December 2011

BEAVERTON COURT $11,500/MTH CONDO 4+1 ROOMS 3150SQFT (SPACIOUS, HIGH FLOOR, NEAR MRT & GROCERY)

BEAVERTON COURT    $11,500/MTH    CONDO    4+1 ROOMS    3150SQFT

SPACIOUS LAYOUT, HIGH FLOOR UNIT, NEAR HOLLAND VILLAGE, DOVER MRT, JELITA COLD STORAGE, OFF HOLLAND ROAD, AVAILABLE END-FEB 2012

CALL NELSON (65)9783-1728

CEA REG NO. R001527C

http://www.onemap.sg/?SearchVal=BEAVERTON%20COURT&LW:Y&wO5d:JYcfa_Y,IJYJa_q,JIbqI_f,IhYYI_R,f

PARC EMILY $2,180,000 CONDO FH 1,206SQFT 3+1 ROOMS (POOL VIEW, BALCONY, QUIET, GOOD LAYOUT, MINS MRT)

PARC EMILY    $2,180,000    CONDO    FH    1,206SQFT    3+1 ROOMS

POOL VIEW, BALCONY, WELL KEPT, GOOD LAYOUT, MINS FROM MRT, TENANTED UNIT, QUIET SURROUNDINGS, EXCELLENT FACILITIES

CALL MR LAM (65)9336-3382

CEA REG NO. R001529Z

http://www.onemap.sg/?SearchVal=PARC%20EMILY&LW:Y&wO5d:JRqhb_I,IqqfR_f,IYacc_q,IJqhb_h,a

NORTHLINK BUILDING $1,200,000 FACTORY 60YRS 5,188SQFT

NORTHLINK BUILDING    $1,200,000    FACTORY    60YRS    5,188SQFT

60 YEARS LEASEHOLD, NEAR SEMBAWANG SHIPYARD, CENTRAL AIRCON, LOADING BAY

CALL CHARLIE (65)9781-7650

CEA REG NO. R001528A

http://www.onemap.sg/?SearchVal=10%20ADMIRALTY%20STREET&LW:Y&wO5d:JhbRR_f,hbchR_a,JahJb_I,hRcIb_f,a

Need to sell quickly in a slow market?

Thinking of liquidating your property investment quickly?

Let us know. We will get you ready and qualified buyers.

Our company charges commission of between 1% (exclusive listing) to 2% (non-exclusive listing) for Sale of Properties in Singapore.

Send in your property details here today

Another Cooling Measure – Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty for a stable and sustainable property market

Press release on 7 December 2011

Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty for a stable and sustainable property market

The Government announced today an Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) to be imposed on certain categories of residential property purchases. The ABSD will be imposed over and above the current Buyer’s Stamp Duty, and will apply to the purchase price or market value of the property (whichever is higher) for the following purchases:

1. Foreigners and non-individuals (corporate entities) buying any residential property will pay an ABSD of 10%;
2. Permanent Residents (PRs) owning one and buying the second and subsequent residential property will pay an ABSD of 3%; and
3. Singapore Citizens (Singaporeans) owning two and buying the third and subsequent residential property will pay an ABSD of 3%.

The ABSD will take effect on 8 Dec 20113. Remission of ABSD will be given for options granted on or before 7 Dec 2011 and exercised within 3 weeks (i.e. on or before 28 Dec 2011) or the option validity period, whichever is the earlier.

The ABSD will apply in addition to the existing Buyer’s Stamp Duty on property purchases, which are applied at following rates: 1% on first $180,000 of purchase consideration or market value of the property (whichever is higher), 2% on the next $180,000 and 3% for the remainder.

- read the complete article at http://www.ura.gov.sg/pr/text/2011/pr11-162.html

- let us know what you think of the latest measure at http://www.facebook.com/singaporerealestateinfo

What should you do if the market is slow?

Recently, the sales and rental market has been getting slower. We as agents on the ground (the foot soldiers) feel it first hand.

The number of enquiry calls have been dropping and cobroke agents have also painted a similar picture, and we also receive more email newsletters from cobroke agents advertising their properties for sale and rental (it could mean they have more time on hand to do marketing).

