Singapore’s pandemic-fueled home buying fever is cooling faster than what everyone has expected. Last week ended with the shocking news that three new launches sold a total of merely 53 units in their first weekend: - TMW Maxwell sold 7 units out of a total of 324 units (2.2 percent sold) - The Arden sold 27 units out of a total of 105 units (25.7 percent sold) - … [Read more...]
CEA’s response: Agents must act responsibly to promote clients’ interests
I refer to my letter to The Straits Times Forum titled "Questionable property ads popping up on social media" which was published on 3 May 2019 as follows: Questionable property ads popping up on social media MAY 3, 2019 When the Government implemented property cooling measures last July, individuals were cautioned against over-leveraging in property … [Read more...]
Podcast Ep#22: En Bloc? It’s All Over Now
In this podcast, we will talk about this round of en bloc wave for residential projects, which is fast approaching the end of it. We will look at some facts and data of the en bloc market. When trying to explore the mindsets of en bloc buyers and sellers, I am using the analogy of the different positions of customers and the owner in a restaurant. Next, we will discuss how … [Read more...]
Learning from Hong Kong’s Property Godfather
I was in Hong Kong during Chinese New Year. With 92 percent of the population being Chinese, everyone was taking a break during the public holiday. Not for the property agents. Some agency branches even opened on the first day of Chinese New Year. One of them was Centaline Property Agency (中原地產), a top real estate brokerage firm in Hong Kong. Its founder Shih Wing-ching … [Read more...]
When the music stops playing
Last week, Centaline Property Agency announced that it is temporarily closing its operations in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, after 11 years in the local market. Centaline is the biggest property agency in Shenzhen. At its peak, the market leader expands into a full force of 380 branches, employing more than a thousand agents. But that is before the Chinese … [Read more...]