Regulations & Policy

Guide price S$15.68m: what the seized Sentosa Cove bungalows tell us about the real price floor

The seized Sentosa Cove bungalows' S$15.68 million guide price acts as a rare public price floor for the ultra-prime segment because the state, as a forced seller of forfeited assets, has no incentive to post an unrealistic asking price. Singapore's stamp duty regime, 60% ABSD for foreigners versus zero for citizens, has narrowed the realistic buyer pool mostly to citizens and PRs, since a foreign buyer would pay roughly 65.6% in upfront tax versus 5.6% for a citizen. Whether the bungalows clear at or above guide, and who ultimately buys them, will reveal whether citizen and PR demand alone can sustain Sentosa Cove's ultra-prime landed market.

Sarah Chen·6 Oct 2026

Parliament's 6 October agenda is really about who knew where the MRT was going

Sarah Chen·6 Oct 2026

Braddell View tries again: what the new en bloc threshold actually changes

Braddell View has formed a collective sale committee, becoming the first large HUDC-scale estate to test Singapore's newly lowered en bloc consent thresholds. The amendment cuts required consent for 40-60 year old developments from 80% to 70%, but consent alone isn't the barrier that sank Braddell View's 2019 tender, which drew zero bids despite meeting thresholds, because developers balked at the reserve price and lease top-up premium. A lower threshold increases the odds of reaching a sale agreement but does not guarantee a developer will pay what owners want, and owners face new constraints including a three-year wait after a failed attempt and CPF/financing rules that can make replacement housing unaffordable for older sellers.

Sarah Chen·29 Sept 2026

Three failed tenders later, a Cairnhill block changes its pitch, not its price

Trendale Tower on Cairnhill Road is being marketed for its fourth collective sale attempt at a $168 million reserve, now with the option to redevelop it as a Serviced Apartment 2 (SA2) scheme instead of a conventional condominium, since three prior strata-sale attempts failed to clear. Whether $168 million works depends on the land rate per square foot per plot ratio, which has not been disclosed, and SA2's different economics (yield on cost rather than strata sell-down) may offer a viable path where the condo case did not.

Sarah Chen·18 Sept 2026

Properties linked to the S$3 billion money laundering case go on sale

Sarah Chen·17 Sept 2026

Land constraints, not conservation: reading the next decade of flat supply

Sarah Chen·15 Sept 2026

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

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

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