Making sense of financial numbers driving big-bucks real estate decisions
Get insights on the numbers driving property deals and decision making from NUS professor Joseph Ooi, in conversation with senior correspondent Leslie Yee.
An HDB resale flat can sell for over a million dollars. A prime district condo unit can cost several million. A top-grade commercial building can transact for over a billion. Behind every one of these numbers sits a valuation methodology, a set of assumptions and a cap rate that most buyers never fully unpack, yet those numbers are exactly what determine how much a lender will extend and whether a deal actually makes sense.
In this episode of PropertyBT, a BT Correspondents podcast, Leslie Yee speaks with Professor Joseph Ooi, professor of Real Estate at NUS Business School, about the financial logic driving Singapore’s most consequential property decisions.
Why listen
- $1 million semi-detached house behind a shopping mall might be a terrible deal Prof Ooi explains how factors like remaining leasehold tenure can completely upend what looks like an attractive price per square foot.
- How green buildings actually create value, and it is not mainly through higher rents Energy savings lift net operating income directly, but Prof Ooi argues the real prize is in the denominator: lower cap rates for buildings seen as more resilient and lower risk.
- Why a 3 per cent office yield does not necessarily mean a property is overpriced Prof Ooi unpacks how cap rates capture scarcity, growth expectations and Singapore’s status as a safe haven, and why the spread between office, retail and industrial yields is not arbitrary.
- How Reits use leverage to turn a 5 per cent yield into a 7 per cent return on equity Prof Ooi breaks down the mechanics of DPU accretion and why chasing the highest headline yield can be a costly mistake.
- Why demolishing old buildings is not automatically the financially superior choice Using the Golden Mile Complex as a case study, Prof Ooi explains the real dollar gap between conservation and redevelopment, and how targeted incentives helped close it.
The numbers behind real estate are never as simple as they first appear. This conversation helps make sense of them. Listen now.
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Written and hosted by: Leslie Yee (lyee@sph.com.sg)
With Professor Joseph Ooi, professor of Real Estate at NUS Business School
Edited by: Howie Lim & Claressa Monteiro
Produced by: Leslie Yee, Nicole Teo & Chai Pei Chieh
A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media
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ABOUT THE PODCAST
BT Correspondents brings together some of The Business Times’ most trusted columnists in a single series. Featuring Mark to Market, WealthBT, TransportBT, and PropertyBT, weekly episodes deliver expert analysis and clear perspectives on stocks, wealth, mobility, and real estate. It is essential listening for professionals who want context, clarity, and depth.
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