RED Portal (5) - Highest Benchmark Price

The RED portal provides an important indicator called BMP (Benchmark Price). It is the average PSF (price per square foot) computed for the latest 20 sales transactions, adjusted by the price index.

Do you know the condos with the highest BMP in Singapore. Here are the top 10 condos. 8 of them are still under construction (to be ready in 2010 and 2011). Two are already occupied. Are you familiar with them?

Go to www.easysearch.sg (Real Estate Data) to see the map of the condo and also the actual transactions.

TOP 10 BMP

Condo                    Year Comp   Tenure   Location        Nr Units     BMP
Marq on Patterson Hill      2011       FH     Orchard          66        $4,305
Cliveden at Grange          2011       FH     Tanglin         100        $3,315
Orchard Residences          2010       99     Tanglin         175        $3,282
Parkview Eclat              2010       FH     Tanglin          35        $3,220
Lumos                       2011       FH     Orchard          53        $3,133
Beaufort on Nassim          2008       FH     Bukit Timah      30        $3,087
Leonie Parc View                       FH     Orchard          44        $2,910
Helios Residences           2011       FH     Newton          140        $2,840
Boulevard Residences        2005       FH     Tanglin          46        $2,807
Nassim Park                 2011       FH     Bukit Timah     100        $2,751

These properties cost several million dollars and are beyond the reach of ordinary people. Anyway, it is nice to know how expensive they are, and where they are located.

You can find more reasonably priced properties at other sectors. Go to the portal and select the condo by its name, or choose the condos in your preferred sector (or district).

www.easysearch.sg (Real Estate Data)

Land banking - call on CAD to investigate

Many investors bought a land banking product with an option (guarantee) that they can withdraw their investment after 12 months with a certain rate of return. They exercised their option, but the land banking company refused to honor the promise.

The investors lodged a complaint with the CAD (Commercial Affairs Department) but the CAD officer told them to see a lawyer and take a legal case. One investor went to see the Member of Parliament and was advised to lodge a complaint with CAD.

Why are our public officers not doing their job? They seem to be passing the buck around. One point to the other. The poor citizens, having "lost" their money, have to go on a merry go round. It seems that they have to carry out their own investigation.

It is the duty of the CAD, on receiving several similar complaints about this land banking company, to carry out an investigation. At the least, they should ask the land banking company to give an explanation, so that the CAD can decide if there is a potential case of cheating. If so, they should carry out more detailed investigation to gather evidence and charge the wrong doers in court.

If the investigation shows that there is no cheating, it will then be appropriate for the CAD to advice the investors to take up a legal case for specific performance.

I suggest that all the affected investors should get together and collectively go to see a Member of Parliament. If you go togther, you will be able to bring your point across more clearly to the MP. Ask the MP to write to CAD to carry out an investigation.

After refusing the honor the promise to repay the earlier investors, the land banking company continue to sell the product to new investors. Will this become a ponzi scheme?

I am worried about the future of Singapore. If our public servants and elected leaders do not carry out their duty, things will get worse. There will be more cases of cheating.

Is it due to lack of manpower in CAD that they cannot carry out any investigation? Or do we now have officials that do not like the ground work and prefer to sit behind a desk and write reports?

Tan Kin Lian

RED Portal (4)

Which are the most expensive condos in Singapore (based on the benchmark price)?
Which condos have the best amenities within 1 km (based on the AMX)?
Which condos have the highest increase in price PSF over the past 12 months)?

This information will be posted in the Real Estate Data (RED) website soon. Go to www.easysearch.sg (Real Estate Data). Read the Guide on how to use this website.

Foreign Talents in Singapore

Dear Mr. Tan,

I refer to the Business Times article about "Foreign Talents in Singapore", 17 September.

While it may be true that Singapore's GDP growth rate has gone up notches, the question is who benefited from the higher growth rate? If you get paid more so that you can pay for the same food that cost more, use the same road that cost more to drive on, rent the same house that now cost you more to rent, ... then it is just inflation.

If the higher growth means you work harder to get higher pay so that you can buy more of something you don't need, eat more and then has to go swimming everyday to get rid of the calories, then the higher growth just translates to wastage.

If all said, people are happier than before then it is all right, but are they?

Heng Chee Meng

RED Portal (3)

Dear Mr. Tan,

Your website has the additional information of stating the floor of the unit which all other websites do not offer. Of course we can try to make a guess but not quite accurate as knowing the actual floor number.

Another advantage is the comparison you provide with other condos. I wish I had done this before selling my unit. I was a first time seller and naively thought that my agent (who is a family member's good friend!) would have done all that is necessary to get me a good price.

Unfortunately she based her pricing on an earlier sale in my condo and told me that an offer of $X was good. I was quite shocked to have that offer and asked her if the market was picking up. She told me it could a temporary thing and made me commit just after 2 viewings and 1 offer!

I must say that it was my fault in trusting that my agent would get me a good price. I bought the property for $X and sold for the same price. It is a high floor. Later I got to know that the ground floor unit was sold for a higher price.

If I had waited just one month, I would have made 80K. At the current price, I would make 100K. The painful thing is that I was not even in a hurry to sell. I had a wonderful tenant who was keen to extend for another year. Guess this is a painful and expensive lesson that I have to learn.

I suggest that you add a listing of units sold more than 2 years ago or a history page

www.easysearch.sg (Real Estate Data)

A long way down

?This report shows the plight of many Americans who did not benefit during the Bush years. Now they are badly hit by the recession. I believe that many Singaporeans also fit into this situation.

Agent wants to recommend good products

Hi Mr Tan,
After reading several articles in your website and Fisca, I am wondering whether my decision to becoming an insurance agent recently is wrong!

I am always interested in insurance line many years ago and believe that the various insurance policies when used appropriately can protect people from unforeseen circumstances. Of course, this is only my own wishful thinking without putting any number in any calculation. My decision to become a insurance agent is to be able to see for myself on how to recommend to my clients that the insurance plan that benefit them the most.

So I am wondering whether it is of any good at all in being a insurance agent since the insurance products out there are mostly gearing towards high cost upfront and not to the benefits of our client. I felt like we are fighting a losing battle against the "big boys" out there.

REPLY
You can continue to be an agent and sell term insurance and single premium products. If you are keen to do it, I can recommend clients to you , provided that these products give good value.