It’s no secret that property prices in Singapore have been on the rise in recent years. We can see the upward trend in the property demands in Singapore, but the supply of property has not been able to keep up with it. So, if you think that the price of houses will be lower in the coming years, you are in for a shock. That said, there is no better time than now for you to buy a new home or upgrade your current property. Want to know why? Check this out!

The government has introduced further cooling measures to moderate housing demand and to ensure home buyers borrow prudently amid rising interest rates. The package of measures announced on 29 September 2022 includes restrictions to curb loan quantum that will impact both the private residential and public housing segments. In addition, a new wait-out period of 15 months will also be introduced for private home owners and ex-private home owners to buy a non-subsidised HDB resale flat.

Here’s a quick update of the cooling measures implemented at 11.53 pm, 29 Sept 2022, W.E.F 30 Sept 2022.

Market interest rates have risen significantly. They are likely to increase further in future, which will affect borrowing costs for home purchases. To ensure prudent borrowing and avoid future difficulties in servicing home loans, the Government will tighten the maximum loan quantum limits for housing loans.

The maximum amount of money home buyers can borrow to purchase their homes will be tightened with immediate effect, so that borrowers avoid future difficulties in servicing those loans. The cooling measures come after interest rates have risen significantly and are likely to continue rising, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Ministry of National Development (MND) and Housing Development Board (HDB) said in a joint statement issued just after 11.40pm on Thursday.

Phase 2 of the Cross Island MRT line (CRL) will comprise 6 stations from Turf City to Jurong Lake District, including interchanges with the Downtown Line at King Albert Park and the East-West Line at Clementi station. The remaining 2 stations along the 15km stretch are Maju, which is located next to the Singapore University of Social Sciences, and West Coast.

The changes will take effect on Jun 1, 2023 and is aimed at improving productivity for the built environment profession. However, they will also have implications for private housing developers, resulting in a reduction in saleable area for condominium projects.Earlier this month, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) issued a circular on harmonisation of floor area definitions to be adopted by 4 government agencies: URA, Singapore Land Authority (SLA), Building and Construction Authority, and Singapore Civil Defence Force.

Renewal is occurring throughout Singapore's existing CBD, particularly in the Tanjong Pagar neighbourhood. The extension of the CBD to the Beach Road-Bugis area has resulted in a rush of redevelopments and new mixed-use complexes. As part of the URA's Long-Term Plan Review, the government has set its eyes on developing the southeast — Marina South, Marina East, and Straits View — with Marina Bay being defined as the new downtown.

People are more likely to pay a premium for mixed-use developments that include an MRT station. What makes integrated developments appealing? An integrated development, according to Alice Tan, head of consultant at Knight Frank Singapore, is a mixed-use development having a residential component and a large commercial component that is smoothly connected to a transportation hub and public areas.

Rising interest rates and property prices are certain to have an impact on buyer affordability; the question is where that tipping point sits. According to a recent analysis, purchasers may still afford private homes despite recent rate hikes, but depending on the loan length, they may be priced out of the market if mortgage rates reach 3.5 percent or more.

To relieve road congestion, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) prices will increase by S$1 at four expressway locations across eight time periods beginning August 1.

The owners of Trendale Tower at 79 Cairnhill Road have launched a collective sale tender for the freehold site for $178 million. Savills Singapore is actively marketing the property's collective sale.

Singapore (EdgeProp) - At the 43-unit Le Nouvel Ardmore, developed by Singapore-listed property company Wing Tai Holdings, two units were sold recently for $5,800 psf, a new high for the luxury condo designed by celebrated French architect Jean Nouvel.

A five-room flat in Henderson Road just changed hands for S$1.4 million this month, making it the priciest transaction in the HDB resale market yet.The unit in Block 96A, at 1,216 square foot (sq ft) in size, is on the 41st floor of the 48-storey block, which gives it panoramic views of the area. The lease commenced in 2019, making it only 3 years old.Lee Sze Teck, senior director of research at Huttons, said: “With construction delays due to Covid, this almost-new flat offers the opportunity for buyers to move in fast. It is also rare to have new 5-room flats in mature estates.”

Singapore's international arrivals climbed month on month for the third straight month in April,* with border authorities notching the highest number of travellers since the Covid-19 pandemic began, according to the latest figures from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).Some 294,300 visitors hit the island’s shores in April, up from 121,200 in March, although volumes were still far lower than the 1.6 million recorded in April 2019, before the pandemic.Indonesia overtook India as the biggest source of arrivals, sending 58,270 travellers in April, up from 13,620 in March. There were 40,970 travellers from India, up from 27,530 in March.

