Number of returned condos highest in a year, says property research firm

[Temperament]

May i know which country or countries welcome Aliens like Singapore does? And security and amenities are as good if not better? And of course, the costs of living is so much lower.
Thanks.

I think right now, the condo market in Singapore is at a fairly valued situation. Lets take an example of one of the new launch condo now, just received an sms for a Urban Vista 4 bedroom (abt 1050Sqft) selling for $1.2M assuming add on fees etc should be 1.25M.....

Excuse me, but if someone has 1.25 million SGD , wouldn't have better retiring in a cheap retirement place like Thailand or Cambodia rather than sinking it into a Singapore condo to continue the rat race ?

I like your call, those above 55 with no liabilities, hehe like me prefer this option...aiming for a safe, cooling, greenery, quiet, low cost of living with good medical facilities...Not Iskander hor, I have been telling others not to touch it unless it is dirt cheap, cos Malaysia law is very uncertain.

As for CY09 san view is quiet logical but he too focus on rental return. Actually, ppty investment is about capital appreciation, if the ppty price falls by 20% it will wipe out all your years of rental income...careful on this.

Yes, people said ppty invest for long term sure win,your long term could be 20 yrs and dont forget to consider inflation into your 20yrs (say 4%p.a x 20yrs= 80%) yup quite true, I bot a ppty in 1996 at $400k (before the 1997 crash), now price & rental double.

The Pros:
1. 6.9 millions progressively in 2030.
2. high land cost ( now land price aro $600-$700 PSF plus construction cost aro $350 PSF, so easily a condo price tag at above $1k PSF.)
3. Greedy garment hungry for more taxes (pro-tax and stamp duty)
4. High liquidity (QE)
5. Foreigner like to park their (xx) money in S'pore, good security and strong currency.

The cons
1. Buy easy, sell difficult . dun forget buyer has to pay ABSD..If i dun buy, other also think likewise..but only a handful very rich foreigner will still buy.
2. Price too high, now ppty price is at all time high (risk/reward ratio) dun favour buy.
3. Come 2014/15 huge supply out from pipeline, provided flood gate still open then it okay still got demand, but papies now afraid of 2016 GE.
4. Another reason why I think come in 2014/15 price might drop. Alot of properties were launched and sold in 2010/2011, the SSD will be reduced to almost nothing after 2014 and there wont be anything to stop people from selling.

Ok pause here, I am not asking nor stopping you from buying your dream property....right timing & good location...when/where? i dunno. But what i know ABSD stop people from buying and SSD stop people from selling.

[CY09]

Countries welcome Aliens like Singapore does: Middle East and African countries
Security and amenities are as good: S. Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Hong Kong ( I dun think any nation is better than us)
costs of living is so much lower: Many nations but security is compromised

If you are asking for all 3 factors relative to Singapore. Hong Kong will be the closest in my view.

[Temperament]

HK cost of living has always been higher than us. This is the experience i get each time i visited HK. But i think their pay is also higher than us.

Countries welcome Aliens like Singapore does: Middle East and African countries
Security and amenities are as good: S. Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Hong Kong ( I dun think any nation is better than us)
costs of living is so much lower: Many nations but security is compromised

If you are asking for all 3 factors relative to Singapore. Hong Kong will be the closest in my view.

[cfa]

HK cost of living; as a tourist yes it is high but not as a resident. I lived in HK North Point for 2 years till JulY 2011, I still can buy a bread for 25/30 HK$, eat in a restaurant ( middle to upper ) for 4 at a price of around HK$700 , and the food is so much better than here. Go to the places where the locals live and you can see the difference.

[etan]

I attended a talk last year on this project which is in Ipoh. The speaker mentioned that each unit costs 1/10th of local property, i think it's 99LH, anyway I did not ask further the actual cost though.

I was more interested if they could allow short term accommodation, just to test whether it's feasible to stay long term there.

Here it is:

The Haven – Where 5 Star Living Meets Mother Nature

http://thehaven.com.my/

http://ipohnews.my/2012/02/the-haven-whe...er-nature/

[Temperament]

Yes!
If you drive through 2nd link into JB. during the morning peak going to work time, you may be surprised by the number of Singapore cars cuing to enter Singapore on the opposite side. Iskandar or other nearby towns seem to be populated by Singaporeans more than you think.

