5 factors you need to know before buying your next home

Your home is probably one of the biggest investment you will ever have to face in your life. You may not know or may not want to know much about blue-chip stocks, the bull and bear market, dividends, yield and leverages but you know that a home is a physical item (or property) where every Singaporean aspires to have once you are married and/or plan to have kids.

At the very basics, before you select your new home, you need to consider these factors to ensure that your property is a positively geared property, which means that it’s a property that will ensure that you are hedged against inflation and at the same time, trying to help increase your asset value.

5 Factors you need to know before buying your home

  1.  Possibility of land not properly used. Look for places where there are further chances of an area being subdivided or where the buildings have low storeys or no existence of a multi-storey carpark. This means there’s a chance it would be given back to the government (for HDBs) or sold to a developer (private properties). For example, everyone knows that the Paya Lebar Air Base will be moving to Changi. This means that once it’s completed, the height restriction of all buildings in that area surrounding the Paya Lebar Airbase can be loosened. A high likelihood of buildings will be demolished and rebuilt to take advantage of the new height allowances. A good place to start will be taking a look at URA’s Master Plan 2019
  2. Areas of High Population Growth. Look for places where there will be a large influx of people coming into the area. One fine example is in Punggol. It looks like it’s going to be the next silicon valley of Singapore. With many people coming into Singapore to fill up the jobs created for creating this industry, they all need a place to live and with high demand, naturally, your house value in terms of sales or rent will have to increase accordingly. This helps especially if you are in that particular industry. You tend to know this information earlier than the average Singaporean.
  3. Schools. Singaporean families always need to have good schools situated near them. The distance between the home and the reputable schools is a factor because the less time you spend travelling between the school and your home, the more time you have to study which often translates to better results. And because this is Singapore, families are usually willing to pay a premium to be within 1km of the schools they would like their kids to enter. 
  4. Recent Developments. Look around the area where you are staying or planning to stay in. Do you see an NTUC or Macdonalds nearby? If these well-known establishments are not willing to build something near your homes, maybe that says something about your location of your home
  5. Transport. Real Estate 101. The nearer you are to an MRT, the more value people will be placed on your home. But in a small country like Singapore, every new launch boasts of an MRT near to where they are planning to develop. So check to see what kind of line will be opening up. Try to stay near the major ones if possible.

Hopefully, this is enough to give you a headstart in searching for your next home. Looking for a home? Contact me and let’s have a chat!


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