June update

Continue to remain X busy.

Personal -
1) had to settle my mom's maid (the first one did not want to come last minute, the 2nd Myammese failed the English test 3 times, finally settled on a transfer maid) - Wk2 Tuesday Eve

2) had to settle my Dad's car which gave alot of trouble of late. The power steering hardened and was spoilt, and had to be changed $1100 , many pipes have to be changed as they were leaking oil , timer belt (400) , workmanship (400), altogether ard 3000. The mechanic from Hock Hwa suggested taking out the engine to repair it. And the total bill went up to $4000

3) had to settle my son's parental volunteer in Kong Hwa School. It is extremely competitve now adays with even doing a PV, u need to go for interview. (30 applicants out of 100). After not qualifying for the interview, we had to find many other ways to get inside.


Business -
1) In the process of closing up ASE.
- Changed the ACRA shareholding structure, submitted Estamp (Share Transfer). (Wk1Fri leave)
- Sat AM went to the bank with my Dad, but was told I needed the Company Stamp, Board Resolution (2 sign to close the bank acc), meanwhile got the forms signed and changed signature
- (had to go all the way to my Uncle's house to get the signature for the board resolution (Wk2 Tues Eve)
- Closed the bank account (Wk2 Wed AM leave)
- In the process of setting up the Bank Dividend template
- Next strike off the Company
I can really be a part time corporate secretary

2) Innom
Still wasting lots of time on it.
Wk 1 took 3 half day leave to cover N went he went for KL Business trip
Wk 2 had to struggle the whole week to get the pricelist of rods updated, took WK2 Mon AM leave & Wed AM leave
Next have to get the Plunger Questionaire done
Next FY closing and getting in a sec

Property - after trying to hold garage sale a few weeks, I started to advertise and sell the property. Times are not too good and there were little offers. Will update in another month.

Share -
1) Actually bought some Camdemco as I felt the Uranium crisis was overdone, but cut loss the following Monday when Merkel came out to announce phasing out of Nuclear plants. Was actually very stupid as I still do not have time to do comprehensive study. PE was still v high >20, so should not have gone it yet. Prior to the Japanaese EQ the Uranium sector was overvalued

2)Bought some Infineon as I wanted exposure to the new Smart Grid, EV, High Energy Costs play. It is ard 13 PE with cash about 20% its equity. But I have to becareful of gross margins (assumption that it continues to hold) as now we seem to be on the high of Business Cycle

3)Portfoilio down 10% , need to get rid of unwanted work! and concentrate what I do best

4)EV is slow to pick up, but estimate is 2013 where

FY2011 Q1 Personal

Have been a hectic quarter in 2011.

At first I thought we had a agreement to sell the company to another third party. However the other party kept on dragging its feet.

Finally in the CNY in Feb, I reduce the price by 13% to reflect inventory obsoletion in the Japanese blanks and less some consumption of inventory .

In Jan -busy with preaparing CNY - food for CNY eve and first day ( have to go to Chinatown to buy the foodstuff , market etc) , decorations (Chinatown and Garden) ,
- busy with trying to close the deal

In February - CNY

In March - Reservist 1st week and inventory counting, 2nd week cover InXX while employee went for Penang customer visit, 3rd week - own company 3 years revenue projection alignment meeting

In April - QBR,
RT (manage to pass after 4 weeks),
got new maid for my Mum,
clean up the old house to sell,
AS Enterprise AR filing ( no need to file income tax - FORM C waiver done already ), after consulting ACRA as we have no filed the AR for 4-5 years, if we file now, every year there will be a penalty. If we have the intention to close the company, we can strike off.
InXX - Calculate 10 months Financial

Oct Update - Move House and FInalise HDB Sale

Celebrate my BD on 3rd Oct.

Reno- During that time although most of the furniture has been finished, there are still many small nitty gritty things

- Outdoor furniture, finally selected a affordable yet comfortable outdoor set from Woods and Woods. As my balcony is rather big, and have a nice scenary, I wanted to choose a nice outdoor furniture so that I can relax and invite friends over in the balcony. It was a 3+1+1 set with a table with a cost of 1850.

- hooks for toilets,

- my wife wanted to get decals (stickers) and we went to United Square twice at least, finally getting some flowers for the electrical cabinet


- choosing paintings - went to Balestier and a few places to look at drawings, finally settle it online

- kitchen ware

- sourcing for Movers, finally settled for Soon Seng Transport

- Got my outdoor furniture, and beds for my children's room in

Moved house on the 10 Oct - 10/10/2010 Yeah !


Really tough weekend, on Sat. Packed since morning with just so much work, which seemed never ending. It is really tough for us as we need to pack with 2 small kids around, especially the small one whom u need 1 person attention when he is awake.



My sil came in the afternoon to "help" take care of my kids while we packed. However in the evening, she conveniently excused herself to see her bf sister and was away from 5-9. This really pissed me off. When you commit to help, people really depend on you to help during the crunch time.



During the evening, as always there is last minute things to get. I went out to get monster cable, tape to tape the boxes (which ran out) and ice box to keep food while we power off the fridge for 1 night before the move. Only when my sil came back did we have time to pack again.



At night after packing the fridge, I removed the cables slowly from my TV set which was connected to the AM, Starhub, DVD, Mio TV. I really hate such messy connections especially when the wires are so short and connected at the back. The reason why we disconnect them is because we wanted to assemble the wires in the new place before the move. Once the movers move the TV, all they have to do is to mount the TV and we can just pluck the cables to the TV withouht much hassle. The movers will not bother about connecting the wires for you. At my new place, we spent close to 2-3 hours just trying to assemble the wires from the TV console. This took us close to 4am .



The next morning on Sunday 10th Oct 2010 8:30 the movers came. They sure are professional, moving boxes really fast. There were close to 5 of them, and wrap all our things very well . The only thing that took almost an hour was the deassembly of our master bedroom, which had a hydraulic lift.

By 12 noon, they finished and we started to unpack. It was a good relief that the tedious part was over. We also started to rewire the TV and took about an hour before getting the Starhub and Mio Tv & DVD working.

The next day the furniture came in - sofa/dinner table.

For the next whole week till 18th Oct, we got a hanger installed, got the decal person to come in to stick, and moved whatever leftover from the old house. The left over really took some time to move as we could only move bit by bit and took almost 10-15 trips. eg. clothes, fish tank, toys etc.

We finally signed the HDB 2nd appointment letter on 18th .

