One of the main reasons cited by developers, as to why new launch prices are so high, is the price of land. We have an article that covers some of the details here. However, a common criticism we’ve heard from many of you is that you seem to hear this every year; and granted, we’re hard-pressed to find a time when developers weren’t complaining about land prices. So we decided have a look back at how land prices have been rising: How have land prices moved in Singapore? This shows the average land prices since 1992. You’ll notice three big spikes here: The first, in around 1996, was when there were huge run-ups in prices in the years before; right up to around mid-1997. This was the prelude to the Asian Financial Crisis (AFC), when the market was exuberant before the sudden crash. When the plunge began in mid’97, it resulted in one of the worst-ever property downturns, with some...