The Remaking of Our Heartland (ROH) was started in 2007. The project was initiated to rejuvenate the HDB towns and estates. The aim is to make the HDB areas a better place for the residents.

The first 3 towns that were developed under the ROH included Punggol, Yishun and Dawson. Later, three more towns namely East Coast, Hougang and Jurong were also developed. The development efforts for these towns have come way ahead. The progress is quite evident as the towns are now a symbol of serene living for the people.

Developing Pasir Ris

After the successful efforts in the previous 6 towns, the ROH continues the efforts for other towns as well. The latest towns to undergo development efforts include Pasir Ris, Toa Payoh and Woodlands. The ROH plans to apply similar standards of development that have been used in the previous towns. In this post, we will be focusing on the ROH plans for Pasir Ris.

The Town of Pasir Ris

Pasir Ris stands for White Sands in Malay. The town is basically a long stretch of white sandy beach situated along the north-east coastline of Singapore.  In the time past, Pasir Ris used to be a major focus of vacation time. It was a popular destination for both locals and foreigners to space the chaos of life and enjoy a few days of relaxation and luxury. The town featured large holiday bungalows and public seaside resorts that were accommodating the traffic of domestic and international tourists.

After the development, ROH plans to make Pasir Ris the dream seaside town. The town will be supported by amazing commercial and residential amenities to provide the residents with a convenient lifestyle.

The New Pasir Ris

The following developments will take place according to ROH plans for Pasir Ris:

Distinct Housing Design

The new town will be featuring modern day architecture that will stand apart due to its unique style. ROH aims for the residents to have an aesthetic connection with the place they live in. The four existing neighborhoods, namely the Loyang Point, Elias Mall, Neighborhood 4NC and Pasir Ris West Plaza, will developed to add more parks, playgrounds, fitness corners and linkways.

Multiple Recreational Options

Both outdoor and indoor recreational facilities will be developed to cater to varying needs of the residents. The White Sands mall will be accompanied by a new development; a combination of residential, retail, food and beverage outlets.

Well- connected

Whether they are commercial or residential facilities, the town plan has been designed to feature a better connectivity. An integrated bus interchange will provide better accessibility across the Pasir Ris.

Surrounded by Nature

ROH plans to make the new Pasir Ris feature ample amounts of greenery and nature. Given that Pasir Ris is already a seaside town, this feature has been given significant priority. A greenway will stretch a 1.2km, starting from Pasir Ris, crossing through the town center and concluding near the Tampines Expressway. The new Town Plaza will also feature a Heritage Garden.

The new Pasir Ris plans have been developed after the suggestions put forward by the residents. It will appeal to the need of having a town rich in amenities and nature.

New Launch Condos in the East Singapore

• Seaside Residences
• Coco Palms
• Sims Urban Oasis

New Launch Condos in Singapore

• Shunfu Road Condo
• Hundred Palms Residences (Executive Condo)

As required by Urban Redevelopment of Authority of Singapore (URA), If a screen is needed for your balcony, you must ensure that it still allow natural ventilation every time. Natural ventilation must be allowed at all times and the screens must be retractable as well.  These are the requirements if you want to install a balcony with screens in SIngapore. This way, your balcony remains faithful to its original purpose or design even when you have incorporated new features.

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The time when every homeowner in Singapore is guaranteed a parking space for their property looks like it could finally be consigned to the history books, along with a reduction in the number of lots assigned to office and mixed use sites. More and more measures have been put in place in recent years, first of all giving developers the option to reduce the number of parking spaces for a development, and more recently with a cap on the number of spaces they are allowed to build. It has sparked a debate where many people are worried the situation may become like that faced by homeowners in Hong Kong, where lots are frequently sold for millions of HK$, especially as finding an available space is already difficult at peak times here in Singapore.

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The trade of Singapore is moving towards Asia and there are chances that in the coming decade it would become the biggest commodity trading hub of the world. The Republic is the biggest trading commodity hub in Asia and there are chances that it will enjoy the benefits that come with the increasing demands of the agricultural and metallic products. However, the commodities sector is going to face several challenges as the competition in this field is increasing.

