fed rate goes over 3% then think of 4% la...if hit 4% and TDSR still ok u will be asking what if 5, what if 6. never ending. gut feel july may surprise with +0.5% rather than +0.75%...but again i can be wrong.Ok la, chicken genius still makes sense generally. But as per all advice taken, always self do homework for diligence.
Thanks for sharing the article bro. Only thing when I read the article is that I don't see the first point you listed, which is buyers paying more cash upfront. Lower TDSR doesn't mean they didn't take the maximum loan.
Lesser borrowing, yes I concur, but my understanding from this is due to the fact that after 10+ years of low interest, many buyers have already paid up a significant portion of their mortgage. Which makes sense because the number of properties transacted each year is definitely way lesser than the total number of properties around.
However, there are certain things which TDSR did not account for and is also not addressed by minister Tharman.
The current TDSR data is based on two things
1) Interest rate of 3.5% (or a higher market rate)
2) Income
The million dollar question that is still answered is, let's say we stress test TDSR ratio to include
1) Interest rate of 4%.
2) Income stability -- let's say multiplied by a factor of 0.8, or any rough number.
Not sure what the new ratio will be.
Unique thing for Singapore is, mortgage rates depend a lot on banks fixed deposit rate, which can be controlled by the banks themselves, which are somewhat linked to ah gong. So it can be quite controlled if necessary.
In addition, ah gong is the largest employer, and has schemes to help companies retain employees jobs for most. So income stability not as bad in SG.
Generally Singaporeans who own properties are safe and can afford their mortgages. This I sincerely believe.
Then comes the next million dollar question: foreigners purchases, how many are there? And if other country properties present a much more attractive proposition, will they want to pull their funds out to re-balance their property portfolio? It may be so little that it doesn't affect anything too, I don't have the data for this.
Those above are just some random thoughts that I don't really have an answer yet.
Your last statement makes the most sense, and I really like it. I can type so much, anyhow think so much, it doesn't matter also. We are all out to make money here
ur second million dollar qn - look at decline of hk.