Don't you think singapore is getting more and more expensive

singans · Post by **singans** » Wed, 16 Jul 2008 4:08 pm

I have been living in SG for the last 5 years and it really feels like it's getting more expensive every month.

Housing : it's just nuts the price you have to pay now, i really wonder how they want to attract expats in the current market. I know many people that refused to move in SG because of the hire cost of living. I saw a few apartments, if it's not in a condo you can really feel the greedy chinese landlord renting places that are so badly done for a crazy price. On top of it many of those landlords are keeping the place empty (sometimes for years) until they find some crazy expat to pay the price they think it should go for.
(part of the problem comes from the finance sector that subsidies most of their employees rent. One other factor is the goverment, i don't understand why they would let the price go so high because of speculation. Land is rare in SG, if the real estate market goes uncontrolled everything gets more expensive, therefore less competitive. If you want 6.5M people, you can not let the rental market go crazy like that. It directly affects expats, who mostly rent)

Commuting: Taxi fare keep going up with all kind on none sense extra charges for everything, plus ERP fare going up all the time. I'm not even talking of cars, i decided not to go for one, even though i miss the freedom it provides (may be i should reconsider)

Traveling: what makes SG an interesting place to live is because the region is really nice and you can be to many gorgeous place in a few hours. With the oil price so high, airfares are really getting expensive.

What do you guys think ? Is it just me ... ?

durain · Post by **durain** » Wed, 16 Jul 2008 4:23 pm

is there a country that is getting more and more cheap?

quidsin · Post by **quidsin** » Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:00 pm

are you not reading the newspapers or watching the news? it's happening everywhere so open up your eyes and ears...

zjules · Post by **zjules** » Thu, 17 Jul 2008 2:26 pm

I believe the crazy increase in rentals is just greed. My condo is getting more and more empty as the prices are going up and everyone is moving further away from the city. I just dont understand why a landlord would prefer to get zero rent for an empty apartment rather than receive a sensible rent monthly???

quidsin · Post by **quidsin** » Thu, 17 Jul 2008 2:36 pm

Quite simple really.

They're either plain stupid or ignorant. I'd say it's more the later...

durain · Post by **durain** » Thu, 17 Jul 2008 5:02 pm

well, some landlord dowan to loose face mah. if next door landlord is getting S$10k, then every landlord in the block oso want to get S$10k lor. they dowan to settle for less.

or if previously they are getting S$12k, and the market value is only about S$9k, again they still think they can get S$12k. they dont seems to understand the glory days are over. we are in the credit crunch time.

just like in gambling. they buy black, it come out red. aiyah, why i didnt i buy red?

Saint · Post by **Saint** » Thu, 17 Jul 2008 6:30 pm

And the thieving agents don't help by promising them they can't get them the rental price they want!

bruinbear · Post by **bruinbear** » Thu, 17 Jul 2008 8:00 pm

Inflation is terrible this year.

andy21 · Post by **andy21** » Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:16 am

Regarding the landlord situation:

Let's say I am a landlord who is asking for 'reasonable' rent in these 'unreasonable' times, and I also link any rental increses to the CPI, which is all very reasonable.

The rental sector takes a huge big nosedive for whatever reason. Rentals plummet.

Would the tenant be so kind as to not jump ship to the next door unit which is now much cheaper than mine even though 3 months ago, that same landlord wanted twice the money I did?

Greed does work both ways.

ScoobyDoes · Post by **ScoobyDoes** » Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:08 am

andy21 wrote: Greed does work both ways.

As does a legally binding rental agreement.

Landlord's right to put rents up, tenant's right to move or stay. If the next door unit is cheaper like-for-like then its not the fault of the tenant if they move.

LL's play the supply/demand card to put rents up 50-100% as they have done and tenants play it when rents go down but you know one thing...... i only hear the tenants looking for more governmental price control and regulation in the market, more control of agents and a little more protection.

Taking out severe up and down swings help both LL and tenant and the government does little to help, usually until it is too late either way.

MblSH · Post by **MblSH** » Fri, 18 Jul 2008 8:10 pm

[quote="durain"]if next door landlord is getting S$10k, then every landlord in the block oso want to get S$10k lor. they dowan to settle for less.[/quote]

Well, nobody stops them from telling the next door ll that they just rented out the place for $11k, right?

GarethC · Post by **GarethC** » Sun, 20 Jul 2008 1:29 pm

Landlord's right to put rents up, tenant's right to move or stay. If the next door unit is cheaper like-for-like then its not the fault of the tenant if they move.

That's basic economics and market forces. Unfortunately in Singapore, with such a small housing market and land scarcity, a small decrease in the number of houses (like those that went enbloc) and a slight increase in the number of people in the city can tip the balance for a short period causing this latest bubble. Right now, i think the biggest contributor to the crazy rentals is collusion by the property agents, which is basically price fixing.

If you've heard of Varsity park, asking rental is around 4.5k for a 2 bedroomed unit with no agent quoting less, however if you look at the condo while driving past, you will see around 80% of it empty with for rent signs decorating a lot of the balconies.

bruinbear · Post by **bruinbear** » Sun, 20 Jul 2008 3:46 pm

Good point about vacant units. I've heard many people saying that there are many vacant units lying around. Is it a case of the owners being sticky about prices and would rather leave their unit vacant?

ScoobyDoes · Post by **ScoobyDoes** » Sun, 20 Jul 2008 5:24 pm

GarethC wrote:
Landlord's right to put rents up, tenant's right to move or stay. If the next door unit is cheaper like-for-like then its not the fault of the tenant if they move.
That's basic economics and market forces. Unfortunately in Singapore, with such a small housing market and land scarcity, a small decrease in the number of houses (like those that went enbloc) and a slight increase in the number of people in the city can tip the balance for a short period causing this latest bubble. Right now, i think the biggest contributor to the crazy rentals is collusion by the property agents, which is basically price fixing.

If you've heard of Varsity park, asking rental is around 4.5k for a 2 bedroomed unit with no agent quoting less, however if you look at the condo while driving past, you will see around 80% of it empty with for rent signs decorating a lot of the balconies.

Yes, you're doing a reasonable job of contradicting yourself there.

familyof5 · Post by **familyof5** » Sun, 20 Jul 2008 5:45 pm

bruinbear wrote:Good point about vacant units. I've heard many people saying that there are many vacant units lying around. Is it a case of the owners being sticky about prices and would rather leave their unit vacant?

i understand ours was empty for 12 months before our offer (about 3K less than asking price) was accepted. crazy.

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Don't you think singapore is getting more and more expensive

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