Weaning ourselves from love for property
Property is a lumpy, illiquid investment and the cost of ownership is rising. For seniors who are asset rich and cash poor, there are options.
IT IS often said that Singaporeans have an enduring love for property. Some regard their home as an asset that they could sell later to realise funds for retirement. Others may treat it as a store of value for their children and future generations.
Those who purchased property decades ago and had the resources to hold on to it must feel fortunate. A rough calculation based on the URA’s non-landed residential property price index shows that prices doubled between 2000 and end-2023. Even a shorter holding period of five years from 2018 to end-2023 could fetch handsome gains of over 30 per cent.
But the big question is whether such robust returns are behind us or can be repeated.
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