For the new house,
- the painting was mailed to our house, and I went to Balestier to frame it.
- we also got grills for the house and
- got shades as the afternoon sun is rather glaring.

I was especially busy with my office work as well
- 2 targets setting / QBR/BMR/ Results which lasted till late November.

Had a house warming on 2 dates + celebrating my youngest son birthday

May- Aug Weekend burnt

Every weekend is burnt, from May, all weekends burnt at my Dad's office (inventory check/sorting accounts) , that I dun even have time to cut my hair.

The previous previous weekend was mainly
-checking for defects at my property
- meeting up with designer (confirm design & material)
- busy chasing the property agent for property agreement

The previous weekend Sat was
- morning (Hsien Zheng's class)
- afternoon meeting up with the designer to confirm materials, designs etc.
- Sunday morning was breakfast
- visiting my Dad
- going to Parkmall to shop for sofa, finally got a satisfied German sofa from Castilla.

The last weekend Sat was
- morning (Hsien Zheng's class)
- afternoon went to Ubi to look at sofa and dinning set
- Later in the evening, went over my Dad's property for defects inspection
- and after dinner went to Furniture mall to get my dining set. (really super productive).
- Sunday morning breakfast
- visiting dad
- afternoon went to my dad's office to sort out accounts again and record payment.

Property Investment in April

Shares

Divested my remaining SMRT at 2.16 and Best World. The visibility in Best world is really not there. And I feel that the startup cost for the circle line for SMRT will take a long time (at least 1 -2 years to recoup see NE line).

Property

- Bought my 2nd property at Dakota Residences. I was tempted to buy when I knew that Waterbank ( the property to be launched next to it was selling at 1200psf. So after much thoughts, I bought a 4-rm at Dakota at 1050 psf. Comparing around, i feel that it has more potential to appreciate comparing The Shore (1300 psf) which is not near any MRT/Shopping Centre, SilverSea (totally overhyped high end selling) at 1600 (no sea view)- 1900 psf. Also interest rate should be low for 1-2 years. + Dakota is next to the upcoming Sports Hub (Lifestyle and 2nd Singapore expensove Architectural Icon)

- Sibor/SOR Had to look for banks (Sibor/Sor) finally settled for OCBC (SOR).

SIBOR stands for Singapore Interbank Offered Rate and is a daily reference rate based on the interest rates at which banks offer to lend unsecured funds to other banks in the Singapore wholesale money market (or interbank market).SIBOR stands for Singapore Interbank Offered Rate and is a daily reference rate based on the interest rates at which banks offer to lend unsecured funds to other banks in the Singapore wholesale money market (or interbank market).

The Swap Offer Rate (SOR) represents the effective cost of borrowing SGD synthetically through borrowing USD for 3 months and swap out the USD in return for SGD for the same maturity

The simple reason why I settled for SOR is I believe the interest rate in US will be ultra low for a long time. The low interest rate will not help the US unemployment rate and with unemployment rate still high, interest rate will remain low in US. Also SOR (abt 0.38 as of today) is cheaper than SIBOR (0.438)

I got a very good deal at OCBC (1st year 0.5 +SOR, 2nd year 0.75+SOR and 3rd year 1.25+SOR). Also I got a mortage broker to get a mortage referral to get some dough back. Ha ! It looks like my property agent course got its refund.

- Sold my HDB flat ! I also advertised in the newspaper and sold my HDB property 50+ K over valuation (in 1 day!). Had to spend time advertising SPH and find free online

• cleaning up the house, paint (red wall & TV consle),
• fix several items (lights/kitchen cabinet door).
• And after that HDB inspection, had to fix up the aircon pipe to touch the basin(went to Lavender SimBH to buy pipes/ connectors and saws)

key differentiating factors for commercial office properties

...this is a reply from dydx on the wallstraits forum on the commercial office property which I find it useful for evaluating commercial office property investment

I am no property expert, but I believe some of the key differentiating factors for commercial office properties are -

1. A good location - e.g. Raffles Place; close to a key MRT station; being part of an integrated development (e.g. like Suntec, where the shopping mall and convention centre elements make the offices there desirable, even though the MRT is quite a long walk away). This usually makes a property become "Prime" in the location sense.

2. A good architectural design, with big-enough floor plates, up-to-date techinical specifications, and high-quality furnishings, suited for large modern offices. All these make a property "Grade A" in additional to its location. In this aspect, new buildings are always one-up against the older buildings. That's why big some companies or banks have no qualms in moving their main offices every few years - especially when the economy is looking up and their businesses are expanding - going for the best and cheaper deals.

3. Property owners giving naming rights of the building to key tenants. Some big companies or banks like the idea of having their rented building carrying their names, and for that they are willing to sign a longer lease and perhaps pay a premium rent.

Notwithstanding the above, commercial office rental rates are ultimately governed by supply/demand forces, be it for Prime, Grade A, or other lower grades. On the demand side, the main driver is the state of the economy, and whether the foreign banks and other financial institutions, coporates, and related providers of support services, are expanding. At the end of the day, companies and banks hire more staff and spend or invest in new offices because of business requirements - i.e. there is business to be done, or at least a strong likelihood of it happening.

On the supply side, the main driver is the completion of new office buildings in particular locations. E.g. When the currently under-construction new Straits Trading Building and Keppel Towers are completed, total supply of Grade A office space at Raffles Place will increase significantly. Unless demand continues to grow in the short term to mob up the new supply - unlikely under the current scenario - office rental rates in Raffles Place will come under serious competitive pressure and will have to fall, so the the new supply of space can be absorbed within a reasonable period of time, giving the owners of the new buildings a chance to collect some rev.

Another point to note, when big companies do not make money, it is entirely possible that the management will downgrade their offices from Grade A at Prime locations, even into their factories/warehouses in Jurong! And we must not forget most of the large banks are moving their back-end operations to Tampines or other offside locations in order to cut rental expenses and place such units in more longer-term premises.

Price cuts draw buyers to 3 condo relaunches

May 19, 2009
Price cuts draw buyers to 3 condo relaunches
By Joyce Teo

Three prime condominium projects that struggled to generate interest last year saw a surge of buyer activity over the weekend after developers cut their prices.

The freehold 19-storey Parc Centennial in Kampong Java Road - where all 51 units are served by private lifts - sold 32 units at $1,115 per square foot (psf) to $1,233 psf, or from $1.27 million to $1.93 million. This price level is about 20 per cent lower than last year's $1,450 psf, and the interest absorption scheme is included.

