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Archive for January 17th, 2009

JIA @ Wilkie Road

Posted by luxuryasiahome on January 17, 2009

jia

Jiā is the mandarin word for home. A place that gives you comfort, warmth and serenity.

At Jiā, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to get away from the hustle-bustle of city living. This exclusive 7 storey development comprises only 22 units – 19 apartments and 3 penthouses.

Jiā is situated at 65 Wilkie Road amidst lowrise buildings. It is nestled in the quiet and prestigious enclave of Mount Emily. Within the vicinity is the Mount Emily Park and the Istana. All buildings here have a 7 storey height control and this keeps the neighbourhood exclusive and private.

A Place called Home

At Jiā, the emphasis is on bright open-plan living spaces. Every unit looks out into open spaces of calm surrounding. The two and three bedroom apartments are sized from 1,200 to 1,600 square feet. Clever use of wide windows and balconies allow maximum natural light and ventilation into the apartment, and the seamless interaction between the interior and exterior ensures you are in constant touch with everything around you.

Full height sliding doors that open to an equally long balcony, allow maximum use of space. Adjustable screens at the balcony and a private lift lobby ensure your privacy is maintained. Jiā is the perfect setting for a home.

Jiā provides you with a fully fitted kitchen, air-conditioning, wardrobes, washing machine and dryer in the yard. There is also security and intercom services to the guard house.

Location: 65 Wilkie Road
Tenure: Freehold
Expected Completion: 2011
Total Units: 22units
Unit Types:
2 bedrooms ~ 1206sqft and 1798sqft (patio)
3 bedrooms ~ 1507, 1518, 1528,1658sqft and 2680, 3218sqft (patio)
Penthouses ~ 2873, 3056, 3261sqft

Email lushhome@gmail.com with the following for more information:

Jia / Name / Contact # / Unit Type Interested

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Online property service offers buyers commission rebate

Posted by luxuryasiahome on January 17, 2009

IN AN industry first, an online property service launched on Thursday will rebate half of its seller’s commission to buyers that use it for the transaction.

The service www.propzee.com will also let sellers advertise their homes for free but they will pay a sales commission of 0.8 per cent. This works out to $6,800 for a $850,000 sale, for example. Propzee then takes half and gives $3,400 to the buyer.

Users do their own search and once a shortlist of properties has been compiled, Propzee will coordinate viewings. It will also assign an agent – Propzee has five and all are salaried – to accompany the buyer to three viewings. Thereafter, he will have to go for viewings alone.

Founder and chief executive Jarrod Lee, 24, said Propzee acts as a one-stop shop so buyers will not have to engage multiple agents, unlike with other portals.

He also believes that launching the site amid a property slide and slowing economy makes sense as buyers are now more cost-conscious.

Mr Lee’s mother Irene Seah, who has run property agency Richomes Enterprise for 28 years, is a director.

There are several property portals here. The most recent is Knight Frank’s www.virtualhomes.sg, which was launched last October. It allows users to ‘walk through’ developments and the neighbourhood.

Source : Straits Times – 17 Jan 2009

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The comforts of home prices

Posted by luxuryasiahome on January 17, 2009

WHILE many will be worrying about losing the roof over their heads, 2009 may just be the year for some to find a new one. From luxury to mass market offerings, homes are now more affordable to a wider and more diverse group of buyers.

And with diversity comes stability, says Jones Lang LaSalle South-east Asia research head Chua Yang Liang.

One of the few voices of optimism in 2009, Dr Chua says that affordability has improved by some 5-24 per cent and that in any market, ‘there will always be opportunity’. ‘While we do not deny that the market has to correct in the short term, the medium to longer term opportunities are looking brighter by the day,’ he adds.

The market has already started to correct with the official property price index having fallen for three consecutive quarters.

Dr Chua adds: ‘People should invest on their own terms and not try to plan based on market trends.’

Those who insist on definitive evidence of market trends can look to business cycles.

