1/12/2013

Property curbs to prevent a balloon





We all heard it last night. The Govt is introducing its seventh cooling measures to curb a runaway property market that is getting out of control. The details are in the media and I would not want to repeat them here. What was astonishing is that it took six cooling measures and nothing seemed to work. If the six measures were ideas from some third world half baked govts, I can understand. But there were carefully crafted by super talents that are being paid in the millions and they did not work, failed to work! And now the seventh measures touted as the harshest. Really? Is it going to work?

The best part is that the Govt still think that there is no bubble yet. And these measures are still timely to prevent a bubble from forming. According the Tharman, the prices are running ahead of fundamentals. This must be a great revelation.

Both Tharman and Boon Wan appeared together to meet the Press. It used to be just Boon Wan alone and he was always full of confidence, the man in charge, the problem solver. He volunteered to take over this office from Mah Bow Tan.

Last night Boon Wan was a shadow of himself, looking haggard and depressed. What did that tell? Was Boon Wan finding that he had ran out of ideas or was it that he thought nothing needed to be done as his six cooling measures were good enough. And he was depressed because the DPM had told him off, and the DPM was taking charge of the problem, to deal with the problem in a targeted and more effective way. There was no doubt that the property prices are now in high heavens and intoxicating. The prices are at very dangerous level now and a collapse is not only imminent, natural and very painful, but will hurt many people. And since Boon Wan is unable to deal with it, Tharman had to come in to show some leadership and mean business.

My feeling is that Boon Wan has let the prices gone too wild and it is beyond his control, and serious damage has been done. A lot of money has been sucked into properties and pray that there is no crash or many would have to jump off their million or multi million dollar apartments when that day comes.

Tharman is now in charge. Let’s see if he could do better, or is it too late as the ginny has bolted out of the bottle.

16 comments:

The said...

This time it is serious.

Property bubble is like virginity - one prick and it is gone forever.

agongkia said...

Proven to be daft.I repeat.
Put any Ah Tur Ah Kow,Ah Horse or Ah Cow in charge oso the same.
When properties goes down,we are doom.

MBT had actually done a good job and prices rise even without the need to built more flats.
KBW built more flats,destroy the nature,cutting down more trees,taking away spaces mean for animals,birds,fishes species but prices still goes up.

Many other simple ways to bring down prices and make Sinkie happy but I am not a daft to suggest anything that will cause my only small pigeon hole,passed down from my Ah Kong,to drop.

Continue to be a daft and get ready for our eighth cooling measure.







Anonymous said...

I am looking forward for the good news. very soon the low income families with family income of $1000 will be able to purchase a five room flat.

Keep it up Mr. Tharman.

Anonymous said...

Increase in COE prices, property prices and shortage of hospital beds...etc is primarily caused by our unbalanced immigration policy, and the government is to be held accountable for pay the price for what they have done.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

IMO non-ex-spurt opinion, prices have lots of room to expand. Especially when the world is printing money. Prices can double from where they are today. :-)

The thing about govt intervention is that you will get SOME effect -- maybe some of the desired effect short term, but definitely the unintended consequences will show up sooner or later. Especially with price controls and attempts to "curb speculation".

oldhorse42 said...

Of course one forgets that there is a BE in few weeks time and our million $ leaders must be seen to do some thing or stand to lose the BE even in a 3 cornered fight.
Our million $ leaders are actually very smart. Why must they do any thing to kill the golden goose after all many of them are benefiting from high property prices. Property taxes, stamp fees go up HDB prices go up and land sales fetch record prices. Why should they do any thing if not for the coming BE!

jjgg said...

RB ..the government made such obscene amounts from land sales that they themselves get frightened? Now they want to tweak here n there to keep the price in check? Better still..look at all your mega labour intensive projects..changi 1,2,3 now talking about 4.. How many cleaners n sweepers do you need to keep such 24 hour projects going...how much housing do these workers need..look at the casinos..they employ the equivalent of potong pasir each..and all because there's money to be made..in the meantime the citizenry bear the cost of all the social malaise..are we better off? Near to retirement Khaw can't wait to go..n it's odds on that he'll retire soon to look after his $8 bypass..does he care? Not really..it's a job..govt can't solve the prob..why...cos they too damn greedy..land sales beckon!!

Anonymous said...

Matilah, knn spilling rubbish comment again

The said...

/// agongkia said...
MBT had actually done a good job and prices rise even without the need to built more flats. ///

Prices rose precisely because MBT was sleeping on the job and was not building more flats.

Anonymous said...

If I am a Minister.
And I want to sell my Singapore bungalow to retire overseas.
I definitely will want Singapore property prices to be high.

Asking the wolf to look after the sheep?
Or is it asking the rapist to look after the virgin?

Anonymous said...

What can I say?

We know the horse has bolted and the cow took over.

Speculators have already made their pile while geniune buyers who paid high prices are now worried about more cooling measures.

Anonymous said...

Really pity the genuine buyers. They paid such high prices and now worrying if the prices can hold. And the speculators are all laughing to the banks.

And who are the genuine buyers, the daft Sinkies lah. When they need to pay half or less for the same properties but because of the great policies now got to pay for through their lives.

patriot said...

Agongkia is right, MBT had prices of HDB driven up but he was NOT so greedy to build more to make more profit.

The Current MND Minister is building ad much as he can and the prices are still going up.

Who are the buyers? Locals? Certainly there are some,
And
who buy the rest?

Someone is striking hard when the Property Market is hot.

patriot

Anonymous said...

Conclusion :

Singaporeans are rich and greedy.

Selfish

Lazy

Complain all the time

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

It is something I predicted many years ago when someone was boasting to me (and treating me like some blur outsider) that Singapore was "terrific" because there were "no capital gains on property".

Ha ha.. stamp duty or capital gains, tax is tax lah. Or maybe it is (yet-another) FINE.

As a foreigner you now pay an 18% FINE on your appalling behaviour of having the gall to buy real estate in Singapore.

But wait... there's more. Before an upcoming MAJOR election (not some small village-idiots voting like Pungul) the PAP will announce "free money" to help locals with the increases in stamp duty for their homes.

What a windfall for the government. Tax, fine...call it whatever. 20 million dollar (valuation) property at Sentosa Cove...tax/fine/stamp-duty for foreign buyer: $3.6 million. Mo-ther-fuck-er!

patriot said...

Come folks,

pray tell me, what is so difficult?

Stop selling anymore property and other assets to aliens, stabilize the prices of anythiing and everything that has not being increased from and at sources..

Prices of almost everything from rent, vehicle, cooked and uncooked foods, utilities, services have all being raised to increase bottomline, never mind the justification. In short, prices have being push higher and higher with little or no reason and justification.

In the Case of Housings, the Chief Cause and reason for the spike in prices is clearly and obviously foreigners buying them.

patriot