DPS desperate sellers: when to buy?

[Advisor]

Buy now and live to regret. Transactions are dwindling because most are not buying.

[Take care]

Sometimes one has to buy because of circumstances. But no doubt about it that prices are falling.

Buy now and live to regret. Transactions are dwindling because most are not buying.

[US$]

I read in your earlier post you are quoting 150 but in USD?

Is that correct?

[chaos theory]

The point is validated that $150 per night for a studio at sail is in the ball park of 3-5 star hotels.

So if you want to compare apples with apples the Sail apartment must include its cost of aquiring a customer on a daily rate and provide similar services such as daily cleaning etc.

It is a silly comparison. The Sail studio does not compete at this level and it really points to the utter rubbish that people post on this board. Someone may have $4500 for a month for a service apratment at the sail but does this determine the market rate. Certainly not. Every price is subject to the market evalutaion and this one does not stack up.

[Emerald Garden]

I know about a pool-facing 2-bedroom, about 1000 sqf at Emerald Garden on Club Street that had been sitting empty for more then 2 months (mid February onward), asking price eventually 4000 and still no takers.  It may still be empty for all I know.  As far as location goes, it doesn't get much better than that.  The main problem was probably that it didn't have good light, and the tinted glass that is so popular here (god knows why) didn't help.  Still, it would have been a great bachelor pad for someone working around Raffles Place.

Just supporting the point that there will always be some fresh-of-the-plane idiot who shells out 4.5k for a studio, but it would be an "aggressive" assumption to build a discounted cashflow model of the apartment price on that basis.

Two years ago you got messages here from landlords squirming that they were getting a 2% yield and that they were really hurting.  I expect to see those again when the next recession hits and they're happy to find someone at half today's price.

In the end, we all place our own bets, and good luck to all.  Personally I'm convinced the easy gains are long gone, and now property values and rents are going to slide down over the next few years.  In the end, someone's SALARY is going to have to pay that property, and you can't have property prices and salaries grow at widely differing rates for very long.  In the longer term (10 years), there will also be fewer expats and even fewer on full packages, so price sensitivity will increase drastically.  While I'm at it, another common fallacy in this board is extrapolation of the past to the future.  Singapore has changed dramatically over the past decades.  You  can always grow much faster when you're coming off a lower base.  Now the base is higher, property prices are among the highest in the world, it's just completely unrealistic to keep expecting similar growth rates in the future.  If you want that type of growth potential again, you'd be better off investing in emerging markets (at the right price, as always).

For those who still want to buy, I'd make sure you have the ability to sit out a recession.  Ask yourself if you can survive if your apartment sits empty for several months, if you have to accept a rent at half today's level, and if interest rates rise to 5%.  If the answer is yes, fine, it's your money and your choice.

[hotel demand]

todays times:

F1 hotels still have lots of room 
Trackside hotels: Only one out of 11 checked is fully booked
Non-trackside hotels: Some are less than half-full for race period
Rates lowered: Expect to pay about $200 to $500 less
 
By Lim Wei Chean 
 
SINGAPORE plays host to the first Formula One Grand Prix night race in just three months, but hotel rooms are not filling up as quickly as expected.  etc....


everyone must be staying at the SAIL instead!!!  bwahhhhahaha

[NEW SUPPLY]

Some 7,960 private residential units to be built in second half of 2008

Posted: 19 June 2008 1635 hrs


SINGAPORE: The government will release enough land to build about 7,960 private residential units in the second half of this year.

The sites will also produce 400,000 square metres of gross floor area of commercial space and 5,750 hotel rooms.

The details were released by the Ministry of National Development (MND) on Thursday when it announced the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme for the second half of 2008.

Under the latest programme, two new sites will transform the Jurong Lake District and Kallang Riverside into a destination for work, life and play.

And as part of the government's drive to open new growth areas, a new white site at Jurong East St 13 has been set aside to kickstart the development of a commercial hub at Jurong Gateway.

In total, 13 new sites have been added to the land sales programme. These comprise six residential, three commercial, three hotels and one white.

26 unsold sites from the first half of 2008 and one unsold site from the second half of 2007 will be carried over to the second half land sales programme.

This means there are 40 sites in total for sale in the second half. These comprise 21 residential sites that can yield about 7,960 private residential units, six commercial sites which make up 400,000 square metres gross floor area, 11 hotel sites that can produce 5,750 hotel rooms and two white sites.

Eight sites will be sold under the confirmed list - of which six are new and two are carried over. The six new ones include three commercial sites which are the existing Capitol Theatre, Capitol Building, Stamford House and Capitol Centre.

Both Capitol Building and Stamford House have been gazetted for conservation. The other commercial sites are at Mohamad Sultan Road and Mountbatten Road.

Meanwhile, two new residential sites have been released at Yio Chu Kang Road and Sembawang Greenvale. There is also a confirmed hotel site at Bukit Chermin Road.

A total of 32 sites will be placed on the reserve list for the second half of this year. Seven are new while 24 were carried over. The reserve list includes two hotel sites at Kallang River and Short Street.

MND said this will provide flexibility for the market to adjust the supply to meet the demand. - CNA/vm

[it-pays to-wait]

Take your time. Property prices will fall. Rentals are off their peaks.

[Me am]

really puzzled. Up or down?