Developer EL Development sold only six units in April and May last year when the project was originally released for sale. And at a private preview in March this year, it sold a 2,486 sq ft penthouse unit for $1,005 psf.

It held a preview this past weekend and has now sold all the two-bedroom units, which start from 1,098 sq ft. The three-bedders increase in size to 1,572 sq ft.

Managing director Lim Yew Soon said he had raised the prices of the remaining 12 three-bedroom units at Parc Centennial by 2 per cent.

Over at the 302-unit Martin Place Residences in River Valley, a soft launch over the weekend saw sales of 80 units at $1,450 psf on average, out of a total of 100 units launched.

Developer Frasers Centrepoint Homes said the 'attractive pricing' drew buyers. It released units priced from $1,260 psf to $1,700 psf, compared with the initial 28 units sold at $1,700 psf to $2,000 psf last year.

Singaporeans made up 62 per cent of the buyers at Martin Place Residences, with the rest being permanent residents and foreigners.

Earlier, CapitaLand had reported strong weekend sales at its 173-unit The Wharf Residence. About 95 per cent of the buyers chose not to take up the stamp duty waiver and interest absorption, preferring a straight 8 per cent price cut, it said yesterday.

Prices started at just below $1,000 psf for units with private enclosed space and many of the weekend deals were done at less than $1,300 psf, industry sources said.

Attractive price cuts, coupled with the recent stock market rally and a fear of losing out, are some of the key factors spurring buyer interest, experts said.

Compared with the situation late last year, buyers are more confident and developers seem to be taking advantage of improving sentiment to relaunch projects at attractive prices, said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail.

.............Coincidentally, I went over the weekend to enrol my son into Meyer Road Pat School House. It costs about above 700+ for a half day course. The other school I saw was Modern Montesorri which cost about 600+. PS has a ratio of 1:7 while MM a ratio of 1:12. Furthermore, PS has a classroom of muscial instruments.

This is my thoughts... I have colleague who place their kids into church school which costs around 200+, but this does not include school holidays. So effectively they have to find ways to take care of them, also they enrol them for Chinese+Music+Art class which will cost another additional 200-300+. In PS, you have everything in 1 roof, which will save time/effort too.

PS anyway has very good reviews and I think it is time for my little one to learn some independance and some skill sets which we as parents/grandparents may be hard to instill.

....Anyhow, after registering my son, we visited a new classy condominuium "View at Meyer". Its has a very classy architectural building with private lifts. It is sort of a boutique condo. But wow, the price was also classy. It range from 1250 psf (3th floor) to 1450-1500 (9th floor) and 1700 psf at 20+ floor. A 3-bdrm is 1600+ sqf and 4-bdrm 1790 sqf. Thus the price is ard 2.2- 2.9 million. Well according to the property agent there, this is considered a boutique condo, and this is the price to pay. Nearby condos like Esta/Seaview/One amber is ard 900 + psf, but there are easily few hundred units there. I suspect there might be traffic jam just trying to get back home.

I am thinking, at the end of the day, convenience is still my top prority. Getting food is a breeze to me, at my current place, I can get good food within 3 mins walk.

It is also next to a upcoming central MRT. If I were to stay in those Condo, I will have missed out on all these convenience. When my kids grow up, I need not fetch them up/down frequently. My Uncle who lives in Bukit Timah Coronation road, although is considered prime land, he has to be a full time chauffeur as it is so inaccessible.

At the VaM, I also saw Zhou Chu Ming. He seems to have bought a 1-bdroom trying to rent out at 3.5K. Well good luck.

Property seems to be picking up, due to pent up demand and sentiment. However the avalanche of TOP property next year and the wave of expatriate going back home only means that supply is still in abundant. I am not optimistic of property prices in the next 1-2 years, which had not corrected much.

US property - Update from US colleague

A friend of mine who is a LT delegate to US is in town for some training.

I had a short discussion with her and this are the takeaways
Property related
- She is staying near San Jose
- US home property has been dropping - very obvious
- US rent market is creeping up - from US $ 1100 to 1240 for a 1 bedroom - abit surprise, accd to her, because ppl cannot afford housing or foreclosed will rent instead
- People tend to move nearer the city now due to oil prices
- US property still quite ex. eg US 400 K for a 2 bedroom
- I am referring to property in/near San Jose. For central the property are dirt cheap.... US 400 K can buy a bungalow
- Banks are restricting funds and more prudent, eg. for Jumbo loans (above 500K) interest rates are higher

Polictics related
- Obama if elected will have more trade restrictions
- according to my colleague, they are likely to have stricter rules with regards to FTA. For eg. they will only look at FTA if the other party have the same policies (like free labour laws etc)

My take
Looks like the turmoil will take at least another year to drop as houses are still expensive~ maybe drop at least 10% and due to inventories . Recovery will be fast as supported by higher rents. But definetly, will have to look at economical activities to pick up. Mood in US is still rather sombre with little jobs ard.

Banks see plunge in home prices in next two years

ST 21 May, 2008

Banks see plunge in home prices in next two years

New homes, rising vacancy rates, unsold condos and fewer rental deals cited as reasons

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter

THE slowdown in the Singapore housing market has prompted two banks to predict a dramatic plunge in home values in the next two years. In two starkly bearish reports, Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse have forecast drops of up to 40 per cent in home rents and prices, as demand and supply dynamics move in favour of buyers.

The reports, issued in the last two weeks, pointed to the malign cocktail of a flood of new homes coming on the market, climbing vacancy rates, a rising number of unsold condominiums and fewer rental transactions. They also raised concerns about the possible dumping of units by speculators. Barclays said that should this happen, private home prices could slide 28 per cent to 30 per cent by 2010.

Credit Suisse predicted a possible 40 per cent drop in rents and prices. Its analysis showed that sub-sale prices recently started to dip at several developments. Both banks also noted that developers were now more generous with price cuts, stamp duty rebates and agent commissions in an effort to move units.

They warned that smaller developers were likely to 'break' first. 'Just six months ago, City Developments and a few others gave zero commissions to agents,' Credit Suisse said. By March, most were giving 1 per cent to 5 per cent, an increase of three to 10 times in just six months. 'When Singaporean developers start to reach out to agents with higher commissions, you know they are feeling the pain,' it said. The pain is coming from slower growth in home rents and prices, as the effects of the United States sub-prime mortgage crisis takes its toll on market sentiment in Singapore.