Now, as a property owner, you have already left your property in the good hands of an agent, but when the market’s getting quiet, what can you do to ensure your property stays ahead of the competition and receives an offer quickly.

- Entice more agents to bring clients to you –

One method to attract more clients to your property is obviously through higher commissions. Most property owners will only pay the market rate commission. If you are willing to reward your agent and cobroke agent (make sure your agent advertises this fact to cobroke agents), there will naturally be more clients being brought to view your property. Will the higher commission make economical sense? That’s really up to each person’s perspective and situation.

One thing that property owners need to understand is, at any point in time, there’s a “x” number of clients and a “y” number of properties. If x > y, it will be easy to get your property sold/rented, and you can just pay market rate commission. If y > x, then that’s when your agent NEED to market your property aggressively and think of innovative ways to attract more clients to your property (versus the unit upstairs or opposite neighbour). Your agent must also market not only through the traditional classifieds ads, but other new medium as well. Be it twitter, facebook, youtube, online portals, word of mouth, mailers and faxes to companies, etc. In essence, the marketing costs will and must increase. Professional photos and videos will also help to generate greater interest for your property. We find that listings with professional photos can generate up to 10x more viewership than those without photos and up to 5x more viewership than the normal digital photos taken on a consumer camera or a iphone.

- Price the property correctly –

Right at the start, the pricing of the property is most important. Your agent must be able to guide you on the price range that the property should sell/rent for and let you understand the market conditions and whether or not the price you asked for is a realistic starting point. Property owners who often price higher than other people’s asking prices or the last transacted price should ask themselves – what exactly is their unit’s Unique Selling Point that will entice the buyer/tenant to pay more than what other owners are asking for.

Within the first 30 days of a property being listed, we can think of the property as being a “hot listing”, where there should be greatest interests. After that, and if there’s no offer, the property starts to get stale (the cobroke agents with ready and prequalified clients) would have already seen the property and do not find the property attractive anymore since their first round of clients weren’t even interested to offer. Usually, after the first 30 days, the property will experience less viewings and resultantly have to do a price reduction.

For property sellers, of course there will be personal reasons as to why the pricing needs to be at a certain level, but we advise that if time is of concern, the best way is to price reasonably attractive, and have viewers come to you with offers, rather than over-pricing and not having anybody see your property at all. No viewers = no offers = nothing. Under-pricing doesn’t mean under-selling … the final price is only determined when you sign on the dotted line.

Experienced landlords who have witnessed the market peaks and troughs should understand that property investment is really like running a start-up business of sorts. What you want to achieve is to minimise the “zero-revenue” period or in real estate terms, better known as the “vacancy period”. Property investment is a long term process, and in Singapore’s context, the rental yields are not high (but should be enough to cover most, if not all of mortgage if the purchase was timed correctly). The profits of property investment in Singapore typically come from the Capital Appreciation that one can receive by timing the markets correctly (when buying and selling), and the rental revenue is merely to cover the expenses involved in this operation until when the investment is ready for liquidation (somewhat like IPO-ing or selling the business to others).

- Time to upgrade? –

Many years back, Paragon shopping centre (in the heart of Orchard Road) capitalised on the economy downturn (with cheaper construction materials and labour costs) and totally renovated and rebranded the shopping mall into a high-end luxury mall. When the market rebounded, they were well placed to enjoy the increased traffic and higher rentals because the building looked new, tenant mix was interesting, and it was a pleasant experience to be shopping there.

If you think this is not the best time to do a complete overhaul of your property, it could be worthwhile to consider some “upgrades”. First, you need to think like a buyer/tenant and focus on the things which they will be bothered with, solve the problem/eyesore before the client comes.

Many property owners prefer to wait for an offer and requests (in the Letter of Intent) before making changes/upgrades. Truth of the matter is – the offers will come slower and lower. Since you are already prepared to make the changes, why not do it first and enjoy the opportunity of a faster and higher offer (once the works are done)?

Property owners can change these few places, the kitchen (and appliances), bathrooms and wardrobes (this is one of the recommended sequence). The amount of work to undertake or area to renovate is up to you. Either do it all at once, or do a phase-by-phase renovation. Perhaps, start off with the kitchen first, especially if you own a large unit property (meaning it caters to families = there will be a husband and wife = wife makes the decision … getting the hint?). And if you don’t intend to do up all the bathrooms, at least change the master bath & wardrobe into a more modern design.

