Basic Details of Development:
District 28 (North-East Region)
Tenure: 99 Year Leasehold from 1997
Total Number of Units: 340
Highest Floor: #04
TOP: 2000
Basic Details of Unit: Asking Price: In excess of $1,000,000 Size of Unit: 1,561sqft (640.61psf) Number of Bedrooms: 3 Number of Bathrooms: 3 Condition of House: Move-In Condition! Co-Broking Available!
Photo 1: Living Room
Photo 2: Master Bedroom
Photo 3: Common Room
Photo 4: Common Room
Photo 5: Kitchen
Photo 6: Toilet 1
Photo 7: Toilet 2
Photo 8: Serene Environment
Photo 9: Nice Landscaping of Development
This unit is a STAR BUY!!! As the owner is expecting to have his baby due in Jun/Jul period, the owner is offering a discount on this UNIT!
The average selling price of this development is $687psf and this would have translated to a price of $1,072,407. And for the most recent transaction of a unit in this development, it is $700psf and that would translate to a price of $1,092,700!!!
At the asking price of $1,000,000, this unit is very REASONABLY priced! Whilst the price that is asked by the owner is $1,000,000, there is a condition that the owner would like to have for the offering of this discount.
The owner would like to request for the completion to be in Jun/Jul period so that he can move into his new house. If this timeframe is suitable for you, please let me know so that I can arrange for a viewing for you.
For those who are intending to upgrade, this is a good unit as the time frame for you to sell your HDB would be just nice as well. We can start marketing your HDB and then the time for you to get a buyer will ensure that you will not have a fire sale on your HDB and at the same time, you will be able to acquire this nice property in this nice estate at a very very good price.
I hope that with this review, I had provided a good analysis of the pricing of the unit and if you have further queries for me, please feel free to contact me.
Review on (D22) The Centris - 1, Jurong West - Above #10 [SOLD!!!]
Basic Details of Development: District 22 (West Region) Tenure: 99 Year Leasehold Total Number of Units: 610 Highest Floor: #16 TOP: 2009
This unit is to be sold with tenancy. The tenancy agreement will run till April 2012 at a monthly rental of $3800/month. The tenant is an expat working in Biopolis and he had been very punctual with the rental payment for the last 10 months. This unit is priced at $1.15m by the owner for sale and the bank indicative of the unit is at $1.15m as well. Whilst the pricing is at bank's indicative valuation, the selling price of the unit is negotiable.
Working on the rental yield of the property, with $3,800/month, the analysis is as follows:
Buyers without Outstanding Mortgage Loans - 80% Loan with DBS PROMO 3 Year Fixed 3M Sibor Package With MyProtector Mortgage (3 Year Lock-In):
1st Year Mortgage Payment: $3078.89
2nd Year Mortgage Payment: $3255.18
3rd Year Mortgage Payment: $3391.31
The rental of $3,800 would have covered almost all the mortgage payments for the unit and it is a self-servicing loan with slight top-up per month. On the most simple calculation of rental yield, ignoring property tax and interest on mortgage, the annual rental cashflow of $45,600 vis-a-vis the initial capital outlay of $230,000 for the 20% downpayment would have a simple yield of 19.82%. To get a better calculation, do contact me and I can work it out for you subsequently. Buyers with Outstanding Mortgage Loans - 60% Loan with DBS PROMO 3 Year Fixed 3M Sibor Package With MyProtector Mortgage (3 Year Lock-In):
1st Year Mortgage Payment: $2309.17
2nd Year Mortgage Payment: $2441.38
3rd Year Mortgage Payment: $2543.48 The biggest consideration for buyers with outstanding loan would be the initial capital outlay which is 40% of the purchase price. Assuming that the purchase price is $1.15m, the initial capital outlay is $460,000. While the rental of $3,800 would have covered all the mortgage payments for the unit and generating a positive cashflow of $1300-1500 per month, the rental yield would have to be calculated accurately.
On the most simple calculation of rental yield, ignoring property tax and interest on mortgage, the annual rental cashflow of $45,600 vis-a-vis the initial capital outlay of $460,000 for the 40% downpayment would have a simple yield of 9.91%. To get a better calculation, do contact me and I can work it out for you subsequently.
The most recent transaction for the development is in Jan 2011 and the transaction price is $900k for the 937sqft unit. The average psf for units selling in the development is $961psf and the pricing of this unit is at $1022psf, which is slightly negotiable. With the high floor listing of this unit, its pricing is expected to be 0.69% higher for each floor, hence the selling price of $981psf is the minimum expected. At 981psf, the selling price would be at least approximately $1,104,000. Any offer higher than $1.1m will be put forth to the owner for him to decide.
