THE need to own your house and to transact properties as a means of amassing money has been a way of life here even before Singapore’s independence.
But ever quick to spot an opportunity, the public housing policies got behind the aspirations of the citizens to own their own homes, and the staggering result is the steep rise of property prices over the past few decades.
One can argue it’s a sign of progress, prosperity and the times. The next generation wonders how they are going to afford housing.
But along comes a pandemic to disrupt plans and throw a spanner in the works. How will the demand for property be affected as jobs are lost and social changes result in shifts in behaviour?
The property developers are busy selling what they’ve built and the real estate agents are trying hard to match willing buyers and sellers. The media keeps talking about increased demand as vacant units are evident.
So many mixed signals.
With all this noise, how do you decide on your next property move?
The next WED WEB CHAT — Time To Make Your House Move? brings together the experts in the industry to voice their opinions.
Join the session and find out the panellists’ views on Wednesday 3 February 2021, from 12:45 — 1:30pm. Register for the session via this link: https://zurl.co/OiVo
Panellists for the session
Vina Ip, Property Enthusiast, Author, Blogger
Vina Ip bought her first condominium unit for rent in 2002, and built up a property portfolio of five private homes. By 2008, its total value had more than doubled.
Vina started her personal blog PropertySoul.com in August 2010 to share her property views and experiences with fellow home buyers and investors.
Her first book, No B.S. Guide to Property Investment – Dirty Truths and Profitable Secrets to Building Wealth Through Properties was published in April 2014. In 2020, she launched Behind The Scenes of The Property Market: Finding The Truths and Exposing The Lies of A Not-So-Transparent Industry.
In mid-2014, Vina founded Property Club Singapore (propertyclubsg.com) to provide a neutral platform for the learning and networking of like-minded private property buyers, investors and owners.
“It is naive to believe that COVID-19 has little impact on the Singapore residential property market,” Vina reckons.
“It was a false impression of market rebound for the second half of 2020. In 2021 and the few years that follow, we will start to see problems like oversupply in the market that have been there even before COVID-19.”
Jennifer Chia, Partner, TSMP Law Corporation
A veteran in corporate transactional work, Jennifer specialises in banking and finance, and corporate real estate as a partner at TSMP Law Corporation, where she started as an associate 20 years ago. Her clients include global banks, top financial institutions, multinational corporates and high-net-worth individuals.
Some notable transactions Jennifer has acted in are the purchase of Chinatown Point mall for S$520 million and the purchase of Chevron House by her client Oxley Holdings for S$660 million in 2017.
On the residential property side, she has acted for various project developers in their development projects such as the high-end condominium project at OUE Twin Peaks and the HDB DBSS project at Parkland Residences.
Outside of legal work, Jennifer dedicates time to the board of iC2 PrepHouse, which teaches life skills to low-sight children, and she also volunteers as company secretary to Boys’ Town.
“The Singapore housing market defies current market sentiments with healthy sales for landed, private and HDB markets,” Jennifer observes.
“This current buying sentiment should continue burning bright if the COVID vaccines are successful and economic rebounds take place quickly.”
Ku Swee Yong, CEO, International Property Advisor
With his anticipated new book, The Future Of Real Estate: What’s Next After New Tech And COVID-19?, due out soon, Swee Yong has been actively spreading his sharp perspectives of the property market, pieced together over decades in the industry.
He has published 5 insightful books on the property market.
An active practitioner in the property market, Swee Yong is also a much sought commentator for his honest and no-nonsense perspective of what’s happening in the industry.
Applying his analytical mind to data, he delivers views that often result in light-bulb moments, for readers of his books and articles, and students he lectures at NUS, SMU and Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
Swee Yong was a Director in the Real Estate Centre of Expertise at Société Générale Private Banking, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Savills Singapore and has held positions with the Far East Organization in Indonesia and the Singapore Tourism Board. His career has revolved around the sales and market development for corporations such as Singapore Airlines, HSBC Securities and Shell Chemicals.
He holds an MBA in Marketing from University of Hull, UK, and completed his BSc in the Imperial College, University of London, UK and the Institut Louis Pasteur, Université de Strasbourg, France.
His view on the property market is cryptic: “Is this a good time to buy?”
Join the session and find out his and the other panellists’ views on Wednesday 3 February 2021, from 12:45 — 1:30pm. Register for the session via this link: https://zurl.co/OiVo