Renovating/upgrading = being able to rent out faster not only for this Tenancy but also for the next one or two Tenancy.

Some of the expenses involved in the renovation can also be used to offset the tax on your Rental Income (plus you can claim for Vacancy Period) – check with your property agent / IRAS on details.

What this means is that you get to pay less tax (save money), while enjoying a increased asset value (earn more money). With the improvement/upgrading works done, your rental will be higher than before, meaning higher asking price (if selling) as well. Think about it this way. If you are now a buyer looking for a property, between 2 units (within the same project), would you show more interest and be willing to pay more for a renovated unit (with higher rental), or a non-renovated unit (with lower rental).

With investment buyers commonly looking to the “Rental Yields” as a basis of comparison, a $3,000 per month property on a 3% gross rental yield = $1.2 mil value. Let’s say you spent $50,000 on the renovation and manage to get $500 additional every month (about $16% increase), renting for $3,500 per month on 3% gross rental yield = $1.4mil (a whopping $200,000 increase in Capital Value!) And remember – some of the money spent on renovation is actually tax-deductible, you actually saved money and then earned more.

If you require a professional property agent in Singapore to assist you in marketing and managing your property, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via email contact@singaporerealestate.info or you can contact Mr Reiss directly at (65)91001090.

~ Serving you with more than 30 years experience in the Real Estate industry ~

PHOTO OF THE WEEK – VIEW FROM WING ON LIFE GARDEN

View from Wing on Life Garden, a spacious apartment with upgraded facilities at Bukit Timah / Dunearn area. Overlooking the Palm Spring Condo and towards Orchard Road, where you can see the buildings at Balmoral, Ardmore and Draycott area.

ST MARTIN RESIDENCE $6,800/MTH CONDO 2+1 ROOMS 1335SQFT (PATIO, QUIET, LOVELY INTERIOR, BEAUTIFUL SURROUNDINGS)

ST MARTIN RESIDENCE    $6,800/MTH    CONDO    2+1 ROOMS    1335SQFT

WITH PATIO, QUIET, CONDO FACILITIES, BALINESE LUSH GREENERY, MINUTES WALK TO ORCHARD AND TANGLIN, BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPING, LOVELY INTERIOR

CALL REISS (65)9100-1090

CEA REG NO. R001531A

http://www.onemap.sg/?SearchVal=SAINT%20MARTIN%20RESIDENCE&LW:Y&wO5d:Jahqc_J,IqbYc_f,JcfaI_b,IJIch_b,c

[for sale] LEEDON 2 $VTO CONDO FH 1,206SQFT 3+1 ROOMS (TENANTED, HOLLAND VILLAGE MRT)

LEEDON 2    $VTO    CONDO    FH    1,206SQFT    3+1 ROOMS

TENANTED, BESIDE HOLLAND VILLAGE MRT, GOOD INVESTMENT, LOW FLOOR, WELL KEPT INTERIOR

CALL CLINTON (65)9851-2159

CEA REG NO. R001523J

http://www.onemap.sg/?SearchVal=LEEDON%202&LW:Y&wO5d:JIfaf_J,IJfca_b,JhIJR_a,IIYaY_f,c

(rented) RENOVATED INTER-TERRACE NEAR POTONG PASIR MRT $4,500/MTH INTER-TERRACE 3+1 1800SQFT LAND

RENOVATED INTER-TERRACE NEAR POTONG PASIR MRT    $4,500/MTH    INTER-TERRACE    3+1    1800SQFT LAND

2 STOREYS, RENOVATED, OFF MACPHERSON ROAD, REBUILT, AUTOGATE, PORCH FOR 1 CAR, PARTIAL FURNISHED, QUIET, NEAR CEDAR GIRL’S SEC

CALL CLINTON (65)9851-2159

CEA REG NO. R001523J

http://www.onemap.sg/?SearchVal=MULBERRY%20AVENUE&LW:Y&wO5d:IJJhJ_Y,Ihfch_R,IIYYa_h,IfYfb_c,c