I hope that with this review, I had provided a good analysis of the pricing of the unit and if you have further queries for me, please feel free to contact me.
A follow up with a For-Sale-By-Owner Listing led to the posting of this article.
Whilst some sellers might want to sell their own house in order to save the commission for the agent, the two questions to ask would be 'Is it a real saving to save the commission for engaging agents?' and 'What are the values that an agent can bring to the table for clients who engaged an agent?'.
The real estate business is a commissioned based career based on a percentage of the sale price because there will be an incentive for the agent to work harder to earn a higher payout for the transaction. There might be some critics who will argue that the marginal increase in the selling price yields lesser returns for the agent than the sellers hence there is actually lesser incentive for agents. However, I beg to differ as it all depends on the agent's vision in this industry.
My team-mates and I are here for GOOD and we would rather work hard for clients to get referrals in future than to bother about the marginal returns. Choose your agent. If you are paying good money for agents to serve you, choose the most qualified agent to serve you. Armed with a degree in Real Estate, I believe I will be able to serve your needs well.
Real Saving from No-Commission???
Some clients might not pay the commission by self-serving, however, after being in this business, I realised that the amount that is paid to the agent is definitely justifiable if the agent is knowledgeable and resourceful.
In life, the buying and selling of houses will probably be the biggest transaction of our lives and yet we are stingy in engaging a well-qualified agent to assist in the transaction? It is disheartening and disappointing when sellers/buyers did not have enough information on the analysis of the pricing of the unit and eventually led to getting selling below market price or paying too much above the market price. Is there really savings from the transaction then? I doubt so.
The hardest thing to do in life is NOT TO MAKE A DECISION but to get ENOUGH INFORMATION TO MAKE A DECISION.
What are clients paying the agent for? It is to pay the agent for his/her expertise in the Real Estate Field, his/her knowledge in the policies in Real Estate Agency Work and for his/her hard-work and marketing cost in getting a buyer for the unit.
Value of Agent: More information to assist client to make a better decision. A good agent would have access to paid information from various mediums to assist him/her to advice his/her clients. I had 3 paid tools to assist me in serving my clients.
Marketing Exposure
In terms of marketing exposure, I had encountered many owners who wanted to sell their house on their own and they did not have any online marketing tools except for those that are free.
There is a vast difference between paid property website like propertyguru and iproperty vs ST701/MOCCA/Propertyexchange.
First, if free websites are as effective as paid websites, would agents pay for the websites to market the property that they are selling? Obviously, the answer is NO. Agents are also people who are looking for cost savings measures and if there are agents who are using paid websites and not free websites, there are definitely reasons why it is as such.
Second, without paying for the websites to market the properties online, will there be aggressive marketing of the website on buses, taxis, billboards etc to get buyers/sellers to go to the website? The answer is NO. There is no incentive at all for the free websites hence by paying for the website, the marketing of the website will ensure that the traffic to the website will be more than those free websites.
Third, will it make any economic sense for owners to get an account to market his own property? The answer is NO as well. To the agent who is marketing a number of properties, there would be economies of scale for him to subscribe and pay for all the websites and at the same time use all the free websites as well and that will help the seller increase the exposure and capture more buyers. By capturing more buyers, there will be a higher chance of getting a better price for the client.
Value of Agent: Assist to increase the marketing exposure for the client to get a better price. A good agent would have access to paid websites to assist him/her to market the properties. I had 2 paid websites to assist me in serving my clients.
Third Party Negotiation
Without an agent serving the owner in the sale of the house, the owner will first have to disrupt his privacy and peace by having a lot of calls from buyers and agents to enquire on his house even into the wee hours of the day. And upon some buyers/agents knowing that the owner is without an agent, it might spell some trouble for the buyer/agent as the knowledge of the owner on the property transaction is questionable and it might led to the deal being complicated, due to the lack of knowledge.
On top of the 2 points highlighted above, I think that the most important part of the whole deal is in the negotiation. By having an agent to handle the case, there is a third party involved and this will allow the owner to have more control of the situation. Some owners might get emotional in the negotiation process and lose the negotiation which in turn loses the chance to negotiate a good deal. An agent who is more experience in the art of negotiation will help a great deal as the agent will protect the interest of the client.
Value of Agent: To use his/her experience to assist the client in the negotiation process and to be the buffer for the client so as to manage the emotions of the client.
