Singapore – (A Very) Brief Overview

It’s a really interest article Ziv, my in-laws come from Brunei so I will pass it onto them. It makes sense that Singapore would be a good place to invest as it is well off and has a high density of people.

I will be moving to South East Asia soon Ziv, what are some other spots worth investing in?

Well I will be starting a family with my wife in Brunei, which is a goal of sorts. But I guess with investment goals I will have to get back to you on that. Things will become clearer once I start getting some sort of cash flow for the US properties.

Just saw this post Ziv. Many Thanks!

Well Brunei’s hot like Singapore and sticking with the topic of property, the government has a tendency to give houses to their citizens. Yes it’s true. The country has the 3rd largest supply of oil in Asia, one of the largest supplies of Natural Gas in the World and their ruler; the Sultan is about the 20th richest man on earth, he used to be the 4th a few years back. The best thing is that this guy is not corrupt and quite willingly gives generously to the community.

This might put things into perspective a bit, the country’s population is around 400,000 people, yet they have a national airline; Royal Brunei Airways which flies out of Melbourne every day. Amazing. Yes they are the fattest country in Asia per capita, but I am a bit of a health nut so there is always potential to get some kind of business going on that front.

Back to the property stuff though, once I find out more about the property market there, I will start posting some stuff on this site. I will be living there by the end of the year at the latest, and won’t be coming back to Melbourne until the kids are ready for high school, which will be at least a decade.

Hence my interest in the Asian property market.

Yeah will do Ziv, the health products also sound great.

Regarding housing what I do know about Brunei's is that people there have a tendency to renovate them and it is getting tougher regardinig getting premits to do that. 

What's unique about the housing there is that a lot of the older homes are built on stilts in the water.  They look quite shabby from the front, until you see a satelite dish coming out of them so they can't be too bad.

Despite the really hot conditions, it rains a lot so water shortage is never an issue either. 

Most health services are virtually free; my wife who comes a Brunei, pays a dollar to go to the dentist.  Hence yes, the living conditions are very good. That said, the quality of health services in Brunei don't have the best reputation, and citizens who need really serious stuff done (and have the money to spend) will often go to Singapore. 

I had an aunt who busted a collarbone and flew to Singapore to get a plate put in it recently! Lol
 

That’s one thing I found remarkable about the Japanese when I lived over there 10 years ago.. how bad their teeth were! Lol.

It is interesting to note Ziv, that despite promises from the previous Labour government here in Melbourne, Victoria, that the city would be expanding upwards rather than outwards, the NEW Liberal government this week announced that another six suburbs would be added to the outer areas of Melbourne with the possibility of them housing over 100,000 people!

This leads me to the question regarding Singapore; are there areas there which the government are looking to expanding, or are they simply looking to add more high rises to provide shelter for their folk and the many internationals?

Thanks for the update Ziv, that’s interesting to read.

The Brunei government has had a tendency to give out land to their citizens in the past, but that country is much bigger than 40 km’s squared! lol

agree that singapore is a very tiny country.

Since apartments are probably what foreigners like Aussies are going to buy, just wanted to know if Singapore apartments tend to have strata title on them?

Hi mattsta,

Could you go into a bit more detail as to what you are trying to find out about strata? Ownership responsibilities or fees or?

I agree with Ziv, a short answer to your short question would definitely be "Yes"

Singapore is an attractive investment arena for property investors from around the world. At the macro level, it has a stable political environment and a transparent legal system. This allows investors to focus on doing their research to anticipate property cycle phases and identify attractive investment opportunities.

Property investors seek to make a return via both capital appreciation and rental income. Indicatively, they might target an annual after-tax return of inflation plus one percentage point (say, 4 per cent in total) from capital appreciation and 6 per cent from rental income. On a property costing S$1.0 million, these targets translate to an unrealised capital gain of S$40,000 and a rental cash income of S$60,000. Of course, investment is risky and there is no guarantee that these targets will be achieved. Also, capital appreciation typically remains unrealised for many years until a property is sold.

Investing in a REIT involves placing your capital, along with other investors, in a fund that invests in a portfolio of properties. Some REITs invest broadly across all segments of the property market while others focus on specific segments such as retail, commercial, hotels, industrial and student accommodation.

Most REITs are listed on the stock exchange and managed by investment professionals. They provide investors with a return via income distributions and stock price appreciation.

Experienced investors believe that the secret to good property investment is buying property at a low price – a price below market value. The wisdom of this advice can be demonstrated by a simple example.

Take a property that has a market value of S$1.0 million and an expected annual after-tax rental yield of 6 per cent with capital appreciation of 4 per cent. Buying that property for S$0.9 million – a modest discount of 10 per cent – provides a saving of S$100,000. To match that benefit, you would need to charge a rental yield at 10 per cent (S$6,000 per year) above market price for more than 20 years for it to be equivalent on a discounted present value basis – a task so unlikely that it can practically be described as impossible.

Buying at a good entry price at good location is key. Liv mb will launch in Q2 2022 at the prime district of Mountbatten, Singapore is one condominium that is worth considering.