Building materials prices went up about 15-20% today. This would translate to about an extra 15k - 25k increase per house for building costs (depending on type of house).

I'd say the property market will soften further in the near term.

Or could be 500-600k house (depending on location). It's just to give some perspective and to support your point about how much/little the selling price of a house is tied to building materials (and the price increase).

This post has been edited by jchong: Jun 6 2008, 06:19 PM

Lemme ask about the semi-d. From what you mentioned I assume the semi-d is still sold by the developer? Are there many units left in the project?

If there are still quite a few unsold semi-d units it's unlikely the developer will increase the price after completion. So you can afford to wait.

But otherwise yes the normal trend is for house prices to increase upon completion (unless demand is low).

Another question: where is the location of the semi-d vs the location of the terrace house?

I too anticipate that there will be a downturn in the economy in the next 1-2 years. And when there's a downturn, property will drop in price from current levels. Whether it will reach 'fire sale' levels is hard to say but it will soften.

But the real question is: when the downturn comes, is property the best thing to pick up?