Monthly Archives: September 2009

Hundred Trees condo priced at $895 psf

Posted on 25 Sep 2009 | Comments Off on Hundred Trees condo priced at $895 psf

CITY Developments Ltd (CDL) is said to have begun selling the first phase of the 956-year leasehold Hundred Trees condo in the West Coast area at an average price of $895 per square foot.

Buyers can opt for an interest absorption scheme (IAS) – but they’ll have to pay 2.5 per cent more.

About 150 of the project’s total 396 units are believed to have been released under the first phase.

Sales to former owners of the Hong Leong Garden Condominium – from whom CDL bought the site through a collective sale in 2007 – began yesterday. CDL staff as well as special guests were also invited to purchase units at Hundred Trees yesterday.

The preview for other buyers who had pre-registered interest in the development begins today.

BT understands that one and two-bedroom apartments, and two bedroom-plus-study units make up around 40 per cent of total units in the 12-storey condo.

Prices of one-bedders, which are about 485 square feet, begin from over $500,000. Two bedders range from 690 to 786 sq ft while two-plus-study units are between 915 and 1,227 sq ft. Continue reading →

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Property rules should protect not just clients but agents too

Posted on 25 Sep 2009 | Comments Off on Property rules should protect not just clients but agents too

I REFER to Monday’s report, ‘Surge in complaints from home buyers’.

Much has been said about a need for a regulatory body for estate agents to protect buyers and sellers from rogue agents, and understandably so.

However, when Ms Xie Ruzhen states that she felt she had been duped into signing an agreement requiring her to pay her agent a 1 per cent commission when the industry’s standard commission guideline for the seller’s agent is a 2 per cent commission (particularly for HDB), something has gone amiss.

How was she duped into signing a contract that allowed her to shortchange her agent of his commission by half? She also said she had intended to pay only a 0.5 per cent commission after having recently forked out a 2 per cent commission to the agent for his service in selling her previous flat.

Does she feel that since she had already paid him a fair commission previously, she now had the right to pay him less?

As an agent who plays by the rules and am always open and honest with my clients, like many of my fellow agents, I am appalled by the actions of less ethical counterparts who have given our industry a bad name. However, this does not give parties like Ms Xie the right to undermine our worth and the services we provide. My advice to home sellers and buyers is, if you do not think your agent is worth his commission, then he is not the agent for you.

The market rate is 1 to 2 per cent commission, so if you cannot even bring yourself to pay your agent the minimum 1 per cent, then find another agent you feel is worth his commission. After all, there is no shortage of agents.

Medalina Barber (Ms)

Source : Straits Times – 25 Sep 2009

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