Typically, agents charge 2% for selling in Singapore. This can be negotiated down based on the price. If your unit is worth $1,000,000, then 1.5% is 15k, which is still good money, so many will take it. The higher the price, the lower you can push the %. You can contact the guys on Propseller to bring the commission down to as little as 1%. I hope it helps.

I failed Econs, but from what I understand, if you have a limited number of a desirable good, the price of that good goes up. In Singapore, that limited, desirable good is land. Land is already expensive on its own; you add value to it by building a property on it. Expensive land + property = expensive property Expensive land + property + good location = very expensive property. And I think the word is asset, not wealth. But then I failed Econs, so don’t take my name for it.

Some of my early thoughts when I was (and still am) also thinking the same thing was these, Do you have pets or any personal complications that make a living with others difficult? Are you willing to have or be a roommate? Are you going to stay here for the short or long term? Are you okay with living with minimal furnishings, or do you want to decorate and create your own space? What is your current savings like? Are you willing to reduce your standard of living currently? Calculating the costs, of course, rental is more expensive in the long run, especially without a roommate. It can range from $1K to $2K at least or more depending on location. It’s also dependent on luck on whether you get a great landlord and/or roomies. At least with buying a house, you can use your CPF to cover most of the cost, but make note you still need to fork out 40% the cost. Overall you sign away 20 or more years in monthly debts. Also, if you aren’t 35 yet, then you will need to be married to apply for a BTO or sale of balance flats. If you’re fortunate, then you can purchase a condo apartment. I guess that’s most of the initial thoughts. I’m still searching, though, so I still have more to consider. Maybe someone else who has rented and/or purchases a house before can share more. === Some of the critical factors that you can consider are your preferred timeline, intention & current finances. If you intend to stay in Singapore for long (I.E more than 10~20 years), it would be more prudent to buy as you get to enjoy the property as well as the savings that you would have expended on the rent. If you choose to leave Singapore, you can also leverage on the property to get rental income or sell it away for capital gain (hopefully). However, if you intend to migrate to another country within the next few years & you don’t have the finances to purchase the property, perhaps you can save up & invest your time and effort towards the country that you intend to stay for long. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask me :) Disclaimer: I’m a licensed property agent in Singapore & I have helped a Quora friend from the US settle down in Singapore within 2 days. It’ll probably be more comfortable & more effective use of your precious time that way. I hope this helps! === I add some additional points: I think you need to consider that, when you get older, you may want to do something unusual… like start you own company or move to another country or you need to look after your relatives in their old age, you may not be able to afford to do so because you are tied to this property that you have purchased or if you do not intend to sell the property, cannot provide to resign from your job because you need to pay for the mortgage. I don’t even want to consider the problem of an economic downturn - I am sure others with a better understanding of the economy and property valuations.

First and foremost, understand the risks involved in property investments in general. These include: Leverage Risk (taking up large bank loans) Liquidity Risk (inability to cash out quickly) Concentration Risk (a large portion of capital in one investment) Market Risk (the capital appreciation or lack thereof) Then you have the risks inherent and unique to each country: Regulatory Risk (laws and regulations in place that limit property investment) Currency Risk (especially purchases in a different country entail using the local currency) Tax Risk (various taxes in the area in each country. e.g., capital gains tax, property tax, etc.) Now that you've got an idea of what's involved in property investment (compared to other asset classes), lets drill down to the Singapore Property Scene. Info is as of today's writing: Loans are limited in size and tenor. (max 80% loan to value ratio, 30 years max tenor) More so if the investor has outstanding property loans (60% LTV to as low as 40% LTV) Assuming you don't have a property loan at the moment, the amount you can borrow is calculated as a factor of your monthly income against any outstanding debts. This includes loans for cars, unsecured term loans, even credit card debt. The Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) cannot exceed 60%. i.e., someone earning $10,000 monthly can only use up to $6,000 of that for debt. There's Stamp Duty of 3% of the purchase price, additional stamp duties if you own multiple properties, or are a foreigner. Not forgetting the Minimum Occupational Period for HDB flats of 5 years. (i.e., can't sell within 5 years) Then you have the question of getting tenants (assuming this is an investment property and not one for personal residential