Its like these people think no matter the number of years lease left when they are selling it, they confirm can sell it for a profit.
U are right. they don't realize that the value of their flat is closely linked to financing. If the bank's policy is that the flat is too old to be financed, than the value will fall sharply. No one can afford a high price for a flat if they have to pay cash. People don't realize that there are 3 timelines that dictate the value of their flat, and they have to look at all of them to decide whether to stay on sell.
First timeline is the residual period left on the lease - This is the calendar date of the age of the lease, and the clock starts ticking when you buy the flat and and counts down to 99 years.
Second is the financial timeline - If the flat is too old, prospective buyers cannot get a loan and hence the flat will lose value. It has nothing to do with whether the flat is in a poor condition, bad location, or anything like that. Its a purely financing issue. U will wake up one day, and guess what, its been 30 years already, and no banks will give a loan to allow people to buy your flat, even though nothing has changed and your flat is in pristine condition.
Third is the structural timeline - These flats were all designed with the cheapest materials and ease of construction. They are simply not build to last 99 years. There has been no history in Asia of any high rise like the type of HDB flats lasting 99 years. They are not build like the Empire state building in New York which is already 83 years old and still going strong. that was a well build building, and anchored on solid bedrock. we are basically sitting on top of a huge extinct volcano, and to build here, u have to pile drive like crazy. I would guess that The structural life of the older HDB flats are probably no more than 60 years. So, when choosing to whether to sell or not, you have to consider that if you stay too long, it may be unsafe. As a side note to this, HDB commits fraud with every flat they sell. they have no intention to honour the 99 year lease given to you simply because the flat is not designed to last that long.