6 Key Messages For Your Private Home Buyers

A recent Morgan Stanley research report ranked Singapore as the most promising property market in 2018. It forecasts property prices to increase 8% in 2018 with pent-up demand after the cooling measures finally outstripping unsold supply. New home sales growth is also expected to grow from 40% in 2017 to 50% in 2018.

That is not all. Another DBS report dated 16 May 2018 claimed that new private homes would cost up to S$2,900 on average by 2030 with the population reaching up to 6.5 million people.

With the recent upturn, some of your private property clients looking to sell may have become more demanding in their asking prices, especially if neighboring developments have recently gone en bloc at record prices in the area.

As a real estate agent, how do you bridge the expectations gap between your buyer and seller?

There are a few key messages that you can bring across your prospective buyer to allow him to understand the potential of the Singapore property market.

Although it is unlikely that the cooling measures would be released any time soon, the private property market has turned a corner. Both prices and volumes are expected to increase in the near future. It will be a bonus if the cooling measures are released.
The recent exuberance in government land sales and en bloc sales support rising land prices. With construction costs also increasing, future new property launches have to be priced higher than before.
Singapore continues to offer good value for money, especially in the luxury property market compared to other Asian cities like Hong Kong. Our luxury property prices on a per square foot basis are much lower compared to the luxury properties in Monaco, London or Hong Kong.
If your clients are looking to buy luxury property, future supply of new launches and resale remains constrained and luxury property prices are likely to increase as new non-CCR properties are already showing pricing in the S$1500-S$1,750 psf range.
On a macro scale, Singapore offers political stability and good long-term prospects with an impressive track record for economic growth. With a growing population expected to reach up to 6.5 million in 2030, Singapore properties are a great long-term bet.
Even if there really is an economic downturn, recent experience from the Lehman crisis in 2007 demonstrated that property prices were able to recover within 2 years with swift action from the government and central bank. Most Singaporeans and foreign investors tend to have good holding power. As a result, fire sales are unlikely to happen at scale, providing a baseline for property price falls.