use). Supply far outstrips demand, driving down the rental yield. (think of the monthly loan repayments.) Putting aside the picture of doom and gloom, there are gems out there that you can get that are undervalued. With the regulatory changes, some high-end properties are up for sale for as much as 30 to 50% down. Always weigh the risks of any investment, regardless of the asset class. If the investment fits your portfolio, and you can take risks, why not? The best investment is in educating yourself first. Good luck! === Considering that many existing housing loans in Singapore are short term adjustable loans and not 30-year loans and are adjusted to western bank rates, the market here is susceptible to increased interest rates, which can bring property prices down. Add the stamp duties and other cooling measures, along with a decrease in the ex-pat population for various reasons, and the downward pressure on housing prices in Singapore is increased. Additionally, Singapore's real estate has had a huge run up in the past decade. And as mentioned in another post, the rental yield is really terrible compared to other developed markets. In other words, unless you have a lot of money to risk or plan to be in Singapore for a decade, I would not touch real estate here. === I am assuming the person asking the question is referring to residential properties in Singapore. URA Residential Property Price Index This is the URA Residential Property Price Index as of 2019 Q3. (Image credit: The Business Times) The price index has gone up for the last 2 quarters after 2 quarters of decline following the government’s cooling measure that was introduced on 6 July 2018. Recent Transaction Statistics This post shows some statistics of how recent buyers who bought Singapore new launches in 2014/2015 and sold their Singapore properties in 2018/2019 did. This transaction stats shown below is for one of the condos highlighted in the post. The minimum holding period before an investor exits is typically 4 years to avoid paying seller stamp duty. This seller stamp duty has been revised to 3 years in 2017. Did this group of sellers make money? Yes, they did. Understanding the Singapore Property Market Anyone interested to invest in Singapore's property market needs to spend time understanding how the Singapore property market works. And look into the different opportunities and tools that are available to do so. What affects the demand and supply of Singapore properties? Where is the demand coming from? What development plans do the government have? For real estate transactions in Singapore, what are the taxes & regulations? Do you know the group of foreign nationals that do not have to pay ABSD for their first residential purchase? What are the interest rates for mortgage rates? Why have prices moved the way they did in the past? How are prices moving right now, and how will they likely move in the next couple of years? The Attraction of Singapore Properties Globally Globally, Singapore is widely regarded as a haven for real estate investors to invest and park their funds because of the stable political scene and the absence of real estate speculators (controlled via various regulations and taxes). The UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2019 ranked Singapore as one of the few major cities that is fair-valued and having a "non-bubbly" property market. (Image credit: UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2019) Extract from the report: However, while regulatory measures still cap price growth expectations, the risk of price correction is limited by sound market fundamentals, including a declining vacancy rate, excellent affordability, and a healthy employment market. The Singapore housing market is one of the few among those we cover in which private housing affordability has improved in the last 10 years. This could explain why global high net worth individuals continue to invest in Singapore residential properties. In recent times, the purchases by Billionaire James Dyson have hit the news. Did Eduardo Saverin buy a bungalow worth S$230m? Even Donnie Yen of Ip-Man fame was reported to be scouting for properties in Singapore recently. Is it still worth investing in property in Singapore? Yes. But do your homework and look for the answers to the questions I posed above before proceeding. For a start, you may want to take a couple of minutes to read how asset progression via real estate investment is done in Singapore. And the common myths when it comes to Singapore properties. === In the near term, no. But in the longer-term, say five years from now, I would think it may rise but albeit moderately, only if there isn’t any economic calamity in the offing. It is indeed challenging in the years ahead in terms of employment potential, as AI will slowly take over the workforce. This effect could impact affordability if prices of the property keep its momentum. Another reason for the subdued property market is the regulatory factor. Under the regulation, private property owners are discouraged from buying a second property. Politically, it is not a good move with rising properties unless it is matched with a wide-ranging pay escalation. An interesting hike is another reason that pushes back buyers from taking a plunge. A single most important factor is none other than the government built HDB, which is comparatively affordable and a buffer for that family starter with a lower income initially.

