I am very disturbed that the Singapore Institute of Surveyors & Valuers have chosen to raise valuations of HDB flats simply based on a flat's location and proximity to amenities.

Many 3, 4 & 5 rm flats are over-valued. This finding has been reiterated many times in many forums. However, buyers seem to be oblivious to the bait and buy based on HDB's generous HLE loan ceiling. Many take up repayment periods of 25, 30....even 35 years for their mortgage loans !

My advice to newly wed couples who are desperate to buy a flat :-

i) Buy a new HDB flat from HDB, if available.

ii) If not, buy a resale flat that is selling below valuation, eg. Punggol, Sengkang, etc.

iii) DO NOT Buy mature flats in excess of $400K regardless of their size. You are being a pawn in the scheme of things by the HDB, Sellers & their Agents.

iv) DO NOT Pay COV for any HDB property. If you want to pay, ask the Seller or Agent to justify. Many cannot and will not be able to justify !

At the end of the day, you will be the ones suffering because your CPF will have ZERO funds when you reach 55 years old, your bank a/c will have little funds left because you need to top-up cash for your monthly mortgage loan repayments.

The current property euphoria is a false sense of better things to come. When the buying stops, the price rise will too. In the meantime, stay with your parents / parents-in-law and build up your nest egg.

Edited July 17, 200917 yr by asoon88

I am very disturbed that the Singapore Institute of Surveyors & Valuers have chosen to raise valuations of HDB flats simply based on a flat's location and proximity to amenities.

Many 3, 4 & 5 rm flats are over-valued. This finding has been reiterated many times in many forums. However, buyers seem to be oblivious to the bait and buy based on HDB's generous HLE loan ceiling. Many take up repayment periods of 25, 30....even 35 years for their mortgage loans !

My advice to newly wed couples who are desperate to buy a flat :-

i) Buy a new HDB flat from HDB, if available.

ii) If not, buy a resale flat that is selling below valuation, eg. Punggol, Sengkang, etc.

iii) DO NOT Buy mature flats in excess of $400K regardless of their size. You are being a pawn in the scheme of things by the HDB, Sellers & their Agents.

iv) DO NOT Pay COV for any HDB property. If you want to pay, ask the Seller or Agent to justify. Many cannot and will not be able to justify !

At the end of the day, you will be the ones suffering because your CPF will have ZERO funds when you reach 55 years old, your bank a/c will have little funds left because you need to top-up cash for your monthly mortgage loan repayments.

The current property euphoria is a false sense of better things to come. When the buying stops, the price rise will too. In the meantime, stay with your parents / parents-in-law and build up your nest egg.

i) keep failing or need to wait very long (2011)

ii) Those area not really below valuation wor, in fact they are newer flats, some even sell above...

iii) agree, 400k is a bit too much liao..

iv) i didn't, heng, but option to purchase was 1k cash... low in most cases but still 1k gone for me who's not rich

v) regarding the staying with parents/parents-in-law... for me cant lar, both my wife and I are sharing our rooms with our siblings... no space liao lar..

I am very disturbed that the Singapore Institute of Surveyors & Valuers have chosen to raise valuations of HDB flats simply based on a flat's location and proximity to amenities.

Many 3, 4 & 5 rm flats are over-valued. This finding has been reiterated many times in many forums. However, buyers seem to be oblivious to the bait and buy based on HDB's generous HLE loan ceiling. Many take up repayment periods of 25, 30....even 35 years for their mortgage loans !

My advice to newly wed couples who are desperate to buy a flat :-

i) Buy a new HDB flat from HDB, if available.

ii) If not, buy a resale flat that is selling below valuation, eg. Punggol, Sengkang, etc.

iii) DO NOT Buy mature flats in excess of $400K regardless of their size. You are being a pawn in the scheme of things by the HDB, Sellers & their Agents.

iv) DO NOT Pay COV for any HDB property. If you want to pay, ask the Seller or Agent to justify. Many cannot and will not be able to justify !

At the end of the day, you will be the ones suffering because your CPF will have ZERO funds when you reach 55 years old, your bank a/c will have little funds left because you need to top-up cash for your monthly mortgage loan repayments.

The current property euphoria is a false sense of better things to come. When the buying stops, the price rise will too. In the meantime, stay with your parents / parents-in-law and build up your nest egg.

There is both sides of the coin.. depending on where you stand

as seller ... you would think you are not getting enough out of the sale

as buyer ... you would think it is over valued.

It takes 2 hands to clap ... that is buyer and seller

willing buyer... relieved seller

supply vs demand

nothing much can be done... if you advocate to everyone to sit out, stay with parents and wait for something to happen... we probably will be like third world countries ... do nothing... therefore nothing will happen.

try looking at a more positive perspective, this is what drives Singaporeans to become what we are today.

There is both sides of the coin.. depending on where you stand

as seller ... you would think you are not getting enough out of the sale

as buyer ... you would think it is over valued.

It takes 2 hands to clap ... that is buyer and seller

willing buyer... relieved seller

supply vs demand

nothing much can be done... if you advocate to everyone to sit out, stay with parents and wait for something to happen... we probably will be like third world countries ... do nothing... therefore nothing will happen.

try looking at a more positive perspective, this is what drives Singaporeans to become what we are today.

true lor, then more and more selling to expats who have more cash to pay since they don't have money locked away in cpf... also one big factor pushing property prices lah... condo becomes too ex, they shift to hdb, sianz also..

i) keep failing or need to wait very long (2011)

ii) Those area not really below valuation wor, in fact they are newer flats, some even sell above...

iii) agree, 400k is a bit too much liao..

iv) i didn't, heng, but option to purchase was 1k cash... low in most cases but still 1k gone for me who's not rich

v) regarding the staying with parents/parents-in-law... for me cant lar, both my wife and I are sharing our rooms with our siblings... no space liao lar..