Cushman and Wakefield managing director Donald Han says that the property market tends to lag some 6-12 months behind local economic growth indicators. While Mr Han says it is difficult to pinpoint when a cycle troughs or peaks, ‘it is okay to buy or sell at some 10 per cent off from these levels’.

But Mr Han also pointed out that the average holding period for investors is between three and five years with owner occupiers holding for between four and eight years. ‘And as market cycles get shorter over time, one’s commitment to buy must include commitment to hold over and beyond these market cycles,’ he added.

Property cycles are difficult to predict. Estimates for when the bottom of the current cycle will come are at least six months apart.

UBS Investment Research appears to be the most optimistic, saying that the property market slide may turn as early as in the third quarter of the year.

‘In the last trough in Q3 ‘98, the URA residential price index – which tends to lag the market – had already weakened for six quarters and residential vacancy rates had risen for eight quarters before a recovery began. GDP growth also hit a trough of minus 4 per cent in Q3 ‘98,’ UBS notes in a recent report.

But UBS also believes that sales volume could stay weak until vacancy rates peak. And it expects private housing vacancy rate to rise to 10-11 per cent by end-2009.

Goldman Sachs reckons the bottom of the market is more likely to be mid-2010, highlighting that since 1980, there have been three private residential property down cycles, each of which lasted between 2.5 and 3.5 years.

Expecting a further 26 per cent and 31 per cent declines in mass and prime residential prices respectively by 2010, Goldman Sachs says: ‘At these new prices, affordability would improve to levels where we believe buyers would be lured back.’

Homes will definitely become cheaper but will they also become more affordable?

Affordability is generally defined as housing costs as a percentage of household income.

Goldman Sachs says that affordability needs to improve for volumes to recover too. ‘We believe that even if the macro economy stabilises and confidence returns to the Singapore market, residential demand is unlikely to quickly recover, as the affordability ratio for the average household has dipped and is less favourable when compared to 2001 levels,’ it added in a recent report.

Focusing on the top 30 per cent of households, it also notes that the current monthly mortgage payment for private mass residential as a proportion of take-home income is high at 43 per cent, compared with 33 per cent during the Q2-Q4 2001 period.

And affordability will further deteriorate if banks tighten credit on mortgages or loan quantum, and the government cuts employers’ CPF contribution to stimulate the economy.

‘Relative affordability’ may have improved, but Chesterton Suntec International’s head of research and consultancy Colin Tan asks: ‘Does it change the market situation?’

‘While some contend that affordability of the private residential market has improved, the reality is that the vast majority of properties currently on the market are still not affordable to the general population,’ he adds.

As Mr Tan notes, CPF cuts could be a big deterrent for potential home buyers. Saying that any cut could have a ‘psychological’ impact, he adds: ‘Right now, uncertainty over actual rate cuts – whether one per cent or 5 per cent, will deter people from buying. And when it happens, there will be uncertainty about future cuts. Although the government will probably do the cut once, this can play on the mind of potential buyers for a long time.’

Indeed, one does not have to look too far back to realise how irrational buying property really is, regardless of price and affordability.

‘In the last two to three years, many people bought property thinking that prices would continue to rise,’ remembers Chua Chor Hoon, DTZ Research senior director.

Interestingly, the opposite is also true.

Source : Business Times – 17 Jan 2009

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URA to conserve 100 more buildings

Posted by luxuryasiahome on January 17, 2009

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday said it would conserve another 100 buildings in Katong and Joo Chiat to retain the area’s history and character.

The buildings comprise 95 shophouses and terrace houses, two churches and three bungalows. They will complement some 700 buildings in the Katong/Joo Chiat area which have been gazetted for conservation since 1993 to keep the social memories of the place.

These include shophouses located along Joo Chiat Road, Joo Chiat Place and East Coast Road.

URA said the latest buildings were selected based on a set of comprehensive criteria that included the architectural merits, cultural, social and historical significance of the buildings, as well as their contribution to the streetscape and identity of the place.

