Issue 280

Copyright 2011-2016 www.propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENTS
p2

FROM THE

EDITOR

Welcome to the 280th edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly.

How to Tell Real Property Bargains

From Fake Ones 6 Questions to Ask

p7

Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

Resale Property Transactions

(September 19 September 23)

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 280

How to Tell Real Property Bargains From Fake

Ones 6 Questions to Ask
By Property Soul (guest contributor)

Flying back from Jakarta in the evening, I

managed to get a few hours of sleep before
boarding the early morning flight to Perth for a
week-long family trip. The first part of the
vacation was a farm stay in the countryside.
After we checked in and made our way to our
rented cottage, I could finally rest my body
and soul.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 280

I looked outside the windows and found
myself surrounded by cows, sheep, emus and
chickens. While I was watching the farm
animals, they were also staring at an
exhausted animal lying on the couch. The
next morning this exhausted animal was
almost fully recharged and followed the family
to feed the far more energetic farm animals.
During the sheep feeding session, a confused
sheep suddenly tried to kiss the chest of my
younger daughter. Apparently, it had mistaken
the logo on her jacket as the dried leaves
because they were the same color. I suddenly
recalled a similar incident during a school
outing to a goat farm in Singapore. We were
feeding the goats when one of them wanted
to eat my childs windbreaker too. The
kindergarten teacher immediately pulled the
cloth out of the goats mouth.

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That left me to wonder: Can the sheep really

tell if a wolf in sheep's clothing is in the herd?
Four questions to judge whether an
investment is a good or bad one
Similarly, can property buyers tell a good buy
from a lousy investment when approached by
the marketers? If they can, why do so many
people have regrets buying the wrong
properties
or
investing
in
doomed
crowdfunding projects? (If you missed it, read
my recent posts 4 things buyers wish they
knew before buying a property and Cant
answer these 5 questions? Stay clear of
crowdfunding.)
How many of them are like the innocent
sheep that cant tell the difference between
the grass and a piece of cloth and choke after
eating the wrong thing?

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 280

How many of them see all projects or units
marketed by developers or agents as good
property investments regardless of the
quality, location, pricing and return?
The SMART Expo will be back in Singapore
again over the weekend. After speaking in
three consecutive expos, I am not invited this
time. I am not surprised. I did manage to
draw a crowd every time. But it was awkward
for a speaker like me who talked about risks
of buying overseas properties and the
reasons to avoid unprofitable investments
when the sponsors had paid thousands to
market overseas projects and alternative
investments there.
Just in case any blog reader asks me the is it
a good investment question after visiting the
expo, here are the four questions to ask
yourself. And pardon me for repeating myself
again.
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1. Who are the other buyers?

Are they sophisticated buyers or just laymen
of the market? Are they savvy investors or
just an average Joe like you?
2. Can you trust them?
How much do you know about the
developer/marketer? Can you trust that it will
complete the project on time and with
acceptable quality? Will it run away when the
market tanks?

3. Why are the locals not buying?

Why is the attractive investment not being
snapped up by the locals? Why does the
developer/marketer have to spend so much
time, money and effort to go overseas and
market to you?

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 280

4. Where is the secondary market?
Is there a resale market and a ready pool of
buyers for these type of investment projects?
Can you easily find anyone to buy it from you
or sell it back to the marketer next time?
Two ways tell a good bargain from a bad
deal
It is not uncommon to see some buyers
boasting that they just bought a good property
or a gem with high potential, while it is
obvious they are getting the short end of the
stick.
There are two simple ways to immediately tell
a good deal from a bad one:

1. Above or below valuation?

Thats why you can never enjoy good valuefor-money if you buy brand new units in
uncompleted
projects
directly
from
developers when you are asked to pay future
prices much higher than similar properties
nearby.
For a more thorough research, I recommend
checking past transactions all the way back to
the last property down cycle.
2. Positive or negative return?
There are different methods to calculate the
return of a property. A simple way is to
calculate the cash-on-cash return for the first
year.
Cash-on-cash return = 1st year cash flow /
Total cash investment

You can always check the valuation online

(URA or SRX) from the last few transactions
of similar properties.
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 280

1st year cash flow = (monthly rent - loan
repayment - management fee - property tax insurance) x 12
Total cash investment = downpayment +
stamp duties + legal fee + renovation +
miscellaneous expenses
Remember what I said in my book No B.S.
Guide to Property Investment?

Let me share with you how to tell savvy

investors from average ones in my next blog
post. Until then, tell me how you know youve
found a real property bargain or a fake one.
By guest contributor Property Soul, a
successful property investor, blogger, and
author of the No B.S. Guide to Property
Investment.

