Daily Briefing: Fewer launches led to home sales decline; 4 investment themes to consider for better returns

And what happens to an HDB flat upon passing of the owner?

From Bloomberg via Yahoo!: Singapore’s leaders, determined to keep a lid on home prices in the city-state, have unleashed a series of measures to cool the market since 2009. The government in March rolled back some property-market restrictions for the first time in eight years, although it has also cautioned that those adjustments don’t signal an unwinding of the measures. Property prices have dropped for 15 straight quarters, the longest slide since the data were first published in 1975. An index tracking private residential prices fell 0.3 percent in the three months ended June 30 from the previous quarter, according to preliminary data from the authority on July 3. Home values have dropped 12 percent from their 2013 peak.

From Shares Investment via Yahoo!: While the rate hike in June was expected by the market, investor sentiment could turn cautious should the Fed make another interest rate move in the September 2017 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. DBS Research opines that the US Dollar will strengthen and equity markets could face correction if the Fed surprises with a September hike, following the comments made by several Fed officials that the US stock market valuation is looking rich.

From Dollars and Sense via Yahoo!: Since the HDB flat is owned under joint tenancy, upon the passing of either of the joint owners (i.e. you or your father), the surviving individual will inherit the entire HDB flat. The easiest way to understand this is to think of it as similar to a joint saving account. When one of the joint-account holders passes on, the money in the joint savings account automatically belongs to the surviving account-holder. This is also known as rights of survivorship.