Despite the gloom and doom, the property market is not as bad as it seems, said Christine Lee, senior director and head of research at Cushman & Wakefield (C&W).
Speaking at a property seminar last weekend, Ms Lee noted that the effect of the latest round of cooling measures introduced in July is not as significant as it was when the total debt servicing ratio loan (TDSR) framework was implemented at end-June 2013 as post-TDSR, the volume of residential sales plunged 42%. compared to only 20% after July.
“Demand is now driven largely by new launches — compared with a year ago, when resales were buoyant, owing partly to en bloc sales,” she added.
Photo by Chen Hu, unsplash.com
The widening gap in prices between the new launches and older properties may lead to buying opportunities in the resale market.
“Most people would think that more supply will depress prices but, on the contrary, new supply is pushing up prices.”
With demand from HDB upgraders and en bloc millionaires (based on an estimated 6,700 households displaced by collective sales), Li believes the impact of the property cooling measures may not be as negative as expected.
