angusbeef

good tips thanks!

good tips thanks!

very subjective one. if you confident of job security and have savings (text book is 6 mths income in case no work), use up all your monthly cpf since cash in hand always better than stuck in cpf. other factors like your investment-risk profile and whether the cash/cpf money can be used for investment instead etc

teachers/schools and parents should just take a step back and relax. the stress in the system is largely self-imposed. Teachers cheered by call to be firm with pushy parents Minister's remarks seen as 'moral support' in face of growing demands http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/teachers-cheered-call-be-firm-pushy-parents-20120917 Published on Sep 17, 2012 Some parents expect one-on-one tutoring for their children after school. Others want a guarantee that teachers will not raise their voices or scold them in front of their classmates. Principals and teachers say they were cheered by the Education Minister's call last week to handle parents' unreasonable demands with a firm hand. Many say they have already begun to do it, as they encounter more such demands in the course of their work. Such demands do not faze principal Jenny Yeo of South View Primary - not any more. "More parents are trying to assert their 'rights'... Some parents treat the teachers as though they only have one child to teach, which is a little self-centred."

with qe3 and promise of super low interest rates till mid 2015, local property market correction coz of higher interest rates not in sight again. those sitting on property and wanting to let go can relax a bit as can hold longer since interest rates low. Fed Seen Starting QE3 While Extending Rate Pledge to 2015 By Joshua Zumbrun and Jeff Kearns - 2012-09-12T13:05:35Z The Federal Reserve is likely to announce a third round of bond purchases tomorrow, according to almost two-thirds of economists in a Bloomberg survey, while also extending the duration of its zero-interest-rate policy into 2015. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee will once again roll out unconventional policies to bolster economic growth of less than 2 percent in the second quarter and bring down unemployment stuck above 8 percent for 43 straight months, the survey showed. “The Fed clearly wants to do more,” said Nick Sargen, a former San Francisco Fed economist who oversees $40 billion as chief investment officer at Fort Washington Investment Advisors in Cincinnati. “The economy is looking lackluster, and the Fed has said all along that they feel it’s almost immoral that the unemployment rate is as high as it is.” Two rounds of bond purchases totaling $2.3 trillion have failed to breathe life into the labor market, which Bernanke said last month is a “grave concern.” That means policy makers will probably announce a new open-ended plan tied to a sustained improvement in the economy rather than specify an amount of purchases and an end-date, according to 32 of the 73 economists in the survey. Twenty-two expect a fixed duration and amount. The FOMC plans to release a statement tomorrow at about 12:30 p.m. after a two-day meeting. At 2 p.m. the Fed will release policy makers’ forecasts for unemployment, inflation and the expected path of the federal funds rate over the next several years. Bernanke plans to hold a press conference at about 2:15 p.m. Europe Crisis The euro strengthened to a four-month high and stocks rose for a second day as a German court allowed ratification of a bailout fund, easing the European credit crisis that the Fed has identified as a threat to the U.S. expansion. The euro appreciated 0.3 percent to $1.2896 at 10:26 a.m. in New York. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3 percent, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 0.2 percent. In the U.K. today, a report showed that jobless claims unexpectedly fell the most in more than two years in August as the economy continued to create jobs in the face of a recession. Stocks and commodities have rallied on expectations of easing by the Fed. From Aug. 1 through yesterday, the S&P 500 rose 4.3 percent to 1,433.56, near the four-year high reached last week. The S&P GSCI Spot Index that tracks the price of 24 commodities advanced 6.8 percent. Most economists predict that in a new round of easing the Fed would buy a mix of Treasury notes and mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage Debt The central bank would buy $300 billion in Treasuries and $400 billion in mortgage debt, according to the median estimates of economists who expect a fixed sum of purchases. Economists expecting open-ended asset-buying predict monthly purchases of $30 billion in government debt and $35 billion in housing debt. After a year, the Fed would expand its balance sheet by a total of $780 billion. Policy makers may forgo new bond purchases at this meeting to solidify a consensus on the issue among themselves or to better prepare the public for the move, said Michael Hanson, senior U.S. economist at Bank of America Corp. in New York. “One reason for waiting would be if the Fed is thinking of structuring this not as a fixed quantity but as a more open- ended plan, but they don’t have the details together yet and don’t have consensus on how to do that,” said Hanson, a former economist at the Fed board in Washington. Open-Ended San Francisco Fed President John Williams, Chicago’s Charles Evans and Boston’s Eric Rosengren have called for open- ended purchases. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Aug. 31 he prefers the open-ended approach yet would like to see more data before taking action. In the first round of bond buying, the Fed in November 2008 began purchasing $1.25 trillion of mortgage-backed securities, $175 billion of agency debt and $300 billion of Treasuries to provide further stimulus after the benchmark rate was cut almost to zero in December 2008. In the second round, announced in November 2010 and lasting through the following June, the Fed bought $600 billion of Treasuries. Bernanke said Aug. 31 in a speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that a Fed study found that large-scale asset purchases may have raised the level of economic output by almost 3 percent and boosted private payroll employment by more than 2 million jobs. U.S. gross domestic product expanded 2.4 percent in 2010 after contractions of 0.3 percent in 2008 and 3.1 percent in 2009. Bernanke didn’t describe the options for future quantitative easing. Risk of Slump Some Fed officials have spoken so enthusiastically about new easing that a decision to keep policy unchanged tomorrow could trigger a slump in markets, said Neal Soss, chief economist for Credit Suisse Group AG in New York. “Disappointing the markets doesn’t seem like a good strategy, but it’s not obvious how much more GDP to expect if they fulfill market expectations for more action,” said Soss, a former New York Fed economist. Central bankers are also poised to extend until 2015 their forecast that economic conditions will probably warrant holding interest rates near zero through late 2014. Sixty-eight percent of economists surveyed expect an extension at tomorrow’s meeting. At the July 31-Aug. 1 FOMC meeting, a few participants wanted to replace the calendar date with guidance linked to the economic conditions that would warrant raising rates, according to minutes of the gathering. Fifteen percent of economists said the central bank will probably tie the low-rate policy to the performance of the economy.

