Daily Briefing: 3,000 tenants buy first flats since 2011; How stock market losses affect property

And home buyers must set realistic expectations.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) revealed that over 3,000 rental tenants have purchased their first flat in the Build-To-Order (BTO) or Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises since 2011, reported Channel NewsAsia. Around 19 percent of them purchased a flat under the Tenants Priority Scheme (TPS), said the HDB in a statement. Read more here.

Recent declines in the Singapore stock market could signal a further property price correction in the coming months, according to JLL. This comes as stock market movement typically leads property market movement by one to two quarters. “Looking back into the past, the residential market for example, corrected by four to six percent a quarter in some instances,” said Dr Chua Yang Liang, JLL’s Research Head for South East Asia. Find out more here.

While the government will continue to help Singaporeans own homes and have put measures in place to protect first-time buyers from a hot housing market, “they must have a realistic pathway to achieving their aspirations”, said Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam. Read more here.