AskGuru Q&A Community

Good Day to you Mr Lionel,

In my opinion, purchasing an EC will be a better option. ECs can only be sold to a particular group of buyers who meet the criteria set by HDB ie MSR, TDSR, 12k monthly income cap.

Hence, if you fall under this category, you may want to consider purchasing an EC. Past Transactions have also shown that ECs have good potential for capital appreciation.

You may also want to consider the location when purchasing an EC. Places such as Sengkang has many upcoming developments and hence there is better potential for capital appreciation.

Bellewaters is an EC you can consider. I will be able to send you more details about this EC via email.

Best Regards,

Tan Han Wei Leonard
ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd
BSc Management (UOL)
www.leonardtan-property.com
Leonardtanhw@gmail.com
 9150 1162  Read More

Hi Mr. Lionel,

In my humble opinion, if what you have in mind are BTO & EC projects in the same/close locality (say Sengkang/Punggol), then I guess it is fair to compare. Chances are, capital appreciation of EC will be higher.
Firstly, after 5 years of occupation, EC is treated like a semi-privatized condo (you can sell to SC & PRs). Based on prevailing policies, the loan amount your future buyers can take is determined by TDSR of 60%, which means they can take higher loan and there's a possibility of higher resale price. However, Hdb resale flat buyers loan are determined by MSR of 30%, which restricts how much they can pay for your HDB. Another thing is, In a typical suburban district, HDB - private properties units ratio is about 75-25. When you are selling, you may face more competition for HDB market, which may translate to lower profit. Of course there are other factors peculiar to the unit like facing / floor / how many are selling etc. Or economic conditions at that point of time, but by and large the above points I feel does play a part.

However, if you are comparing BTO n ECs at different locations, (for example BTO at Queenstown vs EC at Punggol), then its not really useful to compare. They cater to different buyer profiles.

Which EC were you considering? May I discuss with you more over email? I would be glad to share with you how HDBs & ECs have performed for the past decade and you can make your own conclusions from there. Thanks and will be glad to understand your requirements further.

Warm regards,
Ivan ERA
 97432395 
Ivanng10@gmail.com Read More

Hi Lionel

If you are in the property market looking for profit, thinking as an investor, returns should be proportionate to Investment.
BTO's investment is much smaller than EC.
Put in small amount, you get small returns. And Vice Versa.

Both BTO and EC are for the privileged few thanks to the many restrictions set fairly by HDB.

So as an investor, Take the EC, if your MSR allows you to.
If you are VERY worried about interest rates rising suddenly, talk to a banker.
I do know a few efficient and responsive ones from local or foreign banks.

Gary Chang 81883186  Read More