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.

I have finally decided to blog!

I have finally decided to blog. I have a website but it is quite static, in the sense that people cannot ask me any questions or there is no where to leave your comments. But here, I encourage any body out there who has a query about housing in Singapore. No obligations, this service is for free! So ask away...