URA also considered feedback from building owners, members of the public and the Conservation Advisory Panel. The panel, formed in June 2002, is an independent body appointed by the Minister of National Development to give inputs on built heritage proposals by URA as well as to propose buildings for URA to study for possible conservation.

It includes professionals from the building industry, arts and heritage, as well as education sectors and government representatives.

URA said in its press statement yesterday that more than 6,800 buildings have been conserved since its conservation programme was launched in the early 1980s. They include traditional shophouses, black-and-white bungalows, civic buildings and modern developments such as the Asia Insurance Building and Jurong Town Hall.

Source : Business Times – 17 Jan 2009

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It’s tougher to get loans

Posted by luxuryasiahome on January 17, 2009

It may be harder for home buyers to secure bank loans now.

‘Banks are a bit more cautious these days,’ says Mr Chris Koh, director at Dennis Wee Properties. Two other property experts that Life! spoke to agree.

ERA Asia Pacific’s director Eugene Lim says banks now take longer to process home loan applications. ‘During good times, loans would be approved within 24 hours. Currently, it can take as long as two weeks,’ he says, adding that it is a sign that banks are running more detailed checks.

They are also less willing to offer a loan quantum of 90 per cent, which was the norm during good times, says Mr Vincent Koh, vice-president of HSR International Realtor.

Loan quantum refers to the size of a loan in relation to a property’s market valuation. Industry players say there have been cases where the bank’s valuation of an apartment is lower than what a seller is asking for.

‘Most usually offer 80 per cent now,’ says Mr Koh of HSR.

Industry insiders say loans are generally smaller or harder to secure for the following people:

1) Those on commission-based income or are self-employed, compared to employees on fixed salary.

2) Applicants who are single, compared to married couples with dual income.

3) Those who have just started work.

To make up the shortfall, these home buyers will have to dig deeper into their savings or their CPF accounts.

Mr Gregory Chan, OCBC Bank’s head of consumer secured lending, says the bank assesses and approves each loan application on the basis of the customer’s credit worthiness.

‘Ultimately, the loan quantum is determined by property valuation and credit worthiness of the applicant,’ he says.

Among the factors considered are the individual’s financial commitments, income and credit history.

United Overseas Bank’s head of loans division, Mr Kevin Lam, says customers with a good credit record and stable income can be assured that UOB will consider their loan applications favourably despite the current economic environment.

Regardless of the size of the home loan, Mr Dennis Khoo, general manager of retail banking products at Standard Chartered Bank, says that in times of economic stress, it is prudent for customers to consider a smaller loan to ensure that they do not over-extend themselves.

‘We recommend that customers work with their relationship managers to identify their individual situation and preferences, before selecting a home loan package,’ he adds.

Source : Straits Times – 17 Jan 2009

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Playing the waiting game

Posted by luxuryasiahome on January 17, 2009

Home buyers believe property prices are set to fall further and hence, are biding their time

When investor relations consultant Gary Teo reaches for his newspaper every morning, he reads the property news first.

He and his wife, Grace Tan, 32, a senior QA engineer, are looking to buy a place of their own. They have been living with his parents in a terrace house at Novena since they got married in September last year.

‘I’ve been wanting to live independently and now that I’m married, all the more I want to live on my own,’ says Mr Teo, 31.

However, he is in no hurry, although he has been househunting since 2007. ‘I’m waiting for prices to fall further,’ he says, confident that it is now very much a buyer’s market.

So he keeps tabs on property sales online and pores over the classified ads. The couple want to buy a three- or four-bedroom apartment in central Singapore. ‘Our budget is no more than $1 million,’ he says.

They either did not like the few apartments they have inspected or the asking prices exceeded their budget.

Many others are like Mr Teo: buyers playing a waiting game, believing that sellers will blink first.

And all signs point to buyers getting their way, although Mr Eugene Lim, 42, associate director at property agency ERA Asia Pacific, says the private property market is currently at a ’standstill’ because sellers are still struggling to come to terms with the drop in property prices.

Mr Chris Koh, 42, director at Dennis Wee Properties, says it used to take about two to four weeks to sell an apartment. Now he sees some apartments on the market for more than three months because ‘the prices asked for are too high and unrealistic’.

