University in the North-East
Month: November 2015
What Happens at the End of a 99 Year HDB Lease
Are Singapore residents sitting on the biggest housing time bomb in the island’s history?
Perhaps the scariest thing in this age of information and knowledge at your fingertips is that nobody knows. You can speak to 5 different people and get 5 different answers. There seems to be a mix between people on the one hand drifting along, certain that everything will all be ok, and that the government won’t turf them out on the street, while on the other hand, we are heading for social disaster.
En Bloc / Collective Sales
En bloc seems to be the buzz word regarding the property market in Singapore at the moment. So what exactly is en bloc, what’s the process, and is it something that you should be worried or excited about?
What is En Bloc Sale?
An en bloc sale is simply the sale of an entire private strata development when there is a majority consent among the owners to sell. If there is a unanimous consent among the owners to sell, then en bloc laws do not apply. It was initially brought in as a process to redevelop old property and bring it up to the standards demanded by modern home owners and investors. Read more
History of Public Housing in Singapore
Since 1920s..
Public housing in Singapore has been at the front of government policy for a century, and looks set to be for the foreseeable future. It has come a long way from a very low base, and it hasn’t been a smooth ride, but it is hard to knock what has been achieved in a relatively small timescale.
Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT)
The Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) Logo
Housing in Singapore was blighted in the early 20th century by overcrowding, poor hygienic and living conditions. People were crowded into shophouses, slums and squatter settlements, forcing the British colonial government to try and put some island wide initiative in place. The result was the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) which was proposed in 1920, with the bill finally being approved seven years later. Read more
The URA Master Plan
Leasehold or Freehold Property in Singapore
Leasehold or Freehold
It isn’t the case that it is all about location location location, when it comes to buying property in Singapore. The question of whether to buy freehold or leasehold is something that comes a very close second in buyers’ minds, and the debate about which is best seems to have been raging for almost as long as the country has been independent.
Brisk take up for latest 2 condo launches
60% of released units sold
Two new condo launches – Principal Garden and Thomson Impressions were rolled out last weekend on Saturday (31st Oct 2015). Both Principal Garden and Thomson Impressions had a good take-up sales, out of the 200 and 150 units that were released respectively, about 60% of the units were sold on the first weekend.
Singapore Regional Centres
The 4 Regional Centres in Singapore
Regional centres are a government initiative to relieve the burden and focus of the central districts of Singapore, by setting up self-sufficient centres in other parts of the island. These regional centres would provide residents with everything they need – education, retail, leisure and other essential amenities.
