Steve Melhuish, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PropertyGuru Group says, “The PropertyGuru Market Outlook 2014 eBook launch reflects PropertyGuru’s brand promise to deliver the best information tools and resource for property buyers and investors to make the best property decisions.”.
As the company views potential property buyers are the main generator of viewership and source of the company’s revenue, it seeks to provide more information and possible trends in the market to advise the end consumers to make a better informed decision.
Leveraging on government data and industry expert opinions, the eBook aims to provide a complete and comprehensive market view. Topical themes found in the eBook include changing property sentiment and the effect of cooling measures on transaction volumes in 2013.
The company notes in its eBook that the cooling measures introduced by the government in 2013 has shown to have its effect of reducing demand, slowing activity and transaction volumes which in turn soften the property prices. An example of the forecast of the company made about the changes of the cooling measures is an 8-11 percent decline in prices and drop in number of properties transaction by 15-20 percent in the year of 2014.
Other insights on the local property topics found in the eBook:
- New supply of 24,000 HDB units in 2004 will provide first time buyers with more choices and better bargaining position and relief on price rises.
- New restrictions on borrowing capacity under the new cooling measures will reduce ability of upgraders to gain the funds to move to condos. Most will be expected to adopt a wait and see approach.
- High networth individuals will remain cautious due to the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) and Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) restrictions and also restrictions on what properties can be rented and be purchased.
- Areas in Singapore that may be attractive options for a first time home buyer or upgrader wishing to purchase a four- or five-room resale flat in 2014.
In summary, PropertyGuru forecast a quieter property market in 2014 as compared to 2013 due to the HDB resale and further declines in the condo markets for the first half of 2014 before reaching a plateau.
Apart from the insights and forecast of the property market, PropertyGuru has also included results from its surveys to indicate the sentiments of property buyers and investors in the eBook.
To download the eBook, visit PropertyGuru.com.sg here.