Based on my experience here, it is going to extremely difficult to get a single room for less than 400 dollars. However, you can pay rent within $400 if you. Share a common room with another person and live along with the owner. The room will be basic with no air-conditioning, no extra furniture, no cooking allowed, and utilities would be included. Share a basic 2 BHK unit with 3 other people and pay close to $500 per person, but utilities would be extra. The location would undoubtedly be far from the city and mostly in the west - areas near Tuas, Pioneer, or the Northeast side may be cheaper. A fair warning about the above two options - Singapore ( for all its pride of a clean city) has several places infested with bed bugs and roaches. The reason is because of a high floating and immigrant population mostly living in such shacks. Unless you are sure of the people you are going to be with, do not take up one of these. Certainly, want a room alone? You may get lucky if some house owner wants to rent out his utility room. Know that these rooms are tiny, no ventilation, and are not worth the hassle. Are you on a student pass? Then, you can get single rooms in hostels for around $500. I strongly recommend you up to your budget to at least 600 dollars to find decent accommodation. Source - came in as a student, paid less than $300 for a shared room in 2010. The same place is now at $550 for sharing. === Looking for a low-cost rental option in Singapore? Well, Online Classified websites are the right choice for you. You can easily buy a room for rent in Singapore through the classified ad websites. I mentioned some online classified sites, you can easily find any types of rooms in Singapore at a reasonable price: Free Classifieds on Gumtree Singapore Masig stproperty.sg 4. rentinsingapore 5. PropertyZone I hope you can quickly get an apartment for rent through these websites Thanks === If you are planning for room rent in Singapore, you have to deal with a competitive housing market. The Internet is the best for booking rooms to rent in Singapore. You can check the dealer's identity and place for a conference. If you get the best deal or suitable for you, then you can book the room or hall. You are providing you some dealers name where you can Rooms For Rent at a reasonable price. Savvy Training Room Changi Cove Acc EduHub Passion Made Possible Agoda Thanks

The answer lies in simple economics: demand and supply. Singapore is a tiny island: Property supply is, therefore, necessarily limited. The amount of Retail and other forms of property rental is this limited. While there is new construction going on all the time, the government calibrates it. With an ever-growing economy and population, demand is also ever-growing. Thus prices will almost always rise. In fact, in recent years, the government has already undertaken numerous measures to slow the growth in population and so forth, thus somewhat curbing demand. Otherwise, rentals would have skyrocketed by now.

The core reasons for speculative investments throughout the globe (at least the high-value property markets) are the same. Unlimited supply of credit, fuelled by quantitative easing Ultra-low interest rate, artificially suppressed by the government If not property, the same speculations will happen in stocks, derivatives, silicon valley startups, commodities, and whatnot. And some people would ask questions about them. Singapore is hardly unique, and in fact, the degree is much smaller compared to Manhattan, London, or Hong Kong. The only measure necessary is to kill or at least severely curtail the central banks and stop their printing machine. But then, are you ready for the deflation and deleveraging? === Prof. Phang Sock-Yong of the Singapore Management University gives a summary of the policy measures taken from 2006-2013 by the Singapore government in her recent 2015 paper "Singapore's Housing Policies: Responding To The Challenges Of Economic Transitions" [1]. I think the article can be downloaded for free from the World Scientific website [2] and is worth reading for understanding housing policy in Singapore. It beats spouting uninformed nonsense from a diet of Forbes, WSJ, Cato, Heritage Foundation, etc. From [1]: [December 2006] In December 2006, the government withdrew the Buyer Stamp Duty Concession (which allowed a payment to be deferred until Temporary Occupation Permit date or completion for purchasers of uncompleted properties), and all property buyers had to pay their stamp duties within 14 days of the date of excising their purchase options. [October 2007] In October 2007, a Deferred Payment Scheme introduced by developers, which allowed buyers to defer making payments for properties under construction to the date of issue of Temporary Occupation Permit, was disallowed by the government. [September 2009] In September 2009, an Interest Absorption Scheme introduced by developers, which allowed buyers to transfer their interest-servicing burden on a housing loan to the developers for properties under construction until the completion date, and Interest-Only housing loan scheme, which allowed buyers to make only interest payments on their housing loans, were disallowed by the government. [February 2010] In February 2010, seller stamp duty was re-introduced for sale of properties within one year of purchase, and the LTV ratio was lowered from 90% to 80%. August 2010 In August 2010, the holding period for imposition of Seller stamp