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05-07-20, 16:42
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/invest/timing-it-right-buying-within-your-means
Me & My Property: Timing it right, buying within your means
https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_pictrure_780x520_/public/articles/2020/07/05/ST_20200705_YTPROPERTY05LQLE_5786517.jpg
Cushman & Wakefield research head Christine Li with her husband, orthopaedic surgeon Chew Chee Ping, 40, and children Genevieve (in blue), seven, Gwendolyn, five, and Lucas, 10. Their Serangoon Gardens corner terraced house has a land size of 2,800 sq ft and a built-up area of around 4,000 sq ft. ST PHOTOS: SHINTARO TAY
Published 11 hours ago
Real estate executive Christine Li bought her first property while still at university
Choo Yun Ting
Timing the market is key when buying property, says real estate executive Christine Li, who bought an apartment while still at university.
Her philosophy is about buying within her means and the down payment on that Shanghai apartment was paid for with savings from her university scholarship.
It turned out to be a canny move - she sold the unit for a sixfold profit a few years later and it remains her best investment.
Ms Li, 41, is a former property journalist with The Straits Times, a role that allowed her to talk to many developers, institutional investors, consultants and policymakers and pick up valuable investment tips on the real estate market.
"I still visit showflats on weekends to talk to agents and bankers to supplement my professional knowledge as an analyst," she says.
"I even regularly visit houses under construction, with permission from the workers, of course, when I jog around the estate," adds Ms Li, now the research head for business development services in Singapore and South-east Asia at real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
Her immersion in the sector has given her key insights into what's available and real-time transacted prices, which all help her determine when to enter the market, says Ms Li, who is married to a 40-year-old orthopaedic surgeon. They have three children.
Factors she looks out for when buying property? For landed homes, it is about location, amenities, density and traffic conditions.
"If it is a non-landed property, I would say reputation of the developer and the growth prospect of the sub-market also play a major role."
Q Please describe your home.
A My place is a three-storey corner terraced house in Serangoon Gardens. The land size is 2,800 sq ft and the built-up area is around 4,000 sq ft, with seven bedrooms, although two of them are used as study rooms.
The transacted prices in my neighbourhood are in the $4.2 million to $4.5 million range for similar houses.
My husband and I grew up in the Ang Mo Kio and Yio Chu Kang area, and we are very familiar with this neighbourhood as we used to meet at Chomp Chomp Food Centre and other local food hangouts nearby when we were dating.
Serangoon Gardens has a village ambience and laid-back charm. So when we decided to shop around for a landed home, it was one of our top choices.
We also found that this particular enclave is near both the French and Australian international schools and is popular among the expatriate community.
My favourite part of this home is the verandah. The former owner planted a huge tree in front of the house, and it blocks out the heat and provides shelter.
The verandah is like an extension of my living room, and my children love to have me read their books together on the swing.
Q Why did you choose this property, and how did you identify it as a good one to buy?
A When my third child was born in 2014, we started looking for a landed home so our children would have more space to run about.
At that time, the residential market was starting to correct because of the seventh round of cooling measures and total debt servicing ratio, so it was a good time to start looking. But we did not buy a property then, as prices were still at the peak for landed property.
As we then owned a five-room Housing Board flat, we would have been slapped with a very big sum of additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) if we were to upgrade without selling it first.
During that period, my husband was going to take up a job posting overseas for a year, so we thought it was perfect timing to sell the HDB flat first and wait for a better time to enter the market after we returned. True enough, the landed housing market softened quite a bit when we returned in 2016.
Earlier, our budget of $3.6 million could get us only a much smaller place like an intermediate terrace or a corner terrace house with a land size of around 2,000 sq ft. So when we realised that suddenly our budget could get us something bigger in the same location in 2016, we decided to take the plunge.
In addition, the landed market here is very liquid with frequent transactions. There is no lack of tenants and buyers, which would be a good thing if we decide to lease out or sell the house in future.
Q What's in your property portfolio?
A I made my first property purchase in 2002, when I was holidaying in my home town of Shanghai as a university student.
Then, it had been close to 10 years since I had left the city, and I realised that the Shanghai property market was red hot. I was curious and went to have a look at the new launches. A 100 sq m (1,076 sq ft) apartment right next to a metro station was going for around half a million yuan (S$100,000) at that time, and I was told prices had already gone up by 50 per cent in about half a year.