Private home prices rose a smaller-than-forecast 3.7 per cent in the first quarter. Even then, Barclays analysts said this could have been boosted by a handful of high-priced transactions and 'may not reflect the depth of pessimism in the market'. Sales and launches of new homes also fell sharply last month, extending the slump.

Mr Colin Tan, the head of research and consultancy at Chesterton International, agreed with the Barclays report about a correction in prices. As more new homes are completed over the next few years, he said, rents will feel the pressure and prices will start to fall.

Not all property analysts, however, have such a gloomy take on the housing sector. Kim Eng analyst Wilson Liew believes the oversupply situation may be overstated. While there are 32,000 units being built and 42,000 more in the pipeline, current market sentiment could help slow the rate at which the planned units come onstream. 'It is likely that most of these units would be deferred indefinitely until sentiment returns or when construction resources ease,' he said. Developers could also keep lands in their landbank rather than develop them if there is no demand, suggested Macquarie Securities' head of Asean research, Mr Soong Tuck Yin.

Both he and Mr Liew believe the upcoming integrated resorts will give Singapore a boost and, while there may be a temporary weakness, home prices are unlikely to collapse. Mr Soong also said developers had stronger balance sheets now than in previous market troughs, and the current low interest rates and high inflation could lead people to buy properties as a hedge against inflation.

The Credit Suisse report, however, said negative real interest rates - often touted as a driver for property purchases - had not historically helped home sales. It also said that even with construction delays, actual completions had usually come in higher than forecast.

Steven Molnar Real Estate Mastery Course

Steven Molnar Real Estate Mastery Course

Two days ago, I was at Singapore Expo for Steven Molnar’s Real Estate Mastery Course. The event was scheduled to run from 9am to 9am. Real estate investing is something that I’m inexperienced in, so I had hoped to learn something useful from the course.

The morning part of the course was a bit slow starting. We were taught by Steven about wealth and he also scratched the surface on some financial planning.

Then he gave an overview of different investment options, using “7 commandments” to highlight why property investment is a good option. It wasn’t quite what I came for and at times, I was close to dozing off.

Steven next shared a ten year plan whereby we could make an income of $180k from property every year. The plan works like this:

- Buy a 300k property with a 100% interest only loan.
- Pay the interest with your rental income.
- In 10 years, the price of the property would have doubled.
- Refinance at 80% to extract $480k from property.
- Pay off the loan of $300k and you would be left with $180k in cash.

If you can repeat this every year for 10 years, you would have cash coming in every year.
The refinancing option allows one to extract cash from the property without having to sell it. This would be good for avoiding the payment of capital tax gains. In Singapore where there is no capital gain tax, we could possibly just sell the property and pocket the entire $300k instead of refinancing it.

In my view, the success of this plan would depend on a few factors:

- Rentals must be able to cover your interest. Periods of vacancy might be risky if you cannot service the loans.
- The property must double in price. This might or might not happen. If you buy at a high point, you might be stuck with very little capital appreciate even after 10 years.
- Banks must be able to lend you as many as ten loans.
- Getting a 100% loan.

The 10-year plan would probably be too risky for most investors, but trying to do it for one or two properties might be viable.
How is it possible to buy property with no money down? We can’t obtain a 100% loan in Singapore but Steven suggests a few methods:

- Making use of credit lines for the other 10% that needs to be funded by cash.
- Making use of vendor finance. This is something that is new to me.
- Borrow or go into joint ventures.

A few other tips I picked up from Steven include:
- Always do your own independent valuation.
- Amateur investors look at price.
Useful list of real estate websites (mostly for Australia):
www.realestate.com.au
www.residex.com.au
www.domain.com.au
www.hia.com.au
www.abs.gov.au
www.reia.com.au
The last part of the seminar was on some of the risks of real estate investing.
- Vacancy
- Property damage and bad tenants
- Loss of income
- Rising interest rates
- Market collapse
Steven also promoted his 5-day Advanced Real Estate Mastery Course and an upcoming property development project to us. Are they good?
If you recall my earlier post on Steven Molnar, there seemed to be a couple of websites with negative feedback on Steven. Most of it was directed to his association with Henry Kaye.
However, if you look carefully at the posts in this forum, most of the negative posts were made by people who were new users to the forum. It seems that their sole purpose in registering seems only to discredit Steven Molnar. I can’t confirm this though.
Other than one other site, I couldn’t really find much feedback on Steven Molnar or his Advanced Real Estate Mastery Course. That site gave a good review for the course but a negative feedback on Empowernet. You might find them interesting:
Review on Free Real Estate Course
Review on 5-day Advanced Real Estate Mastery Course
Empowernet shine wears off
Some news from Empowernet
Undesirable customer service

With regards to the Ecoville project that Steven was promoting, I can’t really comment much on it without more research. If you are considering to invest in it, do check the valuation of the land (among other things) to make sure you are not overpaying for it. Remember what Steven taught us - do your own independent valuation.

Personally, I don’t like the idea of depositing $1k just for the chance to find out more about it.
I would like to end this post with a small bit of advice.
Attending a real estate course does not automatically make you an expert at real estate investing. Nor does it guarantee you wealth. It forms just one part of your preparation. The knowledge you acquire has to be put into practice and continously worked on for your saw to be sharp. This is no shortcut in investing. Great investors always do their homework.
Good luck.

April 23, 2008, The Straits Times
Deferred payment scheme: Up to 4,200 homes may be dumped No URA figure on units sold but experts say 30% could be offloaded
By Jessica Cheam

THE hugely popular deferred payment scheme (DPS) - scrapped last year - may now be a thing of the past, but what sort of shadow will it cast on the Singapore property market going forward? This has been the question on market watchers' lips since the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) revealed last week that as many as 29,250 homes offered under the DPS, including 5,760 unsold units as at the end of last month, will be completed from this year to 2013.

The concern is that speculators who bought homes under the DPS could dump their units at below-market prices, and this could drastically drag down overall sentiment. But just how many units are at risk of being sold, and how big will the impact be?

The URA said while it has the number of units approved under DPS, it does not have data on how many units were actually sold under the scheme. But four property experts The Straits Times spoke to estimated that up to 30 per cent of homes sold under the scheme last year could be held by speculators who may offload homes as the completion date nears. This translates to roughly 4,200 homes, going by a back-of-the-envelope calculation.

