S'pore rich poor gap clearly widening....

[Jamessoh]

The record $39-million sale of a Sentosa Cove seafront bungalow to a buyer from India, which made headlines earlier this month, may have raised many eyebrows.

 

But it is far from being the most expensive prestige landed home on the Singapore property market - in terms of absolute price - at the moment.

 

Sources told my paper that one of the priciest residential landed properties up for grabs is a five-bedroom good-class bungalow (GCB) in Ridout Road, off Holland Road.

 

 

Its owner is asking for $68 million, or about $1,670 psf, for the property, which occupies about 40,000 sq ft of land. The large plot of land, on which two GCBs can be built, is sited on a slope and comes with its own swimming pool and tennis court.

 

It looks set to eclipse last year's top transaction, a 69,546 sq ft bungalow at 23 Yarwood Avenue which was sold for $59.5 million, or $856 psf.

 

The asking price for the Ridout property also rivals the psf price of most of the 57 GCBs sold last year, hovering slightly higher than that of the top-five highest transactions.

 

There are only about 2,400 GCBs in 39 gazetted areas islandwide. GCBs, by definition, span at least 15,000 sq ft of land and have to fall within designated zones to be so classified.

 

Also on the market now is a six-bedroom modern-contemporary-design GCB in Belmont Road - also off Holland Road - which comprises an 11,000 sq ft house and an additional 26,400 sq ft of land. It could go for about $50 million, property agent Savills said.

 

Still, it is areas such as Nassim Road, Chatsworth Park and Cluny Hill which remain the favoured residential addresses of the ultra-rich and famous here.

 

The record psf price for a GCB in mainland Singapore is held by 6 Chatsworth Road, which went for $2,081 psf in July last year.

 

When it comes to such high-end luxury properties, it is the sheer exclusivity of the neighbourhood and the size of the land which the property sits on that draw the high-profile and high-net-worth buyers.

 

Property experts specialising in such prestige homes shared that the built-up area of the house itself usually has limited influence on buyers' decision.

 

This is because the majority of such buyers have almost infinite cash to spare and have no qualms about re-building the house from scratch.

 

The value of the house itself is typically only about 25 to 30 per cent of that of the entire property, with the land being the key price determinant, said Mr Douglas Wong, director of luxury homes at property firm CBRE, who specialises in GCBs.

 

 

Savills' director of prestige homes, Mr Samuel Eyo, said: "GCBs, as a property type, are in a class by themselves. It's something which tells immediately of the owners' status, and most buyers purchase such properties for their own use."

 

The profile of GCB buyers tends to be highly mixed, even as most of them belong to the top 5 to 10 per cent income brackets in Singapore society.

 

Mr Eyo added that individuals keen on buying a high-end GCB, such as the ones in Ridout Road and Belmont Road, would probably need to have a net worth of at least $500 million.

 

>>>>So a $500M net worth individual pays for a home 10% of his net worth,

 

whereas a HDB which cost $500k, likely the owner may downpayment $50k and loan 90% to pay back for the rest of this life. Unless he strikes it lucky, this will likely be his lot for his life.

 

clearly the rich poor gap is widening in s'pore.

 

anyone has any views?

 

[Rickster]

It is true that the rich-poor gap is widening.

 

The proportion of a person's wealth to his dwelling's worth cannot be compared this way. Anyone with a net worth of 500 million will not spend 90% of his wealth on the primary place of residence.

 

Using the same analogy, for an average 30 yr old salaried employee in Singapore whose net worth is probably 100-150K, they should be buying a property at for 10-25K? Not possible at all.

Edited March 16, 2012 by Rickster

[Tom_kkh]

its a world wide issue, not unique to Singapore.

 

unless u talks about africa, than they got no such problems

Edited March 16, 2012 by Tom_kkh

[FastFastCar]

I disagree, you can't take a 90% loan on a hdb and many people have fully paid up hdb flats.

[Nkps]

It is true that the rich-poor gap is widening.

 

The proportion of a person's wealth to his dwelling's worth cannot be compared this way. Anyone with a net worth of 500 million will not spend 90% of his wealth on the primary place of residence.

 

Using the same analogy, for an average 30 yr old salaried employee in Singapore whose net worth is probably 100-150K, they should be buying a property at for 10-25K? Not possible at all.

sounds logic

[XenonWhite]

I disagree, you can't take a 90% loan on a hdb and many people have fully paid up hdb flats.

 

May i know where do u get your statistics that many had paid up for the HDB flats.. If you're referring to the 70s and 80s generations, i do agree.. But those that purchase afterwards and who are younger, i doubt many had paid up yet..

[FastFastCar]

May i know where do u get your statistics that many had paid up for the HDB flats.. If you're referring to the 70s and 80s generations, i do agree.. But those that purchase afterwards and who are younger, i doubt many had paid up yet..

 

Yes I am referring to those born in the 60s and 70s, of course you cannot expect those born in the 80s to have a fully paid up hdb flat yet as they just started working for a few years, but if they go BTO and have a average job, they should be able to do it too.

[Without_a_car]

First World country, but not First World wages?

http://www.asiaone.com/print/Business/News...517-216611.html

 

Singapore has grown rapidly in the past four decades, achieving First World status in terms of economic growth.

