16 | October | 2009 | Lush Dream Home

Two Built-To-Order (BTO) housing projects were launched Friday, offering 1,200 flats in Sengkang and Jurong West.

On the first day of sale, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) received 501 applications for the units.

Located near two LRT stations, it is no wonder flat buyers are drawn to the 495 flats available at Fernvale Palms in Sengkang.

Said an interested buyer: “By the time the flat is ready (in three or four years), the place should be more or less established. At the same time, it allows me and my future wife (time) to save up after our marriage.

“I think it’s cheaper than the resale flats because you don’t have to pay the COV. And resale flats tend to be (more expensive) because the sellers tend to sell at high prices.” Continue reading →

How to Choose The Right Property Agent for Yourself?

Posted on 16 Oct 2009 | Comments Off

Property agents are known to market themselves aggressively. We get their flyers stuffed into our letterboxes everyday. But how do you pick the right one out of so many dolled up faces you see on the flyers? Or should you just rely on referrals?

Traditionally, people simply expect housing agents to just have the knowledge about the property they intend to sell. But today the expectations of homebuyers going beyond that. Now buyers expect an agent to be able to analyze the market and update them with market pricing of the different locations be it in the North, South, East, West or the Core Central area. It’s not just about those projects they are selling only.

Agents should no longer concentrate on just buying and selling. Today they need to know extra information such as bank interest rate, loan schemes available for their clients etc. Then they can give good advise to potential buyers on financial matters and even estimate the monthly returns for the buyer.

A good agent is also someone who reads the paper daily to know what is happening in the country and around the world. How the stock market or Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is progressing can easily affect the buying/selling price. These are factors that drive consumer sentiments. And the property market is largely driven by sentiments. Continue reading →