I was shocked that HDB has priced its new stock of flats in Tanjong Pagar at $545,000 to $645,000. I am not surprised the higher-end flats have relatively few takers due to steep pricing. As it is, HDB has priced its new flats according to surrounding resale market prices and built in a discount before launching them to the public.

I wonder if this is a fair comparison as the property market rides through the up-and-down cycle and if a new buyer buys now, he runs a high risk of buying at the high end of the market trend and may lose on his investment when the market goes down. This often happens to HDB resale or private property buyers who buy high in an uptrend market but lose heavily when the market goes south. It will be tragic if a buyer of a new HDB flat also goes through this financial heartache with his first ever housing unit.

There is generally not much premium earned on buying brand-new HDB flats now. One wonders if it is more prudent to buy a resale unit with the $30,000 rebate given as a sweetener, rather than buy a brand-new unit at such a high price.

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