Reply :

i) Understandable....Govt purposely want the resale market to remain super-active so that unemployed Singaporeans/PR become housing agents !

ii) Many living in these areas want to sell their flats but there are no buyers, don't buy if above value

v) Yes, not all families can squeeze together !

I see that you will be moving to a 3 rm flat in AMK. It must be pricy for a close-to 25-year-old property. I suggest that you stay for 5 years, sell at a small profit and move to a cheaper location into a 4 or 5 rm flat then. Singapore is so small, even the remote-tess area will become accessible. Therefore, don't bogged yourself down paying close to $300K for a 3-rm flat !

Reply :

i) Understandable....Govt purposely want the resale market to remain super-active so that unemployed Singaporeans/PR become housing agents !

ii) Many living in these areas want to sell their flats but there are no buyers, don't buy if above value

v) Yes, not all families can squeeze together !

I see that you will be moving to a 3 rm flat in AMK. It must be pricy for a close-to 25-year-old property. I suggest that you stay for 5 years, sell at a small profit and move to a cheaper location into a 4 or 5 rm flat then. Singapore is so small, even the remote-tess area will become accessible. Therefore, don't bogged yourself down paying close to $300K for a 3-rm flat !

after grant, it is 188k... luckily have grant, if not also die... My unit is even 32 years old liao... maybe in 5 years time can enbloc le...

There is both sides of the coin.. depending on where you stand

as seller ... you would think you are not getting enough out of the sale

as buyer ... you would think it is over valued.

It takes 2 hands to clap ... that is buyer and seller

willing buyer... relieved seller

supply vs demand

nothing much can be done... if you advocate to everyone to sit out, stay with parents and wait for something to happen... we probably will be like third world countries ... do nothing... therefore nothing will happen.

try looking at a more positive perspective, this is what drives Singaporeans to become what we are today.

I have seen enough new and resale flats to conclude that this market is driven by greedy sellers and desperate buyers...not willing sellers & buyers as the market wants to justify.

The whole problem is further exacerbated by timing. Greedy Sellers upon finding a Desperate Buyer, sells his flat. He in turn starts looking for a 'cheap' flat but when none are found, he becomes a Desparate Buyer himself and bumps into more Greedy Sellers. That's why Mah Bow Tan says that the market is 'stable'. You reap what you sow !

The beneficiaries of this process are HDB, Agents and Sellers.

I am not advocating that people with genuine housing needs don't buy a flat. I am asking Buyers to be prudent and not drive up prices by sticking to what they can truly afford.

after grant, it is 188k... luckily have grant, if not also die... My unit is even 32 years old liao... maybe in 5 years time can enbloc le...

Oh ! Looks like you have to stay in this flat till you finish paying off your mortgage loan ! With 67 years lease remaining, it is unlikely anybody will buy this flat unless govt change the rules with regards to loans on property with 60 years or less lease remaining. It's like musical chairs and you are the last person sitting on this one.

Edited July 17, 200917 yr by asoon88

Oh ! Looks like you have to stay in this flat till you finish paying off your mortgage loan ! With 67 years lease remaining, it is unlikely anybody will buy this flat unless govt change the rules with regards to loans on property with 60 years or less lease remaining. It's like musical chairs and you are the last person sitting on this one.

That's why I hope we will enbloc soon... haha... I wont be surprised if 62years still have people buying... afterall, it still can last one generation...

i) i ballot for 4plus years still cannot get new flats, it's not that ppl dun wan new flats but govt is controlling the supply & driving up prices

ii) Some flats in Pungol / Sengkang near mrts also asking COV.

iii) this depends on your own planning, some people sell high so can afford higher valuation.

iv) i agree with not paying COV, some of the COV are just ridulocously high

housing market in the end is still control by govt, now only bto so supply is limited. wat to do, either u wait long long or buy high high

Now buy expensive, die. Next time buy also expensive and house even smaller, die lagi jialat. With the influx of FT into our countries, our housing prices wont be dropping but will continue to rise....

I will not pay COV just because the place is near amenities or MRT. I feel that COV is only justifiable if the place is well renovated, so you are paying for what the seller has paid previously for the reno. Cos the proximity of the unit should already be factored into the valuation price.

But I know a lot of people are paying ridiculous COV on units even now. I have a friend who bought a 3-room flat near Yishun mrt recently for 25k COV! And the place is not really well decorated lor...haiz really desperate carrot buyer meeting happy chopping seller

I am a truly unwilling party when it comes to paying COV...oh my goodness...we have to fork out 5 figure cash...(hard earned) to buy something a OLD hdb flat...recently i ask my agent to look for flat with low COV..he told me impossible as recently, COV has picked up...now WHY is COV picking up when we r in a deep recession..whats going on here?where is the sense?

I am a truly unwilling party when it comes to paying COV...oh my goodness...we have to fork out 5 figure cash...(hard earned) to buy something a OLD hdb flat...recently i ask my agent to look for flat with low COV..he told me impossible as recently, COV has picked up...now WHY is COV picking up when we r in a deep recession..whats going on here?where is the sense?

because more prs and foreigners are shifting from private property to hdb...

there's simply no sense liao lah ... as much as I agree with TS, in reality

I ballotted for 3 yrs, not a single **** f**king chance, then looked @ resale. its true many still asking COV despite the high valuation. What to do ? just buy lor

but now its over, I dun think about it liao. Just concentrate on making my home as comfy for me and wife.