Everyone wants a piece of Asia now. Make your slice Singapore. Long hailed as a luscious home away from home for many expatriates, this city state is undergoing a facelift, giving you more reasons than ever to invest in its booming property market. With ambitious plans to transform its downtown area into prime vacation spot and top class financial centre, Singapore is bound to attract much global attention in the next few years. Even as uncertainty looms over the US, Singapore Prime Districts will show you how this little red dot is still going strong.
Brand new plans
In year 2006, the Singapore government invited resort and casino moguls around the world to a massive tender. Successful bidders would gain access to Marina Bay and Sentosa to develop luxurious resorts equipped with world class casinos and high-end retail. Scheduled to be fully completed in year 2012, these developments would upgrade Singapore bays to become popular respites. More importantly, private property around the area would increase in market value as the resorts draw in a large group of professional expatriates and glitterati. Already, the buzz is felt in the market. The newly launched Marina Bay Residences situated just across the resorts in currently in great popular demand as it combines comfort, luxury and entertainment in a single development. Our agents and buyers at Singapore Prime Districts expect demand and prices to continue rising because we are confident the value will only peak when the resorts are launched. In other words, it is not too late to buy into this boom now.
Good location, modern design
Of course, good climate in the property market is insufficient to justify a purchase. The property itself has to be valuable in terms of location and design. Convenience has always been a strong advantage of downtown Singapore property due to the central location. The condominiums are normally situated near to train stations, shopping malls and international schools. What is worthy of additional notice is the design. In recent years, Singaporean developers have fused trustworthy engineering with modern architecture to build a series of eclectic living space in town. One such condominium that Singapore Prime Districts represents for is Cairnhill Residence at Cairnhill Circle. Apart from being near to the staples of premiere schools, high way access and shopping belt, the stylish condominium is designed to look futuristic and fashionable. In fact, you could easily mistake it for a designer building in the heart of Tokyo or Hong Kong. Herein lays the catch. These boutique units are gradually becoming the norms of downtown residences in Singapore and cost only half the price of those in the city’s competitors. It is no wonder more foreign talents are moving to this island nation.
Sub-prime mortgage woes
As sub-prime mortgage woes cloud over the US market, some may feel jittery in investing in property. Admittedly, the Singapore’s economic performance is closely related to that of America. However, in Singapore Prime Districts, our experience with the local economy tells us we have slowly moved away from absolute reliance on the American consumers for economic growth. More and more, other factors such as the Chinese economy and local developments are influencing Singapore’s markets. In fact, our elder statesman MM Lee said in an interview earlier this year that Singapore is going to be fine in the coming 5 to 10 years even if there was a slow down in the US and Europe. This is because the Chinese and Indian economies would still grow by 8 to 10% annually, giving Singapore an extra lift. As such, it would be quite safe to say that local property market holds promise for investors albeit a downturn in the West.
Could it be a bubble?
When year 2007 came to an end, the state newspapers Straits Times reported on the record property prices reached in the past year. With so much hype in downtown Singapore, developments were selling like hot cakes at sky-high value. Such a phenomenon may be reminiscent of the craze before Japan’s property market crash in the nineties. However, close inspection will show otherwise. While it is true that several condominiums fetched eye-popping prices, these were exceptions to the general picture. Overall, the prices of downtown property are forecasted to rise at a stable pace of 10 to 20% this year. The cost-conscious government also monitors and stabilizes the market from time to time to prevent prices from sky rocketing. In a city setting of limited land resources with rapid economic growth, what investors can expect from deals with Singapore Prime Districts is usually not a cash fall but steady returns over the long run.
Lower real interest rates
If all these cannot move your heart, the low real interest rates in Singapore will. Home loan rates in Singapore typically range from 3 to 4%. Yet due to the record-high inflation of 3.6% in October 2007, pressure will be put on our already low interest rates. Real mortgage rates at the moment are only slightly above zero, at about 0.5 to 1.0%. What this means is a positive effect on borrowers. As we in Singapore Prime Districts explain to our clients, it is now more value for money to take out a home loan because a loan of S$80,000 is worth much less in the future when the time to return has come. Instead of keeping your money in the bank and losing out from the low bank rates, investing the cash in property would give you higher profits.
There is so much talk about Asia. Yet many countries in the robust continent suffer from similar drawbacks such as pollution and corruption which cause these young and upcoming markets to be shaky and unreliable. Singapore stands out in the eyes of property investors because our market is a matured and stable one. These coming years for Singapore guarantee exciting developments tempered with careful governance. Indeed, we at Singapore Prime Districts believe there is perhaps no better time to invest in the garden city.