A former employee of a real estate company has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years’ jail for withdrawing more than half a million dollars from the bank accounts of a condominium management committee.

Chew Swee Siong, 31, from Kenwood Property Consultants used to be based at West Bay Condominium at West Coast Crescent when he committed the offences between 18 November 2006 and 10 July 2007.

He pleaded guilty to 28 charges in May this year while another 158 were taken into consideration.

Chew told the authorities that he had made off with more than S$1.5 million in all, over a space of 18 months.

To feed his gambling habit, he had forged the signatures of two people to get the cash.

Chew could have been jailed up to seven years and fined.

Source: Channel News Asia, 30 Jun 2010

The Singapore property auction market rose 20 per cent on-year in the first half of this year to S$87 million, according to property consultants Colliers International.

A total of 440 properties were put up for auction, of which 378 properties were from property owners while only 62 were mortgagee sales.

Colliers said the sharp fall in the number of properties put up for mortgage sale is a reflection of the vastly-improved financial position of mortgagors.

April saw the highest value from auctions when 12 properties changed hands at a total value of more than S$24.4 million.

The lull period was in May, when only two properties were sold for S$6.89 million. This could be due to concerns over European debts, as well as the tension between North and South Korea which sent jitters through the stock market, said Colliers.

It added that buying interest at auctions will also remain keen as liquidity in the market is high and more investors are looking to real estate to hedge against inflation.

The sale of seven landed properties contributed 23.1 per cent or S$20.08 million to auction transactions during the six-month period.

Four out of the seven landed properties are located in the Bukit Timah vicinity.

Other types of properties sold in auctions are retail properties, which contributed S$20.07 million or 23.1 per cent to total sales; as well as high-end apartments which contributed S$13.38 million or 15.4 per cent.

Source: Channel News Asia, 30 Jun 2010

In Asia-Pac, it’s now fourth, after Tokyo, Osaka, HK: survey

SINGAPORE is the 11th most expensive city in the world for expatriates, one place lower than its 10th position last year, says HR consultancy firm Mercer.

But the city moved up a notch to fourth place among cities in Asia-Pacific – which for the first time has three cities in the top 10 list of the dearest places for expats.

Tokyo remains the most expensive city in Asia-Pacific, with sister city Osaka second, and Hong Kong third. Singapore and Seoul round out the top five.

Cathy Loose, Asia-Pacific global mobility leader at Mercer’s information product solutions business, said: ‘Cities in Asia, such as Tokyo and Osaka, continue to be the most expensive cities given the relatively strong yen against other major currencies such as the US dollar.

‘Other high-ranking cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing remain relatively the same in terms of overall cost-of-living ranking.’

Part of the reason Asian cities feature more prominently in the worldwide top 10 list is the rise in residential property prices in the region, said Mercer senior researcher Nathalie Constantin-Metral.

‘At the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, residential property prices in many Asian countries rose as the economic environment began to stabilise and demand for good expat housing increased,’ said Ms Constantin-Metral.

Among the 214 cities surveyed by Mercer, Tokyo was ranked second worldwide, giving up its place as the world’s most costly city for expats to Angola’s capital Luanda.

Ndjamena, in the central African nation of Chad, was placed third, followed by Moscow, then Geneva.

Mercer said the high living costs in some African cities reflects the continent’s increasing economic importance across all business sectors.

‘We’ve seen an increase in demand for information on African cities from across the business spectrum – mining, financial services, airlines, manufacturing, utilities and energy companies,’ said Ms Constantin-Metral. ‘Many people assume that cities in the developing world are cheap, but this isn’t necessarily true for expatriates working there.’

In particular, the cost of good, secure accommodation can be ‘extraordinarily high’, she said.

Mercer’s Cost of Living survey covers 214 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

New York is used as the base city for the index, and all cities are compared against the Big Apple. Currency movements are measured against the US dollar.

The cost of housing – often the biggest expense for expats – plays an important part in determining where cities are ranked.

Source: Business Times, 30 Jun 2010

SINGAPORE is the third most liveable city in the world, going by preliminary findings from a broad-based study commissioned by a think-tank here.

The Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) released initial results from its Global Liveable Cities Index (GLCI) at the World Cities Summit (WCS) yesterday. Of the 64 cities assessed, Geneva emerged tops and Zurich second. Copenhagen and Helsinki tied at fourth.

Asia-Pacific cities which made it to the top 20 include Hong Kong (eighth), Melbourne (10th), Osaka (16th) and Tokyo (18th).

