Property agents talking up the resale market
Posted: May 4, 2010 by fievel in Labels: Housing, Singapore
If you have been using the internet to search for a HDB flat in Singapore in recent months, you'll probably notice a phenomenon.
Well, many of them are of flats which are already sold when advertised.
The intent of such advertisements are not to sell flats, but to lure new flat owners to appoint him to sell their flats for them. This is a seller's market. We already know that from the fact that the prices have been relentlessly skyrocketing. Do not believe the mass-media's spin about how Q1 (2010) prices have risen less than the Q4 (2009) prices. (SEE LINK TO THIS PIECE OF NEWS)
With the housing agents talking up the market like that, every other couple that views a resale flat unit on a weekend is feeling more like they are attending a price war. Why are we allowing property agents to advertise a flat and immediately decry it "SOLD!!!!" ??
Is still-affordable-Mah-Bow-Tan doing his job in monitoring the HDB resale market? He first screwed up the government controlled land and HDB supply in the preceding years and now he's sitting in his comfortable office armchairs, twiddling his thumbs gleefully, saying he has no control over the "free market", pfff, what a friggin joke.
Well, many of them are of flats which are already sold when advertised.
The intent of such advertisements are not to sell flats, but to lure new flat owners to appoint him to sell their flats for them. This is a seller's market. We already know that from the fact that the prices have been relentlessly skyrocketing. Do not believe the mass-media's spin about how Q1 (2010) prices have risen less than the Q4 (2009) prices. (SEE LINK TO THIS PIECE OF NEWS)
The HDB resale market is showing signs of stabilising, with the Resale Price Index (RPI) rising by 2.8 per cent in the first quarter of the year over the previous quarter.No, the HDB resale market is not really stabilising. The milder 2.8% increment is calculated off a higher index base in 2009 Q4. Transaction volume declined from 8984 to 8926 would mostly likely be attributable to data noise and nothing else.
This is slower than the 3.9 per cent increase recorded from the third to fourth quarter of 2009.
Resale transactions also saw a decline of about 5 per cent, from 8,926 cases in 4th Quarter 2009 to 8,484 cases in 1st Quarter 2010.
With the housing agents talking up the market like that, every other couple that views a resale flat unit on a weekend is feeling more like they are attending a price war. Why are we allowing property agents to advertise a flat and immediately decry it "SOLD!!!!" ??
Is still-affordable-Mah-Bow-Tan doing his job in monitoring the HDB resale market? He first screwed up the government controlled land and HDB supply in the preceding years and now he's sitting in his comfortable office armchairs, twiddling his thumbs gleefully, saying he has no control over the "free market", pfff, what a friggin joke.
Xiao mei... at this kind of prices, how to afford a home?