By Mr. Propwise

It is a rare occasion when a billionaire property developer talks the market down. Kwek Leng Beng, Chairman of City Developments Limited (CDL), a leading real estate developer in Singapore, did just that recently when he called buying land in Singapore at today’s prices “suicidal” and predicated an up to 5 percent fall in property prices.

Buying land in Singapore at current prices “suicidal”

Not one to mince words, he called buying land from Government Land Sales “suicidal”, especially given the requirement that the units must be sold within two years of completion. His point was that it didn’t make sense to buy land at today’s high prices, and then give up the flexibility of being able to time the sale of the units, especially if the deadline to sell coincides with a downturn in the market. Developers, would in effect have to “buy high and sell ...