That is because out of the 23,490 units approved under the DPS and sold, only about 50 to 60 per cent - or roughly 14,000 - are likely to have been sold under the DPS, say property consultants and agency bosses from Knight Frank, Savills Singapore, HSR Property Group and PropNex. The remaining 40 to 50 per cent were not bought under the DPS. Either developers did not eventually offer it, or buyers chose to pay via progressive payments, because buying a home with DPS usually means a further 2 to 3 per cent added to the price.

Next, property experts estimated that of the 14,000 or so homes sold under the DPS, about 20 to 30 per cent were probably sold to short-term investors or speculators. This means that as a group, speculators could be holding on to as many as 4,200 units.

Why are speculators prone to selling their units as they near completion? The DPS allowed buyers to pay just 10 or 20 per cent of the sale price upon purchase, with the rest due only when the unit received its temporary occupation permit (TOP) on completion.

Speculators would, therefore, typically opt for the DPS and hope to sell their units for a profit before the TOP. Any later and they would have to pay up for their homes by arranging for bank loans or other means of financing.

Industry experts were, however, divided on the impact these 4,200 homes would have on the market. Some maintained that panic selling is not likely, given Singapore's strong economic outlook, which is backed by upcoming mega projects such as the integrated resorts and the 2010 Youth Olympics.

Mr Eric Cheng, HSR's executive director, noted that homes set to be completed this year and next are less likely to be sold indiscriminately, since their owners are probably sitting on healthy gains. But those who bought at the peak of last year's buying frenzy, from April till October, are most likely to be at risk. These homes are likely to be completed after 2010.

Mr Ku Swee Yong, Savills' director of business development and marketing, said the sell-off will likely be staggered, because investors have different levels of holding power. Also, investors have bigger coffers compared to the last property peak in 1996, he added.

But he warned that if too many units in a single large project get dumped at below-market prices, overall market sentiment may be hit. Mr Colin Tan, Chesterton International's head (research and consultancy), thinks that the potential risk created by the DPS is relatively high.

He added that data on homes sold under the DPS should be collected and made public, so investors know 'what they're getting themselves into'. Yhe DPS was scrapped abruptly last October after a decade-long run to remove excessive speculation and ensure financial prudence in the property market.

'Don't indiscriminately buy S'pore property stocks' - Insider Apri08

Our article highlighting the BCA Research report has drawn a counter-view from a reader, who is a property industry insider. Interestingly, it is his personal take and it differs from his company's.

1. Even at current low interest rates, property buyers are not tripping over themselvesto buy physical properties in Singapore - look at the low, low URA transaction volumes.

2. Physical property prices on average have gone up 100% (e.g. East Coast - Fort Road 99-year leasehold condo price has shot up from $850 psf in 2005 to $1,600 psf in 2007) but our salaries have not doubled. So BCA's chart 3 (see below) on affordability index is very questionable.

3. The 100% surge in property prices is a result of high rental rates that force expats to BUY rather than to RENT. Genuine buyers are being forced to buy homes at 2x the price because there have been speculation, en-bloc sales and the presence of private equity funds with the financial muscle to hold on to assets for the long-term.

4. Higher-end property assets have seen prices fall but mass market is up in simple terms, as follows:
a. High-end $5,000 psf in mid-2007 to $3,000 psf in mid-2008.
b. Mid-end $2,500 psf in mid-2007 to $1,600 psf in mid-2008
.c. Mass market $800 psf in mid-2007 to $850 psf in mid-2008.

5. The reality is:
a. Property prices have surged in a short span of 2 years (2005 to 2007) because of liquidity & not affordability.
b. We are seeing prices correcting to a decent level (But what's decent, we don't know)
c. The sub-prime woes in the US are a mirror reflection of Singapore property in allowing free liquidity to result in price upside, so please be circumspect.

6. Let' not get smitten by the monthly change in property data. We have to be realists in this market:
a. Interest rates are likely to go up, not down, to combat inflation.
b. Singapore is globally exposed; any stumble in the US economy, we’ll feel the heat.
c. What we don't know: Buyers who bought property at, say, $1,600 psf could be trying to sell at $1,300 psf but there are no takers.
d. Supply, supply, supply in 2009: We expect rents to come down and property prices to weaken (by how much, we don't know)
e. Property stocks are not exactly cheap compared to Apr 06 levels. We think the high Apr 07 prices are anomalies and the result of greed. Apr 08 prices are fair.

8. We are not bears, just being realistic. We do like property stocks with regional exposure (Capitaland, KepLand) and mass-market exposure (Allgreen). So be very selective and avoid the high-end property stocks because there will be more bad news than good coming out from the US sub-prime saga.

Residential rents seen rising further 2008

Published March 27, 2008
Residential rents seen rising further

En bloc sales and population increase caused by influx of foreigners will continue to fuel demand, writes LEONARD TAY RESIDENTIAL rents bottomed out in 2004, recovering until 2007 when they staged an extraordinary rise, surging by more than 40 per cent within the year. This was the highest rate of increase in Urban Redevelopment Authority's private residential rental index since the index started in 1990. And 2008 is likely to see continued strength in rentals, although growing at a more modest pace of 5-10 per cent. Rents rose a negligible 0.2 per cent in 2004, and then a stronger 3.1 per cent in 2005, according to the URA private residential rental index. But as the residential sector recovered strongly from 2006 onwards, rental values rose more steeply. The non-landed residential segment, which forms the bulk of the leasing market, chalked up rental growth of 15 per cent in 2006 before sky-rocketing 43.1 per cent in 2007. A key reason for the supernormal growth in rents was the population increase as a result of immigration. Singapore's total population rose from 4,401,400 in 2006 to 4,588,600 in 2007, an addition of 187,200, of which Singapore residents made up 57,200 while foreigners constituted 130,000. This is a 14.8 per cent rise year-on-year and is the largest increase in the number of foreigners seen in over seven years. The foreign population refers to professionals, workers, students and their family members. This is the first time the total has crossed the one-million mark. The increase in 2006 was 9.7 per cent.

