The property market suddenly runs out of steam: Transaction volumes drop much lower. The private home for sale market is quiet. Condo rental deals also take much longer to close.
Even property agents are taken by surprise.
What is happening in the property market?
How did it happen?
Was it because of the 0.4 percent price fall in 2nd quarter flash estimate recently announced by URA? Did the market alarm by this first quarterly drop in 3 years? Were buyers holding back after The Continuum and The Myst sold only 26 percent and 27 percent respectively over their launch weekend? Did Singapore’s close shave with a technical recession give us a scare? Should we blame MAS for its record $30.8 billion loss and Temasek’s $7 billion loss in the last financial year?
With Germany and New Zealand already slipped into recession, other countries are going to follow suit. Of course, how countries calculate and report GDP growth, or how consistent the quality of macroeconomic data is another matter.
Similar to the economy, Singapore’s property market is becoming more unpredictable in an increasingly volatile market. Have buyers already lost their market confidence? Can industry stakeholders still manage to convince buyers that Singapore’s property prices won’t drop despite the opposite is happening in the rest of the world?
Who can clarify our doubts?
In the feedback forms collected at April’s Meet The Blogger Session, the attendees put down the speakers and topics they would like to see in our next seminar.
It is not surprising that the most highly sought-after speaker is no other than Ku Swee Yong of International Property Advisor. In fact, we can hardly find another person who is more knowledgeable and insightful than him, yet is ready to show us the facts and tell everyone the truth – something very rare to find in this industry.
Swee Yong kindly agreed to take time out of his busy schedule to speak in our next seminar. He requested for a date shortly after the release of the URA 2nd quarter 2023 real estate statistics. He would like to explain to us the implications and trends from the URA data. That is why we fixed the date on August 5 (Saturday) afternoon for the seminar “2023 Mid-Year Singapore Property Review and Outlook”.
As for the long wish list on topics the attendees would want to hear, Swee Yong would address most of them, including residential market outlook, masterplan bright spots, buying opportunities, projects with en bloc potential, commercial properties and overseas markets.
Sorry we can’t cover all the topics. It would have taken more than one full day. But the rest of the questions we can ask him personally during the table discussion session scheduled after the presentations.
Topic : Property Investment Outlook and Strategies
Speaker : Ku Swee Yong, Director, International Property Advisor Pte Ltd
Content :
– What did the latest URA real estate statistics tell us?
– Is there any en bloc potential in selected older projects?
– Are there any bright spot(s) in Singapore’s Master Plan?
– What are the risks and opportunities in commercial properties?
– Should investors keep an eye on some overseas markets?
What are the property questions we always ask?
If Mr. Ku has already covered everything you guys want to know, what can I talk about in my presentation? Should I address all the common questions people ask in the tens of one-to-one property consultation sessions I conducted in the last two years?
For those who paid for and attended my consultation sessions before, no need to panic. I won’t highlight your situation as a real-life case study in my presentation (though I am sure that you want to know what others asked). I will only answer all the top questions the clients often ask and give recommendations to those in a similar situation. That way, people who are too shy to do one-to-ones, or still hesitant to pay the hourly fees can get what they need.
(Note: This is the last event we will be organizing this year. Because of family commitment, I will be taking a break till at least the first quarter of 2024.)
Topic : No B.S. Property Consultation: All Your Top Questions Answered
Speaker : Vina Ip, Blogger, PropertySoul.com
Content :
– Where and what should I buy for the next few years?
– What is the best housing option for me and my family?
– How do you see the investment value of project X versus project Y?
– Is it still a good time to buy now or should I wait?
– Should I buy properties in overseas markets instead and where?
What else we want to know in the current property market?
One of the biggest concerns in this property market is how to deal with rising interest rates. As of today, the MAS website shows that Singapore’s 3-month compounded SORA is already touching 3.7%. It has jumped over three times from 0.96% in mid-July 2022. Two years ago this time, 3-month compounded SORA was only 0.13%. (If our salaries only increase a single digit percentage over the same period, how can we cope with our ever-rising home loan payment?)
Most of us have an outstanding home loan. Some of us are receiving mortgage rate revision letters from the banks. For others, their fixed rate loan packages are expiring soon. Many are planning to refinance or reprice their home loan soon. What about those of us who are planning to buy now to get a new loan?
A check on the bank websites shows that DBS home loan fixed rate package is 3.75% and floating rate package is 3-month compounded SORA + 1%. For OCBC, 2-year fixed rate is 3.65% while floating rate is 3-month compounded SORA + 0.65%.
That is why in this seminar we have invited OCBC Bank’s Mortgage Head Lyn Pak to share with us the home mortgage strategies in this property market. We all want to know how to see through the crystal ball of interest rates so that we can better prepare for what’s ahead. Besides some smart tips to cope with rising rates, we need to know which option is best for us in either new purchase or refinancing.
How do we benefit from this seminar and the table discussions?
This is what I find over the years: There is a major difference between speaking in a Property Club Singapore seminar and a property event organized by other parties. The profile of the audience is different. Frankly, I enjoy the former much more. Because there are many experienced homebuyers and savvy property investors among our club members. They ask more sophisticated and meaningful questions. Furthermore, we all benefit when they are giving thought-provoking comments or sharing inspiring personal experiences. Above all, the questions they ask always get me thinking.
For those who have joined our events for years, they would recall that we used to hold a large-scale annual event every January. We had organized property market strategy seminars in the Year of the Goat, Year of the Rooster, Year of the Dog and Year of the Pig.
To avoid disrupting the festive mood of the new year and the Lunar New Year, this time we are doing a mid-year review instead.
Table discussion is something unique in our annual education seminars. Personally, I enjoy it very much. Everyone sits around a few big tables. In this intimate setting, we can ask questions, share experiences and give comments more comfortably and freely.
Same as last time, early birds will be seated in their chosen tables with their preferred speakers. The arrangement is meant to facilitate small group discussions, Q&As and networking.
Discussion topics (led by):
Group 1: 2023 property risks and opportunities (Ku Swee Yong, International Property Advisor)
Group 2: Private home market outlook (Vina Ip, PropertySoul.com)
Group 3: Home mortgage strategies (Lyn Pak, OCBC Bank)
(Note: As registrations are coming in, I notice that most have put either Ku Swee Yong or my name as first choice under table discussion. So hurry up and sign up now before the quota is full.)
What we need to know before registration?
During the seminar, we treasure every second to share unbiased and objective insights supported by data. So we won’t have any speaker or attendee with vested interests doing their sales pitch to promote any local or overseas property project or property-related service.
We will spend all our time on honest sharing till the end of the session. We have to make sure that there is sufficient quality time for our table discussions. We are sorry that there is no time for marketing gimmicks especially lucky draws with attractive prizes to be won.
If we are on the same page, register now for the “2023 Mid-Year Singapore Property Review and Outlook“ and see you on August 5.
Our next event is How to Buy Good Quality Properties Workshop on 29 July 2023. Register here.
New online course Buy The Right Condos is available now. You can also check out other online courses.
The video 2023 Singapore Private Home Market is available now.
If you need advice on property matters or residential properties in Singapore, you can check out my one-to-one consultation service.
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