PAP lied to us once again :(
http://www.bernardleong.com/2011/05/01/are-property-prices-affected-by-who-you-vote-for/
Recently, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew mentioned that the property
prices of Aljunied GRC will go down if the voters of that
constituency vote for the opposition. In his words, “If you have
the wrong government, your property prices go right down. Ask why
in Hougang the property is not as high as their neighbours.” Given
the residents of Hougang SMC has been voting for Mr Low Thia Khiang
for the past 20 years and assuming Mr Lee’s comments to be true,
the direct inference is that the value of the HDB flats for the
Hougang SMC should now be far lower than similar flats in the same
neighborhood placed under Aljunied GRC.
The best way to do this is to find out how the prices of the HDB
flats in Hougang SMC and Aljunied GRC have fluctuated over the past
twenty years. This dataset is difficult to collect and requires HDB
to provide them. However, it turns out that we can look at the
current 1-year resale transacted prices of flats in both areas and
answer the question to a large extent. The aim of this HDB
e-service is to “assist potential resale flat buyers and sellers in
making informed decisions, taking into account the prevailing
trends in the HDB resale market” (source: HDB). So, we did the
following by looking at 2 sets of data: 3 room flats & 4 room
flats from Hougang Ave 5 (under Hougang SMC) and Hougang Ave 8
(under Aljunied GRC) and computed the median prices. All
transactions found in the data set are arms-length transactions
which means that we exclude resale transactions that may not
reflect the full market price, for example, I buy a flat from my
parents at a reduced resale flat price. Hence HDB’s data is
indicative of the real market prices. Here’s what we found:
Type of flats: Hougang Ave 5 (Hougang SMC) from 1983
Median Resale Price for 3 rooms (Range): S$291K (S$245-330K) 46 records
Median Resale Price for 4 rooms (Range): S$354K (S$340-527K) 26 records
Type of flats: Hougang Ave 8 (Aljunied GRC) from 1985-1889
Median Resale Price for 3 rooms (Range): S$280K (S$220-326K) 87 records
Median Resale Price for 4 rooms (Range): S$360K (S$290-420K) 138 records
Source: Resale Flat Prices e-service, HDB
From the above table, the resale flat prices did not vary
signifcantly. In fact, although flats from Hougang Avenue 5 (under
Hougang SMC) were older than those from Hougang Avenue 8 (under
Aljunied GRC), they seem to fetch higher resale prices. Do note
that the Ministry of National Development control both the demand
and supply of public housing in Singapore. We all know that buying
a flat is an important decision for most families. Hence it is
reasonable for us to assume that a couple will examine all the
factors which will affect the value of the flat they intend to buy,
for example, accessibility to transport, amenities, the condition
of the flat and the living conditions in the neighbourhood. If MM
Lee’s assertion is true, very few people will buy flats in Hougang
Ave 5 and consequently the resale prices of flats in Hougang Ave 5
should not be above those in Hougang Ave 8 under Aljunied GRC. The
data seems to contradict what MM Lee has said about flats in
Hougang SMC falling below flats in Aljunied GRC. Perhaps the ruling
party can provide the facts and figures as to why they assert that
property prices under Aljunied GRC will fall if the opposition
party wins on May 7.
