We have been hearing many calls to buy property during this crisis. You may have seen it on your Facebook news feed, heard it from your friends or from webinars you attended.
But you hardly hear anyone telling you to sell. Maybe you are thinking of selling your HDB flat or condominium to upgrade or downgrade. Or you are planning to downsize your property. Or perhaps you have other plans in mind after selling your property. As much as buying a property is a big decision to make, my take is selling property is probably as big a decision, or maybe even bigger and more important decision.
I would recommend that before you make the decision to start marketing your property, do sit down, think and plan through thoroughly. It will be at your best interest to discuss and plan through this together with a trusted competent Real Estate Agent.
So the question is: when should you sell your property? Should you be selling now? There are many ideas, suggestions and thoughts out there whether you should sell now. I think there is no absolute answer to this question, and whether to sell or not has many other factors to consider. Below are my brief personal opinions as a realtor to give you some ideas to think about.
Future development
You owned a property for the last 10 years, and the MRT nearby had just been completed. After which, there is no more plan from the Government that there will be any new development coming up in your location. Chances are, the property has appreciated much in value by now. Should you be holding on to it any longer? I think the question to ask is will there be any more increase of demand in the near future without any new development coming up? The fact is without any new development, chances are demand will not change. That likely could affect the transaction volume and may affect the prices over a longer term. Instead of waiting, you may want to explore selling it, and with the proceed, invest in another property where there is good development in progress or in the pipeline. You may be thinking what sort of development? There are many. Below are some examples:
New MRT station or new MRT line
New highway
New zoning for commercial or business
New shopping mall or business centre
New plans for more family-oriented facilities like park, park connectors, waterway, etc
New plans for more recreation and sports facilities
Supply change
Some town may have empty pockets of land that zone for residential. It can be for HDB or for private developer to build condominium.
You can always check with your property agent to understand more on URA Master Plan zoning. If there are, supply will likely going to increase in the near future. What does this mean?
It means you will be competing with new launch condominium projects. This competition may go on even after the new condominium completion when some owners start to sell in the resale market or renting out their apartments.
This increase in supply in your area may affect the price. You may think that when the supply is up and demand remain the same, prices may go down. But the opposite could probably happen if the supply increase. If the estate has future development, the new supply can attract more demand in the area, thus increase the possibility of growing the property prices.
If the estate which your investment property is located at has no new supply and no new development, the prices may remain stagnant, or possibly drop. So if your property is in such an estate, maybe it is time to consider selling soon.
Population change
Continue from the above point, if the estate has no new supply and no new development, residents may tend to uproot themselves and shift to another estate, thus decreasing the population. To attract more residents to take root in the estate, the pull factors have to be compelling. Future development is one good pull factor. What are other pull factors? Convenience, close proximity to business centres, connectivity, amenities and good schools are some examples.
In some mature estates, you may have the above mentioned pull factors but lack new development and limited new supply. Such estates' population, generally, remain rather stable with more older residents. The younger families and individuals tend to choose to stay at a younger estate with good, modern and up-to-date development that can create the healthy upside potential of their properties. Younger estates may also have the many pull factors a mature estate has. So generally you will see the population size tend to increase in a younger estate and the demographics consists more on the young adults and families.
To me population means demand. Decrease in population means decrease of demand which can affect the property prices. Could it be time to sell your property if the population size and demographics are changing in the locality?
New phase of life
My thoughts above are coming more from the investment point of view. But many times, selling a home means more than earning the profits.
For the families, it is about bonding, about creating the environment for your children growing up years and about having the space for your family. For the elderly, it is about having the right size property, the right environment, the convenience and friendly neighborhood.
You may have bought your BTO HDB flats 8 years ago. Your children are getting big, maybe going to primary school soon. The space you have in the apartment is getting small where you have 2 children and a maid staying with you and your spouse. It is natural to think about selling and upgrading to a better location, a better property, nearer to good schools, nearer to your work place, better environment and status for your children and family.
Or you may be thinking of downsize your property when your children
have shifted out after their wedding. You want to be able to manage your property with less time and effort so you can spend more time with your spouse or friends. You want to spend less money on maintaining your property. You want to have some cash for rainy days or retirement or using it to fulfill your passion. Now could be the time to sell.
There can be many personal reasons other than making the investment profits, and it is important to consider what matter to you most.
Above are my opinions. If you flip them around, and you are planning to invest or purchase a property, the above can be a guide to locate your next investment or home.
There are other reasons, opinions and thoughts out there on when is the good time to sell your property, and probably you have your own reasons why you need to sell now. Property selling and buying is a very personal decision that can affect every part of your life and family. With the complexity of Government policies and our society, selling property is not so straight forward nowadays. What should you be looking out for when selling your property? What should you do first before marketing your property? In my next blog (may not be the immediate one), I will share how you should sell your property. Stay tune by subscribing to my blog at the bottom of the page.
Lastly, if you like to know what are the good estates or location you can invest and enjoy the upside potential, or you would like to discuss and plan for your selling of properties or upgrading, please fill in your details at the bottom of the page and I will be in contact with you soon.
**all data and information extracted from URA and OrangeTee & Tie Research & Consultancy. The content and information provided is for general information only. It should not be treated as an invitation or recommendation to buy or sell any specific property or product. Each illustration in the presentation or article is based on current information as at the date of publication. Readers are to consider the content as one of the many factors in making investment decision and should seek specific investment advice. Readers should carry out their own due diligence or verification of such information. The author and publisher of the article are not liable for any losses. All right reserved.