Main attractions The positive run in the economy, growth prospects for the country and an attractive living environment brought many here, leading to the surge in demand for housing accommodation. The foreigners chose Singapore because of the job opportunities here and its connectivity to other major cities in Asia. Generally, they formed the bulk of the tenant pool and the prime districts (Orchard, Holland and Bukit Timah areas) were their favourite locations. However, due to the recent escalating rents, more expatriates have opted to move out of the prime districts for cheaper accommodation elsewhere. Some have even gone ahead to buy their own homes instead of renting. The swelling demand was further fuelled by the number of residential projects that were sold on the collective sale market. A number of displaced home owners have rented in the interim while waiting for their new replacement homes to be completed. While rents have increased islandwide, some regions are ahead of the pack. Rents in the Core Central Region (districts 9, 10, 11, Downtown Core and Sentosa) lead the market with a median rent of $3.86 per sq ft per month, going by URA's median rent numbers at end-2007. This is followed by the Rest of Central Region with a median rent of $2.74 psf per month and the areas Outside of Central Region with a median rent of $2.01 psf per month. Using CBRE Research's basket of properties for the luxury, prime and island-wide segments of the leasing market, average rents have reached even higher levels. The average rent for luxury residences ended 2007 at $6.10 psf per month, having risen 36 per cent during the year. Properties in this luxury class include the top 10 to 15 completed condominiums located in the prestigious areas around Orchard Road. Average rents for prime residential properties were $4.50 psf per month, having increased by 55 per cent in 2007, while islandwide rents were $2.65 psf per month, after rising 33 per cent in the same period. As rentals at prime and popular locations become more expensive, both local and foreign residents have been moving further out; first to the city fringe and eventually along the east-west axis of the MRT lines to the suburban areas. A comparison of non-landed median rents from the URA's Realis system in December 2006 and December 2007 shows that the most significant increases have not been restricted to the central areas, but have been seen in the eastern and western parts of the island. It should be noted that although districts 9 and 10 remain the most popular among expatriates, these districts have a range of old and new residences, leading to a relatively lower median rent compared with those in district 4. The residential landscape in district 4 (Telok Blangah/Harbourfront) is generally more homogenous and comprises newer developments that can fetch a premium. Outlook for 2008 The leasing market is expected to remain firm in 2008 and rents will continue to rise, albeit at a more moderate pace in line with the less aggressive growth projected for the economy. The same phenomenon experienced in 2007 will continue into 2008 as fringe and suburban areas become more sought after by occupiers who find the higher rents in the prime central areas prohibitive. The spillover from the central area would cause rents to rise in other parts of the island and lead to overall growth in the leasing market. At the same time, as Singapore continues to attract the well-heeled from around the world, rents for luxury and city living condominiums in the popular areas around Orchard Road and the CBD will continue to move upwards. Average residential rents are expected to increase by about 5-10 per cent this year.
BT Leonard Tay is a director of CBRE Research

Yishun condo site draws record bid of $213.5m

A YISHUN condominium site drew a higher-than-expected top bid when its tender closed yesterday, belying expectations of a property market slide.
Developer MCL Land offered $213.5 million for the 99-year leasehold plot, which works out to about $350 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) - believed to be a new benchmark for Yishun.
HIGH BID = HIGH HOME PRICES?
Property consultants said the higher-than-expected offer by MCL Land could translate into the finished project selling at record prices for Yishun, even as home buyers are now holding out for lower prices in a subdued market.
Property consultants said this could translate into the finished project selling at record prices for the area, even as home buyers are now holding out for lower prices in a subdued market.
Mr Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, estimated that the end units for the Yishun project could be priced from $830 psf up to almost $900 psf.
This would be almost double what the 99-year leasehold Orchid Park Condo down the road is fetching. Four units at the 14-year-old development have been sold there this year at an average price of $460 psf.
MCL Land's bid pipped four others and came in almost 70 per cent higher than the next bid, from Peak Green, at $127 million, or $208 psf ppr.
Frasers Centrepoint, Sim Lian and Hong Kong's Cheung Kong also tabled offers ranging from $57.7 million to $109.7 million, or $95 to $180 psf ppr - which some consultants said were 'unrealistically low' bids. They had predicted bids of between $200 and $300 psf ppr.
But Mr Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of CBRE Research, said the response was 'fairly robust' and signalled 'developers' confidence in the suburban segment despite the current lukewarm response to new projects'.
'Should the United States enter a mild recession and the sub-prime problems clear up, sentiment for suburban homes should improve after June, bringing demand and upward price momentum back to the market.'
Experts described MCL Land's offer as 'extremely bullish' and suggested that the developer may be short on land bank in the mass market segment.
MCL Land said in its latest financial results that it bought some sites last year, including Holland Hill Mansions and Dynasty Court Garden 1 in Sixth Avenue. Its land bank can now yield 780 units with a total gross floor area of 1.4 million sq ft.
The Yishun site is at the corner of Yishun Avenues 1 and 2, and is 10 minutes' walk from Khatib MRT Station. It is next to Yishun Stadium and overlooks Lower Seletar Reservoir.
'The site is good in that frontage to the reservoir is fantastic,' said Mr Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore. 'I agree you should pay a premium for this site, but this seems to be a very significant premium.'
Separately, HDB yesterday put two more sites up for sale through its reserve list system.
One is a 182,986 sq ft plot at Jurong West Street 42 for executive condos, while the other is a 244,341 sq ft condo site at Chestnut Avenue in Bukit Panjang.

Fund tops Serangoon site tender with $801m bid Located above MRT station

Fund tops Serangoon site tender with $801m bid Located above MRT station, it will be used for a mall and new bus interchange. -->
Joyce Teo
Thu, Mar 27, 2008The Straits Times