Home buyers prefer to wait till second half of the year

The truth is, private property prices have indeed fallen, some by as much as 25 per cent over the past year.

Sensing this, ‘buyers are just starting to bargain-hunt’, says ERA’s Mr Lim.

Mr Koh agrees that ‘home buyers are taking the wait-and-see approach and thus are not committing to purchases’.

He adds that buyers expect property prices to fall even further and they are looking to buy only ‘in the third or fourth quarter of this year’.

The reason is simple: Analysts are predicting further uncertainty in the economy and home prices may fall another 10 to 20 per cent.

Today’s home-hunters are ‘mostly young couples who are looking to buy their first home’, says Mr Koh, unlike upbeat times such as in 2007 when people bought property for investment.

Graphic designer Edmund Seet, 35, and communications consultant Delicia Tan, 30, are getting married in June. Armed with a $600,000 budget, they are looking for a two-bedroom apartment in East Coast.

‘This will enable us to have more cash for renovations and furnishings,’ says Ms Tan.

Like Mr Teo, she believes that property prices will drop further during the year and so have yet to sign on the dotted line.

She and her fiance monitor property listings regularly, visit new showrooms in the area and keep a lookout for banners and signs that advertise units for sale.

‘We may buy only in June,’ she says.

They are playing it cool because they have a back-up plan: They will rent an apartment from a relative if they cannot find a suitable one to buy after their wedding.

There is no doubt buyers have the upper hand in today’s market, says Mr Vincent Koh, 36, vice-president at HSR International Realtors.

He cites examples of sellers who will let go of their property at 10 per cent less than their desired selling price.

‘Some are so desperate, they may offer to pay for the buyer’s renovations, so they can get the property off their hands,’ he says.

It is not just individual sellers who are finding it tough.

The property experts decline to give specific details but reveal that they have heard of developers who throw in sweeteners such as waiver of maintenance fees to entice buyers.

Which is good news, but not good enough for many buyers such as art director Adrian Low, who prefer to wait.

Currently renting a two-bedroom apartment in Lavender, the 36-year-old bachelor wants to buy a three-bedroom apartment in the Braddell Road area to be nearer his office in MacPherson but does not want to pay more than $900,000.

The 20 apartments he has viewed are not close to an MRT station and eating places. More importantly, the prices he has been quoted are not ideal.

‘I’m waiting till prices drop to $800,000,’ he says.

He could get his wish, because the times are a-changing.

In 2007 when sales were upbeat, ’sellers were more arrogant and would often increase their price once an offer was received’, recalls ERA’s Mr Lim.

In the current climate, he says, ’sellers’ instructions to agents are to relay any offer to them for consideration’.

‘Some are so desperate, they may offer to pay for the buyer’s renovations, so they can get the property off their hands’ - HSR International Realtors’ vice-president Vincent Koh on property buyers having the upper hand over sellers

Source : Straits Times – 17 Jan 2009

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Squeezed between high rent and poor sales

Posted by luxuryasiahome on January 17, 2009

A HOME-GROWN brand of women’s clothes has decided to operate in Malaysia – and only Malaysia. Coral Isle, in The Centrepoint, will shut for good next week, before its three-year lease expires on Jan 28.

Slow custom is putting the brakes on owner Poonam Bhandari’s ambitions in Singapore.

The $20 per square foot (psf) rent, or $18,000, she pays every month in The Centrepoint is too much to bear. Amounting to 90 per cent of her operating cost, it was ‘killing’.

She had hoped for a reprieve when her lease was up. But negotiations with landlord Frasers Centrepoint came to nothing. They told her there would be no rent cut, she said, and that there was ‘no room for negotiation’.

Frasers Centrepoint confirmed that they had a request from the owner of Coral Isle about rent but would not go into details.

They said, however, that they had offered Mrs Poonam assistance, in in-store promotions, to help her sales figures.

For Mrs Poonam and many other small businessmen like her, it is too little too late.

