Bright lights, big city
Today, for some inexplicable reason, I caught the property bug.
I was in D.'s car and we were going to Marina Mandarin for lunch. We took a weird route - exit at Balestier Road from the CTE and down Lavender Street to the new road that leads directly to Suntec. As we barrel down Lavender Street, I'm suddenly struck by this HUGE nearly-completed condo structure in front of me near the junction of Victoria Street. It's massive, I think to myself. Location not bad, and it's even got those trendy interlocking towers with the sky park and gym and whatever.
Later, intrigued, I asked my property reporters about it. Big mistake. Now I'm comparing psf prices every free moment of the day and doing mental calculations about whether I can afford a $1 million apartment at Capitaland's Citylights.
Anyway, the whole exercise has focused my thoughts on what I think are my essential "golden rules" of property buying in the current siao-ness that is the Singapore real estate market, which are (in no particular order of importance):
1. Must "can see the MRT station from the window"
Because Singapore's chronic taxi shortage problem ain't gonna be solved anytime soon. And expats' number one complaint about living in Singapore is still taxis. Oh, have to be careful these days which MRT station though [See point 5].
2. Must "can drive home from town in 5 or 10 mins"
This of course means that the apartment has to be (a) in town [See point 3] or (b) town-ish [i.e. just outside ERP gantries].
3. Cannot have insane price
None of those "new benchmark prices" for me thank you very much. Below $1,000 psf or even better, below $800 psf.
4. At least 1,000 sq ft, two bedrooms
Because people and tenants are so damn freakin rich these days, big is better. Big is also comfortable and less claustrophobic. Plus I can have a 6-foot marine tank.
5. Cannot "near foreign workers"
F. recommended City Square, which is at (aiyo) Kitchener Road. Next to Mustafa. CDL, which developed it, said that the giant development, which consists of a mall and a public park, will "rejunevate" the area (which is of course a sure signal that it is hopelessly downward-transition to start with). "Got cineplex below leh", she added. Wah liao. This only means the cineplex will screen Hindi movies, attracting even more foreign workers who will conveniently sit down and hang out at the "public park" downstairs of your home. Oh and apparently, City Square is also nearer the new Farrer Park MRT station. All I can say is: good luck getting out the doors. It's not a matter of being racist - I just don't wanna be chasing away half the Chinese buyers in town.
6. Preferably near "water" of some sort
This means seafront or riverfront. Or at least "can see sea or river from window".
I was in D.'s car and we were going to Marina Mandarin for lunch. We took a weird route - exit at Balestier Road from the CTE and down Lavender Street to the new road that leads directly to Suntec. As we barrel down Lavender Street, I'm suddenly struck by this HUGE nearly-completed condo structure in front of me near the junction of Victoria Street. It's massive, I think to myself. Location not bad, and it's even got those trendy interlocking towers with the sky park and gym and whatever.
Later, intrigued, I asked my property reporters about it. Big mistake. Now I'm comparing psf prices every free moment of the day and doing mental calculations about whether I can afford a $1 million apartment at Capitaland's Citylights.
Anyway, the whole exercise has focused my thoughts on what I think are my essential "golden rules" of property buying in the current siao-ness that is the Singapore real estate market, which are (in no particular order of importance):
1. Must "can see the MRT station from the window"
Because Singapore's chronic taxi shortage problem ain't gonna be solved anytime soon. And expats' number one complaint about living in Singapore is still taxis. Oh, have to be careful these days which MRT station though [See point 5].
2. Must "can drive home from town in 5 or 10 mins"
This of course means that the apartment has to be (a) in town [See point 3] or (b) town-ish [i.e. just outside ERP gantries].
3. Cannot have insane price
None of those "new benchmark prices" for me thank you very much. Below $1,000 psf or even better, below $800 psf.
4. At least 1,000 sq ft, two bedrooms
Because people and tenants are so damn freakin rich these days, big is better. Big is also comfortable and less claustrophobic. Plus I can have a 6-foot marine tank.
5. Cannot "near foreign workers"
F. recommended City Square, which is at (aiyo) Kitchener Road. Next to Mustafa. CDL, which developed it, said that the giant development, which consists of a mall and a public park, will "rejunevate" the area (which is of course a sure signal that it is hopelessly downward-transition to start with). "Got cineplex below leh", she added. Wah liao. This only means the cineplex will screen Hindi movies, attracting even more foreign workers who will conveniently sit down and hang out at the "public park" downstairs of your home. Oh and apparently, City Square is also nearer the new Farrer Park MRT station. All I can say is: good luck getting out the doors. It's not a matter of being racist - I just don't wanna be chasing away half the Chinese buyers in town.
6. Preferably near "water" of some sort
This means seafront or riverfront. Or at least "can see sea or river from window".
posted by rookcub at
10:09 PM
2 Comments:
i have to say that i read, with great satisfaction, the part where you talk about all the migrant workers who will take over the park and cineplex at city square.
as someone who lives in that area and who, along with the rest of her neighbours, dreads the creeping gentrification of little india, i really sincerely hope that the migrant workers will co-opt the space and make it their own, and not get driven out by massive families who drove over in their MPVs from Tampines just to check out 'the new mall'. call me a bohemian snob/bleeding heart liberal, but i truly believe that little india belongs to migrant workers not us Singaporeans, it was, always has been, and should remain a haven for them.
also it is not as crazily crowded with migrant workers as people think it is. after mustafa the crowds of workers thin out; also farrer park is never insanely crowded given the wide passages and its gajillions of mrt exits.
should you change your mind, there are small modest and modern apartment complexes springing up further along down rangoon road and racecourse road, which thankfully are not imposing the gruesome heartlander experience on little india as much as city square will once the latter goes up.
ok i know when i'm being scolded, even if very gently and politely :)
i'm just speaking as a hard-headed property buyer in this instance
i personally haven't spent much time in little india at all, but i'm not at all sure that the gentrification of little india will actually occur, despite what developers are doing. maybe much later on in singapore's history...
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