chinese New Year 2024
To my dearest clients and friends,
Here’s wishing you a prosperous and amazing Year of the Dragon! Wishing one and all 龙马精神, 万事如意, 興旺發! May the year be filled with blessings, joy and growth in all aspects of our lives! Happy Chinese New Year!
I would like to start off the new year with my first blog post to share the latest market research and my sentiments on the Singapore Real Estate market for 2023 and the upcoming head and tailwinds for the year ahead.
The global economic outlook remains optimistic and projected performance by analysts is very similar to the year 2023.
For Singapore's Economy, we experienced slow growth in 2023 but analysts are confident in 2024's growth outlook.
Refinancing
For those on higher interest rates (4%-4.8%) it may be a good time to consider refinancing your existing mortgage packages as interest rates are expected to dip further this year in 2024. Current fixed rates are at 3-3.5% in February 2024. Contact me and I’ll link you up with my trusted brokers with the best deals in town!
Private Residential Market
Prices are not expected to grow too drastically this year and volumes may see some stability. This will translate to potentially lesser record breaking transactions unlike the past 2 years.
New Launches
Supply in the Primary Market (New homes) has been quite short in the past 2 years but we are expecting more launches in 2024. However this still pale in comparison in the boom years of 2019-2021. This means that we will still have limited choices and we should exercise caution in planning your entry into the market. Prices of New homes remain high with median PSF already crossing the S$2000 psf benchmark in OCR for 2023.
For 2024 New home sales, we forecast higher sale volume at stable prices and not breaking any new records. This evens out the playing field and gives investors more confidence to enter the market this year should you be looking for an investment piece in the Primary Market.
Here's a snapshot of the Top Selling New condos in 2023!
There are still some balance units in popular projects, reach out to me for the latest availability and updated pricelist with potential promotions or star buys! (To clarify, I can get you details and analysis on ALL project launches in the market, not limited to the ones marketed by OT.)
Here's an overview on the potential launches in 2024
Resale Properties (Private properties)
In 2023, we saw a bumper crop of TOP projects, which was another unintended effect of Covid where several projects were delayed and they all came online one after the other in 2023. This was a sudden surge on the rental supply as the market was flooded with available units over a steady inflow of expats and immigrants. That period was stressful for most of us salespersons with many TOP units on hand, it took a while to clear and we have to beg for patience with our clients, those who could not afford to wait had to reduce their prices to enter into the clearance cycle (cheapest units always go off first). In 2024, we don't expect units to be 'stuck' as the supply-demand returns to a slightly healthier cycle.
If you are considering to put your unit for sale in the market, we are predicting higher resale prices with lesser volume (which mean I need more time to clear your unit, thank you for your patience.)
Rental Market (Private properties)
In the rental market, prices has peaked and has begun to stabilise, landlords looking to set new records now face resistance with no enquires as the law of clearance cycle (cheapest units get rented out first) applies. My professional advice to landlord for this coming quarter is to prioritise the vacancy period instead of chasing for record breaking rental prices. It would be more prudent to minimise losses first before going after maximum profits.
Resale HDBs
Moving on to the HDB arena, resale HDB prices are rising faster than resale condos, partly because we are reaching the peak of the affordability for the mass market too. More consumers are buying HDB for their relatively larger size as compared to condos. We are also starting to see more private properties downgraders too. Fun Fact, HDB implemented a 15 months wait out period since September 2022 to moderate demand for million dollar flats and this 15 months ends Jan 2024. That’s where we might start to see volume of 5 room flats transacting beyond a million dollar returning.
Newly MOP HDBs
If you are looking to enter into the 'new-ish' HDB resale market of the newly MOP units, in 2024, you will have lesser units to choose from as the expected MOP units plunges significantly over the 2 years
Expect resale HDB prices to remain high, however don't expect too much new records to be broken, and lesser units might change hands. Lesser units may be in the market for you to choose from as well.
In summary, 2024 is a year of relative stability. If you wish to enter/exit/swap in the real estate market, understanding the market trends and opportunities is always key. Do reach out at 94567211 if you wish to have a in-depth consultation and health check for your real estate portfolio and hear about my growth strategies and potential undervalue buys in the market today.
In closing, here’s wishing you and your family best of wealth and health in this auspicious dragon year ! May the market be ever in your favour!
QJ
Real Estate Salesperson since 2017
