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Fixed or floating? The Fed held, December is 80% priced, and the gap between the two is under a third of a point.
The Fed paused at 3.75 to 4% on 28 October with two members voting to hike, and futures put a December increase at roughly 80 to 85%. Singapore banks moved weeks ago: fixed packages start at 1.75% for the best profiles and sit above 2% on a $500,000 loan, against floating from 1.47%. The decision, by borrower type, with the maths.
9 min read
Five bids, $1,755 psf ppr: what the Hong Leong and TID win at Orchard Boulevard means for Orchard prices, UpperHouse and the next launch on the boulevard.
The Orchard Boulevard tender closed on 29 October with five bids and a top offer of $181.86 million from Hong Leong Holdings and TID, or $1,755 psf per plot ratio. That is 8.5% above what UOL and Singapore Land paid for the UpperHouse site next door in 2024, and inside the $1,650 to $2,050 analysts expected. Here is what the number does to Orchard land, to UpperHouse’s last units, and to anyone weighing a 99-year home on the boulevard.
12 min read
Vacancy jumped to 7.2% and rents still rose 1.3%. What URA’s Q3 data means if you rent out a condo.
URA’s final third-quarter figures show the private vacancy rate jumping from 6.4% to 7.2% as 3,559 new homes received TOP, yet rents rose 1.3%, the fastest since mid-2023, and OCR and RCR rents hit the highest levels in URA’s records. Here is why both happened at once, what the last vacancy spike did to rents, and what landlords and tenants should do before 10,132 more homes complete in 2027.
8 min read
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Thomson Reserve books on 31 October: 1,268 units from $2,608 psf, and what the price does to JadeScape and the Thomson to Bishan resale market.
More than 23,000 people walked through the Thomson Reserve showflat in its first preview week, the highest turnout of any launch this year. Bookings open on Saturday 31 October, with two-bedders from $1.544 million. Here is how $2,608 psf stacks up against JadeScape, Sky Vue and Thomson Three, what the $810 million land price says about where the average will land, and who should be in the queue.
13 min read
What checks should you do before buying a landed home in Singapore?
Four official plans show what can be built on your street, what runs under the garden and whether LTA has a claim on the frontage.
12 min read
One bid, $1,243 psf ppr: what EL Development’s Marina Gardens Lane offer means for Marina South and One Marina Gardens.
The Marina Gardens Lane tender closed on 15 October with a single envelope: EL Development at $450.1 million, or $1,243 psf per plot ratio. That is 11% below what Kingsford paid next door for One Marina Gardens, and under the $1,350 to $1,650 analysts expected. Here is what the number does to the precinct, to One Marina Gardens’ buyers, and to anyone waiting for a cheaper way in.
13 min read
Unauthorised works in condos: the $200,000 problem you can inherit, and how to check before you buy.
URA says reports of unauthorised works in strata homes have run at about 150 a year since 2024, nine in ten are confirmed, and the owner on title is responsible for fixing them even if the loft or the enclosed roof terrace came with the unit. Fines reach $200,000 under two Acts. Here is what counts as unauthorised, what it costs, how a buyer checks a unit for $91.50 in searches, and what an owner does about works already in place.
11 min read
The 2027 playbook: 15,000 HDB flats reach MOP, not one EC does, and private completions rise 29%.
About 15,000 HDB flats reach the end of their MOP in 2027, on top of roughly 19,600 new flats a year. Not a single executive condominium reaches its MOP between October 2025 and January 2028. Private completions rise to 9,704 next year and peak in 2028, while the population adds 97,000 people and about 23,000 households a year. Here is what those numbers do to each market, and what to do about it.
15 min read
Inherited a property in Singapore? Here is the process, the tax you don’t owe, and the one you quietly do.
What to do if you inherit a property in Singapore: no estate duty, no stamp duty on the inheritance itself and no CPF refund on the deceased’s savings, but HDB runs a 6-month and a 12-month clock after probate, a landed home cannot pass to a foreign heir without approval, and the property joins your ABSD count on whatever you buy next.
9 min read
Three quarters down, 0.6% in total. What HDB’s Q3 flash really says about resale prices.
HDB’s flash estimate puts the Q3 2026 Resale Price Index at 202.4, down 0.2% and the third straight quarterly dip, while URA’s private index jumped 1.4%. Volumes rose 17.7%, million-dollar flats hit 597, and the gap between an HDB flat and the condo it is meant to fund widened again. Here is what the number does and does not mean.
8 min read
Two new land sales: 85 homes in Siglap now, 235 in Serangoon North later, and what each one prices in.
URA released two residential sites on the same day: a 0.55-hectare plot on East Coast Road, Siglap’s first residential state land since the Seaside Residences site, where every unit must average at least 100 sqm, and a 235-home Reserve List plot at Serangoon North View beside The Garden Residences. One goes to tender on 3 December with analyst calls from $1,100 to $1,650 psf ppr. The other is a signal that says not yet. Here is what each one prices in.
10 min read
More flats are coming. What the 2026 to 2028 supply wave does to HDB resale prices.
HDB resale prices have fallen two quarters in a row, and the flats reaching their five-year MOP rise from about 13,500 this year to 19,500 in 2028. History says supply caps the upside but demand sets the direction. Here is where the softness lands first, and what it means if you are selling to upgrade.
10 min read
Divorce and your property in Singapore: what actually happens to the flat, the CPF, and the next purchase.
A divorce court order can move the matrimonial home to one spouse without any stamp duty. But the CPF refund is a default the Court can vary, a subsidised flat still carries a resale levy, and a replacement home bought before the old one is sold can trigger ABSD anyway. Here is how property, CPF and tax actually work through a Singapore divorce.
9 min read
The Fed is not done. What a 73% October and a rising SORA mean for your mortgage.
A week after the first US rate hike since 2023, markets already price a 73% chance of another one in October, and Maybank has lifted its year-end SORA forecast by a third. What the new rate cycle means for Singapore mortgages, for anyone refinancing in the next 12 months, and for buyers waiting on the sidelines.
8 min read
Private prices up 0.5%. HDB down 0.3%. Why cooler is the decision window, not a dead end.
Private prices crawled in Q2. HDB slipped for a second straight quarter. Yet 6,396 resale flats still changed hands, and the 15-month wait-out just came off. Selectivity is the operating system now. That is a decision window, not a dead end.
9 min read