Are home prices affected by who's running the ward?
No they aren't, according to a study by property search platform
A good location, near top schools and close to an MRT station - these are some of the things that enhance the value of your property.
But will the name of the political party running the estate also affect the value?
Not according to a study by property search platform 99.co, said founder and CEO Darius Cheung.
The study that was released on Sept 8 analysed the pricing trends of both ruling party-run and opposition-run constituencies over the past nine years.
It extracted and plotted property transaction prices from Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Housing Board (HDB) data from July 2006 till June this year.
Said Mr Cheung: "There has been many discussions on this topic. So we decided to find out if this is true, and if property prices were really affected by the party in charge of the constituency. The study showed that it made no difference."
Highlighting examples of opposition-run Aljunied group representation constituency (GRC) and previously opposition-run Potong Pasir single-member constituency (SMC), the study showed that private housing prices in these two areas appreciated more than 100 per cent over the last nine years.
This is considering that in the 2011 General Election, Aljunied GRC was taken over by the Workers' Party from the People's Action Party (PAP), and Potong Pasir changed hands from the Singapore Democratic Alliance to the PAP.
By comparison, appreciation of private housing prices in PAP-run Ang Mo Kio GRC were comparable to that of Aljunied.
However, prices in West Coast GRC, which is also PAP-run, performed below the national average and property prices rose only 50 per cent in the last decade.
The study also showed that HDB property prices have appreciated by 80 to 100 per cent in all wards, regardless of the party managing the area.
Property value appreciation is largely based on the location of the property, the potential developments in the area and Government Land Sales. These factors have a greater influence on property prices, said Mr Ong Kah Seng, director of property market research company R'ST Research.
According to property analyst Nicholas Mak, property prices usually rise in tandem with the rest of the market and are not dependent on the incumbent party.
Mr Mak said: "It's hard to imagine that property prices in one area will move in the opposite direction of the rest of the market especially because of the Member of Parliament in charge. It usually isn't the case."
He added: "If everything (in an opposition ward) operates as per normal as that in a PAP-run ward, prices won't be significantly affected, whoever the MP of the ward is."
It's hard to imagine that property prices in one area will move in the opposite direction of the rest of the market especially because of the Member of Parliament in charge. It usually isn't the case.- Property analyst Nicholas Mak
"It’s hard to imagine that property prices in one area will move in the opposite direction of the rest of the market especially because of the Member of Parliament in charge. It usually isn’t the case."
— Property analyst Nicholas Mak
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