Of all the possessions seized from former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s homes, his wife Rosmah Mansor’s 284 boxes of luxury handbags is what really got the internet abuzz. Most of these boxes reportedly contain Birkin bags (of the French high fashion label Hermes). A limited-edition Birkin bag can fetch up to S$400,000 at auctions — about the price of a 4-room HDB flat in Woodlands!
Even if you take the average price of a non-limited edition Birkin bag as S$15,000*, the combined value of Rosmah’s collection would come close to S$4.26 million. With that sort of money, you could easily afford a 3-bedroom freehold condo in prime district D9 — and still have spare change for a designer hairdo or two.
What’s more, a study has claimed that the Birkin bag is a better investment than stocks and gold. Over a 35 year period between 1980 and 2015, the S&P500 (a US stock index) and gold had average annual returns of 11.66% and 1.9% respectively.
In the same time frame, the Birkin bag offered the lucky owner an average annual increase in value of 14.2%! Plus, the study claims that unlike stocks and gold, the value of Birkin bags has never fluctuated downwards.
Should I cancel my viewing for a Birkin bag?
But lest you feel tempted to cancel your VVIP preview for this weekend’s condo new launch in favour of some leather carriers, think again. Consider this: in just 15 years, average per square foot (psf) prices of freehold non-landed private homes in prime District 9 has appreciated by 180%. In Woodlands (District 25) where private property is less sought after, average psf prices have managed to rise even more in the same period: 187%!
You might say: wait a minute, that’s only an annualised increase of 7.1 to 7.3% (about 9.5 to 10% if you take rental yield into account). Even though this is shy of the Birkin bag, we explain in our chart below why – unless you have a serious obsession with Birkin bags or can’t buy a condo without being raided by the authorities – property remains a popular investment in Singapore for long-term capital appreciation.
And, besides, your dog can’t tear your house to shreds.
What would you pick, Birkin or property? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you found this article helpful, 99.co recommends 9 quick property hacks to spot a good investment unit and Key considerations to keep in mind for all homebuyers.
*[UPDATE: We initially stated the average price of a Birkin bag to be S$210k as we had taken the middle figure between the price of a regular Birkin bag and limited edition auction prices. We have now taken into account the distinction and amended the information accordingly. We also considered the annualised growth in value of the property instead of total growth for a more accurate comparison.]
About Kyle Leung
That's not my bird.
Looking to sell your property?
Whether your HDB apartment is reaching the end of its Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) or your condo has crossed its Seller Stamp Duty (SSD) window, it is always good to know how much you can potentially gain if you were to list and sell your property. Not only that, you’ll also need to know whether your gains would allow you to right-size to the dream home in the neighbourhood you and your family have been eyeing.
One easy way is to send us a request for a credible and trusted property consultant to reach out to you.
Alternatively, you can jump onto 99.co’s Property Value Tool to get an estimate for free.
If you’re looking for your dream home, be it as a first-time or seasoned homebuyer or seller – say, to upgrade or right-size – you will find it on Singapore’s fastest-growing property portal 99.co.
Meanwhile, if you have an interesting property-related story to share with us, drop us a message here — and we’ll review it and get back to you.
Join our social media communities!
Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Telegram | YouTube | Twitter
interesting article. 🙂