Do they know that it is not good to stress a person who had a heart bypassed surgery?
Khaw Boon Wan is a 'worried' man
Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan spoke honestly about his fears and worries over the feverish property market.
In his blog, Housing Matters, he warns that prices cannot go up forever and we should all prepare for the worst should anything go downhill. He's keeping an eye out for possible stumbling blocks along the way.
He mentions certain factors that could drive the market down:
Basically, he's asking for more caution from you before you sign on the dotted line. Do your financial homework and don't go in blindly.
That said, I think Singaporeans are more careful with their money than Mr Khaw thinks. What's more, most of the foreign buyers still are Indonesian, Malaysians, Indians and Chinese. The latter two nations are powering growth in this region and are one of the reasons behind the excess liquidity in the markets. Oil prices are already higher than they should be, and the weak Western economies don't seem to be dampening the exuberance in Asia. So unless something really nasty happens in China or India (Spratly Islands, North Korea, Taiwan, Kashmir), I think our property market will still be going on strong.
Khaw worried about private property market
By Fann Sim | SingaporeScene_–_15 hours ago
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan is worried about the private property market. (AFP)
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan has urged investors and upgraders to think about the uncertainties before purchasing a new private home.
In a blog entry titled "My Worries", Minister Khaw wrote about the development of property prices in Singapore and advised buyers to beware of sudden changes in the property market.
He gave the example of the US property market crashing two years ago where housing prices peaked and declined rapidly, causing a huge drop in property prices.
"Sharp property prices increases cannot go on forever," Minister Khaw wrote.
Calling it his "duty" to alert property buyers, he listed several reasons why things can go very wrong suddenly.
He shared that 35,000 private condominiums and landed properties have already been sold, though still in construction and there are an additional 45,000 private units waiting to be built and sold.
He also pointed out that due to a strong demand from developers and property buyers, the Urban Redevelopment Authority announced a Government Land Sale Programme where a further 8,000 private residential units will be introduced into the market. In total, there will be some 53,000 private residential units on sale over the next couple of years.
In response to this, netizen Melvin Lee commented that "53,000 private apartments in the pipeline looking to rent out would not be easy. Most expatriates are finding Singapore to be expensive to work here."
However, Minister Khaw added that the "external situation is not very bullish".
"Europe sovereign debt will take a long time to clear. The Middle East crisis can still go ugly. If that leads to a spike in oil prices and halts the fragile global economic recovery, the impact on Asia and Singapore will be direct and immediate," he said.
He understands that some 16 per cent of private properties are bought_by foreigners and a significant amount of private units bought by Singaporeans are rented to foreigners who are here in Singapore to live or work.
Minister Khaw felt that "in the event of any external shock, both foreign demand and rental demand can fall quite quickly."
He explained that when a drop in demand happens at a time when there is a substantial increase in supply, the impact of such a scenario is serious.
Real estate analyst from PropertyGuru, Tejaswi Chunduri told_Yahoo! Singapore that she agrees with Minister Khaw's views.
"With such abundance in the supply of residential units, there are chances of a potential downturn waiting to happen in the coming years."
"Despite the January measures (touted as the harshest among the recent rounds) announced by the government, the private property market has not had much cooling effect," she added.
Minister Khaw emphasised that a market correction or crash is not a given. The economy will continue to grow and property investors can enjoy good returns but no one is immune to mishaps, he said.
Khaw Boon Wan is a 'worried' man
Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan spoke honestly about his fears and worries over the feverish property market.
In his blog, Housing Matters, he warns that prices cannot go up forever and we should all prepare for the worst should anything go downhill. He's keeping an eye out for possible stumbling blocks along the way.
He mentions certain factors that could drive the market down:
- There is a large supply of units (53,000) coming in the years ahead, could point to an oversupply.
- Globally there are a lot of factors that could cause another global recession - the Middle East crisis than could raise oil prices further, the fragile European and US economy.
- If another global recession hits at the same time as the oversupply, we could be looking at a serious situation
- Low interest rates will not remain low forever.
Basically, he's asking for more caution from you before you sign on the dotted line. Do your financial homework and don't go in blindly.
That said, I think Singaporeans are more careful with their money than Mr Khaw thinks. What's more, most of the foreign buyers still are Indonesian, Malaysians, Indians and Chinese. The latter two nations are powering growth in this region and are one of the reasons behind the excess liquidity in the markets. Oil prices are already higher than they should be, and the weak Western economies don't seem to be dampening the exuberance in Asia. So unless something really nasty happens in China or India (Spratly Islands, North Korea, Taiwan, Kashmir), I think our property market will still be going on strong.
Khaw worried about private property market
By Fann Sim | SingaporeScene_–_15 hours ago
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan is worried about the private property market. (AFP)
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan has urged investors and upgraders to think about the uncertainties before purchasing a new private home.
In a blog entry titled "My Worries", Minister Khaw wrote about the development of property prices in Singapore and advised buyers to beware of sudden changes in the property market.
He gave the example of the US property market crashing two years ago where housing prices peaked and declined rapidly, causing a huge drop in property prices.
"Sharp property prices increases cannot go on forever," Minister Khaw wrote.
Calling it his "duty" to alert property buyers, he listed several reasons why things can go very wrong suddenly.
He shared that 35,000 private condominiums and landed properties have already been sold, though still in construction and there are an additional 45,000 private units waiting to be built and sold.
He also pointed out that due to a strong demand from developers and property buyers, the Urban Redevelopment Authority announced a Government Land Sale Programme where a further 8,000 private residential units will be introduced into the market. In total, there will be some 53,000 private residential units on sale over the next couple of years.
In response to this, netizen Melvin Lee commented that "53,000 private apartments in the pipeline looking to rent out would not be easy. Most expatriates are finding Singapore to be expensive to work here."
However, Minister Khaw added that the "external situation is not very bullish".
"Europe sovereign debt will take a long time to clear. The Middle East crisis can still go ugly. If that leads to a spike in oil prices and halts the fragile global economic recovery, the impact on Asia and Singapore will be direct and immediate," he said.
He understands that some 16 per cent of private properties are bought_by foreigners and a significant amount of private units bought by Singaporeans are rented to foreigners who are here in Singapore to live or work.
Minister Khaw felt that "in the event of any external shock, both foreign demand and rental demand can fall quite quickly."
He explained that when a drop in demand happens at a time when there is a substantial increase in supply, the impact of such a scenario is serious.
Real estate analyst from PropertyGuru, Tejaswi Chunduri told_Yahoo! Singapore that she agrees with Minister Khaw's views.
"With such abundance in the supply of residential units, there are chances of a potential downturn waiting to happen in the coming years."
"Despite the January measures (touted as the harshest among the recent rounds) announced by the government, the private property market has not had much cooling effect," she added.
Minister Khaw emphasised that a market correction or crash is not a given. The economy will continue to grow and property investors can enjoy good returns but no one is immune to mishaps, he said.