THE sleepy Serangoon area received a huge vote of confidence yesterday when a fund bid a sky-high $800.9 million for a land site, which will be used for a mall and a new bus interchange.
Six hopefuls lined up for the 99-year leasehold plot above Serangoon MRT station with four bidding over $660 million - well above the figure some people in the property industry thought the plot would attract.
The $800.9 million bid came from Pramerica Real Estate Investors (Asia) but was submitted under the name Gold Ridge. It reflects a price of $850 per sq ft (psf) of gross floor area.
This was 10 per cent above the second bid of $727 million from Serangoon Community Developments. Another bid came in at $401 million and one was a distant $215 million.
The site - launched by the Land Transport Authority - is destined to be a hub with Serangoon MRT serving as a junction station for the new Circle Line. Any development must include a new bus interchange integrated with the enlarged North-East and Circle Line stations.
The strategic location also offers enormous retail opportunities, say property experts.
'Serangoon Central is not a heavy residential area but there are no major malls within a 3km to 5km radius,' said Mr Danny Yeo, Knight Frank's deputy managing director.
'A mall can be a regional centre. The only tricky situation is that there can only be slightly over 200 carpark lots.'
Pramerica intends to build a full retail centre. It manages the Asian Retail Mall Fund I and II, which own several malls here, including Liang Court in River Valley, White Sands in Pasir Ris and Century Square in Tampines.
The Serangoon mall could have a net lettable area of around 600,000 sq ft, said CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho.
That would make it of similar size to Parkway Parade in Marine Parade and IMM in Jurong.
The plot is designated a white site, meaning it can be used for different functions, such as residential or commercial, but a full retail mall would bring the highest profit margin, said Savills Residential director Ku Swee Yong - and the highest risk in terms of cash flow.
The site has a gross floor area of 87,527 sq m. Consultants said a mall could probably bring average gross rent of up to $14 psf.
Assuming rent of $12 psf to $13 psf, the developers could expect a net income yield of about 5.5 per cent on a stabilised basis, said Mr Li.
Those who placed the lower bids were probably looking at a residential component, which could eventually sell for $800 psf to $900 psf, consultants said.
While the residential space would help with cash flow, proceeds from apartment sales should not be used to fund the retail mall, said an industry expert.
This is to avoid paying heavy taxes when the developer eventually sells the mall.
Meanwhile, the Urban Redevelopment Authority made available two 99-year leasehold sites yesterday. Interested developers can apply to have these reserve list sites put up for tender.
One is a 0.55ha plot at the junction of Clemenceau Avenue and Havelock Road, which is designated for a hotel of up to six storeys.
Another is a 3.07ha residential plot in Upper Changi Road North.
Mr Nicholas Mak, Knight Frank's director of research and consultancy, said the first site could accommodate a three- to four-star hotel with up to 270 rooms. If it is put up for tender, its land price is estimated to be $75 million to $81 million, or $600 psf to $650 psf of gross floor area.
The second site could have up to 400 condo units and fetch between $83 million and $111 million, with new units commanding $650 psf to $720 psf.
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Higher housing grant for singles who live with parents

GOOD news for singles who want to buy a Housing Board flat to live with their parents.
They will get a higher CPF housing grant of $20,000 - from the current $11,000 - from April 1, the HDB announced on Thursday morning.
This higher-tier singles grant will also apply to eligible singles buying flats under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS).
The catch is: the eligible single must commit to living together with his parents in the resale flat for at least five years.
Within the five years, the parents cannot buy or take over the ownership of another HDB flat, or invest in a private property, said the HDB.
Under the single Singapore citizen (SSC) scheme, single Singaporeans aged 35 years and above can get a CPF housing grant of $11,000 to buy a HDB resale flat if they satisfy the eligibility conditions.
Minister for Prime Minister's Office, Mr Lim Boon Heng, announced the higher singles grant in Parliament on March 8.
'It is a pro-family initiative to encourage children to look after their parents,' said the HDB.
The higher-tier singles grant will apply to resale applications or booking of DBSS flats from April 1.
All other prevailing policies such as the income ceiling, minimum occupation period for resale, will apply.
For enquiries, the public can call the toll free Sales/Resale Customer Service Line at 1800 8663 066.

Property Debt comfortable level

A good article on Wallstraits by Dennis on property loans advice

Below is what I shared at another forum, warning Forumers the dangers of over-borrowing and Never, Never, Never Over-borrow.

Cheers!Dennis Ng

If a person or household earns $5,000, keeping Debt-service ratio at 35% (or max Housing Loan instalment of S$1,750), and assuming a 25 years loan period, and an interest rate of 4% (it's better to assume a higher interest rate to be Prudent), the Maximum Housing Loan a person should take (assuming NO other debt) is about S$331,541.85.

Assuming this person takes a 80% Loan, max purchase price of Property is S$414,427. I read somewhere that the average Household income is over S$6,000 (not S$5,000). Using S$6,000 to calculate instead, max Purchase Price of Property is S$500,000. It does appear that current property prices are above what a person can comfortably afford, according to Prudent Personal Finance Principles. Note: banks are comfortable with 40% Debt-service ratio, if we use 40% instead, the max loan would work out to S$454,686 and max purchase price of properties would be S$568,357 instead.whether based on Median Income or Average Income, if we use Prudent Financial Principles as a guide, I agree that property prices are currently above the prices what a person can comfortably buy and comfortably borrow. I would advise a max loan financing of 80%.

If people NEED* to take 90% financing, they are buying/borrowing over their means. We should NEVER, NEVER, NEVER over-borrow. Over-borrowing can lead to a person's Financial Demise. *Note: this is different from a property investor who CHOOSES to take a 90% financing to minimise Cash Outlay but who have the Financial Means to make a 20% downpayment.

Another thing people should note is that current property prices are already much higher than say, 2 years ago, and as prices move higher, risks increase instead of reduce.And the economy is slowing down and there might be retrenchments in future due to economic uncertainties. Thus, anyone buying a property should standby Cash/CPF sufficient to pay for at least 12 months to 24 months of Housing Loan instalment as a "Safety Buffer". This will ensure he/she can continue to service the Housing Loan even if he/she lose his/her income. If they cannot afford to do what I advise, suggest that they NOT buy a property, they should continue to save some more money so that they can meet the guidelines I shared.

Cheers!Dennis Ng

A good analysis of Singapore property from a writer Qiaofeng from Channelnewsasia
Quote:
Experts say Grade A office rentals to continue rising in 2008 By Pamela Almeda, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 22 February 2008 0054 hrs

SINGAPORE : Rentals of Grade A offices in Singapore are expected to continue rising this year. According to property consultant Savills, average office rentals here may even nudge above that of Hong Kong's, currently the highest in the region. They added that Singapore's office property sector will continue to remain buoyant despite worries over the US sub-prime crisis. "Even in the current environment which is rather uncertain, we noticed that the financial services community is continuing to grow in Asia. And we noticed this in HK and in Singapore, so demand remains very strong here. That is going to continue to push up rents in the grade A office market," said Simon Smith, Deputy Managing Director, Savills Valuation and Professional Services. Savills is expecting prime office rents in Singapore to jump by 15-20% this year, down from the 90% jump in 2007. Vacancy rates for offices hit as low as 0.2% late last year. Savills said Singapore is attractive to overseas investors looking at the office property sector in the region. Robert McKellar, CEO (Asia Pacific), Savills Asia Pacific said: "Office is primarily very attractive. Of course, (there are) very few assets for sale and that makes it very difficult for any overseas investor to get access to stock. Nevertheless, if the opportunity arises, then definitely we'll go for a secure investment in Singapore. "For example some of the German open-ended funds that are increasingly wanting to have a bigger slice of the Asian real estate markets; they see Singapore as an attractive market because of the fact that its lots are risk-free. "They are looking to have a base from which to invest into the region, and (it's) ideal for them, acquiring an asset in Singapore which is risk-free, which has stabilised market, strong economy and low taxation." Meanwhile, another property consultant CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) is estimating that about 10.1 million square feet of new office space in Singapore will be completed by end of 2012. Some 67% of the supply coming into stream within the next three years is expected to be Grade A office space. This means a doubling of prime office space. CBRE said monthly rentals for prime office space averaged S$15 per square foot from October to December of last year, up 92% on year. It is expecting these to average S$17 per square foot by the end of the year. Meanwhile, luxury residences will also see prices jumping between 8-12% in 2008. - CNA /

