Investing Updates: Are Singaporeans Moving Away From Property As A Retirement Strategy?

Source:

https://stackedhomes.com/are-singaporeans-moving-away-from-property-as-a-retirement-strategy/#sh.y9lnms

ChatGPT:

Polls claiming that Singaporeans are abandoning property as a retirement strategy are misleading because they often reflect the agenda of the organisations funding them rather than true public sentiment. A Manulife survey suggests only 35% now view property as a key retirement tool—down from 65% previously—while ERA and PropNex polls show strong continued preference for real estate, with many still seeing property as a retirement nest egg. These contradictions arise largely from how survey questions are framed, how samples are selected, and where respondents are sourced.

Younger Singaporeans responding to online surveys—often priced out of the market or unable to buy—naturally show less enthusiasm for property investing. Older respondents in offline polls, who benefited from past appreciation or already own homes, tend to be more positive. Question phrasing also heavily influences responses: highlighting costs pushes people away from property, while emphasising tangibility steers them toward it.

Insurers have incentives to downplay property’s importance in retirement planning because money committed to real estate is money not invested in policies like annuities or ILPs. Conversely, property agencies have reasons to promote real estate despite rising prices, cooling measures, and higher capital requirements.

Ultimately, these surveys reveal more about the motivations of insurers and property agencies than about Singaporeans’ genuine retirement preferences. Many “polls” function as disguised marketing, and the author argues they may as well be straightforward ads. Ads can be repeated, while publications rarely run the same poll editorial twice, making these survey-based promotions less efficient and no more persuasive.

The article then continues with broader property news, such as sales rankings, price trends, and notable gainers and losers in the market.