Singapore Budget 2018 has only bad news for the property industry. The top marginal Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD) rate is raised from 3 to 4 percent for residential properties valued over $1 million. The revised rate is effective immediately on or after 20 February 2018. The Finance Minister explained this is done to enhance “progressivity” in our tax system. For industry … [Read more...]
Recording of Meet the Blogger Session
Eighty-five attended the Property Soul Meet the Blogger Session at YMCA@One Orchard last Saturday. We would have accommodated more people if not because of room seating limit and fire safety concern. In response to your requests, we have arranged a videographer to record the session for members and readers who can't make it on that day. Now everyone can watch what we have … [Read more...]
5 property advice in the Year of the Dog
We kick-started the new year with a Property Club Singapore education seminar titled “Reading Property Signs in the Year of the Dog”. I used the occasion to share with the audience the property strategies for homebuyers and investors in the year of the earth dog. The presentation can be summed up with five key property advice. Advice #1: It’s all but a tail-chasing … [Read more...]
4 major concerns over Oxley’s game plan
I attended Oxley Holdings’ 2QFY2018 results briefing last Friday and left the meeting with four concerns regarding the Singapore developer’s strategic directions.1st Concern: New projects have to be launched ASAP Oxley’s quarterly results ending 31 December 2017 was filed with SGX on Thursday evening. Below is the summary of the developer's financial performance comparing with … [Read more...]
Singapore’s latest demographics: what it means for housing
The best property analysis released these days is not about the red-hot en bloc fever, or the optimistic projection of possible growth for the property market in 2018. The only recent piece of analysis that leaves much food for thought is Ku Swee Yong’s three-part articles on "Big Singapore Market Upgrade – Hype or Reality?" where he questions Morgan Stanley’s remarks about … [Read more...]