I was recently being interviewed by Michael Cho, founder of UrbanZoom and UrbanAgents. UrbanAgents is a technology platform using artificial intelligence to value properties and match sellers with agents. They have recently started their youtube channel. Before I stepped inside their recording studio, I was expecting a short interview but it ended up to be a long one lasting … [Read more...]
Seeing the impact of coronavirus on retailers in one day
Singapore moved up coronavirus outbreak alert to orange in the late afternoon last Friday. The next day I went for my routine trip to the wet market after my morning jog. It was crowded with people stocking up on food, especially frozen meat. Their market trolleys had completely blocked the entrance. I had no choice but diverted to the nearby NTUC Finest. The shelves … [Read more...]
3 common lies property agents tell you
Last month, a PropNex agent was fined S$30,000 and suspended for 12 months by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) for being unprofessional and unethical in a property transaction (The Straits Times, Oct 21). The agent in question was found to be telling lies and faking offers and counter-offers in order to pocket a higher commission - simply because he failed to negotiate for … [Read more...]
Will Hong Kong people buy Singapore homes?
Some readers ask me whether there will be more Hong Kong people buying Singapore homes, and whether this will raise local property prices and sales volumes. Maybe they know I was from Hong Kong two decades ago. Or they have seen too many media reports on riots in Hong Kong. Like many foreign countries, protests and strikes to Hong Kong people are like typhoons that … [Read more...]
What properties to buy in a recession
When Singapore missed its GDP target in Q2, Maybank said we are heading for a technical recession next quarter. A technical recession happens when there are two successive quarters of fall in GDP. I remember it was July 2001. Three years after I came to Singapore, the country was in recession. The economy contracted by 2 percent - a big contrast to the strong growth of … [Read more...]