New Project Launches

Sim Lian Group, has sold about 100 units of its Clover By The Park condo at Bishan St 22 since it began previewing the development on Wednesday at an average price of $750 psf. Clover By The Park consists of two 39-storey blocks with a total of 616 units for the Clover By The Park condo. The first phase released earlier this week comprises one tower with 308 units. It is near good schools like Catholic High (within 1 km), Ai Tong Primary School and Raffles Institution. Clover By The Park features three-bedroom and four-bedroom units to luxurious penthouses and suites of six bedrooms.

Next to Kovan MRT Station, an outfit controlled by UOB-Kay Hian star stockbroker pair Han Seng Juan and David Loh Kim Kang is getting ready to release its 512-unit condo, Centurion Kovan. The average price is expected to be in the $850-900 psf range.

Ho Bee has sold 95 units at Dakota Residences since last Friday. The average price is $976 psf. All three projects are 99-year leasehold.

Househunting

It's been a while since I last posted. I have been busy with my clients and team members. I have a team of about 15 agents. Some of them are experienced agents and some brand new. The brand new ones normally require quite a bit of hand-holding. I enjoy the challenge of taking in brand new agents and seeing them progress to experienced agents.

There is still a lot of activity in the property market. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday serving a German family who were looking at a home which would be close to his office (Jurong) as well as being close to an MRT station (for the wife) and not too far away from town. They had come on a look-see trip in February and during that time, we had covered areas like Bukit Timah (The Tessarina), Balmoral (Belmond Green), Newton/Novena (Amaryllis Ville and Newton Suites) and their favourite - Caribbean @ Keppel Bay (close to Harbourfront MRT and Vivo City).

This trip was a short trip but they had to decide on an apartment before Thursday. I showed them Residences @ Evelyn (Newton), Park Infinia (Novena), 8@ Mt Sophia (Dhoby Ghuat) and two units at the Caribbean (Harbourfront).

These were the findings :

Residences @ Evelyn - very good size (1600sqft), nice layout, fantastic facilities, a household shelter (can be used as a utility area) and a utility area near the kitchen but too much construction going on in that area. One building is being pulled down and another one looks like it's going to come down soon.

Park Infinia - nice finishing, living and dining area a little small, even more fantastic facilities, a lot of greenery and areas for children to play, small utility area. My client thought that the living and dining area a little too small and there is also construction going on in that area.

8@ Mt Sophia (picture above) - very good size living and dining area (the best in terms of size), nice facilities even though they did not have a tennis court. It's walking distance from the back gate to Plaza Singapura but there's two flights of steps to manipulate before reaching Plaza Singapura. That was a minus point because my client had a 2 yr old and is expecting another baby. With a baby pram, the two flights of steps would be very difficult to handle.

Caribbean - 2 units - both similar layouts but one with a small balcony and the other without. The one with the balcony had great views of the water canal, a little bit of the Marina view , a little bit of Harboufront view where the big cruise ships dock and you can see the cable cars swinging. The minus point was there was only one utility area in the kitchen which my client felt was too small to put a maid in. The saving grace was the study area near the bedrooms with a proper door which could be used as a maid's room.

My client eventually chose the Caribbean apartment with a balcony which we rented at $8000 for a 3+study (1356sqft). The facilities are great at the Caribbean, my client commented that the place always looks so vibrant even on a weekday morning. There's always kids playing at the pool area and it would be great place to make friends. The Caribbean is also very convenient as there is a shuttle service that brings you to Harbourfront MRT station, close to Jurong as well as town.

Ups and Downs

The last few days have been busy days for me. A lot of enquiries for the 3room HDB flat at Toa Payoh for Sale. I had an enquiry from a Malay family who wanted to sell their 3 room flat in Hougang and buy this one in Toa Payoh. They wanted to buy together with their daughter who is 34 years old and single. I have advised them to wait till she is 35 when she would be able to buy by herself and get a single grant of $11,000 and a top up grant of about $20,000 because her parents will stay with her. If she buys now, she has to take a loan from the bank because they are not upgrading to a 4room flat.

While we are on topic of HDB flats, valuation prices have inreased and the cash over valuation has actually come down. Which is good news for buyers!

A day spent in the Office

Monday is always meetings and catching up with paperwork day.

Quite a few enquiries for the 2bedroom Caribbean apartment for Sale. I have two viewings confirmed for Tuesday and one more for Wednesday. The private property market may seem soft at the moment, but if the property is priced right, it will sell.

One enquiry for the 3 room flat at Toa Payoh and confirmed viewing on Sunday. After buying, they need to sell their 3 room in Hougang.

I have changed the look of this blog slightly and I promise it will get better.

A Day of Rentals

One of my areas of expertise is finding rental units for clients. I served a client yesterday with a budget of $3500 for a 2 years lease and was quite surprised I managed to find 5 places to show him.

He wanted to see properties on the east coast, close to public transport (he works near Suntec City). I showed him the Tanamera (walking distance to Tanah Merah MRT station), Tanamera Crest (shuttle service to the MRT station), the ever popular The Bayshore (shuttle service to Bedok MRT as well as buses to Financial District), the Makena (yes, this apartment was very very nice at that price) and Fernwood Towers.
My opinion is that even though rentals have been increasing since last year, it is possible to find a gem or two. Places like the Bayshore and the Makena are actually very close to town even though they are not served by the MRT.

There have been a lot of new apartments being released into the market place eg, The Seaview and The Belvedere which could have let the prices of the older condominiums drop a little.

On the other hand, I had an advertisement running for a new apartment, Park Infinia @ Wee Nam (Novena MRT), for rent in Saturday's newspapers and that attracted very little response. Park Infinia just attained TOP and are quite a lot of apartments being released for rental at this stage.

On the purchasing side, I still have many requests from buyers to buy in the resale market. These requests mainly come from upgraders or tenants who have been renting for a long time. Since rental rates have gone up, many people are turning to buying their own homes instead of renting, using the rental to actually pay for their mortgages.

One of my clients, an expat, text messaged me for a lunch appointment next week. She moved in to a Semi-detached house in the Kembangan area for a rental of $6700 inclusive of a swimming pool. She is still in the process of settling in. I will put up the pictures of her swimming pool once I visit her again.

Currently, I am marketing :

2bdrms 893sqft at the Caribbean for Sale $1.2m nett (we had 3 viewings yesterday)
2bdrms + Study 1130sqft at Park Infinia for Sale at $1.808m ($1600 psf) and for Rent at $6500 partially furnished.
2bdrms 947sqft (2 units) at One Amber for Sale
3bdrms 1313sqft at One Amber for Sale
Executive Apartment at Tampines Blk 230F for Sale
3rm flat at Toa Payoh for Sale

I have a German family coming to Singapore at the end of June looking for a 3 bedroom at the Caribbean, lease starting in August. They had come in January for a look-see visit during which time, I showed them apartments in the Novena area, Bukit Timah area, East Coast area and the Caribbean. They decided they liked the Caribbean because of its proximity to the Harbourfront MRT area as well as the many expat families who are already living there.

I also have a Filipino family looking to buy a 3 bedroom. They have been renting for some time and have decided to purchase.