverse it even if resale prices stay elevated.

Sarah Chen·27 Aug 2026

How rental yield falls as loan quantum rises

Rental yield declines as loan quantum rises because prices for larger, pricier condos have grown faster than rents, while smaller units see rents outpacing prices. At a 2.5% cost of debt, units under S$2 million retain a comfortable 1.1 percentage point cushion after interest, but units above S$5 million are left with just 0.1 percentage points, a margin that disappears once taxes, maintenance, and vacancy costs are factored in.

Sarah Chen·26 Aug 2026

Cash versus MSR: what scrapping the HDB wait-out period changes for financed buyers

Sarah Chen·25 Aug 2026

Same flats, bigger queue: what the $16,000 BTO and $18,000 EC ceilings mean for competition

From 24 August 2026, Singapore's BTO income ceiling rises to S$16,000 for families and S$8,000 for singles, while the EC ceiling rises to S$18,000. Financing rules like MSR and TDSR are unlikely to block most newly eligible buyers, but the wider ceilings intensify competition for higher-priced Prime and Plus BTO flats and full-price ECs, where demand from newly eligible upper-income households concentrates, rather than for non-mature BTO flats where affordability was already comfortable.

Sarah Chen·24 Aug 2026

Parc Oasis had the strongest two-bedroom returns in Jurong East and Jurong West. What 31.45% over 10 years actually means.

The 31.45% figure means Parc Oasis's two-bedder units were underpriced a decade ago and have since re-rated closer to fair value, not that returns compound reliably going forward. Once annualised and adjusted for costs, the real return is far more modest, and the property's shrinking 99-year lease increasingly constrains financing options and resale value for future buyers.

Sarah Chen·21 Aug 2026