Factors

Some of the important factors that need to be considered in this aspect are:

• The rates of oil has markedly decreased
• The margins have been squeezed because of the excessive supply in the agricultural department
• In the mineral and metal market, vitality is considered the new normal

It has been noticed that despite all these changes the commodity market of Singapore has remained constant. Over the past decade, there has been a growth of 7 percent in the sector and it has reached to the value of $1.25 trillion.

Due to the global market volatility, the producers of the upstream commodities have suffered the most. On the other hand, most of the organizations have been dealing with the downstream commodities. The trade agency has the authoritative role and so they have been driving the growth of the commodity sector.

1-Downstream Companies

It has been noticed that at the time of the oversupply the downstream companies have to optimize the situation so that there would be no loss. On the other hand, when the time is good the downstream organizations will succeed and in the bad times, you will find them as the most active companies.

2-Growth of employment

In the commodity sector, there has been a 7 percent growth of employment and it has provided 15,400 people a decent job. 80 percent of the jobs consist of:

• Executive
• Manager
• Professionals
• Technician

Here 70% of the jobs have been given to the Singaporean and permanent residents. You would be amazed to know that 80% of the commodity trading organizations are located in Singapore.

3-Commodity trading

Some of the famous commodity trading organizations in this region is:

• Anglo-Swiss
• Glencore
• Shell
• PetroChina
• BP
• Cargill
• Louis
• Wilmar
• Fortrec
• Much more

In the last years, 40 more trading companies have been established in the region. The flow of 60% of commodity trading is taking place in the Asian time zone. As the economies in the region are increasing so there is hope that this set will soon increase.

Bottom line

Singapore is ranking in the top three, in commodity trading hub around the globe. Despite being the largest hub in Asia, there are many challenges that have to be met by Singapore in order to become the world’s largest trading hub. So the companies will process their assets in other countries of Asia so that their revenue will grow at a faster rate.

To know more, visit the page below,

http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/spore-can-be-worlds-biggest-commodity-trading-hub

Having not one but several top-leading industries such as the Oil Industry in Asia and globally, Singapore property is definitely a hot favourite among foreign investors. Start your investment plan today by browsing through the list of upcoming new launch condos and existing new launches in Singapore.

• Highline Residences
• Sophia Hills
• Thomson Impressions
• Sims Urban Oasis
• The Clement Canopy

Coming Soon

• Margaret Drive Condo
• Hundred Palms Residences EC
• Bukit Batok Condo

History was made in Queenstown recently when its land parcels reached a whooping bid of $1 billion and knocked the old record right off the map. This was the first ever incident of a completely residential area belonging to the program covered by the Government of Land Sales (GLS) to hit that mark of $1 billion dollars.

Nanshan Group and Logan Property were the two Chinese organisations to put in the massive bid of $1.003 billion for the site down Stirling Road that is 21,109 sq miles. Making this bid 8.3% higher in value in comparison to the $925.7 million, which was the second highest bid from MCL Land in that category. The previous record that was set for a residential area was in 1997 and that totalled to an amount of $682.8 million, which was then transformed into the Costa Del Sol Condominiums.

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One of the most recent additions to the Singapore property scene, dual key apartments have become increasingly popular among developers. After an aborted attempt with a similar scheme by the HDB in the 1980’s it was as recently as 2009 when Fraser Centrepoint Homes successfully introduced the concept to these shores with their Caspian development. They now offer buyers a very credible alternative choice when deciding on the property they should buy. In fact between 2011 and 2014, dual key units were a feature of nearly half of all new residential properties launched.

What are Dual Key Units?

A dual key property is simply one where two homes share a main door and foyer, but then have separate living areas. Some dual key units also share a lounge or kitchen. The idea was originally brought in to cater for multi-generational living, meaning that a married couple could have more privacy, or grandparents could have – for all intents and purposes, their own home, while still being under the shared family roof.

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A deal with a combined value of US$ 676.5 million was announced in a collective effort in the market. This included the sale of the privatised HUDC estate (Hougang) – Rio Casa and the Goh & Goh Building, a mixed-use development in the vicinity of Beauty World MRT station. This took place subsequently after the grand sale amounting to $65 million of One Tree Hill Gardens earlier this month to the Lum Chang Group. Together, these deals now match the value of transactions conducted last with giants like Harbour View Gardens, Raintree Gardens, and Shunfu Ville.

