The RED portal allows you to displace a graph showing the price trend for the last 24 months where there are transactions. Those months without transactions will be skipped, so that actual period could be more than 24 months. It gives you a good idea about the movement in prices.
The information provided in the RED Portal is valuable and is now given FREE. At a later date, there will be some charge to access certain valuable information. Meanwhile, enjoy the FREE information. I hope that you find them useful.
www.easysearch.sg (Real Estate Data).
Friday, September 18, 2009
Experience with Part Time Work Portal
I tried to locate part time workers at the Part Time Work portal, www.easysearch.sg. I was able to get two good candidates for a project work, where they can work from their home.
It was more difficult to get someone to work in the office. Many of the registered people did not reply to my e-mail. Some have found a job already. I am still trying.
The advantage of this service is that it is free to the employer. It is also easy to find a worker that lives close to the place of work. I will be trying the unemployed workers at the older ages, as they are more likely to want my kind of work.
I wish to encourage employers to try this portal. If you wish to get someone to do the preliminary screening, you can click on the tab Agency. We will handle the initial search and screening for you.
I also encourage unemployed people and those looking for short term work to register in the portal. Although it is for Part Time Work, some employers are keen to offer full time work. It is also possible to do project work from your home.
www.easysearch.sg (Part Time Work)
It was more difficult to get someone to work in the office. Many of the registered people did not reply to my e-mail. Some have found a job already. I am still trying.
The advantage of this service is that it is free to the employer. It is also easy to find a worker that lives close to the place of work. I will be trying the unemployed workers at the older ages, as they are more likely to want my kind of work.
I wish to encourage employers to try this portal. If you wish to get someone to do the preliminary screening, you can click on the tab Agency. We will handle the initial search and screening for you.
I also encourage unemployed people and those looking for short term work to register in the portal. Although it is for Part Time Work, some employers are keen to offer full time work. It is also possible to do project work from your home.
www.easysearch.sg (Part Time Work)
Lodge a report with the Police
You can lodge a report to the Police here: http://www.spf.gov.sg/epc/ePCLinks.html. It is a self-lodge report. Once lodged, it is official for investigation to carry out.
Regulate pay at bank
Even America finds it necessary to regulate pay at banks. This breaks the rules of the free market. It shows that the free market has failed, and America has now recognized it. You cannot rely on the free market that is unregulated and driven by greed and scams.
The banks and financial sector is probably the worse in this respect. America has decided now that they need to be regulated, even down to the pay of bankers. Read this article in New York Times.
Swiss model of health care
This seems to be a very good model. Singapore's model may be quite close to it and could be better in controlling some aspects of health care. Read this article.
Financial Planning (7) - What are good products?
The good investment and insurance products fit into the following criteria:
a) are transparent
b) have fair charges
Most products traded on an exchange are transparent and fair. The price is determined by the supply and demand. Information is made transparent and available to all market participants. You have the choice to be a buyer or seller.
You can buy stocks and bonds on the exchange and get fair pricing. However, you should avoid the illiquid stocks that may be subject to manipulation by the majority shareholders or certain funds.
You can also invest in unit trust and funds that offer diversification and display daily prices based on the market prices of the underlying assets. Choose the large unit trusts that have a high volume of daily transactions. Avoid the small unit trust with less than $100 million of assets.
Avoid structured products, as they tend to be non-transparent and are designed to have a large profit margin for the product issuers. These structured products also have high marketing costs that are passed to the investors. After paying for the high charges, which are usually not disclosed, the investors are likely to get a poor return.
Life insurance products of the investment type generally give a poor return, for the same reasons as the structured investment products. They are not transparent and impose high charges (to cover marketing and profit margins) on the investor.
To recap: choose transparent products with fair charges. Avoid structured investment products, including life insurance. Invest in financial products that are traded on the exchange.
a) are transparent
b) have fair charges
Most products traded on an exchange are transparent and fair. The price is determined by the supply and demand. Information is made transparent and available to all market participants. You have the choice to be a buyer or seller.
You can buy stocks and bonds on the exchange and get fair pricing. However, you should avoid the illiquid stocks that may be subject to manipulation by the majority shareholders or certain funds.
You can also invest in unit trust and funds that offer diversification and display daily prices based on the market prices of the underlying assets. Choose the large unit trusts that have a high volume of daily transactions. Avoid the small unit trust with less than $100 million of assets.
