Housing Advise

kimono

New Member
Hi All, I need some advise here. We intend to move from north to west due to I found a new job. And my baby childcare as well as her future pri school will be in the west too. Now we don't know if we should rent out our current Sembawang 5 room unit and rent a small 3/4 room unit at Jurong west or we should sell our unit and buy another unit. But our ultimate goal is to own a Hdb and a condo if condo price will drop in few years time. Sorry I know it quite inappropriate to post here but I really don't know where to get more ppl to analyze for us other than the property agent. Thanks
 


powder

Active Member
large number of the property agents are not exactly the right pple to analyse in any case... they areagents, not analyst.

saying that... if u are not exactly gonna be hitting your 'ultimate goal' within the next 5yrs, then i would think to buy n sell would be an option i would choose. looking at the 2 places, i would not think that the resale mkt is gonna be vastly disproportionate so u'l. not have much to lose or gain.

than again, if ultimate aim is to have a hdb then a condo, assuming u'll be staying at the condo, then i would think to buy jurong In the current decision as i believe it will give u a slightly better renal yield based on current demographics.

saying that, i am not exactly an expert in sembawang, so u gotta see what others may have to say.

one thing tho... if u're looking to have a condo and can afford Now, then u can consider that If u get a decent price. otherwise, just leave it for later at the back of your mind.

remember that property is Not abt hoping, wishing, praying... it is abt Actualising, Judgement & Affordability.
 

kimono

New Member
Hi Cath, thanks, will go to that website take a look.

Hi Powder, thanks for your advise, yes I agreed property agent are not the right person I should approach for advise as they'll tend to favour the thought of selling. Base on what you analyse for me, it seems like selling is a better choice but I'll wait for few more comments before we make the decision....Thanks a lot..
 

simpleman

Active Member
It is difficult to give specific advices without knowing in details about your income level and affordability.

But I guess you want to have 3 options:

a) Keep HDB at sembawang and then rent smaller unit in the west while waiting for opportunity to buy a condo?

b) Sell your HDB at sembawang and buy a resale unit in the west. And then again waiting to buy condo later

c) Sell your HDB at sembawang and rent a unit in the west.

If you already have some funds available and just waiting to buy condo - then option a is the best. Consider that condo in the west (if that is your location of choice) are not that expensive.

Option b is what you can do if you don't have much funds - hopefully you can more some out of your sale of HDB without committing too much into the buying of resale in the west.

Option C is more opportunistic.. just rent for a year or two and make your move when the timing is right.

Personally I would prefer option a as it is the fastest path to where I want to be (assuming I am you) - without incurring additional costs of buying/selling.

Property is about location and timing. If your location is fixed then it is about timing. Renting gives you flexibility - people think it is very troublesome to rent and shift houses - but it is due more of laziness than anything else. In my initial years of dabbling in property - I shifted my house every year or two (for about 4 years) - till I was able to own 2 properties with the right timing. And a period of time I was renting out my 2 condo units while staying in HDB rental (for a year or so) before settling down at a location that I want to raise my children (and their schools)
 

mum_of_2_girls

New Member
Hi Kimono,

There is another lazy option as SM said.

Just stay Sembawang HDB till another crisis hit.
Then quickly buy west condo and rent out your Sembawang HDB.

That's what my hubby did when my children are going to Pri 1. We prefer the lazy option because only shift house once. It's difficult to shift house too many times when we have two very young children.
 

powder

Active Member
wat's impt... is perhaps to make a call of where u think the prices will be... and match it against the timing in which u estimate to have enough savings to purchase a condo.

all of us will have a different take on it, as we're exposed to different market climates that can have effect.

my Generic view for hdb would be a slight dip, mostly in cov. and for Condos will be segmented performance... where i expect suburbs/mass/ECs to come off 10%, and central/luxury to inch Up 5%. just a very very simplistic view here... so if I'm going for mass suburban condos for family (3/4/5rms) - i would definitely Wait and keep my head in the market.

all said, Your guess is as good as anybody's. so it's not how right or wrong u are... becos on the side, we'll all still be needed to build our finances for an assualt on the market. else even if prices drop, we can't take advantage becos we dun have money, or we're Ineligible. then we LL watch the market go by...
 

kimono

New Member
sm, Thanks for helping to analyze the situation till so detail. My heart go to option A and yes condo in the west. I remember there are criteria for HDB owner to buy condo like I need to hold the resale unit for few years before I can buy condo so most probably option b and c is out.

Albee, staying at sembawang and travel to my new work place is far, even the option of buying car and drive to work is also scaring me. Took cab to the new work place for interviews, both trip cost $27 and traffic jam at expressway….thus I opt to stay nearer at least at the west side. but of cos I move not just because of my work place but more for my kid to stay near my parent.

Powder, yes hdb only slight dip since there’s so many foreign talents looking for HDB. I do foresee there’ll be a much more dip for condo with next few years supply….guess I’ll just hang on with renting option and wait for the right time.
 

mum_of_2_girls

New Member
Hi Kimono,

For the past few years when I was staying in the north, I spent quite a bit on transport as my workplace is in the west.

But the savings for transport cannot be compare to the savings for your next property purchase. Better wait for crisis then buy.
---------------------------------------------

I bought the north property because of proximity to parents. Later on I regretted because far from work and my children's future school.

So buy next property, now near to work and school but far from parents. So to solve this, I ask my parents to move in with us. Problem solved! Everybody is happy.
 

kimono

New Member
Hi Albee, I stayed in the north cos it's near my working place. But it'll become super far from my new workplace and it's not near any MRT at all. I usually have to work late so cannot afford to spend time on traveling if I want to send my kid to childcare whom currently looking after by babysitter. Well my mum is still working so ask her to move in is out of the question...
 

clipperjunk

New Member
regardless where the market is, just make decisions based on your needs...there's never a best or worst time in any market. people buy not because of prices but rather sentiment.

current mood is somewhat muted so even if prices start to head south, you probably may not buy out of fear. if you've done your sums and feel comfortable about the affording the property, by all means..
 

kimono

New Member
powder, thanks for sharing such an interesting article, this article more or less help in our decision making.

clipperjunk, agreed there's no best or worst time in the market. I just can't let go of the cheap HDB which I bought 6 years ago cos we are able to clear the hdb loan in 2 or 3 years time. By then we can start saving for the condo.
 

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