CLC got the study going in 2008 to assess cities’ liveability in five areas: economic vibrancy and competitiveness; environmental friendliness and sustainability; domestic security and stability; quality of life and diversity; and governance and leadership.

GLCI is still a piece of work in progress, but CLC and some of the study’s co-authors will present it at a WCS session today to gather feedback on its criteria and methodology.

‘In terms of looking at liveability from a more holistic and balanced framework, I think there are probably very few, if any, such set of indicators that are around,’ CLC director and National Environment Agency CEO Andrew Tan told the press yesterday.

Across the five areas which the GLCI looked at, Singapore fared best in domestic security, coming in first. It scored fairly well in terms of governance, quality of life and economic vibrancy. But its showing in eco-friendliness was weakest, at 14th place.

According to Tan Khee Giap, a co-author of the GLCI and associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore’s green efforts could be underrated. He cited an example: the country did well in water management, but this was not reflected because comparable data was lacking in other cities.

Source: Business Times, 30 Jun 2010

A NEW platform for policymakers and urban planners to exchange ideas on sustainable development is in the works.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan mooted the idea of a Learning Network for Cities at the World Cities Summit (WCS) yesterday.

As the WCS happens once every two years, the network will allow government officials and industry professionals to share best practices on green technology, infrastructure financing and other sustainable development issues in between, he said.

The learning network will be discussed at the WCS Mayors’ Forum today and more details will be shared later.

Mr Mah gave this update in his speech at the WCS opening plenary session. The event gathered high-ranking individuals from the private and public sectors to share what they thought were challenges and solutions in sustainable urbanisation.

Good urban planning was not something policymakers can ignore. According to Mr Mah, about 200,000 more people move into cities and towns every day. By 2050, 70 per cent of the global population will be living in cities, exceeding the 50 per cent today.

Strong governance, citizen engagement, a balance between development and the environment, and international collaborations are some of the key ingredients for sustainable development, he said.

Asia-Pacific will have major challenges to overcome in the urbanisation process, warned United Nations under-secretary-general and executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Noeleen Heyzer.

The large movement of people to cities, environmentally unfriendly development, poverty and climate change are threatening the urban landscape, she said. Various cities are aware of the problems and are working to resolve them. One of these is the fast growing region of Chongqing in China. Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan said that the city is planning to plant 14 square kilometres of trees, and build 40 million sq m of public rental housing to cope with rapid urbanisation.

In the Netherlands, the government launched a Delta Programme and set up a Delta fund to protect the country against flooding. Some 59 per cent of the country is flood-prone, said the programme’s government commissioner Wim Kuijken.

Commenting on the WCS after the opening plenary session, Mr Mah said that there is much for Singapore to learn. ‘There are many challenges we may face in the future’, he said.

Climate change is one of these, he continued. When it comes to managing water levels for instance, Singapore can learn from the Netherlands.

Source: Business Times, 30 Jun 2010

The plots, with total area of 19.92 ha, will be sold on 30, 45 or 60-year leases

THE Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) is offering 10 industrial plots for sale under the second-half 2010 industrial government land sales programme.

The plots, with a total land area of 19.92 ha, comprise three sites on the confirmed list and seven on the reserve list.

Five of the 10 sites are new – a 4.65 ha plot at Yishun Street 23/Yishun Avenue 9 on the confirmed list and plots at Woodlands Avenue 12, Tuas View Square, Kaki Bukit Road 4 and Ang Mo Kio Street 62 on the reserve list. The rest are being rolled over from the H1 2010 reserve list.

The government will sell all the plots on leases of 30, 45 or 60 years.

Colliers International director (industrial) Tan Boon Leong noted that all three plots on the confirmed list are zoned Business 2 use. ‘This will cater to strong demand for such sites as seen in the high number of bids for B2 land parcels last year.’

Sites zoned Business 2 can be put to a wider range of industrial use whereas Business 1 land is for clean and light use only.

Mr Tan highlighted the new reserve list plot at Tuas View Square as being relatively small for an industrial plot at just 0.44 ha and the Ang Mo Kio Street 62 site as the first plot the government has offered in Ang Mo Kio through its industrial land sales programme.

He also reckons that industrial land bids are likely to moderate in the second half of this year given the spread of sites that the government is offering.

Sites on the confirmed list are launched for tender according to a schedule. Reserve list sites are released only upon application by bidders.