duty was increased to three years. For borrowers with existing housing loan(s), their LTV ratio was lowered from 80% to 70%, and minimum cash-component down-payment was raised to 10% from 5%. [January 2011] In January 2011, the holding period for imposition of Seller stamp duty was increased to four years. The seller stamp duty rate was increased to 16%, 12%, 8%, and 4% for properties sold within the first, second, third, and fourth year of purchase, respectively. For borrowers with existing housing loan(s), their LTV ratio was lowered from 70% to 60%. [December 2011] In December 2011, additional buyer stamp duty was imposed; Singapore citizens buying their third and subsequent residential property pay 3%, Singapore permanent residents buying their second and subsequent residential property pay 3%, and foreigners buying their first and subsequent residential property pay 10% [October 2012] In October 2012, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) imposed a 35-year tenor restriction for housing loans on new residential properties. For borrowers without any existing housing loan(s) and where loan tenors exceed 30-year or extend beyond borrowers’ retirement age of 65 years old, the LTV ratio was lowered to 60%. LTV ratio was lowered to 40% for borrowers with existing housing loan(s) where the loan tenors exceed 30-year or extend beyond borrowers’ retirement age of 65 years old. [January 2013] In January 2013, additional buyer stamp duty was raised; Singapore citizens buying their second residential property pay 7% and those buying their third and subsequent residential property pay 10%, Singapore permanent residents buying their first residential property pay 5% and those buying their second and subsequent residential property pay 10%, and foreigners buying their first and subsequent residential property pay 15%. LTV ratio was lowered to 50% and 40% for borrowers applying for their second and third or subsequent housing loans, respectively, where loan tenors do not exceed 30-year or do not extend beyond borrowers’ retirement age of 65 years old. In cases where loan tenors exceed 30-year or extend beyond borrowers’ retirement age of 65 years old, LTV ratios of 30% and 20% apply for borrowers applying for their second and third or subsequent housing loans, respectively. The minimum cash-component down-payment was also raised to 25% from 10% for buyers taking their second or following housing loan. [June 2013] The MAS introduced the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) for homebuyers with the intention that the measure ‘…will help strengthen credit underwriting practices by [financial institutions, FIs] and encourage financial prudence among borrowers.’ The TDSR is the total monthly debt service as a percentage of the borrower’s income and is capped at 60%. In computation of TDSR, FIs will need to take into account the monthly repayment for the property loan that the borrower is applying for plus the monthly repayments on all other outstanding property and non-property debt obligations of the borrower; apply a specified medium-term interest rate or the prevailing market interest rate, whichever is higher, to the property loan that the borrower is asking for when calculating the TDSR; apply a haircut of at least 30% to all variable income (e.g., bonuses) and rental income; and amortize the value of any eligible financial assets taken into consideration in assessing the borrower’s debt servicing ability, in order to convert them into ‘income streams’. MAS also required borrowers named on a property loan to be the mortgagors of the residential property for which the loan is taken; “guarantors” who are standing guarantee for borrowers otherwise assessed by the FI at the point of application for the housing loan not to meet the TDSR threshold for a property loan to be brought in as co-borrowers; and in the case of joint borrowers, that FIs use the income-weighted average age of borrowers when applying the rules on loan tenure. [August 2013] Effective August 27, 2013, new Singapore Permanent residents have to wait for 3 years before they are eligible to purchase resale HDB flats. The maximum tenure for HDB housing loans was reduced from 30 years to 25 years. The mortgage servicing ratio limit was reduced from 35% to 30% of the borrower’s gross monthly income. The maximum tenure of new housing loans and re-financing facilities granted by financial institutions for the purchase of HDB flats was reduced from 35 to 30 years. [December 2013] From December 2013, the government required second-timer applicants who buy Executive Condominium units directly from property developers to pay a resale levy, similar to second-timer applicants who buy HDB BTO flats. The Mortgage Servicing Ratio for housing loans granted by financial institutions for EC units purchased directly from property developers was capped at 30% of a borrower’s gross monthly income. References: Phang, Sock-Yong. "Singapore's Housing Policies: Responding To The Challenges Of Economic Transitions." The Singapore Economic Review 60.03 (2015): 1550036. SINGAPORE'S HOUSING POLICIES: RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGES OF ECONOMIC TRANSITIONS

