We went to the law firm on the 27th of October 2023 to sell my share of the 1st condo to Mrs. We signed the S&P documents, and we went for a celebration! On 28th October, we went to see the J’ Den show flat. There was a huge crowd in queues waiting to enter the showrooms. We did not want to consider the 2 bedder + 1 study as there is no window in the study room. The only option will be the 3 bedder. However, the 3 bedder based on 1184 sqft will easily be more than S$2,500,000! I missed the opportunity a decade ago to buy the J Gateway 3 bedder at S$1,380,000 which can be sold now for around S$2,300,000-S$2,500,000. I could have done better buying properties than buying stocks haha.
All that said, everything is in hindsight. Everyone can be a hero based on hindsight. I had a thought. How can the next generation afford properties? The salary is not catching up fast enough compared to how property prices increase. The rule of thumb is to buy a property no more than 5x your annual income. How will that be possible in the Singapore context? Yes, if you can buy a BTO. I think it is still considered affordable. However, there’s a barrier to entry for BTO, a barrier against high-income earners.
We placed a cheque to express our interest in J’ Den to ballot for a unit.
On Sunday 29th, we went to view a resale condo unit in the morning. It was facing the train track. We spent around an hour talking to the property agent. She educated us on the unit and how she managed her tenant. We offered a price, and she wanted something higher. She is a strong salesperson.
We went back to the same condo unit to view another unit. This unit is pool-facing and there is a view of the lake. All the bedrooms have a lake view. The view sells us! We put in a price with the agent. The agent visited us on the same day at night and negotiated for another 5k increase. We passed him a cheque and we signed the option. On Monday afternoon, he tried to increase the price further, we told him if the owner wanted more, we would let the option lapse and take back the cheque. The same night, the agent asked me to stand by as he would head to the owner’s house to convince them. By 11.05 p.m., he came over to pass the signed OTP. On 30th October 2023, that was the fateful day.
We secured 2nd condo within the same year FY 2023! To be honest, we need to loan money from parents for the subsequent downpayment. It was a tough conversation. I need to borrow S$250,000 from them and need to wipe out S$190,000 from the CPF OA account. The stamp duty is around S$52,000. Contribution to the nation. The borrowed money will be recorded in our balance sheet as a loan under liability.
I have my concern. I believe this is near the property uptrend and the market will reach a plateau. There will be a correction. I don’t think the correction will be too deep. In 2026, the supply available will be low. That will be the year to recycle the assets. Interest rates will continue to maintain, there is no reason for the United States to reduce.
Updated 20th February 2024
After we took over the keys, we started marketing the unit for rental purposes. There was no offer after several viewings before the Chinese New Year. After Chinese New Year, some offers came in and we took a bite. The rental income is far from our expectation but this is for 3 years. It is through a co-living company. Yes, both units are rented to co-living companies. We just need to top up the differences in terms of mortgage vs rental income and wait for 3 years. The plan is to refine the properties portfolio in the next 3 years. We want to sell both and recycle the funds from the assets into a better unit.
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