thanks! always good to know what buyers and sellers think.

location is very subjective too. flamingo ppl pantang, but bishan is hot stuff now. ppl forgot about the cemetery i guess. btw, you think it does not matter whether lh or fh if "good" location?

surely one in terms of size, location and priority, probably no grant even. but better than before so singles cannot complain, after all hdb is meant for families.

depends on what you think is a good unit lor. very subjective. which one has more units, which pool shape you like. which one you think has less bay window, planter space. then it goes down to floor and facing of the unit according to plans. you drive, then whether you think the roads outside is jam or not as some roads near condos can be death trap in morning peak time. good hunting!

those who bought shoebox, at least they are now comforted no more supply in OCR that could drive prices of shoebox. Curbs on suburban 'shoeboxes' http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120905-0000045/Curbs-on-suburban-shoeboxes by Sumita Sreedharan 04:46 AM Sep 05, 2012 SINGAPORE - The Government has moved to curb the supply of "shoebox" apartments in suburban areas, extending guidelines - which essentially cap the maximum number of dwelling units in a particular development - from low-density residential estates to all non-landed private residential developments outside the central area. The move, which takes effect from Nov 4, comes as analysts note falling demand for shoebox apartments, which are smaller than 50 sq m (540 sq ft). Under the new guidelines, non-landed private residential developments outside the central area will have to adhere to a formula which stipulates that the average size of homes in a particular development will need to be at least 70 sq m. A more stringent cap will apply in areas which "face more severe infrastructure conditions". These include Kovan and Joo Chiat/Jalan Eunos. An Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) spokesperson explained that, in determining an appropriate dwelling unit size norm, it was conscious that the figure has to be "reasonable" to achieve a range of unit sizes, "while not being overly restrictive to prohibit all small units". The spokesperson added: "We have adopted a dwelling unit size norm of 70 sq m, which is comparable to the average gross floor area of a three-room HDB flat." By the end of 2015, the stock of completed shoebox units will increase more than four-fold, from about 2,400 units as at the end of last year to about 11,000 units. Noting that larger households typically reside in suburban areas, URA said: "Increasingly, we are seeing some new housing developments consisting predominantly of shoebox units - as high as 50 per cent to 80 per cent. "A large concentration of such developments can strain the local road infrastructure as the number of housing units ends up much higher than what was originally planned for." In November last year, URA introduced a limit on the number of dwelling units for non-landed private residential developments in low-density residential estates. A more stringent cap was also applied to Telok Kurau. Writing on his blog yesterday, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan recounted how the Telok Kurau area had experienced "a rampant development of tiny shoebox units ... resulting in disamenities such as severe traffic congestion, shortage of car parks and double-parking". "After consulting with the stakeholders, URA decided to move in, but in a judicious way, without over-regulating or stifling the creativity of developers," Mr Khaw said. Instead of specifying a minimum floor area for an apartment, URA's approach limits the maximum number of apartments that developers can propose in a particular development. "This way, developers are still free to build small apartments if there is demand, but there must be a good mixture of large and small units," Mr Khaw noted. Describing URA's new guidelines as "measured and moderate", Mr Khaw added: "As regulators, we try not to interfere in the normal functioning of the market, or