 

Tue, May 18, 2010

The Straits Times

 

By Sue-Ann Chia, Senior Political Correspondent

 

 

For years, companies have creamed off a larger share of economic gains - larger than those in other developed countries or industrialising economies in Asia.

 

As a result, workers get a slice of Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) that is considered unusually small compared with their counterparts' share in those countries.

 

Workers' wages account for less than half of Singapore's GDP. In contrast, wages take up more than half of GDP in developed countries.

This means that Singapore may have achieved one of the highest per capita GDPs - at $51,656 last year - but the superlative showing may not reflect the wealth of workers or benefit them as much.

 

It has led some analysts to wonder if Singapore is a First World economy with what is closer to a Third World wage structure.

[Without_a_car]

In 1973,

 

a 4 room flat (92 sq m) is $15.5K

a plate of chicken rice is 70 cents.

a fresh poly grad pay is $400 pm.

a typical mortgage 15 years, single income

a minister pay is 3-4k pm, about 40K per year.

 

 

In 2012

 

same flat is $260K. (17x)

chicken rice $3.00 (4x)

salary poly grad $1.4 to $1.8K pm (4.5x)

mortgage 30 years, dual income

minister pay say $1 m per year (25x)

[Without_a_car]

GST Hike: Helping the Sandwich Class

by Ms Seet Cher Lui Stephanie

Sengkang West Division of Ang Mo Kio GRC

Assistant Secretary, Young PAP

Dated : 14-02-2007

http://www.pap.org.sg/articleview.php?id=1...ode=&cid=23

 

Economic Climate on the Middle Class

 

While the elderly and lower income groups will be better off with the GST offset package, recent economic restructuring appears to affect the middle income class the most. Given the climate of economic reforms, the impact of the GST hike on this group should not be evaluated in isolation.

 

The economy appears to have fully recovered from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, with 2006 registering a better-than-expected 7.6% growth. The government has also announced plans to restore CPF cuts.

 

There are, however, indicators of leaner times ahead, with the growing income divide being magnified with the emergence of a dual economy. Reports of middle class wage stagnation over the past ten years hardly suggest that the bullish economy benefits the majority of income-earners.

[Without_a_car]

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin.../407689/1/.html

 

When he first raised this in Parliament on Friday, Dr Lim gave the example of flat prices in the 1970s: S$15,000 and S$20,000 for a three-room and four-room flat respectively. A graduate with a starting salary of S$1,000 could pay off his apartment with 15 to 25 months of his pay, he said.

 

But today, though their starting salaries are three to five times higher, the prices of new flats have shot up

[Without_a_car]

The Straits Times

The Straits Times

Published on Jan 17, 2012

http://www.straitstimes.com/print/Breaking...ory_756490.html

 

'Foreign talent policy had effect on income gap'

Inflow hurt wage growth for some, says expert panel

 

By Melissa Tan

 

Government policies to boost the number of foreigners working here may have indirectly contributed to greater income inequality, a panel of experts said on Monday.

 

The wages of those on the bottom rung have tended to stagnate or even fall in real terms, even as the nation enjoyed boom times, they noted.

 

Mr Manu Bhaskaran, an adjunct senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, who chaired the panel, said globalisation and technological change had also led to greater income disparity.

 

He added that 'domestic policies have unintentionally contributed (to inequality) especially as we intensify efforts to appeal to the global elite and attract top talent to Singapore'.

 

http://www.spp.nus.edu.sg/ips/docs/media/y...0gap_170112.pdf

[Without_a_car]

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ft-policy-may-hav...gap--panel.html

 

Making a similar observation, Paul Cheung, director of the United Nations

Edited March 16, 2012 by Without_a_car

[Galantspeedz]

In 1973,

 

a 4 room flat (92 sq m) is $15.5K

a plate of chicken rice is 70 cents.

a fresh poly grad pay is $400 pm.

a typical mortgage 15 years, single income

a minister pay is 3-4k pm, about 40K per year.

 

 

In 2012

 

same flat is $260K. (17x)

chicken rice $3.00 (4x)

salary poly grad $1.4 to $1.8K pm (4.5x)

mortgage 30 years, dual income

minister pay say $1 m per year (25x)

 

you forgot to include the no. of times people go holiday a year, branded goods, latest techonolgy, the no. of cars per household, etc

[Tireburner]

>>>>So a $500M net worth individual pays for a home 10% of his net worth,

 

whereas a HDB which cost $500k, likely the owner may downpayment $50k and loan 90% to pay back for the rest of this life. Unless he strikes it lucky, this will likely be his lot for his life.

 

clearly the rich poor gap is widening in s'pore.

 

anyone has any views?

 

By the same token, shouldn't an HDB dweller have a net worth of $5mil?

[KARTer]

sgp also open legs wide wide to widen the gap, let FTs enter thru the wide gap.....

[Rickster]

sounds logic

 

Bro! where u been? Long time no c!

[Without_a_car]

you forgot to include the no. of times people go holiday a year, branded goods, latest techonolgy, the no. of cars per household, etc

 

you are right...

Singaporeans' life should revolve around paying for the flat and nothing else...

must increase prices some more