Reuters Article: Lights off on Singapore's billionaire row

[AngMoG]

A very interesting article: Reuters: Lights off on Singapore's billionaire row as luxury house prices plunge

There's an eerie silence at night in Sentosa Cove, the man-made island resort billed as Singapore's answer to Monte Carlo and the only place in the country where foreigners can buy landed property.

Dozens of houses - complete with their own private yacht berths and multiple swimming pools - sit empty while few lights are on in the apartment blocks overlooking the marina, a few kilometres away from Sentosa's giant casino.

Not really surprising per se. But 20% drop of prices in one year is still quite shocking.

[JR8]

Wow, interesting. It highlights the risk of investing in new and untested markets/products, or those created as a politician's goal.

[Wd40]

I have read this article before on the "Asia's no 1 news site"

Consider this, its actually a 50% drop!

In July, a four-bedroom apartment in Sentosa's Turquoise condo sold at auction for S$3.88 million in a mortgagee sale, or about S$1,400 per square foot. In 2012, a flat in the same block sold for S$2,450 per square foot and in 2007 for as much as S$2,800.

However, this statement seems to be an error:

That, combined with the end of the "easy money" seen before the 2008 financial crisis, may mean the quiet on Sentosa Cove's streets is here to stay -

The easy money started with the QE and not before the financial crisis.

[ecureilx]

There's an eerie silence at night in Sentosa Cove, the man-made island resort billed as Singapore's answer to Monte Carlo and the only place in the country where foreigners can buy landed property.
.....

and I saw in a Asean newspaper the editorial gleefully going 'those rich guys are gonna come here, start the construction now '

[JR8]

I have read this article before on the "Asia's no 1 news site". Consider this, its actually a 50% drop!

In July, a four-bedroom apartment in Sentosa's Turquoise condo sold at auction for ...about S$1,400 per square foot. In 2012, a flat in the same block sold for S$2,450 per square foot and in 2007 for as much as S$2,800.

'A flat in the same block' does not make a useful comparison. It could be a 2-bed ground floor unit vs a 5-bed penthouse. Furthermore 'mortgagee's auction' tend to be fire-sales, they usually have no price reserves. This is how property where the owner defaults on their mortgage (property repossessed by the morgage lender, aka 'repo's') gets sold in many countries, incl the UK.

However, this statement seems to be an error:

That, combined with the end of the "easy money" seen before the 2008 financial crisis, may mean the quiet on Sentosa Cove's streets is here to stay -

The easy money started with the QE and not before the financial crisis.

The 'easy money' was the generous consumer lending criteria that a lot of banks had. Then the fan took a shower, the banks tightened up almost instantly. It meant less financing available. Hence, the guy trying to sell his $10m Sentosa condo (that he bought on easy money) has no one to sell it to, as the easy-money is now gone. He's just lost his job or business so is desperate, he slashes the price, still no takers... the side-effect is as prices enter a death-spiral, then no one wants to buy. In a way that might be illogical, as that arguably is when they should buy (it is with stocks). But in some ways with property it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Keep in mind that it only needs a small amount of those in the market (buying or selling), maybe 20%, to change the direction of the market.


--- Perhaps a little surprising that the government aren't printing money and buying up the ruins of their pet-project.

[ecureilx]

[

--- Perhaps a little surprising that the government aren't printing money and buying up the ruins of their pet-project.

well, sometime ago I happened to bump into a guy, who was with two others, all working for a European bank, managing HNWIs

one specialized in Pakistani customers and another, Indian clients

if I understand correctly meant, they are managing funds for politicians and the likes and Sentosa Cove was a hot property at that time

maybe a search of owners will show, from my gut feeling, the owners are parking their excess money there legally as well!!