Of 45 small and medium-sized retailers and restaurant owners The Straits Times spoke to, five had wound up their businesses in the past six months, four had shut at least one branch, while another seven will close shop entirely when their leases expire this year.

One of them is Ms Amelia Pang, 39, who started Coziz Studio in International Plaza selling clothes imported from Hong Kong four years ago. Rent was then $1,491 a month. She poured in about $40,000 as start-up costs and running capital into her first business foray.

In 2004, turnover could be $10,000 a month. Last June, the landlord, the management of International Plaza, wanted to increase her rent to $2,200. She managed to stay it till October at $2,000.

But business is so bad that she has decided to call it a day. She barely makes enough to cover the rent. ‘Sometimes we have no customers at all,’ she lamented.

Whether in prime Orchard Road or a suburban mall, small businesses are feeling squeezed by falling receipts on one hand, and non-negotiable rents on the other.

Eleven tenants who renewed leases last year report at least a 10 per cent increase in rent.

Asked for specifics, CapitalMall Trust, which has 14 properties, said rents have gone up 4 per cent annually while YTL Pacific Star Management, which has stakes in malls like Wisma Atria, said renewals last year were 5 per cent above past contracts.

Different outlets, however, pay different rents. And tenants could be suffering or thanking their lucky stars depending on whether they signed the lease in a good year or bad, said Singapore Polytechnic retail management lecturer Sarah Lim.

The hardest hit are those who renewed or signed leases in 2007 or early last year, when rents were soaring, she added.

The Singapore Retailers Association, which has been trading words with landlords in recent months, reckons that rents have jumped by as much as 80 per cent in prime areas and 30 per cent in popular heartland spots.

Even those who lease space from the Housing Board are feeling the heat.

At Loyang Point in Pasir Ris, Mr Jeffrey Kam, 43, who owns shoe shop Rayna Collection, had his lease renewed early last year at $4,000 a month, a 12.5 per cent increase.

Six months later, he was losing $1,000 a month because of poor business. His landlord is the Housing Board.

In an e-mail reply, HDB said that new tenants bid for rents, for a fixed-term tenancy of three years. At the end of that term, rent renewals are reviewed by valuers appointed by the board.

Mr Kam said he had to assume the last tenant’s rent when he took over the shop eight years ago. It was a mistake to renew his lease, he said. ‘This is a dead end. We will close down when the lease ends.’

No one anticipated how last year would end. Many thought the good times had yet to come, especially with plans to attract more tourists here. The last time retailers felt the pinch was in 2003 when Sars scared away both locals and tourists from shops.

But with the situation set to worsen, can retailers hope for some relief from landlords?

Mr Turner Canning of real estate consultants Cushman and Wakefield said rent levels depend on benchmark properties in the area, demand and supply, as well as a landlord’s profit margins.

Taking this into consideration, the average super-prime Orchard Road rent now hovers around $54 psf per month, higher than the $51.70 psf a year ago.

Two of the five major landlords The Straits Times spoke to said that they might give out rental rebates on a case-by-case basis.

But they said that such rent adjustments were rare, and preferred to find other ways to help tenants, like increasing traffic.

The five – CapitalMall Trust, AsiaMalls, Far East Organisation, Lend Lease and Frasers Centrepoint – peg rents to factors like floor level, rents in comparable malls and gross turnover.

According to AsiaMalls’ general manager Stephanie Ho, rental adjustments have to be pre-negotiated and agreed on.

The HDB, which is landlord of HDB shops as well as 25 neighbourhood centres, said that to assist tenants, it has offered them the option of paying their rent in instalments. Tenants can also sublet up to 50 per cent of the premises, subject to HDB’s approval.

In terms of rental renewal, it said tenants can get a second opinion from an independent private valuer to assess fair market rent. Tenants can also put the unit for re-tender.

Like the landlords of major malls, HDB also carries out upgrading to ‘enhance…attractiveness and inject more vibrancy’ to shops and complexes.