The main propeller for such development is the keen new-home sales that have been recovering with the residential property market. It is said that the Rio Casa development (Hougang Avenue 7) was sold for a sum of US$ 575 million to Oxley-Lian Beng Venture with KSH Development, Apricot Capital, Oxley Holdings, and Lian Beng Group.

According to Mr Ian Loh, Knight Frank’s head of investment and capital markets, this sale was hotly contested. The latter has been the projects market agent and said there were a few submissions for the Rio Casa development. The future for this property seems bright as the intention is to develop it with funds from a ninety-nine-year lease.

The property comprises of seven blocks that have 286 apartments and maisonettes included. It is estimated that each owner will receive two million dollars from each sale. There will be a further premium of US@ 208 million for increasing the lease to enhance the property plot ratio (gross) to 2.8. According to Knight Frank, the gross area permissible is a little over 1 million square feet.

Loh conceded that the total property is valued at US$ 1.4 billion and can house about one thousand floor hundred individual units at an estimated space of seventy square meters per unit. On another note, BBR Holdings’ Alika Properties also started their bidding for Goh & Goh Building for a sum of US$ 101.5 million. The property was built in the late eighties, the buildings located at 110 – 122 Upper Bukit Timah has seven units of shops and apartments. JLL, the market agent commented that each shop owner will fetch a sum of US$ 9 million, while the apartment owner a little over half of it at US$ 5.4 million for each unit. He also went on to say that this has the potential to increase it to one hundred apartments and one level of retail space located on the ground floor.

Commenting on all this development activity, Mr Tan Hong Boon, the regional director for capital markets at JLL said that there are twenty-five to thirty active projects that have appointed sales committees and are considering the option of collective sales.

Upcoming new launch condo in 2017

• Shunfu Condo | Marymount Condo
• Le Quest
• Margaret Drive Condo
• Martin Modern
• Hundred Palms Residences (Executive Condo)

New launch that will obtain TOP next year

• Highline Residences
• Sophia Hills
• Sim Urban Oasis
• Trilive (Freehold Condo)

Singapore – According to a letter sent by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to the real estate agencies, private residential properties may be rented out to at most six unrelated persons effective from May 15. However, the previous threshold was 8 unrelated persons. After the prescribed, the existing tenants will not be allowed to complete their rental tenure.

The letter also stated that the new occupancy rules will apply irrespective of whether the tenancy agreement expires after the implementation date. All the landlords are bound to comply with the rules while failing to comply with the rules may lead them to investigations and they may have to face legal consequences. The changes in the occupancy cap were passed in the Parliament as part of the amendment in the Planning Bill.

As per Mr. Ku Swee Yong, the International Property Advisor, the small or medium sized businesses that rent out their entire apartments to their employees or work permit holders, are most likely to get affected by this new rule.

The costs of the small businesses are likely to be increased because the businesses having 8 employees, will now have to rent two apartments instead of one. Home sharing will also suffer as part of the new rule and landlords will not be able to rent out their apartments to two large families.

This new bill will help in controlling the security situation in the country, according to the defense analysts. However, this will have a positive impact on the economy as well. The income tax on the income generated from the rental of property will increase and the government will be able to accumulate more funds.

It is also anticipated that this new rule will ignite the fire of protests and processions held by the owners of small or medium sized businesses. They are hardly able to meet their expenses and by this new rule, either they would have to refuse residency to their work permit holder workers or they would have to rent two apartments which are undoubtedly costly. Both the cases are probable. The URA, on the other hand, is studying the option of creating a new category of private homes that will allow short term rentals.

The owners of Housing Board flats, however, can allow a maximum of six subtenants for a three room unit while a four room unit can hold a maximum of nine subtenants.

Below are some new launch condos (under construction) that are selling in the market, find out more about them before they are fully sold,

• Highline Residences
• Sophia Hills
• The Orient (Freehold Development)

New Launch Condos that will be releasing for sale soon

• Shunfu Condo
• Margaret Drive Condo

One of the few vacant pieces of prime land on the island is due to be turned into a vibrant new residential district, under recently announced government plans. In a scheme similar to the one unveiled for Punggol North, one so called Master Developer will have sole responsibility for the project to redevelop Kampong Bugis, with a more or less free hand – within a broad set of parameters – to develop its own design plan. It is believed that this method achieves a greater level of integration between all aspects of the site, be they the buildings, the open spaces, public amenities and the connectivity between them all.