I attended a talk last year on this project which is in Ipoh. The speaker mentioned that each unit costs 1/10th of local property, i think it's 99LH, anyway I did not ask further the actual cost though.

I was more interested if they could allow short term accommodation, just to test whether it's feasible to stay long term there.

Here it is:

The Haven – Where 5 Star Living Meets Mother Nature

http://thehaven.com.my/

http://ipohnews.my/2012/02/the-haven-whe...er-nature/

[etan]

Leveraging on Singapore (people & biz) I think JB is transforming!
But security remains a major concern for most people. Not sure how fast or how far it can progress!

Yes!
If you drive through 2nd link into JB. during the morning peak going to work time, you may be surprised by the number of Singapore cars cuing to enter Singapore on the opposite side. Iskandar or other nearby towns seem to be populated by Singaporeans more than you think.

I attended a talk last year on this project which is in Ipoh. The speaker mentioned that each unit costs 1/10th of local property, i think it's 99LH, anyway I did not ask further the actual cost though.

I was more interested if they could allow short term accommodation, just to test whether it's feasible to stay long term there.

Here it is:

The Haven – Where 5 Star Living Meets Mother Nature

http://thehaven.com.my/

http://ipohnews.my/2012/02/the-haven-whe...er-nature/

[CityFarmer]

Yes!
If you drive through 2nd link into JB. during the morning peak going to work time, you may be surprised by the number of Singapore cars cuing to enter Singapore on the opposite side. Iskandar or other nearby towns seem to be populated by Singaporeans more than you think.

FYI, quite a size-able number of Singaporeans worked in JB, with M'sia work permit. They followed after employers shifted to JB. Few of my friends are belong to this group.

[nathanmaloney]

HK cost of living is definitely higher than SG.

I have lived here for 3 years and I find HK people are sandwiched between low wages (not including bankers and lawyers) and high cost of living.

The cheapest meals are to be found at those cha chang teng but even then there's nothing decent for less than 30 HKD (about 5 SGD). If you want something remotely ok, be prepared to pay about at least 36-42 HKD (6-7 SGD). And for that you basically get HK version of our wanton mee/chicken rice/laksa kind of meals.

Restaurants are worse because there is a wide gap between the basic and high quality restaurants. Of course you can get by with 100 HKD per person restaurants, but for that price, I would say you get much better food in SG.

Especially when you want non-canto food at that price cos most international food in HK is really subpar/priced for gweilos.

I would say for really good food in HK, be prepared to pay at least 80-100 SGD per person.

And don't even get me started on their property prices - insanity. It's sad to hear from local friends being squeezed into 10 sqm rooms because they can't afford anything else on their low salaries.

Of course HK is fun/glamorous if you are a banker/lawyer here (which most SGers here in HK are) but trust me, most HKers envy our standard of living (our GDP and GDP per capita is higher), unpolluted environment and freedom from weekly Chinese tourists invasions.

SG now is not far away from HK's cost of living but its still better in SG I find.

The tragedy is that with 6.9M, it's only a matter of time we get as squeezed as HKers....

HK cost of living; as a tourist yes it is high but not as a resident. I lived in HK North Point for 2 years till JulY 2011, I still can buy a bread for 25/30 HK$, eat in a restaurant ( middle to upper ) for 4 at a price of around HK$700 , and the food is so much better than here. Go to the places where the locals live and you can see the difference.

[CY09]

Hi nathan, do not worry much about being squeezed that badly for housing in SG as compared to Hong Kong. In HK, it is prevalent for their citizens to live in subdivided flats and I have seen them. Sg too have subdivided units but they are not as common and mostly, those staying in subdivided flats in SG are Foreigners who come to work here and the landlords are owners of private apartments, HDB flats dun allow subdivision if I am correct

Singapore has a robust social housing policy in place which will prevent us from living in such cramped living conditions as in HK. But the private residential sector is not yet subjected to strict guidelines like HDB flats' dimensions. Right now, Hong Kong policy makers are considering taking SG model of social housing and their officials have made trips to HDB, URA and MND.