Retail management lecturer Sarah Lim said smaller landlords might give more leeway on rent.

This seems to be the case for landlords like the Goldkist group, which owns 40 units in the multi-owner Sim Lim Complex. Its director H. D. Gupta said tenants have been given up to a two week rent-free period, case-by-case and based on market conditions.

In 2007, when it had feedback from tenants that the computer industry was flagging, Goldkist absorbed increases in property tax even though rental contracts allowed it to pass them on.

The company, which has been in property rental for about four years, has increased tenants’ rents by 5 to 10 per cent.

Mr Gupta said that a combination of maintenance fees, property tax and interest on bank loans are limitations on rent reductions. ‘For any property owner, we are paying banks in instalments. Interest normally increases every year. All these costs have not gone down,’ he said.

If landlords have obligations, so do tenants. They are typically locked into leases for one to three years. Some contracts do not include exit or subletting clauses.

Even if they did, shopping around for a cheaper place might not work out.

Said Association of Small and Medium Enterprises president Lawrence Leow: ‘A change of location may mean death for a business, especially if their contact base has been built up over the years. The lesser of the two evils is to continue.’

That was what happened in the case of retail brand Leather Ark. When rent at its Parkway Parade outlet jumped 30 per cent to $7,000 a month and business at her other outlet stayed slow, owner Jean Yeo considered, but decided against moving out.

‘We thought of moving, but dismissed it because of high fixed costs, and what about our regular customers who live nearby?’

Instead, the 49-year-old held back plans to open a third outlet at Tampines, and increased the prices at her shop by about $1 per item. She also decided to close her other outlet once the lease runs out in January 2010.

Tenants are doing all they can to stay afloat, like laying off staff and cutting prices to induce sales.

Mr Richard Suen, who owns a jewellery store at Central, now lets customers do the unthinkable – bargain.

‘We still have a year left on our lease, and we just want to keep our heads above water,’ said the 56-year-old. ‘We cannot close shop and run away, can we?’

What tenants want

WANTED: Help for restaurants and retailers.

Hit by a double whammy of declining sales and rising costs, businesses are looking to the Government to ease their burden.

The Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Asme) and Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) have met ministries in the past two months to ask for help with their cost of operations. Their suggestions included tax rebates to private landlords that can be passed on to tenants.

‘It would help if a rebate was given to the landlords, like in the Sars period,’ said SRA executive director Lau Chuen Wei.

During the Sars outbreak in 2003, the Government unveiled a $230 million relief package, with $155 million going to tourism-related industries. This included rebates to commercial property owners, producing tax savings of $56 million.

Though it was not made mandatory, landlords were ’strongly encouraged’ to pass on the savings to tenants, mostly shops, restaurants and hotels. HDB did the same for commercial tenants.

In a sign of the impact of the current downturn, five companies approached the Singapore Business Federation for help last year, compared to none in 2007.

They were unable to pay their increased rents and asked for help in extending the deadline for them to move or negotiating rental.

Asme president Lawrence Leow said he has heard of tenants negotiating successfully for lower rents by promising to sign on for a longer lease period.

His advice to tenants hoping for a better bargain: ‘You must give the landlord some sweeteners.’

For assistance, struggling companies can approach five enterprise development centres (EDCs) around the island. These are one-stop centres where business consultants will give advice on where companies can go to get funding and what they can do.

WHERE TO GO FOR HELP

EDC @ Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Asme), 6513 0388/edc@asme.org.sg

EDC @ Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), 6337  8381/edc@sccci.org.sg

EDC @ Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SMCCI), 6293 3822/info@edcsmcci.com.sg

EDC @ Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation (SMa), 6826 3020/edc@smafederation.org.sg

EDC @ Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 6222 2855/edc@sicci.com

Source : Straits Times – 17 Jan 2009

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Marked for preservation

Posted by luxuryasiahome on January 17, 2009

It has been nearly a decade since the forlorn Grand Hotel in Still Road South last had a guest to stay, but things are looking up for the distinctive 92-year-old building.

