11/04/2008

Tempering with land sales and property prices

The govt is withholding the sales of land for the moment as demand for properties have fallen. That makes good business sense. Sell when the demand is high, to command higher price and also to prevent prices from escalating. Very logical. A letter by Ee Teck Siew in Today questioned the tempering of the supply and demand of land as it will artificially prop up prices but will not allow prices to fall to their real values. His reasoning is that people are complaining that properties and rentals are too high. Shouldn't we let the market determine the price? We have a free market don't we? Now property owners will be up in arms against him. How can he suggest that we let property prices to fall? My property is all I got, my HDB flat is all I got. But the young who are looking for a cheaper flat will be supporting him. Ya, let the market decides the true value of properties. Stop meddling with supply and demand. We cannot buy expensive flats at sky high prices. Let it drop the natural way. Who is tempering with the free market forces?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess we haven't learn from the recent mess of US Credit and housing bust.

Unlike US, govt knows that Singapore housing is immune from bust like US. So we can temper with the prices. Free market NOT.

Anonymous said...

Singapore government tempers with everything, even giving births and if allowed, even eugenics.

Oh yes, they have to keep adjusting the land sales to maintain the high prices. Singaporeans have to pay for it.

Anonymous said...

Double standard of Singapore government citing free market when it stand to benefit them with $$$, and then control it as it disbenefit them. They are bunch of discredible and dishonest business-man masquerading as a government and exploiting the citizen to no end.

Anonymous said...

Many of us in our 40s and 50s can still remember growing up in attap and zinc houses. These lands were acquired at very low prices under the draconian land acquisition act. That's how they built up their landbank, pieces of which are now offered back to the public at 'market rates'.

"THE Singapore Land Authority’s (SLA) land sales revenue doubled to $12.4 billion for its financial year ended March 31, 2008."
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/277631.asp

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

ya, i want to claim back what they short changed my parents for the zinc hut that we owned. i think we probably got not more than a thousand bucks for it, including the fruit trees.