Releasing Detailed Property Price Data A Good Start, But We Could Go Further

Source : The Straits Times, Forum, Sep 10, 2007

I refer to the increase in development charges and the recent measures to cool down the property market.

One of the main reasons for publishing more detailed property transactions' price data, and for publishing it more frequently, is to calm a hot property market.

I would like to suggest that we go further by publishing historical high-low data as well.

For example, we could highlight that despite the recent hype, the property market is still about 18 to 21 per cent below the last high, for private property and HDB respectively, which was about 11 years ago.

We could also publish foreclosure and default (more than 3 months in arrears) data.

For example, as was stated in Parliament on July 17, about 3 per cent of first-time HDB buyers who took bank loans have lost their flats and CPF through foreclosure.

About 7 per cent, or about 6,300 buyers, have been in arrears for more than 3 months. HDB provided financial assistance to more than 26,000 flat-owners last year.

With the recent financial meltdown in sub-prime mortgages in the United States, one of the largest mortgage lenders recorded delinquencies of 3.6 per cent in sub-prime, 2.13 per cent in non-prime and 0.81 per cent in prime, according to a report in The Straits Times Money section on Aug 10.

Why not publish this type of data on a regular basis?

It may be a more effective measure to calm the market, as 'negative' news data may have a greater impact on investors than detailed breakdowns of 'positive' data.

Leong Sze Hian