Conclusion If Real Estate can be transacted by Owners without any disadvantages, the Real Estate Industry will not require any Real Estate Agents to transact the deals on behalf of Clients. If a Real Estate Transaction is a simple and fuss free process, then Real Estate Agents will not need to be regulated and there will be no requirement for Real Estate Education for the Agents.
Hence, I do opin that the marketing of Real Estate should still be left to agents who are in the market and would be able to feel the pulse of the market better and also to use tools, that would increase marketing exposure, and help the client to get a better deal.
If you would like to save on the commission, I would strongly suggest that you negotiate with your agent and to strike a fair deal for both parties. There are advantages for the client and there are costs for the agent and when both parties are fully aware of this, there will be lesser possibility of conflict.
A video that sums up all that is needed to explain...
Review on (D10) The Mercury - 38 Shanghai Road - Above #15 [SOLD!!!]
Basic Details of Development: District 10 (Central Region) Tenure: Freehold Total Number of Units: 67 Highest Floor: #18 TOP: 2014
This unit is priced to sell by the seller. The unit that I am marketing is a 1 bedroom + 1 study unit of size 635sqft. The price expected by the seller is in excess of $980,000. Whilst I had a few enquiries on this unit, buyers often felt that the price is too high. I beg to differ, though.
The most recent transaction for the development is in September 2010 and the transaction price is $905k for the 635sqft unit. For me, as real estate consultant, I do not dictate the pricing and the sellers will be the price listers and we will market according to the price given by the seller. The price that the seller is intending to sell is indeed $980k and I,as marketing agent of the unit will put up any offer made by buyers.
Over the last quarter, price increased 2.7%, according to URA data, and this will translate to a pricing of $1463psf for the unit. The pricing for this unit is current $1,543psf and the difference with expected selling price is $80psf. This pricing is still pretty reasonable due to the height of the selling unit vs the unit that transacted in Sept. The selling unit is above #15 vs the transacted unit of #07. For every level increase, there is a premium and for this instance, the premium is approximnately $10psf/level.
Whilst some buyers opined that the impact of the Govt measures will dampen the prices in the private market, it is my personal opinion that it is still very much unpredictable as genuine buyers will come back into the market. It is everybody's guess on the direction that the private property market is heading towards. If this unit is opined to be too highly priced, I would like to help you to scout for other units that you might be interested in. Below is the floor plan of the unit that I am marketing.
Photo 1: Floor Plan of Unit (Source: Singapore Expat)
I hope that with this review, I had provided a good analysis of the pricing of the unit and if you have further queries for me, please feel free to contact me.
As a graduate from NUS, majoring in Real Estate, this is a piece of news that had shaken my world because the art of valuation is the rice bowl of Real Estate Graduates and now it is a point of contention in the business world. We had heard it many times over on why we need to be ethical and professional in doing valuation but it seems like the business world thinks otherwise.
What is wrong? What is fundamentally wrong with the recent transactions in the market? Do the premium of ‘newness’ and ‘years left from lease’ carry so much weight? Does the average buyers know what are they getting into?
It is my personal opinion that a buyer will need to do his homework and ask himself if the premium to pay for a new development is worth that much. If it is, what is the basis for the premium in the 1st place?
For a home-buyer, does owning a unit in Caspian make any difference to his lifestyle or does it add any utility as compared to owning a unit in Lakefront Residences? For an investor, will Lakefront Residences have a higher rental yield that Caspian since the location / proximity of the MRT is negligible? Will a tenant take into consideration the lakeview or the ‘newness’ of the project into consideration when renting a unit? Will the name/reputation of the developer make a difference to the tenant as well?
Doesn’t this sounds like sub-prime in disguise?
I believe by asking such questions, it will be pretty clear that those who had bought a unit in a development, with comparables selling at a lower price, would probably face resistance from the market in time to come when they are going to sell the property or even to rent the property. Consumers will always be price sensitive.
Real estate is unique. Real estate is different from most other products. Real estate, no matter how unique, will still be subjected to the forces of the market. Location is one important consideration for Real Estate but when the consideration of location is negligible, price will be the overpowering consideration.
The art of valuation should be reviewed and valuation firms should not be at the beck and call of their clients. Many horror stories were shared where valuers were told what the value of the property is and then justify the values subsequently. Is that right? What are the consequences of doing this repeatedly?
The good thing about Singapore is that the loan-to-value (LTV) is providing a good buffer for drop in valuation where it could trigger a meltdown if banks were to keep foreclosing properties that had their values falling below the loan outstanding.
