PROPERTY developers are enjoying the surge in interest from buyers but they do not believe that speculation has reached a stage where the Government needs to step in.
They also maintain that the prevailing economic conditions will begin to cool the buying frenzy and stop a bubble forming in its tracks.
'It's not a bubble, it's just a blister after the pain we experienced in the global financial crisis and it comes before a recovery,' said Cushman and Wakefield managing director Donald Han.
But some developers and industry insiders acknowledge that the comments from National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan this week are timely. Mr Mah cautioned about a bubble forming, hinted at intervention if speculation got out of hand and advised buyers to tread carefully and not charge headlong into the market.
'The Government's message is quite clear: Don't rush as there is a lot of supply coming onstream,' said Sing Holdings chief executive Lee Sze Hao.
A property consultant who declined to be named told The Straits Times: 'There shouldn't be panic-buying. Buyers may pull back a bit, not knowing whether the Government will step in or not. The fact is that the Government has opened its mouth; it can do things indirectly.
Many feel the hype, which centres on several condominiums, will likely be short-lived amid a recession.
The market is seeing cashed-up investors ready to spend, which is different from speculators looking to buy another apartment to make a quick buck, he said. The Government will do something only if there is a queue at every project and every unit is snapped up, he added.
Buyers have certainly been out in droves visiting the new showflats and buying new homes off the plan. Queues have been forming and developers have raised prices in response.
The interest was evident last night at Tanah Merah, where crowds gathered at the 297-unit Optima showflat although the public launch is scheduled for today. The response was so strong that the developer TID held a ballot at midnight for about 300 genuine buyers who were queueing outside the showflat earlier so they did not have to stay overnight.
By Joyce Teo
Extracted from The Straits Times
31 July 2009
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