It was Robert G. Allen who said it best, “Don’t wait to buy real estate; buy real estate and wait!” This is quite true for Singapore. Singapore has recently been named as the “Top Real Estate Prospect” for property investment in Asia-Pacific. In 2017, the island-state was sitting at #21. Can you imagine the gains in property value if you would have invested four years ago?
Now that Singapore Real Estate is such a hotspot – wouldn’t that make it a bad time to buy property? Well, that truly depends on how you would like to make money within the Singapore Real Estate market.
Today – we’ll be covering some basic concepts of what it means to properly invest in the Singapore Real Estate Market, and how the affluent investors are currently making money within the market. Considering that Singapore is quickly becoming a popular destination for commercial headquarters for companies like Microsoft, Dyson and so forth – it’s no surprise that investors are still flocking to Singapore. Especially, since it is the fourth most powerful financial center in the world only trailing behind New York, London and Hong Kong.
There are many factors associated with understanding how to effectively make money within Singapore Real Estate. Before we can jump into specific strategies – we first need to understand the basic difference between an “asset and a liability”.
What are Truly Assets and Liabilities?
It is absolutely essential to ensure that anyone thinking of investing in the Singapore Real Estate Market understands the difference between a true asset and a liability.
It’s common knowledge to consider a house an asset – however, for most people owning a house and living in it could mean this isn’t necessarily true. This is because an asset is supposed to be a “resource” or “facilitate passive revenue”.
A house or a condominium, for the sake of living in is not an asset by definition. It’s a liability since it is not generating you any income. In fact, it’s doing the exact opposite. You have property taxes, maintenance fees and a myriad of other costs not typically considered by the average homeowner.
An asset will always provide value to you in the sense of enabling you to ‘make money’. For a property owner, who owns a whole apartment complex – those units are assets because they generate a passive income.
The reason why we had to firmly establish the differences between an asset and a liability is because approaching the Singapore Real Estate Market with ‘traditional real estate knowledge’ will most-likely frustrate foreign investors looking to make money.
Now that we’ve handled the basics – let’s move onto the specifics of Singapore Property Investment & how a foreigner can benefit from a stable real estate market.
How to turn your next property investment into an Asset!
Understanding the nature of assets and liabilities allows us to differentiate between a good property investment and a bad one. If you aren’t a Singapore local, or don’t frequent Singapore frequently – we recommend working with an experienced Singapore Real Estate Agent to assist you with your property investments.
Since there are plenty of different ways to make money within Singapore Real Estate – we’ll be focusing our attention only on one specific strategy – New Launch Condos.
Some Singapore Realtors focus on tracking down undervalued properties located near new development projects – however, we find this approach very laborious.
Here at Jimmy Sum, we believe in the ethos of “The early bird” catching the proverbial “worm”. That’s why one of our main strategies of generating revenue is discovering new launch condos while analyzing the property value trends within the area. This way we can calculate optimal returns which will indicate the appropriate time for resale.
Buying Singapore new launch condominiums is more than just being the first to invest. You need to consider a myriad of factors to ensure that your investment will make money.
What to consider when buying a new launch condo?
The following short list will provide you with a few factoids to consider prior to investing. An experienced Real Estate Agent in Singapore would cover these points with you as well, however, to get everyone on the same page I’ll walk you through the basics.
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Analyze the Real Estate Property Values over time
The first thing you need to consider is whether property value is increasing and by how much. There were times when investing into property might not generate ROI until the market stabilizes. For instance, in 1996/1997 period – there was a decline in property value within the Singaporean Real Estate Market specifically looking at “The Bayshore”. It took ten years for the property to increase in value to the point where it became profitable again.
Fortunately, the Singaporean Real Estate Market seems to be very stable and future trends do not seem to contradict the notion of a stable market. In fact – being named the #1 Top Real Estate Prospect in the Asia-Pacific region, means that property values are poised to continue to increase in value.
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Check the Master Plan
Before investing into any new launch condo, you need to consult the Master Plan first. Make sure that what all the nearby development plans entail. You don’t want to be investing into a condo with an open view, only to have it blocked by a new development a year later.
These are important factors to consider when you are purchasing new launch condos for the sake of making money. Fortunately, Singapore does have the Master Plan and with enough foresight, you can find the ideal investment property that will maintain a high resale value by maintaining the conditions that make the property ideal.
Cross-referencing with the Master Plan should always be a critical component of research when investing in property within Singapore.
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Have your ‘Exit Strategy’ when buying
One of the most important things we tell our clients is that the Exit Strategy is just as important as the Buying Strategy. If you are going to be investing money in Singapore Real Estate – you’ll want to have a good resale strategy in place.
Your exit strategy will include things like how long you would hold the property, whether you would rent it out and other conditions that would trigger a resale.
If you have a solid Singapore Real Estate Agent helping you out – this would all be dealt with on your behalf.
Is it a good time to invest as a foreigner?
Singapore is currently a very hot market for foreign investment. There are ample opportunities for international property investors to make money within the Singapore Real Estate Market. With exciting new development projects launching there are plenty of lucrative opportunities ready for the taking.
Of course, when it comes to new launch condos Singapore – it’s important to be able to act quick to take advantage of “early bird” prices, however, properly managed an investor can make a significant return on their investment.
Singapore has seen an astounding amount of growth over the past few years and we expect to see these trends continue well into the future. With new development projects on the horizon, it’s definitely a good time to invest as a foreigner!
Going full “Early Bird”
If you’re Interested in investing in new launch condos in Singapore and are looking for a Singapore Real Estate Agent; Jimmy Sum would be more than happy to assist you with your endeavors. Exemplary record of accomplishments is merely the consequence of our work-ethic.
We believe in your legacy and are ready to help grow your investment portfolio by finding highly lucrative Real Estate investment opportunities. For more information – feel free to reach out to us Right Now and we’ll be more than happy to see how we can help you make money in Singapore.
With years of Experience and many happy clients – we know that we can help your investment grow.
