Singaporeans Think Housing is Still Too Expensive

According to a recent survey on consumer sentiment published by the PropertyGuru, three out of five Singaporeans feel that housing units are still too expensive. However, these same people are still very much interested in purchasing condo units this year.

Majority of Singaporeans think that buying local properties will cost them a lot more money than what they budgeted but despite this, a total of 70% of the people surveyed still want to buy condominium units, 43% of which are planning to purchase a unit in the next six months. The usual determining factors in choosing housing units for Singaporeans are the affordability of the unit and the amenities the unit offers.

PropertyGuru, a Singapore housing portal, expects that the real estate market for housing units will continue to decline this 2015, with slight chances of it improving in the fourth quarter of the year. Moreover, buyers are expected to settle for smaller and affordable homes that cater to their needs.

In the outer central and core central region of Singapore, there has been a significant increase in the demand and sales of condo units with an area of 800 square feet and less, from 14 to 17 percent for units with 800 square feet and from 53 to 57 percent for condos with a smaller area.

The housing developers need to decrease the prices of the housing units so that it can fit the purchasers’ budget. For example, units with a size of between 800 square feet and 1,100 square feet should just be priced near $900,000 to $1.1 million.