It was big news on the evening that the revised ABSD rates were announced. Showflats brought forward their launch date to immediate launch. Buyers were seen scrambling down to the showflats to book their desired units. Ballot? No more balloting, it’s first come first served. Bring your NRIC and chequebook! As agents, we’ve seen some drop-out units in the next few days. (Probably due to unplanned and emotional purchases). We’ll not dwell on what changed or didn’t as most people already knew by now, the LTV was lowered to 75% and ABSD raised to 12% for 2nd property, we’ve included a chart below for your clarification. Else contact us and we’ll be happy to assist.
What we’ll be discussing is what can you, an individual or as a couple do, should do in times when the real-estate scene is HEATING up!
Ms Angela Cheng, 56, a tour guide, was initially looking to invest in a one-bedroom home at Park Colonial in Woodleigh, which costs about $800,000. She lives in a four-room HDB flat in Toa Payoh with her 23-year-old son and the flat is the only property she owns.
But the new regulations “dropped like a bomb” on her, she said. They were announced at 7pm on Thursday and took effect hours later at the stroke of midnight.
“I wish we were at least given some time to think about it, to check if my finances were in order first,” said Ms Cheng, who is now reconsidering whether to invest in the property.
“This new rule makes it very hard for Singaporeans to upgrade financially,” she added.
Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/some-beat-property-cooling-measures-others-redo-sums
Confusion, Panic buying, Disorderliness, and of course there’s the post-purchase worries even after getting their choice unit as they have not gotten their In principle approval from their bank.
Some don’t even know how much cash proceeds their current flat will give them.
Whats the next step? Sell their current property and refund the ABSD when time comes or keep the current property?
Propertydiscovery’s take on this whole episode is that, if you planned to or even wish to use real estate, as a form of investment whether it be for your planned retirement, or legacy for your children, you HAVE TO work out a plan and stick to it. We cannot influence the government’s policy making. What we can do before we put our hard-earned money into this costly item called Real-estate, is to learn adequate knowledge and proper planning to ensure what we’re doing is as low risk as possible to protect our hard-earned money.
Some tips on how to proceed at this point in time.
You’re holding on to a HDB flat and was thinking of upgrading or keeping the HDB and buying another.
+ Work out your finances and decide if it’s worth keeping that flat.
+ An in-principle approval (IPA) costs nothing and is valid for 3 months. Do it.
+ Once your budget is set, you can then start shopping. There are still value buys out there despite the increased ABSD, in fact this is the optimal time (assuming your finances are in order already) to start.
If you’re holding on to a private property and thinking of getting another either to upgrade/downgrade or for investment
+ Work out your finances and decide if you need to sell first, rent, then buy. Or your fiances allow you to buy, move then sell comfortably.
+ How much is your current place valued, how much your cash proceeds will be when you sell?
+ What’s your max loan amount at this age?
+ An in-principle approval (IPA) costs nothing and is valid for 3 months. Do it.
+ Are there other ways BESIDES selling that i can get funds using my current property?
Tap or click the graphic below for a short questionnaire here that contains important questions for you and your family.
Do it to know where you currently stand in your planning stage. Click here to access Real Estate Planner
In short, once all the preparation “homework” is done, we can know which routes are best to take, from there the plan will then be formulated. Do not make panic decisions. Make informed decisions based on facts, figures and do your due diligence. Once you have a plan and the finances to support it, you’d be ready to do the right thing when time comes. Real estate is probably the most expensive item you buy in your lifetime, please make informed decisions and not EMOTIONAL ones.
If you need help in planning your property road-map, let us help you in a no-obligations 45 minute sharing session.
How can we help you?
- Planning your property investment roadmap
- Getting your finances and work out the budget
- Selling/buying your next property
- Advising on the value buys in today’s market.
Whatsapp/call us or do the questionnaire to know where you stand!
Click here to access Real Estate Planner