The rundown landmark, now mostly used as storage for unwanted furniture, is among 100 buildings in the Joo Chiat/Katong area that have been marked for conservation by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

The URA announced the list of buildings yesterday. They join some 700 buildings, mostly shophouses, in that area that have been given conservation status by the URA since 1993.

The Grand Hotel, a massive Victorian-style bungalow with decorative arches and ornate facade decorations, was built in 1917 by Moona Kader Sultan, a wealthy Indian cattle merchant. It was converted into the Grand Hotel in 1947.

The building reportedly now stands on a site worth $300 million and is owned by the Lee Rubber Company, which also owns a similar-looking bungalow across the road that has already been conserved. Both bungalows were part of a site called Karikal Mahal.

Besides this grand dame, the other buildings consist of 95 shophouses and terrace houses in areas such as Onan Road, Tembeling Road and Koon Seng Road, and two other bungalows, in Marine Parade Road and Chapel Road. Also on the list are two familiar churches in the area – St Hilda’s Church and the Bethesda (Katong) Church.

Residents in the area had mixed reactions about the news. Ms Shirley Soh, owner of a two-storey shophouse in Tembeling Road, is pleased her home will be conserved.

‘Old architecture should be preserved, rather than have condominiums dominate our landscape,’ she says. She has been living there for eight years.

But another resident at Chapel Road was not too happy. The owner, who declined to be named, believes that with conservation, her home will fetch a lower price because of its limitations. ‘The house is too big and I want to sell. But now the selling price may be less and I can’t afford the apartment I want.’

However, Mr Colin Chee, a spokesman for the Save Joo Chiat workgroup which was formed in 2004 by residents wanting to promote the area’s Peranakan heritage, was delighted to hear that more buildings will be conserved.

‘The more buildings conserved in this area the better. This enhances the heritage status of the neighbourhood.’

URA’s conservation programme was launched in the early 1980s and so far, more than 6,800 buildings in Singapore have been conserved. Buildings are chosen for conservation based on architectural merits, cultural, social and historical significance and contribution to the streetscape and identity of the location.

The URA says owners of conservation buildings in the Katong/Joo Chiat area need to conserve only the external facades, original structure and key features of the main building.

The rear service block can be demolished to build a new extension of up to the allowable storey height control.

Owners can also modify the interior of their buildings to suit their business and/or residential needs as long as this does not change or endanger the original structure of the building.

25 Still Road South

This bungalow and another bungalow across Still Road South were once part of a larger estate known as the Karikal Mahal. They were built in 1917 by Moona Kader Sultan, a wealthy Indian cattle merchant.

This bungalow was built in the Victorian style, with architectural features such as ornate facade plaster decorations, bay windows and decorative arches. In 1947, it was converted into the Grand Hotel, which closed in 2000 due to poor business. It is now used to store unwanted furniture. The two bungalows are owned by the Lee Rubber Group, which says there are no plans for them.

3, 5, 7-15, 22-32 Crane Road, 64-76, 71-75 Carpmael Road and 169-181 Onan Road

Located on Crane Road and Carpmael Road are two- and three-storey shophouses built in traditional and modern early 20th century styles. They are the gateway between the private developments along Crane Road and the Haig Road public housing estate. Over at Onan Road, the single-storey terrace houses rest on concrete stilts.

St Hilda’s Church, 41 Ceylon Road

Built in 1949, the church is a landmark in this area. It was designed like an English parish church of the time. The single-storey chapel is a charming building with a steep pitched roof and a Victorian-style conical tower.

Source : Straits Times – 17 Jan 2009

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Aid for home owners? ‘Sensible steps’ if needed

Posted by luxuryasiahome on January 17, 2009

THE Government will help home owners during this economic downturn, but moves to artificially prop up the private property market will not work in these uncertain times, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday.

Mr Mah – speaking to the media at a hongbao presentation and Chinese New Year variety show held in Tampines East last night – said buyers are likely to stay on the sidelines in view of the economic uncertainty.

