RE

7 min read

Things are finally starting to calm down in Singapore’s private property market, with 2023 seeing the tail-end of the post-pandemic supply crunch. But for many buyers, complaints of high prices are still prevalent: private home prices may be flattening out, but many upgraders still struggle to afford true, family-sized units; and in every market segment, the threat of ever-rising interest rates is looming.

Here’s a look at how things worked out this year:

Transaction volumes for private non-landed homes 

Volume for all non-landed homes excluding EC

Volume by type of sale (non-landed homes excluding EC)

Rental prices are forecast to jump 7 to 10 per cent nationally in 2024.

Perth will clock the greatest growth of the capital cities, with an anticipated 10 to 15 per cent increase in tenant costs, research shows.

Although house prices are expected to drop by up to 4 per cent in Sydney and up to 3 per cent in Melbourne next year, the same price relief will not be afforded to renters on the other side of the country, the Housing Boom and Bust Report 2024 from SQM Research shows.

SQM Research crunched the data on factors including migration

• The median price for a house in Melbourne’s metro area is $934,000.
• Melbourne’s dwelling approvals were 15% below the decade average in September.
• Experts gave their forecasts for Melbourne’s property market in 2024.

Melbourne’s property market throughout 2023, like the rest of the country’s, has been hit with the mounting pressures of successive rising interest rates – which has exacerbated sellers’ hesitancy – and a burgeoning housing undersupply.

Moreover, total dwelling approvals in Victoria fell in September by 8.9%, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

CoreLogic director, Tim Lawless, told The Property Tribune that residential approvals were 15%

A musician has shared the story of how he moved into an abandoned school. Picture: Deadline via The Sun.

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A musician who couldn’t afford to buy or rent a house has made the bold move to hole up in an abandoned school – and it’s perfectly legal.

Max Armfield lives in the remains of a primary school in the south of London after struggling to get anywhere in the capital’s property market.

The 24-year-old is one of about 20 people living in the building, and has converted one of its rooms into a space to live and create new music,

Planning permission will be needed to rent out a property for more than 90 nights, as part of new laws being introduced by government to clamp down on short-term holiday lets.

Future short-term lets, of the type popularized by Airbnbwill be subject to permission from local authorities, which the government hopes will give residents more say in their area and allow greater control of rental housing stock.

Local authorities will also be empowered to remove permission for a property to be rented out for short periods of time to different people, usually on holiday, under proposals from the Department

Of course, there are a number of issues worth weighing up before you decide whether to invest in property. Some of these are positive factors for investors, such as:

Low Barrier to Entry

Property is often seen as less of a risk compared to other investments, often because it doesn’t require any particular specialized knowledge, such as what is required in a niche market–such as NFT trading or buying and selling cryptocurrencies. It also comes with ample benefits such as capital gains, rental yield, and tax deductions, which we’ll explore below.

Capital Growth on Property

Capital growth refers to the

Summer is one of the busiest times of year in the rental market.

And demand for new rentals this year is now even higher than the same time last year.

Meanwhile,