ST : Investment condo now out of reach

15 JAN 2011
property measures

Investment condo now out of reach

THE investment condo Mrs Rhoda Dinesen was all set to buy after years of saving has got that much more out of reach.

The new rules mean Mrs Dinesen, 42, has to stump up a much bigger upfront payment - 40 per cent instead of 30 per cent - as she still has an outstanding loan on her first home.

'Where in the world does anybody have 40 per cent waiting in the bank that is not used somewhere else? This rules out the middle class completely,' she said yesterday.

It has all come as a bitter blow for the director of a public relations agency.

In 2002 she took out a 25-year bank loan for a three-room condominium unit in Geylang.

Nearly 10 years on she felt it was the time to buy another property.

'I, like many others, want to get a bigger place as I'm trying to bring in my mother to live with us. I also want to leave this area and move to somewhere quieter like Kembangan.'

But now she fears she may have missed the boat.

'A few years ago, I could purchase only something up to $800,000, but my dream home was valued at $1.2 million. So I waited. Then the measures kicked in last year, and I waited again. (Thursday) was a shocker.'

If Mrs Dinesen, who still has an outstanding home loan, bought a house before yesterday, she would have needed to pay only 30 per cent of the price upfront and borrow the rest.

But now she would have to fork out 40 per cent - cash she just does not have.

Her focus now is to keep a lookout for properties overseas. 'For many of us, it's not about speculation, it's about retirement. If I can't buy in Singapore, I'll just buy overseas, because I have to think long term about what I will have when I retire.'