‘We’re in recession… and there’s a lot of uncertainty. People are concerned about their jobs, and all this is feeding through into the property market. Even if there’s demand, I think there’s a lot of wait-and-see attitude,’ Mr Mah said.

According to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) earlier this month, only 4,287 homes were sold last year.

This capped the worst year for new sales here since 1990.

Mr Mah said the Government is watching the market very closely. ‘If there’re sensible measures we can take, we’ll certainly do so,’ he said.

What about measures such as a temporary suspension of stamp duty or a reintroduction of the deferred payment scheme?

Some experts have said such measures could give the property market a much-needed boost as they might give buyers greater incentive to purchase homes.

The deferred payment scheme was introduced during the Asian financial crisis to boost the market, but scrapped in late 2007.

Buyers could secure a property for a relatively small cash down payment and then flip it for a profit before so much as a brick had been laid.

Stamp duty is basically a tax that has to be paid for the stamping of documents relating to properties and shares, for instance, leases or mortgages.

Mr Mah said: ‘At this stage, it’s not the right time for us to talk about stimulating demand.’

He added: ‘Until there’s a little more certainty in the market, it’s pointless to talk about artificial measures to stimulate demand. They’ll not work.’

The Government has tried to help ’stabilise’ the market by removing some of the excess supply, he said.

It has also tried to disclose as much information as possible, including sales figures and prices, so the market ‘knows what’s happening’ and people can make ‘informed decisions’.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) said last month that it had decided not to add any new sites to the Government Land Sales Programme for the first half of this year.

Referring to this move, Mr Mah said: ‘This will help to stabilise the market and ensure there is no further overhang.’

As for next week’s Budget, Mr Mah said he could not disclose any details but the focus would be on helping ‘people hurt in the economic crisis’.

The Government will look into how it can help homebuyers own their own homes. It will also see how it can help the elderly monetise their flats so they can earn some money that is ’sustainable’.

Referring to the Government’s lease buyback scheme, Mr Mah hopes to see it implemented during the first half of this year.

Source : Straits Times – 17 Jan 2009

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Living space and the baby boomer

Posted by luxuryasiahome on January 17, 2009

BABY boomers as a demographic and cultural phenomenon have been researched extensively, because of their huge impact on post-war economies and spending power. Retirement wants and habits are uniform for middle-class Asian imminent retirees as they are for Western early retirees: customised health care and financial planning; independent housing or community living with their peers; in leisure, cultural and cruise travel preferred; and a fierce devotion to healthier eating and exercise programmes.

The Community Development Ministry’s survey on Singaporean baby boomers, published last week, was skewed more towards establishing attitudes on family relationships and their lifestyle variations, such as housing choices. The most noteworthy finding, which data in previous Housing Board research did not unearth fully, is the tendency of the younger cohort of baby boomers to want to live on their own when they retire and to not expect financial support from family. Planning agencies such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority, besides the HDB, may want to follow the assumption that a good number of better-educated older boomers who are nearing retirement would share that preference. The housing implications are significant, meaning planners have less time than they think to adapt to changes in living habits. An observation in the survey which will interest developers and health-care companies is that four in 10 respondents thought living in a retirement village or a nursing home was feasible.

This is new in a societal context. It is a departure from state policy which encourages and plans for family togetherness. But change is inevitable as this generation’s retirees are independent in spirit and of means. They wish to avoid friction with married children, who themselves value privacy. (The obverse is that young marrieds cannot expect their parents to be willing, fulltime unpaid maids to their children).

Retirement communities which are professionally managed – with superior housing and facilities, resident nursing staff and excursions organised – will appear on the scene sooner or later. In older countries, such amenities tend to be built and managed by insurance and health-care companies, because of the synergies. By the time the youngest of Singaporean baby boomers reach retirement (they are in their mid-40s), organised community living may be a feature of Singapore life, parallel with studio-flat living which the HDB has been gearing up for. Compartmentalised living need not be inimical to family cohesiveness, which is a result of mutual respect and considerateness rather than of space sharing.

Source : Straits Times – 17 Jan 2009

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