Graduated at age 25 in 2011, received by HDB flat key last month. In short, work in Singapore, get married. Go for an HDB in the following order. Sales of Balance Flats or BTO immediately. Try twice; if you fail, go for a resale. If you still can't get what you want by 30, you should have enough for a studio. Some substantive: Cost per square foot of an HDB wavers about $340 in an area like Seng Kang. About $500 in top areas Apartments, for some reason, start at about $800 to unspeakably high. Buying an HDB opens up the possibility of getting an HDB loan. This instantly quarters your required starting capital. A bank loan requires a 20% down payment, HDB needs 10%, which you can pay 5% on the selection and 5% on retrieving your key. The HDB loan benefit is EASILY lost. Not getting married, getting a residential property of multiple hawker stores is examples of things that will make you ineligible for an HDB loan. CPF matters. Your entire ordinary account can be used for house buying. At 3500 a month starting salary, you have 8400 in that account every year. With other bonuses, you're likely to see 10000 in there. In two years, you are about the put-down payment for a BTO work 400k without a cent of personal savings and no worry that you will not have the next 5% in CPF when it's ready. Your spouse doesn't even need to contribute. As time goes by, your options will expand (in the order recommended above ). It won't be long before you find yourself in your very own home sweet home. === A single will not be eligible for public housing in Singapore before the age of 35. The only way he can have his own home (renting does not count, of course) is if he buys a private property. Here are a few points that I can think of, which can help a single purchase his own home in Singapore. Save and Invest. Assuming this individual is an employed worker with an average salary, it is an uphill task to have enough cash for the property down-payment. Hence, he must make a concerted effort to save a significant portion of his salary, reduce his expenses, and put those savings to work. I recommend setting aside about 20% to 40% of the paycheque every month before costs kick in. But this, of course, varies according to an individual's circumstances. After that, knowing how interest rates for a savings account are so pathetic in Singapore, that money must be put to work outside of a savings account. For simple passive investing, one can contribute a fixed amount of money say once every quarter into some exchange-traded funds. The intricacies of investing in ETFs are beyond this answer. Nevertheless, one should only begin investing when he has set aside a comfortable "emergency fund" worth about 3-6 mths of his expenses. Put the CPF Monies to Work too! For those who are savvy, I think that they should make the funds in their CPF ordinary account work harder than the current 2.5% interest it returns. This could work with these funds invested in two or three stable and dividend-paying blue-chips stocks. Do your Research Additionally, one should keep himself abreast of the property market in Singapore regularly. Check the price indexes, observe the trends, see where new properties are going to be built, hear what people are saying, etc. This helps the individual become a little more in the know when the time comes for him to purchase his apartment. Buy at the right time. Due to land constraints, government policies, and a host of other reasons, property prices are sky high in Singapore at this time. Looking back a decade, one would realize that property prices were pretty low in years, such as 2004 and 2009. Hence, it's a good idea to start accumulating wealth in preparation for a property bear market. Buy Within Means The final point is to be realistic. For a bachelor, one may consider a studio, a one-bedroom apartment, or maybe even a two-bedder. I think it might be quite a stretch for him to try and afford a four-bedder. Granted, apartment sizes are shrinking in Singapore. A reasonable floor area for a single man's home might be something between 50-80sqm, in my opinion. The Bottom Line It is challenging for singles to purchase their private property in Singapore, especially if they are average earners. The crux is to spend less, earn more, and make your money work hard! I'll appreciate if others can chip in and contribute more ideas on how singles can afford their own home in Singapore =) === You can start a career in software sales. In the first two years, you'll make approx 65k/year, and if you stay at home with your parents I'll estimate you can save a max of 80k, assuming expenses at 1k/mth in the 3rd year onwards depending on what kind of accounts you're selling into, you could make an average of 8-12k a month. This is in addition to the fact that working in a software company will usually entitle you to some stock units that are vested each year. The longer you stay, the more you make as they're incrementally vested. If you stay there for four years, you could potentially make an additional 40k USD (assuming the stock price remains constant, and this might be specific to my company's stock price and units) bonus points if you join a company pre-IPO! You might make another 30k. You would've saved enough to make down payment for your apartment by 30 at this rate. Writing this makes me wonder where did all my money go? I'm explaining how much I could've saved by 27 === Some extra "creative" thoughts: Single alone - buy at 35....and yet.. Single with your (homeless) Grandma or Grandpa - buy at 21 years old. Just see if you have any relatives who qualify to buy an HDB flat. You can buy on a 99%/1% share basis - so that there are no financial complexities should either partner pass away.