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You would be amazed to know that yesterday three 99-years leasehold sites were launched in the market and they can construct up to 1955 new launch condo units. It is highly likely that most of the property developers are interested in these sites because they are situated in good locations.

The first site

It has been predicted that the site of Woodleigh Lane will gain the most attention from the developers. The next important site is the Woodleigh MRT. The best thing about these sites is that they lie next to the Nex shopping mall which means that you will get all the necessities of life without much hard work.

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Moves to Increase Food Supply in Singapore

With a view to increase the food supply, the Government of Singapore has recently made an announcement. According to this new government notification, the government is extending land for new farms as the initial move in more than a couple of decades. This is done with a view to ensuring more food supply in Singapore from local sources.

Tender for 36 new plots:

Beginning in the month of August, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore, shorty called as AVA will release a tender for 36 new plots of farmland in Sungein Tengah and Lim Chu Kang on a lease extending to 2 decades. The lands spread over a total of 60ha. This size is something that is equivalent to 60 football fields. However, the fresh grounds will not help with managing the farmland loss that is expected by the close of 2019. The leases of 62 local farms in Kranji and Lim Chu Kang will run out then and the military will be using the plot. Even though, no answers were given by AVA with respect to the size of the plot, but it is judged that it will be larger than 60ha. Even though, there will be a reduction the entire farmland in the country with this move, the AVA is expecting that technological advancement will help with increasing the output from fresh lands.

Who will win the bids?

It is expected that experienced farmers with excellent track records hold a better edge over other farmers. In addition, those willing to adapt to high-tech farming methods will also gain better advantage. It is all about how effectively the farmers harness the technology as against employing high-end technology in farming practices.

Employment of technology:

The Kok Fah Technology Farm has used technology with the help of which the farm has reduced its manpower requirements by nearly 30%. This is done by using automated packing, irrigation and sowing of seeds.

Move from the government:

The Government of Singapore aims at increasing the food security in the country. This should be done within the limitations of lesser land. It was announced by the National Development Minister that the local farmers can cushion themselves against disturbance in overseas supply.

The target:

The target behind these moves by the government is to have more food produced locally. For instance, it is aimed at moving 10%, 15% and 30% respectively of leafy vegetables, fish and eggs. Previous year, the local farmers managed to produce just 24% of eggs and 10% of fish for local consumption. However, the target for leafy vegetables exceeded.

Present situation:

The present situation is that just less than a single percentage of land is marked as farmland in Singapore. In total, there are 358 licensed plots for farming practices in the country. Out of this, nearly 212 are food lands, while the other are non-food lands.

Briefing sessions:

To make sure that the purpose of the tender reaches the target market, AVA conducted three briefing sessions with nearly 185 farmers at the Jurong East headquarters. Before the launching of each tender, AVA has plans to hold advisory sessions for farmers. This is to help those, who are not familiar with tender proposals. When talking about the reaction of farmers, there is mixed reaction. All of them do not show interest towards new tenders as they fear about the cost of fresh technology and financing hardships.

Being a country with limited land resources, our lands in Singapore are pretty precious. hence, a lot of locals and foreigners like to invest in Singapore Condos. Below are some popular new launch condos that have been selling well in the real estate market.

• Thomson Impressions
• Sophia Hills
• Highline Residences
• Kingsford WaterBay

Coming soon

• Hundred Palms Residences EC
• Le Quest
• Shunfu Condo | Marymount Condo

The authorities have united their powers to ensure that the animals are transferred to a safe place. It has been done to protect the wildlife from the effects of the development of forest town in Singapore.

The very first forest town in Singapore is going to be built in Tengah that is a secondary forest. So it is time to protect the animals living there and help them find a new home. The life of the animals is important and this is the reason that the government is trying to move them to an adjacent green area. Mr Desmond Lee who is the Senior Minister of State for National Development, announced this in the Parliament.

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