Avoid structured products, as they tend to be non-transparent and are designed to have a large profit margin for the product issuers. These structured products also have high marketing costs that are passed to the investors. After paying for the high charges, which are usually not disclosed, the investors are likely to get a poor return.
Life insurance products of the investment type generally give a poor return, for the same reasons as the structured investment products. They are not transparent and impose high charges (to cover marketing and profit margins) on the investor.
To recap: choose transparent products with fair charges. Avoid structured investment products, including life insurance. Invest in financial products that are traded on the exchange.
Tan Kin Lian
Launch of a new property project
I attended a launch of a new property project recently. There were a few hundred potential buyers. They were given a queue number and allowed into the show flat in batches.
Although the project had a few hundred units, the marketing consultants released only one floor at a time. The prices were not disclosed. They will only be given to interested buyers, on private negotiation. The buyers were told that of the units released earlier, more than 90% had been booked, of which a high percentage had already presented their checks for the booking fee. This arrangement created the impression of overwhelming demand for a limited supply.
When the price was finally told to me "as a privilege", it was 70% more costly (per square feet) than a similar 5 years condominium located 100 meters away. A buyer who is not aware about the market price might be easily misled into booking an over-priced property and acting under a stressed condition. Later, I learned that many of the buyers were allowed to give an unsigned blank check for their booking.
The above pracitces are deceptive. This is how a property bubble is created and buyers were misled into booking for an over-priced property.
Before you consider any property investment, do your research. Go to this website, www.easysearch.sg (Real Estate Data) and find out the recently transacted prices for similar properties in the vicinity. You can pay more for a new property but the difference should not be more than 20%.
Tan Kin Lian
Although the project had a few hundred units, the marketing consultants released only one floor at a time. The prices were not disclosed. They will only be given to interested buyers, on private negotiation. The buyers were told that of the units released earlier, more than 90% had been booked, of which a high percentage had already presented their checks for the booking fee. This arrangement created the impression of overwhelming demand for a limited supply.
When the price was finally told to me "as a privilege", it was 70% more costly (per square feet) than a similar 5 years condominium located 100 meters away. A buyer who is not aware about the market price might be easily misled into booking an over-priced property and acting under a stressed condition. Later, I learned that many of the buyers were allowed to give an unsigned blank check for their booking.
The above pracitces are deceptive. This is how a property bubble is created and buyers were misled into booking for an over-priced property.
Before you consider any property investment, do your research. Go to this website, www.easysearch.sg (Real Estate Data) and find out the recently transacted prices for similar properties in the vicinity. You can pay more for a new property but the difference should not be more than 20%.
Tan Kin Lian
Red Portal (6) - Highest Amenity Index
The amenity index measures the amenities within 1 km of a housing project. Points are given for the type of amenity (e.g highest is for MRT) weighted by the distance to the amenity. The highest score for the amenity index (AMX) is 100.
Here are the housing projects (i.e. condominiums) with the highest AMX. Most of them are not expensive, i.e. benchmark price less than $1000 psf. They are located in the central area.
Why does Thye San Mansion, located in Tanjong Pagar, have a high AMX? It is close to 3 MRT stations, 1 bus interchange, 2 community centers, 3 medical centers, 1 secondary school and 9 shopping malls. And it has a benchmark price of only $572 psf.
Find out more at www.easysearch.sg (Real Estate Data)
Here are the housing projects (i.e. condominiums) with the highest AMX. Most of them are not expensive, i.e. benchmark price less than $1000 psf. They are located in the central area.
Project name AMX BMP
Thye Shan Mansion 99 $572
Craig Place 93 $957
Pearl Bank Apt 91 $590
Abacus Plaza 85
Compass Heights 85 $531
Min Yuan Apt 84 $800
People's Park Complex 82 $688
Novena Suites 82 $1172
Grand Tower 81 $679
Burlington Square 80
Why does Thye San Mansion, located in Tanjong Pagar, have a high AMX? It is close to 3 MRT stations, 1 bus interchange, 2 community centers, 3 medical centers, 1 secondary school and 9 shopping malls. And it has a benchmark price of only $572 psf.
Find out more at www.easysearch.sg (Real Estate Data)
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