SOME in the real estate circles reckon that the latest curbs on private residential property purchases will channel investors towards non-residential sectors such as office and retail properties.

But mom-and-pop investors thinking of going into strata retail and office properties like how they have bought apartments and condo units should bear in mind a few things. First of all, while the commercial property sector is not affected by the curbs announced on July 5 - higher additional buyer's stamp duty and lower loan-to-value limits - any type of property purchase would still be covered by the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) rules, which may limit how much financing one can obtain from a financial institution.

In terms of the market outlook, prospects for the Singapore office sector are indeed looking good. Prices of office space have been rising on the back of the office rental recovery which began last year. Office rents are expected to continue increasing on the back of healthy demand and tightening supply pipeline. That said, potential investors should note that with the escalation in prices of office space, net yields have shrunk. Also, transaction volumes for strata office deals are pretty thin, so the low liquidity may present a problem when an investor wants to exit later on.