If there is a probability formula of finding a

good deal, it may come one-third from the
buyers insight, another one-third from the
buyers discipline (hard work, patience,
persistence, etc.), and the last one-third
depending on market conditions and
opportunities.
And of course, buying the right property at the
right time makes all the difference here.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 280

Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Sep 19 Sep 23
Postal
District
1
1
2
2
2
4
5
5
5
8
8
9
9
9
9
9
9
10
10
10
10
10
10
10

Project Name
EMERALD GARDEN
PEOPLE'S PARK COMPLEX
SKYSUITES@ANSON
ICON
ICON
THE AZURE
ONE-NORTH RESIDENCES
HERITAGE VIEW
WEST BAY CONDOMINIUM
CITY LOFT
KERRISDALE
THE ORCHARD RESIDENCES
OUE TWIN PEAKS
HELIOS RESIDENCES
CAVENAGH COURT
GAMBIER COURT
8 @ MOUNT SOPHIA
ARDMORE II
LATITUDE
TANGLIN RESIDENCES
PARVIS
THE SOLITAIRE
WATERFALL GARDENS
D'LEEDON

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Area
(sqft)
1,033
1,119
398
570
872
1,701
904
969
1,216
420
1,270
6,060
1,604
1,916
1,841
1,485
2,616
2,024
1,324
2,131
2,013
1,561
1,830
2,260

Transacted
Price ($)
1,750,000
800,000
880,000
1,000,000
1,340,000
2,500,000
1,160,000
1,050,000
980,000
620,000
1,460,000
17,500,000
4,109,450
4,000,000
2,370,000
1,750,000
2,000,000
5,025,000
2,700,000
3,880,000
3,600,000
2,470,000
2,800,000
3,216,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
1,694 999
715
99
2,210 99
1,753 99
1,537 99
1,470 99
1,283 99
1,084 99
806
99
1,477 FH
1,149 99
2,888 99
2,562 99
2,088 FH
1,288 FH
1,178 99
765
103
2,483 FH
2,039 FH
1,821 FH
1,788 FH
1,583 FH
1,530 FH
1,423 99

Postal
District
10
10
11
11
11
11
12
12
12
12
14
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
16
16
16

Project Name
THE MARBELLA
UNIT 8
L'VIV
THOMSON EURO-ASIA
NINETEEN SHELFORD ROAD
HILLCREST ARCADIA
THE INTERWEAVE
TREVISTA
CITY REGENCY
N.A.
LE REVE
THE SEAFRONT ON MEYER
PEBBLE BAY
THE MAKENA
COTE D'AZUR
ONE K GREENLANE
CEYLON CREST
ELLIOT AT THE EAST COAST
MANDARIN GARDEN CONDOMINIUM
N.A.
LAGOON VIEW
COSTA DEL SOL
CASA MERAH
EAST COAST RESIDENCES

Area
(sqft)
1,076
3,767
1,001
1,292
915
2,745
409
1,119
990
1,399
861
2,099
2,099
1,582
1,679
1,302
1,206
2,605
2,034
1,163
1,647
1,313
958
1,023

Transacted
Price ($)
1,520,000
5,100,000
1,900,000
2,328,000
1,200,000
1,968,000
603,000
1,450,000
1,090,000
1,330,000
1,000,000
3,350,000
3,100,000
1,970,000
2,030,000
1,500,000
1,300,000
2,700,000
1,970,000
950,000
1,088,000
1,550,000
1,120,000
1,130,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
1,412 FH
1,354 FH
1,898 FH
1,802 FH
1,312 FH
717
99
1,474 FH
1,295 99
1,101 FH
950
FH
1,161 FH
1,596 FH
1,477 99
1,245 FH
1,209 99
1,152 FH
1,078 FH
1,037 FH
968
99
817
FH
661
99
1,180 99
1,169 99
1,105 FH

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 280

Postal
District
16
16
18
18
19
19
19
20
21
21
21
21
21
22
23
23
23
23
26
26
27
28

Project Name
AQUARIUS BY THE PARK
THE TANAMERA
SEASTRAND
SAVANNAH CONDOPARK
THE LUXURIE
THE WATERLINE
CHILTERN PARK
THE GARDENS AT BISHAN
FLORIDIAN
MAPLEWOODS
MAPLEWOODS
SYMPHONY HEIGHTS
PARC PALAIS
THE MAYFAIR
HILLINGTON GREEN
GLENDALE PARK
HILLBROOKS
GUILIN VIEW
MEADOWS @ PEIRCE
HONG HENG GARDEN
EIGHT COURTYARDS
SUNRISE GARDENS

Area
(sqft)
2,185
1,324
883
1,453
775
1,238
1,249
883
936
1,787
1,539
958
1,270
1,324
1,528
1,668
1,335
1,259
2,239
1,862
753
818

Transacted
Price ($)
1,900,000
1,045,000
820,000
1,180,000
900,000
1,350,000
1,030,000
940,000
1,575,800
2,480,000
1,978,000
1,010,000
1,150,000
1,050,000
1,650,000
1,500,000
1,150,000
990,000
1,550,000
1,070,000
750,000
700,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
870
99
789
99
929
99
812
99
1,161 99
1,091 FH
825
99
1,065 99
1,683 FH
1,388 FH
1,285 FH
1,054 FH
905
FH
793
99
1,079 999
899
FH
862
FH
786
99
692
FH
575
FH
995
99
856
99

NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale property

transactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore Land Authority.
Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after a purchaser
signs an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.

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