Some see property values double, but not all are cashing out now
ENVY them not.
For among those who ride the property market roller coaster these are both winners and losers.
Some can make a 100 per cent profit in less than three years.
Some, even within two years.
But others can incur a loss if they sell their property now.
It all depends on buying the right property at the right time.
Some bought when prices were low, before they started shooting up last year. Mr Chan, 32, a public relations manager, is one of them.
He paid $300,000 for a studio apartment in Mandarin Gardens in Marine Parade in December 2005.
Two months ago, he sold it for $650,000. The 732 sq ft leasehold apartment had more than doubled in value in about 11/2 years.
Mr Chan declined to give his full name as he did not want his colleagues and friends to know about his windfall.
A property agent who wanted to be known only as Ms Leng said she knows of other home owners who have made 100 per cent gains.
She mentioned one client whose property is also located in Mandarin Gardens.
This client bought an apartment there for $530,000 three years ago.
Recently, it was sold for nearly $1.24million, claimed Ms Leng, 53.
But not all owners sitting on such potential gains are selling.
And many who bought properties at the peak of the market in the mid-1990s cannot sell at a profit even now. (See other report, below.)
The New Paper on Sunday tracked down six owners who had bought properties between 2002 and early this year, and are now sitting on potential gains of 100 per cent or more. They had various reasons for not cashing in.
Mr Alex Wong, 59, paid $660 psf for his 1,647 sq ft freehold unit at The Esta in Katong last year. Last month, a unit there was sold at $1,130 psf, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority website.
Mr Wong, who is retired, owns several properties in the east.
Contented: Mr Alex Wong and his wife in their Sanctuary Green apartment, which they've just sold.
He lives with his wife, mother and maid in a three-bedroom apartment in Sanctuary Green, Tanjong Rhu. He paid $750,000 for it in March. He sold it recently for $930,000, making a profit of $180,000 in just three months.
Around the same time, he also sold a 1,216 sq ft Water Place apartment for just above $1 million.
That was $218,880 more than what he paid for it in 2002.
Together he made nearly $400,000 from the two deals.
He hopes to be able to move into a new three-bedroom apartment in The Belvedere on Meyer Road soon.
QUICK PROFIT
Mr Wong is also sitting on a 100per cent paper profit on his new home. He paid $1.2 million for the 1,367 sq ft apartment.
Last month, a unit of the same size was sold for $2.08 million.
Mr Wong, who used to be in the timber business, said: ‘When I grow older, I thought I could just collect rent from the apartments. But since the market is good now, I decided to sell them to make a quick profit.
‘How else can I get $200,000 profit in just three months?’
But he is not in a hurry to snap up more properties with the gains.
‘I can always buy again when prices drop, as long as I have a roof over my head now,’ he said. ‘It is not wise to sell high and buy high.’
Mr Chan feels the same. He said: ‘I plan to rent a place in the east instead. Hopefully, the market will cool down in two to three years.
‘It will probably cost me $50,000 to $60,000 to rent an apartment for that period. I will still have about $300,000 in my bank account.’
Mr Mohd Ismail, chief executive of PropNex, said it is not rare for those who had bought properties in hot areas two years ago to make 100 per cent profit from selling now.
This is especially so when there is speculation about an en bloc sale.
But not all home owners who can get such gains are cashing in.
Said Mrs Ingrid Yeo, 56: ‘I can’t be bothered. It is only paper gain for me now. We can’t be always chasing after dollars and cents.’
--pictures| Joyce Lim Mrs Yeo, who is semi-retired, lives in a four-bedroom Water Place apartment with her husband and daughter. She paid about $700 psf for it in 2005.
‘The developer is now selling the rest of the unsold units for about $1,550 psf,’ said Mrs Yeo.
For HDB-upgrader Anthony Tan, a two-bedroom unit in Citylights, which has not been completed yet, is his dream home.
The 49-year-old administrative assistant is unshaken by the 100 per cent profit he can get if he sells now, before even moving in.
Mr Tan said: ‘I get calls from property agents every day. They also mail me printouts of the latest transacted price for Citylights.
‘My family and friends encourage me to sell. They tell me that I could never have managed to save so much money in my life.
‘I know, but I am not selling. I want to live there. I’ve been saving hard for it for decades.
‘If I sell it, I will never find another apartment in the same location for the same price.’
He paid $535,000 for his 947 sq ft leasehold unit in 2005.
He is now living with his wife, teenage daughter and mother in a five-room HDB flat in Pasir Ris.
Mr Tan said: ‘Maybe I will sell it after I experience living in the city.’
Property agent Derreck Choo warns against going by headline-hitting high prices.
He said: ‘Prices are increasing gradually, not shooting sky high.
‘Banks aren’t really matching valuation of the properties with what sellers are asking for.
‘Many properties sold at sky high prices were bought by cash-rich foreigners who don’t need bank loans for their purchases.’
ALEX WONG
REALISED PROFIT AFTER…
5 years - $218,880
Water Place
3 months - $180,000
Sanctuary
PAPER PROFIT AFTER…
2 years - $800,000 to $1m
The Belvedere
18 months - $774,090
The Esta
——————————————————————————–
INGRID YEO
PAPER PROFIT AFTER…
2 years @ $1.1m
Water Place
1 year @ $740,000
One Amber
4 months @ $500,000 Santuary Green
——————————————————————————–
Retiree burnt by roller-coaster prices
HE is still recovering from the paper loss on properties bought in 1996. During the property boom then, Mr Tan decided to put a large portion of his retirement funds in property.
He bought two condominium units at Stratford Court in Bedok and two terrace houses nearby.
After the Asian financial crisis, the retiree, who declined to give his full name and age, was trapped in negative territory.
He said: ‘I had paid close to $700,000 for each of my condominium units. Their prices plunged to $400,000. I had to sell my terrace houses at a loss to finance those two apartments.
‘And I had to rent those two units out at a loss. At one point, I collected only $1,000 a month for each unit.’
Today, the value of Mr Tan’s two leasehold apartments, which are slightly more than 1,000 sq ft, has risen. He said he has been offered close to $600,000 for one. That’s still a big loss if he sells.
Some who bought HDB flats in prime areas when the market was at its peak are also in a similar situation.
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