ISSS608 2016-17 T1 Assign1 CHIA Yong Jian
Contents
Abstract
<TBD>
Problem and Motivation
The public housing resale market is a closely watched market. A quick search on news revealed that the public housing resale market movement is watched closely almost on a monthly basis, especially for indicators hinting the stability or trend of the prices. These are crucial information not just for real estate companies, but also buyers and sellers of resale flats.
This analysis is focused on providing relevant information that can aid buyers of resale flats to make informed decisions when deciding to buy or sell a flat. For buyers, they include newly-wed couples that may urgently need a house after marriage or when expecting a newborn. Knowing the prices of resale flats by areas can allow them to decide on a suitable area for house-hunting depending on their budget and preferences for amenities in the area
We assume that the buyers have minimal knowledge of statistics. Hence, charts would be generally designed from an approach that are visually attractive without unnecessary fluff, and requires little time for them to understand without having prior statistical knowledge.
Data
Data Acquisition
The dataset from Data.Gov.Sg: Resale Flat Prices is used to answer the above questions can be found from . There are two datasets available on the webpage. We will be using the resale flat prices data that includes data for the year 2015 to first half 2016, to answer the questions required.
Dataset Variables
In the data.gov.sg dataset, a quick review of the variables reveals no missing data.
The dataset includes the following variables:
| Variable Name | Description | Example Levels/Values |
|---|---|---|
| Month | The 4-digit year and 2-digit month of the transaction | From “2012-03” to “2016-06” |
| Town | Includes the 23 towns and 3 estates under HDB planning | ANG MO KIO BEDOK BISHAN |
| Flat Type | The flat type sold. More information can be gotten from HDB: Types of Flats | 1 ROOM 5 ROOM EXECUTIVE |
| Block | The block number of where the flat was sold. | 99C 99B 977 |
| Street Name | The street name in the town or estate where the flat was sold. | ZION RD YUNG SHENG RD WHAMPOA WEST |
| Storey Range | The storey of the flat sold. Ranges from first floor to highest fifty-first floor. Floors are binned to groups of 3 to 5, and may include overlaps | 01 TO 03 25 TO 27 43 TO 45 |
| Floor Area Sqm | The floor area of the flat sold. Ranges from 31 to 280 square metres. | 45 74 92 |
| Flat Model | The model type of the flat sold. There are 19 types. Details of the different flat models can be view on a website providing comprehensive information: HDB History and Floor Plan Evolution | Adjoined Flat Model A New Generation |
| Lease Commencement | The starting year of the flat lease, typically a 99-year period | 1966 2004 2013 |
| Resale Price | The transacted price of the flat sold. | $195,000 $515,000 $1,088,888 |
Data Modelling
The following are changes made before charting was done on Tableau: <TBD>
| Variable | Changes Made and Rationale |
|---|---|
| Month | A new variable "Date" was created to parse the YYYY-MM format of the Month variable. The formula DATEPARSE('yyyy-MM',[Month]) was used in the calculated field. |
| Town | The variable is set to a State/Province geographical role for purpose of applying it to filled maps in the analysis. |
Approaches
General Colour Scheme for Charts
A consistent colour scheme was used in the charts to retain a sense of familiarity with the readers and reduce confusion.
Several colour schemes was experimented for use across the charts. The final colour scheme selected deliberately used contrasting colours containing red colour and shades of grey. Depending on the chart used, either 3 steps or 5 steps colours was used to provide an intuitive implicit meaning to the chart.
Data Analysis
Description: An overlay of the number of resale transactions by each HDB town or estate on the Singapore Map reveals that towns with the most resale flat transactions are from Jurong West, Tampines, Bedok, Sengkang and Woodlands. It can be observed that most of these areas are mature towns and well built-up. They includes amenities such as shopping centres and major supermarkets. These towns also have the some major developments up and coming:
- Jurong: A Jurong Innovation District will be set up to develop products and services for the future. The future Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail will have its terminus in Jurong.
- Bedok: Bedok town centre has rebuilt a new hawker centre and town plaza, which came after the town's first major shopping mall, Bedok Mall, was opened in late 2013. A new integrated complex comprising a community club, sports facilities and more is also being planned.
- Tampines: A new Tampines Town Hub is being constructed to bring new life into the Tampines Regional Centre.
Not far behind from the above towns are Yishun, Ang Mo Kio and Hougang. These are also densely populated areas that are mature estates. Last but not least are the areas closer to the city centre. These are highly sought-after resale flats at a higher price premium.
Visualisation rationale: The filled map serves to be the "gateway" to which buyers will be attracted to the read more into the infographics. The use of 3 colours to indicate high, medium and low transactions provide a quick visual sense and perception. to support buyers in easily seeing where the transaction volume are across Singapore.
Description: The most popular flat type transacted on the resale market was 4-Room and 3-Room flats. These flats made up about 70% of all transacted flats. These probably serve as the "minimum" flat sizes especially for newly wed couples who wants to have a family, and will need rooms for their children.
Visualisation rationale: A simple bar chart, with a pareto chart overlay was used to quick allow buyers to see the flat types most sold on the market.
Lower floors are sold more. House owners prefer to keep higher floors?
Visualisation rationale: <TBD>
Distribution of the resale public housing prices in 2015
No surprises here. Median prices are higher in mature estates and areas near the city centre such as Central area, Queenstown.
Visualisation rationale: Median avoids outliers. <TBD>
Since primary flats sold are 4 Room, let's focus on 4 Room. Focus on families on a budget.
Visualisation rationale: <TBD>
No surprises on the estates.
Visualisation rationale: <TBD>
An exploration was also performed to
Comparison of patterns of the first-half of 2016 with the patterns of 2015
Visualisation rationale: <TBD>
Visualisation rationale: <TBD>
Visualisation rationale: <TBD>
Infographics
Tools Utilised
- SAS JMP 12 – for initial data exploration and analysis
- Tableau 10.0 – for charting
- Microsoft Powerpoint – for Infographics layout
Results