to second-guess it. "But occasionally, some judicious intervention for public interest is necessary when the market outcome is less than satisfactory."In May, Mr Khaw had said that the Government is monitoring the sales of shoebox apartments and may step in if there is excessive build-up of such units. Jones Lang LaSalle Head of Research (South East Asia) Chua Yang Liang described URA's formula as "sufficiently flexible" to allow a developer or an architect to "exercise their ingenuity and creativity to provide the optimal mix of large and small units". Shoebox units made up 27 per cent of sales in the first quarter. The proportion dropped to 19 per cent between April and June. Mr Nicholas Mak, Executive Director of Research & Consultancy at SLP International Property Consultants, expects the new guidelines to reduce the supply and number of transactions of shoebox units outside the central area from next year onwards. The lower number of transactions of such apartments would "lead to further moderation" of property prices, said Mr Mak, who also noted that it is usually the smaller developers which build projects where the majority of the units are shoebox apartments. In response to URA's latest guidelines, the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (REDAS) said it "shares the Government's continual effort to maintain quality living environment in Singapore". It added: "We look forward to periodic review of the guidelines taking into consideration the changing market demand for housing."

yup, i know what you mean since no b/w. try fight it. the other party also think they can score easy one and might give up if you put up fight. good luck!

sorry my bad! i was looking into the area actually, but like you said, those inwards ones.

yeah no offence bro but carablle, hundred trees, infiniti, parc, all those face aye would have noise problems. but there are some units facing inwards and away right, then noise won't be that bad.

i think that could nail you down to paying up agent's fee. but you can negotiate the amount since she did nothing. try complaining to cea, your invisible agent did not do due dilligence it seems http://www.cea.gov.sg/cea/content/consumer/complaints/codeofethics.html v. Duty to clients in relation to signing of documents vi. Obligations in respect of agreements vii. Obligation in conveying offers and counter offers viii. Interpretation or translation if necessary ix. Duties in respect of advertisements x. Duty to avoid conflict of interests xi. Recommending professional advice where appropriate

got website or not?

however, shoebox would work only if singapore goes mega metropolitan like new york, london or major cities where people have no choice and stay in shoebox as property is too expensive. has singapore reached that stage yet, i not sure. personally, shoebox is not for me either. great for singles, but that is about it.

good point. increasing grants and more type of subsidies might be the best way to go to tip it in favor of citizens as well.

http://www.dbs.com/posb/loans/home-loan-2-plus-2/default.aspx is this attractive? i think it is 1.38% first 2 years and then got option to go fixed or floating after 2 years. but fed rates not moving for next 2 years, so no point locking in for fixed rates i think.

if house is empty and no furniture, and if you have time, and energy depending on house size, sure paint by yourself cheaper and better. and you can ensure you do a good job

not sure if still there or not, but my uncle did it at a small shop at eng watt street, tiong bahru area.

yes, however i think more regulation of foreign buyers and speculators needed while keeping up with increased supply. not to keep them out, as they should have a place to stay but to keep them out of hdb and new projects. if necc, also keep them out of 99lh in future if necc. the reason is that hdb is for citizens, and citizens should have first dip at new flats. with foreigners out of the picture in some segments of market, demand and therefore price would soften, all things equal, making it less unaffordable to citizens.