William Tan Real Estate

To New Beginnings & Opportunities! 

Finally we can say farewell to the 2020 and usher in the new year with hope that 2021 will be a year of hope and recovery. While 2021 does not automatically reset us to pre-covid times (we may never go back to those times), it does starts off well here in Singapore with the government announcing that we are officially in Phase 3 post circuit breaker. Yay! It took a lot longer than many had anticipated but the fact that we are now able to gather in slightly bigger groups is a very good sign for everyone and for businesses badly hit by the pandemic. Next, the timely release of the approved vaccine is also another step towards recovery as all Singaporeans are able to receive the vaccination for free.

Personally, I believe that as long as we continue to adapt to this new way of living (carefully), things will only get better in Singapore. Can’t say the same for the rest of the world for now. 

So what is 2021 going to be like? Here are my own prediction on 5 key trends in 2021 and some thoughts on how it may impact the local property market:

1) STILL NO TRAVEL (FOR A WHILE)

With situations not getting better in many countries, including Hong Kong (which we almost formed a travel bubble), I think travel will be on hold for at least 6 months or more. So I don’t expect much development till the second half of the year.

As we have seen in the last 6 months, the property market has never been more active and many industry analysts have attribute it to the lack of travel and families are using the extra time to plan and research on their property investment.  If this continues, we can expect the residential property market to be very active in the next 2 quarters. See below also the expected new launches in 2021.

2) HOME TOURISM WILL GROW

Without travellers feeding the local tourism industry, this sector will have to adapt quickly to tap into home market for survival. Our government has already launched several initiatives like the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers to support the beaten industry, and hotel and F&B outlets are seeing positive results as locals book staycations filling up hotel rooms, go on cruise-to-nowhere trips, and dine out more as restrictions getting relaxed.

The survival of local tourism business is crucial to support in the commercial rental market. Failing which, a lot more commercial tenants will fold and landlords will in time feel the pitch. So more local support for the travel and retail will only help keep them in business. 

3) NEW SOCIAL HABITS

The way people socialise and entertain have changed since 2020. Ever heard of the saying “it takes 30 days to break/form a habit”. While that might not have any scientific backing, the past 9 months of working from home, meeting in small groups, ending an evening out early has surely impacted the way people interact and do businesses. As restaurants and entertainment spots close early, new habits will form. People will go out earlier, or have more home gatherings. Fashion trends will become more and more casual as people do not need to dress up as much for leisure and work.

4) WTF! #WFH IS HERE TO STAY

Surveys have shown that many people are happier to work from home and will choose to work remotely if given a choice post COVID. Similarly from a business perspective, many companies are able to have greater cost saving as a result of lower rental from small office space and reduced operating cost. Companies are also exploring new innovation office set-up and work arrangements.

With #WFH trending on, homeowners need to expand their home space and opting for additional study room options when listing their home search criterias. We will see developers reacting accordingly to provide more versatile layouts in their unit layout. On the corporate front, more companies may choose to downsize their office or opt for co-working spaces as an alternative to the traditional set-ups. 

5) THE NEXT ENBLOC WAVE

In 2016-17, we saw how the en-bloc fever caused a huge spike in new project launches in 2019-2020. Analysts are now speculating another en-bloc wave happening as soon as 2021 driven by  the healthy uptake of units in recent project launches that resulted in a decrease in new home stock across Singapore. Added to that, the government is tightening up on their land sale so developers will have to look into potential en-bloc to acquire quality land for development to replenish their stocks. 

Finally, the ongoing low interest rates are baits to homeowners and investors to come out on a shopping spree. So If you are planning to sell your property, this is a good time to out your place in the market, and if you are looking to buy and invest, do get in touch with me to explore the various options based on your needs.