I did my calculations and thought I could afford the down payment with some savings from my scholarship. I put down the deposit for that apartment and came back to Singapore.
The decision turned out to be my best investment bet since housing prices in Shanghai continued to surge throughout the next 10 years.
I eventually took profit by selling it after a few years.
The flat was rented out at an annual yield of about 8 per cent, until it was sold for a sixfold profit or 3.7 million yuan before we bought our first HDB flat.
We bought our first matrimonial home at the end of 2008, when we decided to settle down. It was a hard decision back then because, as the sub-prime crisis was brewing, we were also worried about buying at a high and that prices would tank.
As a result, we were conservative and decided to buy something that would still be resilient even if a downturn hit.
We bought a five-room resale HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio from the first owner of a Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme and paid zero cash-over-valuation, which was quite rare at that time.
The flat cost us $430,000, taking into consideration the $40,000 grant we received from the Government as first-timer owners.
In 2014, just before we decided to relocate to Germany, we sold the resale flat for $705,000 and made a gross profit of $275,000.
It was a decent gain and we were not financially stretched either despite the downturn in 2009. It allowed us to comfortably accumulate more savings for our next property purchase.
Q Are you planning to buy in the next three to five years? What kind of property and where are you considering?
A We are probably looking to buy if the opportunity arises because of the Covid-19 situation. We have always been buying in troughs and this might be the best time to look for a second property.
We still prefer landed because of the scarcity of the asset class.
Although it is restricted to only Singaporeans, we have a very long investment horizon, so I am prepared to wait for the next upturn if I want to exit.
I would also be actively looking for units that have collective sale potential, especially those which failed during the last en bloc cycle.
If the price is right, I would not mind buying a unit.
Q What's your financing strategy?
A Home loans are still among the cheapest loans around. If possible, we would like to take up a larger home loan and put the money into other instruments if the timing is right.
Currently, our loan tenure is 25 years and we went for the maximum loan-to-valuation at that time. Loan interest rates have been benign, which is to our advantage.
I would like to stay in floating rates for the foreseeable future - with the United States Federal Reserve keeping interest rates near zero and indicating that rates will stay until the economy recovers from Covid-19, it is unlikely that we will see mortgage rates go up to pre-coronavirus levels in the next two to three years.
Q What's your overall investing strategy?
A I buy and hold real estate investment trusts because I am quite familiar with the products and how they generate income and pay unitholders.
Sometimes, I also buy into growth sectors such as data centres and e-commerce, which have turned out to be the biggest winner in the Covid-19 situation.
My husband is much more sophisticated in trading stocks, exchange-traded funds and foreign exchange, so I leave the short-term trading to him.
Due to the current volatility in the stock market, we have increased our allocation to these financial products to boost our investment coffers.
Q My dream home is ...
A I would like to build my dream home from scratch if it is in Singapore. Preferably a bungalow in my current neighbourhood, unless I can afford a good class bungalow in a GCB cluster.
My dream home overseas would be a house overlooking the Swiss Alps.
https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_pictrure_780x520_/public/articles/2020/07/05/ST_20200705_YTPROPERTY05_5786511.jpg
https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_pictrure_780x520_/public/articles/2020/07/05/ST_20200705_YTPROPERTY052399_5786512.jpg
Me & My Property: Timing it right, buying within your means
https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_pictrure_780x520_/public/articles/2020/07/05/ST_20200705_YTPROPERTY05LQLE_5786517.jpg
Cushman & Wakefield research head Christine Li with her husband, orthopaedic surgeon Chew Chee Ping, 40, and children Genevieve (in blue), seven, Gwendolyn, five, and Lucas, 10. Their Serangoon Gardens corner terraced house has a land size of 2,800 sq ft and a built-up area of around 4,000 sq ft. ST PHOTOS: SHINTARO TAY
Published 11 hours ago
Real estate executive Christine Li bought her first property while still at university
Choo Yun Ting
Timing the market is key when buying property, says real estate executive Christine Li, who bought an apartment while still at university.
Her philosophy is about buying within her means and the down payment on that Shanghai apartment was paid for with savings from her university scholarship.
It turned out to be a canny move - she sold the unit for a sixfold profit a few years later and it remains her best investment.
