Most S’poreans still feel properties are expensive
By Romesh Navaratnarajah
Home buyers and property investors are less optimistic about Singapore's property affordability in the second quarter as compared with the previous quarter, according to a survey conducted by PropertyGuru, the country's leading property site.
79 percent of the total respondents observed that Singapore property in all categories are expensive, up from 75 percent in last quarter's survey.
"Our latest quarterly survey gives an interesting insight into current sentiment towards the property market. Whilst consumers remain bullish about rising market prices, they are increasingly concerned about 'affordability', adopting a 'wait and see' approach and want the government to take further action," said PropertyGuru CEO Steve Melhuish on Thursday during a presentation of the survey results.
First-time buyers
The survey was conducted last month and included more than 2,200 respondents. For the first time, the survey had a separate analysis on first-time home buyers, with 70 percent of the respondents aged between 25 and 34 years, and 36 percent having a monthly household income of between S$4,000 and S$8,000.
48 percent of the first-time home buyers surveyed expressed interest in acquiring HDB flats and 42 percent are looking for completed condominiums. Around 64 percent of the first-timers who are looking to acquire HDB flats prefer resale flats over Build-To-Order (BTO) flats.
Meanwhile, nearly 50 percent of first time buyers began their property search process seven to eight months ago, while the remaining 50 percent said they started searching for property seven months to one-and-a-half years ago. Respondents listed prices, location, limited supply and selection process as the major factors that affect time taken to purchase their first home.
In addition, 73 percent of HDB seekers are willing to wait up to three years to acquire property, while 68 percent of condominium buyers said they are willing to wait up to two years.
PropertyGuru's survey also showed that the consumer property sentiment index in Q2 dropped 0.2 points to 2.6 on a scale of 5* against 2.8 in the previous survey.
"This shows that consumers are concerned about rising property prices, despite recent cooling measures announced earlier this year," it said.
Around 63 percent of the total respondents said that HDB prices may continue to increase in the next six months, up from seven percentage points from 56 percent in the Q1 survey. About 58 percent of those questioned felt that cash over valuation (COV) for resale flats will continue to rise over the next 12 months, while 54 percent believe that transactions across all property segments will increase in the next six months.
Overall, there is less optimism towards government intervention. "As much as 57 percent feel that our government is not doing enough to stabilise the property market, compared to 48 percent in our Q1 survey, an increase of almost 10 percentage points in pessimism," said PropertyGuru.
As property prices in Singapore continue to increase, almost half of the total respondents said they are considering property investments overseas, with Malaysia as the most popular choice.
"As a result, we can expect buyers to be more discerning, intensifying their search before making a purchase. PropertyGuru addresses this need by providing the largest database of available property for sale or rent," said Melhuish.
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79 percent of the total respondents observed that Singapore property in all categories are expensive, up from 75 percent in last quarter's survey.
"Our latest quarterly survey gives an interesting insight into current sentiment towards the property market. Whilst consumers remain bullish about rising market prices, they are increasingly concerned about 'affordability', adopting a 'wait and see' approach and want the government to take further action," said PropertyGuru CEO Steve Melhuish on Thursday during a presentation of the survey results.
First-time buyers
The survey was conducted last month and included more than 2,200 respondents. For the first time, the survey had a separate analysis on first-time home buyers, with 70 percent of the respondents aged between 25 and 34 years, and 36 percent having a monthly household income of between S$4,000 and S$8,000.
48 percent of the first-time home buyers surveyed expressed interest in acquiring HDB flats and 42 percent are looking for completed condominiums. Around 64 percent of the first-timers who are looking to acquire HDB flats prefer resale flats over Build-To-Order (BTO) flats.
Meanwhile, nearly 50 percent of first time buyers began their property search process seven to eight months ago, while the remaining 50 percent said they started searching for property seven months to one-and-a-half years ago. Respondents listed prices, location, limited supply and selection process as the major factors that affect time taken to purchase their first home.
In addition, 73 percent of HDB seekers are willing to wait up to three years to acquire property, while 68 percent of condominium buyers said they are willing to wait up to two years.
PropertyGuru's survey also showed that the consumer property sentiment index in Q2 dropped 0.2 points to 2.6 on a scale of 5* against 2.8 in the previous survey.
"This shows that consumers are concerned about rising property prices, despite recent cooling measures announced earlier this year," it said.
Around 63 percent of the total respondents said that HDB prices may continue to increase in the next six months, up from seven percentage points from 56 percent in the Q1 survey. About 58 percent of those questioned felt that cash over valuation (COV) for resale flats will continue to rise over the next 12 months, while 54 percent believe that transactions across all property segments will increase in the next six months.
Overall, there is less optimism towards government intervention. "As much as 57 percent feel that our government is not doing enough to stabilise the property market, compared to 48 percent in our Q1 survey, an increase of almost 10 percentage points in pessimism," said PropertyGuru.
As property prices in Singapore continue to increase, almost half of the total respondents said they are considering property investments overseas, with Malaysia as the most popular choice.
"As a result, we can expect buyers to be more discerning, intensifying their search before making a purchase. PropertyGuru addresses this need by providing the largest database of available property for sale or rent," said Melhuish.