There’s a common misconception today that property developers are the cause of higher property prices in Singapore. After all, it seems obvious that developer pricing is the main factor in a condo’s cost. Perhaps that may have been true in the earlier years when developers were making bank with 40 or even 50 per cent margins. That has all changed today. In reality though, developer margins are far thinner than most of us imagine; and Covid-19 is putting the screws on an already struggling industry. Here’s what’s happening behind the scenes: How much does it cost a developer to build a condo? The start point of any condo is the land costs involved. Larger developers, with deeper pockets, can bid for Government Land Sales (GLS) sites. They may also try and buy existing condos up for collective sale. Smaller developers seldom have the capital to go for GLS sites. They tend to buy up smaller plots, such as plots with three or four older landed properties....