That's the price index for HDB resale flats from 1994 to 2009. The 100 base mark happens in Q4 1998. In the past year, the index has hit record highs - 145 in Q3 2009.
Where is this all leading to? Apparently no one knows, not even the HDB. "Nobody, no matter how prescient, no matter how clever, would have been able to predict that this was what was going to happen," National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said in an interview with the TODAY paper (30 Dec 2009 article linked here.That's brilliant. The head didn't know where the feet are/were heading. Quite reassuring.
Funny that there are reports online about prices of housing in other city centres like Hong Kong and London actually bucking the recession trend. Yes, other cities are experiencing this mad property price boom too. The folks in Hong Kong actually protested on the streets. Ahem.
I guessed I'm a little miffed all this is happening the year I am able to get a flat. Stratospheric prices are making me evaluate my housing options, and am considering different strategies. Ambitions have a price and in this case, living closer to the city could cost an arm and a leg more than putting up in the outskirts. A friend suggested buying a home far out there and buying a car with the money not spent on the premium for living close to town. Fair point. Perhaps worth considering also is cost of petrol, time spent on roads, the agony of driving in Singapore, ERP charges and that the car will expire way before the home does.
I am also wondering what the rest of the country is thinking too, how couples who intend to get married are hoping and praying some kind of magic will send prices downwards. Another friend has been applying for a flat on the HDB website and is pissed by the $10 admin fee each time he forks out for hitting the Submit, and Now Start To Hope and Pray button. He's mouse-clicked a few times already this year, unsuccessfully.
Another point brought up in the article: 'Would they prefer a fixed-price system, whereby home-owners, when they want to sell their Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat, must return it to the authorities for the price they paid for it?' Someone commented, yes, with inflation factored in. Is that such a bad idea? I dunno. On one hand, it will help reduce the cost of living in Singapore quite dramatically. If our salaries do not grow in tandem with inflation or housing price increases, having the security of a really affordable place to live may not be a bad idea. On the other hand, the idea of an HDB as an asset diminishes. It becomes a place to live, without additional value. Profit is the issue. Should a HDB flat be used for making money?
More questions than answers. Don't think I'll sleep well tonight.
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