Three 99-year leasehold residential sites in the Upper Thomson area have come up for sale under the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for the first half of 2022, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced on Tuesday (May 17).The sale of Lentor Central, Lentor Gardens, and Lentor Hills Road (Parcel B) plots within the new Lentor Hills Estate is expected to see healthy interest from developers with careful bidding.Two of the 3 parcels - Lentor Central and Lentor Hills Road (Parcel B) - come under the government’s confirmed list and can yield about 735 housing units. The remaining plot at Lentor Gardens, which can yield 530 units, is on the reserve list and will be put up for tender only when a developer has indicated a minimum price which is accepted by the government.

Kensington Park condominium in Serangoon has been offered for en bloc sale by public tender with a guide price of S$1.28 billion, sole marketing agent CBRE announced on Wednesday (May 18).In April, The Business Times reported that at least 80 per cent of the owners had consented to the potential deal, nearly 4 years after their previous efforts at a billion-dollar price tag.The latest guide price will work out to a land rate of about S$1,414 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), after including the development charge (DC) payable of around S$178.1 million, CBRE said in a press statement.

A perfect storm could potentially be on the horizon for owners of private residential properties in Singapore, especially those who are highly leveraged, said the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS) at the National University of Singapore.Rising interest rates amid growing inflationary pressures as well as an impending increase in the housing supply are expected to bring headwinds for homeowners relying on rental income, based on the research institute’s analysis of historical data.The Business Times (BT) reported in late April 2022 that several banks in Singapore had suspended fixed-rate home loan packages, which offer a flat interest rate, amid the surging cost of funds. Mortgage advisers polled by BT also said that mortgage rates in the city-state could be raised by 3 times this year.

Amid a dearth of launches, developers sold 653 new private residential units, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), in Singapore this April.This is largely unchanged from the 654 sold in the previous month, according to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Tuesday (May 17).However, property analysts anticipate sales momentum to pick up soon, led by major new condominium projects such as the 407-unit Piccadilly Grand and the 298-unit Liv @ MB.

A red-hot property market fuelled a 73.6 per cent surge in stamp duties collected in Singapore’s financial year ended March 2022, although it slipped year-on-year in the first 3 months of 2022.Stamp duty collections for FY21, which covers the period from April 2021 to March 2022, hit S$6.76 billion, from the S$3.9 billion collected in the corresponding period in FY20. It is also 61.1 per cent higher than the S$4.2 billion in FY19, prior to the start of the pandemic, based on data from the Accountant-General's Department, available online at the Singapore Department of Statistics.According to Huttons’ senior director of research, Lee Sze Teck, the total number of properties transacted in FY21 amounted to 63,914, 19.9 per cent higher than the year-ago period.

Businesses are more bullish about prospects in Singapore than overseas in the next 6 months, although firms are on the whole less optimistic than they were a quarter ago, according to the latest Business Times-Singapore University of Social Sciences (BT-SUSS) Business Climate Survey.Commenting on the findings, OCBC chief economist Selena Ling said: “If you think of the events that unfolded in Q1, there were some formidable headwinds that come to mind.”The Russia-Ukraine war, the US Federal Reserve’s increasing hawkishness and China’s slowdown are factors that target all 3 of Singapore’s major markets - the United States, the eurozone and China, she noted.

A three-and-a-half-storey shophouse at 93 Tanjong Pagar Road was sold for S$13.25 million last week, PropNex Realty has announced.The 99-year tenure property sits on a land area of 1,297 sq ft and has an estimated floor area of 4,180 sq ft.PropNex said there were multiple offers for this property about 600m from Keong Saik Road, which has been buzzing with conservation shophouse deals this year. The Business Times reported last week that 3 adjoining freehold shophouses at the prominent corner of Kreta Ayer and Keong Saik roads, were transacted at slightly above S$44 million.

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s private investment firm Horizons Ventures is opening a Singapore office to find new deals and support portfolio companies trying to expand in Asia. As many as 10 staff will be based in the South-east Asian city including Jacky Li, a senior investment manager who will focus on deal execution, and Jeffrey Ho, a portfolio curator. It comes a year after the firm flagged plans to ramp up deals in the region and will be Horizons’ first office outside of Hong Kong with a focus on supporting portfolio companies entering the market. The Li-funded firm, which was co-founded by long time confidante Solina Chau, is the latest among a raft of high-profile investment outlets and family offices that have set up presence in Singapore - attracted by its low taxes, relative safety and an expedited pathway for permanent residency for the super wealthy.

As quarantine-free travel returns, private home purchases by foreign buyers are expected to gradually gain momentum, although analysts also flagged headwinds such as economic uncertainties and currency fluctuations as factors to watch. According to data collated by OrangeTee & Tie, non-landed private home purchases by foreign buyers nearly halved after a fresh round of property cooling measures were unveiled in December, from 277 units in Q4 2021 to 146 units in Q1 2022. As part of the measures to cool the red-hot property market, foreign buyers now have to pay a 30 per cent Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), up sharply from 20 per cent previously. OrangeTee’s senior vice-president (research & analytics), Christine Sun, said: “Some buyers may have been deterred by the higher taxes and bigger cash outlay.”