In the first half of this year, the government also offered 10 industrial sites – two on the confirmed list and eight on the reserve list. Three of the reserve list sites were sold; they are located at Woodlands Avenue 12 and Yishun Avenue 6 (parcels 1 and 8).

The remaining five reserve sites have been rolled over to the H2 slate – two in the confirmed list and three in the reserve list.

Source: Business Times, 30 Jun 2010

NUS’s May reading comes ahead of today’s URA Q2 flash estimate

(SINGAPORE) Latest flash estimates from the National University of Singapore show that its overall price index for non-landed private homes rose 2.6 per cent in May over the preceding month. Since the end of last year, the index has appreciated 8.6 per cent.

The Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI), compiled by the NUS Institute of Real Estate Studies, covers only completed properties.

The sub-index for the central region, which covers a basket of properties in postal districts 1-4 and 9-11, grew 2.5 per cent in May over the preceding month, and 7.9 per cent year to date.

The sub-index for non-Central region rose at a slightly faster clip, of 2.6 per cent month-on-month in May and 9.1 per cent year to date.

Developers’ sales have slowed since May as Europe’s economic crisis affected financial markets, causing home buyers to withdraw to the sidelines, even ahead of the June school holidays and World Cup season. The market is expected to enter a consolidation phase, marked by slower sales as developers try their best to maintain prices and potential buyers hold back their purchases, hoping for price cuts.

Tomorrow, the Urban Redevelopment Authority will release its second quarter flash estimate for the official private home price index. In Q1, the index climbed 5.6 per cent over the preceding quarter. CB Richard Ellis yesterday predicted a 2-3 per cent quarter-on-quarter rise in this index for Q2. URA’s index covers both completed and uncompleted properties, including the new launches market.

‘The price points of new mass-market projects launched in the second quarter were at similar levels to those launched in the previous quarter, but those in the mid-tier segment (city-fringe locations and landed homes) have inched up slightly,’ the property consultancy said.

Joseph Tan, executive director (residential) at the firm, forecasts that home prices are likely to remain firm despite his prediction that developers’ new private homes sales will slow to about 2,000 units in Q3 from an estimated 4,000 units in Q2 and 4,380 units in Q1. ‘Home prices are likely to stay stable given the positive outlook on the economy and strong boom in manufacturing and exports,’ he added.

CBRE estimates that developers sold about 600-700 private homes in June, compared with 1,078 homes in May and 2,207 units in April.

The developers are estimated to have sold 8,300 units in the first half of this year. They sold 14,688 new homes for the whole of last year.

Commenting on second- quarter sales in the developer sales or primary market, the property consulting group said: ‘The projects that sold well were mostly in the low to mid-tier price range. Sales of new upmarket homes moved at a slower pace in the second quarter as foreign investors held back their purchases due to the weakening of some foreign currencies against the Singapore dollar.’

Based on caveats lodged, HDB upgraders’ share of new private home purchases slipped from 37.9 per cent in Q1 to 33.7 per cent in Q2. ‘The reduction could be attributed to a smaller supply of mass-market type of projects being launched in the second quarter compared to the first quarter,’ it added.

In the resale market, CBRE estimates that some 3,400-3,600 private homes changed hands in Q2, about 15-20 per cent lower than the 4,261 units in Q1. ‘Subsales numbered around 500 in Q2, down from 806 in the preceding quarter, as the market became less bullish and sellers were mindful of the stamp duty payable if they sold their property within a year of purchase,’ it said. Subsales and resales refer to secondary market transactions; subsales involve projects that have yet to receive Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC), while resales involve projects with CSC.

NUS’s overall SRPI is now 36.1 per cent above the post-financial crisis low in March last year. Over the same period, the growth for the central region has been 41.7 per cent and that for the non-central region, 33.2 per cent.

Despite the stronger increase in the central region, the flash estimate index for May for the location was still 3.7 per cent shy of the pre-financial crisis peak in November 2007. In contrast, for the non-central region, the latest index has already exceeded its respective January 2008 pre-crisis peak by 11.1 per cent. As a result, the overall SRPI flash estimate index for May is 5.5 per cent above its November 2007 high.

Source: Business Times, 30 Jun 2010

Q: I HAVE four kids aged 13, 11, seven and five, and we live in an apartment with only two bedrooms and no storeroom.

We have many things, including books, CDs, photos, shoes, stationery and toys, which we had gathered over the years and my husband and I are still buying new items for our children on a regular basis.