Who to believe? Savills and CBRE...says Supply is catching up with demand and they say Office rentals will still rise.... as much as 15-20% this year.... CitiGroup....Wendy Koh .. plays contrarian ....... and says Supply will exceed demand... and cites oncoming demand averaging 3.2 m sq ft per year....... Who to believe? Careful study of the CitiGroup figures reveal they are using historical demand of 1.5 m sq ft per year....... So they are using historical demand to compare with future projected supply....Somehow the logic ......just don't jive...... but the report by CitiGroup seems to carry weight........ An update of current demand and a projection of future demand will be more enlightening.......


Quote:
Oversupply Looms In Singapore Office Sector: Citigroup 28/11/2007 It downgrades two stocks with key exposure to sector - KepLand, CityDev. Singapore is in danger of seeing an oversupply of office space from 2010 onwards, Citigroup is warning. The bank’s research unit has also downgraded two Singapore stocks with significant exposure to the office market here - Keppel Land and City Developments. ‘The market is underestimating the potential supply of new office space in 2010 and beyond, in our view,’ said Citigroup analyst Wendy Koh in research report dated Monday. ‘Based on our estimates, occupancy rates are likely to peak in 2008-09 and decline thereafter with the impending supply.’ Since May 2007, six new sites with a total gross floor area of 5 million sq ft have been awarded amidst fears of an office space crunch. These sites could add some 3 million sq ft of new office space in 2010-11, Citigroup estimates. Altogether, on average, 3.2 million sq ft of new supply could hit the market from 2010-12, the bank said. This compares to a historical average demand of 1.5 million sq ft per year. Supply estimates could rise even further with more government land sales in the first half of 2008, Citigroup said. All this will mean that buildings in core Central Business District will be competing for tenants. Key projects that are scheduled to be completed in 2010-12 include Marina Bay Financial Centre, the redeveloped Ocean Building One Financial Centre and the South Beach Road and Marina View land parcels. In response, Citigroup downgraded its ratings on office landlords Keppel Land and City Developments. Keppel Land was downgraded to a ’sell’ from a ‘hold’, while CityDev was rated a ‘hold’, from a ‘buy’ previously. ‘Going forward, we expect Keppel Land to face keen competition while marketing the remaining space at the Marina Bay Finance Centre and One Financial Centre,’ Ms Koh said. She cut KepLand’s revalued net asset value (RNAV) estimate to $7.83 (from $8.85) and target price to $6.26 (from $8.97). For CityDev, Citigroup cut its RNAV estimate to $14.47 from $15.28 and target price to $15.90 from $18.00 to reflect lower capital values of office buildings. Other analysts however said that all the new projects coming onstream will not cause an oversupply - rather, they will ensure that supply catches up with demand. ‘I think that there will be significant pent-up demand for office space that will only be satisfied when supply hits the market in 2010-11,’ said Moray Armstrong, CB Richard Ellis’ executive director for office services. This pent-up demand means that demand in 2010-11 will be significantly higher than the historical average, Mr Armstrong said.

Source: Business Times

Looking at CitiGroup's figures..... one wonders if URA and SLA..... are releasing too much supply...... and are missing the total supply picture? Or are they deliberately planning for the higher supply...... given that they are in touch with current projected demand? So Is City Dev.....Kepland......a BUY ing opportunity or a SELL...... U decide..... I was reading Capitaland' 2007 FY report and they have CBRE's figures.... in their report.... I have gleaned some figures from the Capitaland report released today… Source: URA, CBRE & CapitaLand Research (Jan 2008) • Average annual supply ('93-'07)…………….1.14 mil sq ft • CBRE projected annual take-up for 2007-2012 ..... 1.6 mil sq ft • Some future supplies have already been pre-committed, e.g. 1.6 mil sq ft in 2010 (MBFC) So lets look at the Overall picture..... Supply and Demand Forecast Figures by CBRE………taken from the report....
………….. … ….Supply………………….Demand……………Diff
 2007 ……….- 0.5* mil sq ft …………...0.9*…..……….-1.4
 2008………… 1.0 mil sq ft ……………...1.6………..…...-0.6
 2009………… 1.4 mil sq ft ……………….1.6…….…....….-0.2
 2010………… 2.7 mil sq ft …………… 1.6+1.6**………-0.5
 2011………….3.8 mil sq ft………………. 1.6………..…...+2.2
 2012………….1.1 mil sq ft ………….... 1.6……..…..…..-0.5
Total…………...8.4mil sq ft…….…....8.9……….…….-0.5

*Estimates from graph read-off **1.6 m sq ft pre-committed in MBFC So we see supply trying to catch up with demand until 2011...when supply exceeds demand....... then a reversion back in 2012..... Note these are estimates...and properties .....due to long gestation and construction periods ...have huge lag effects.... Nevertheless..... the whole scenario depends on the outlook....... that one has for the government globalistion plans for Sg The Remaking of Singapore into global city.... are U optimistic.....? - Will current growth in our efforts to be a regional financial centre pan out.....? - Will current trends like the Open Skies Treaties lead to better air connectivity and hence enhance Sg desirability as a regional centre.... - Will the Quality of living.....IRs...F1...YOG....Sg Flyer... New Botanic Gardens.....Enhanced by vibrant arts and entertainment scene...think Collyer and Boat Quays..... and Museums...lead to a higher desirability for expats to stay put..... and more HNWIs to relocate here....? For now CBRE is still projecting 10-15% rental growth and Savills ...see previous article by BT ...is projecting rental growth of 15-20% for prime office space... ...which will underpin capital values.....and Savills is saying German open ended funds...outlook on demand for ownership of Office properties are still strong.....showing high pre-commitment interests in future projects.... So maybe.... the Office Property scene is not as dour as CitiGroup......is projecting....... in its contrarian take on the Sg Office mkt.....