We kept all the old toys as it is such a waste to throw them away – they are good-quality toys and still in good condition. It is the same case with books. My daughter loves buying books and we do not want to kill her interest in reading by asking her to stop spending on books.

hen there’s also the textbooks, assessment books, lesson notes, examination papers, all of which we are keeping to hand down to our younger kids.

We are running out of cupboard space for all these items, so much so that I have to keep some of the toys in the children’s wardrobe, along with their clothes; under their study table; and even on the steps on their double-decker bed.

Shoes are another headache.

My children have at least three pairs each, not counting the ones that the older ones cannot wear anymore (which we are keeping for the younger ones). Then there are the shoes belonging to my husband and me.

I hope the professionals can suggest ways we can organise all our things and, if possible, tuck them away neatly.

A: Your two-room apartment is indeed small for a family of six but, with some planning, you would be able to maximise the space and find your things easily as well.

Cluttered living spaces are difficult to maintain, so let’s aim to keep the apartment as spacious as possible but, at the same time, have all the most frequently needed items within easy reach.

You should first consider what you really want to keep. If you are unlikely to ever use something again, it should be disposed of, to free up space.

Next, designate storage zones and prioritise them according to accessibility within your apartment.

For each storage zone, you need suitable storage equipment, for example, hangers, plastic bins and shelves.

You will also have to consider whether to store items on a higher level to maximise the space up there. Naturally, higher storage areas are not as accessible as those that are within reach, so they are best used for items that are seldom used.

When it comes to storage equipment, it is most practical to use something that is strong and durable. But you should also consider getting something that would improve the aesthetics of your home. Therefore, you may want to invest in good-looking furniture for the more visible areas.

The next step is to decide what you want to keep but do not use regularly. These items should go into the storage areas that are less accessible – they could be outside your home.

Things that you need to use more regularly should be stored in the apartment within the designated storage zones.

Organising your things can take quite a bit of time, but it will save you time searching for them later had they not been stored in an organised manner. Do label your boxes clearly so that it will be easier for you to find your things later.

For items that have sentimental value which you cannot bear to junk and yet do not want to keep in the apartment (as they take up too much premium space), you may want to consider self-storage service.

Self-storage can help by allowing you to keep these items in a purpose-built location.

You should select a storage facility in a location that is most convenient for you – either near your workplace or near your home – so that should you need to retrieve your things, you don’t have to travel too far to get them.

Source: my paper, 30 Jun 2010

Total site area of 19.92 ha up for grabs

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has launched its Industrial Government Land Sales programme for the second half of 2010.

There will be three sites in the Confirmed List and seven sites in the Reserve List, with a total site area of 19.92 hectares.

The three sites on the Confirmed List are at Kaki Bukit Avenue 4, the plot at the junction of Yishun Street 23 and Yishun Avenue 9, and the land parcel at the junction of Old Toh Tuck Road and Toh Tuck Avenue.

MTI will also introduce four new sites on the Reserve List at Woodlands Avenue 12, Tuas View Square, Kaki Bukit Road 4 and Ang Mo Kio Street 62.

In addition, three sites from the first half of the 2010 Reserve List will be carried forward to the second half of the year.

Source: Today, 30 Jun 2010

The private property market saw some slowing down during the second quarter of the year.

Property consultant CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) forecast that about 4,000 new homes were sold in the second quarter, lower than the previous quarter’s figure of 4,380 units.

Also, in the resale market, CBRE estimated that 3,400 to 3,600 resale homes were sold in the second quarter.

If confirmed, that would be 15 to 20 per cent lower than the 4,261 resale homes sold in the previous quarter.

Sub-sales numbered about 500, down from 806 in the previous quarter as the market became less bullish, the report said.

Sellers were also mindful of the stamp duty payable if they sold their property within a year of purchase. In addition, the number of HDB upgraders buying private homes fell.

About 33.7 per cent of new home buyers in the second quarter this year had HDB addresses, lower than the 37.9 per cent figure of the previous quarter.

CBRE said the reduction could be attributed to a smaller supply of mass-market projects being launched in the second quarter. Nevertheless, CBRE said that about 8,300 new homes were sold in the first half of this year. This is more than half or 56.5 per cent of the 14,688 new homes sold for all of last year.

CBRE predicted that overall home prices in the second quarter could reflect a rise of between 2 per cent and 3 per cent on-quarter.

Source: Today, 30 Jun 2010