Ms Li, 41, is a former property journalist with The Straits Times, a role that allowed her to talk to many developers, institutional investors, consultants and policymakers and pick up valuable investment tips on the real estate market.
"I still visit showflats on weekends to talk to agents and bankers to supplement my professional knowledge as an analyst," she says.
"I even regularly visit houses under construction, with permission from the workers, of course, when I jog around the estate," adds Ms Li, now the research head for business development services in Singapore and South-east Asia at real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
Her immersion in the sector has given her key insights into what's available and real-time transacted prices, which all help her determine when to enter the market, says Ms Li, who is married to a 40-year-old orthopaedic surgeon. They have three children.
Factors she looks out for when buying property? For landed homes, it is about location, amenities, density and traffic conditions.
"If it is a non-landed property, I would say reputation of the developer and the growth prospect of the sub-market also play a major role."
Q Please describe your home.
A My place is a three-storey corner terraced house in Serangoon Gardens. The land size is 2,800 sq ft and the built-up area is around 4,000 sq ft, with seven bedrooms, although two of them are used as study rooms.
The transacted prices in my neighbourhood are in the $4.2 million to $4.5 million range for similar houses.
My husband and I grew up in the Ang Mo Kio and Yio Chu Kang area, and we are very familiar with this neighbourhood as we used to meet at Chomp Chomp Food Centre and other local food hangouts nearby when we were dating.
Serangoon Gardens has a village ambience and laid-back charm. So when we decided to shop around for a landed home, it was one of our top choices.
We also found that this particular enclave is near both the French and Australian international schools and is popular among the expatriate community.
My favourite part of this home is the verandah. The former owner planted a huge tree in front of the house, and it blocks out the heat and provides shelter.
The verandah is like an extension of my living room, and my children love to have me read their books together on the swing.
Q Why did you choose this property, and how did you identify it as a good one to buy?
A When my third child was born in 2014, we started looking for a landed home so our children would have more space to run about.
At that time, the residential market was starting to correct because of the seventh round of cooling measures and total debt servicing ratio, so it was a good time to start looking. But we did not buy a property then, as prices were still at the peak for landed property.
As we then owned a five-room Housing Board flat, we would have been slapped with a very big sum of additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) if we were to upgrade without selling it first.
During that period, my husband was going to take up a job posting overseas for a year, so we thought it was perfect timing to sell the HDB flat first and wait for a better time to enter the market after we returned. True enough, the landed housing market softened quite a bit when we returned in 2016.
Earlier, our budget of $3.6 million could get us only a much smaller place like an intermediate terrace or a corner terrace house with a land size of around 2,000 sq ft. So when we realised that suddenly our budget could get us something bigger in the same location in 2016, we decided to take the plunge.
In addition, the landed market here is very liquid with frequent transactions. There is no lack of tenants and buyers, which would be a good thing if we decide to lease out or sell the house in future.
Q What's in your property portfolio?
A I made my first property purchase in 2002, when I was holidaying in my home town of Shanghai as a university student.
Then, it had been close to 10 years since I had left the city, and I realised that the Shanghai property market was red hot. I was curious and went to have a look at the new launches. A 100 sq m (1,076 sq ft) apartment right next to a metro station was going for around half a million yuan (S$100,000) at that time, and I was told prices had already gone up by 50 per cent in about half a year.
I did my calculations and thought I could afford the down payment with some savings from my scholarship. I put down the deposit for that apartment and came back to Singapore.
The decision turned out to be my best investment bet since housing prices in Shanghai continued to surge throughout the next 10 years.
I eventually took profit by selling it after a few years.
The flat was rented out at an annual yield of about 8 per cent, until it was sold for a sixfold profit or 3.7 million yuan before we bought our first HDB flat.
We bought our first matrimonial home at the end of 2008, when we decided to settle down. It was a hard decision back then because, as the sub-prime crisis was brewing, we were also worried about buying at a high and that prices would tank.
As a result, we were conservative and decided to buy something that would still be resilient even if a downturn hit.
We bought a five-room resale HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio from the first owner of a Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme and paid zero cash-over-valuation, which was quite rare at that time.
The flat cost us $430,000, taking into consideration the $40,000 grant we received from the Government as first-timer owners.
In 2014, just before we decided to relocate to Germany, we sold the resale flat for $705,000 and made a gross profit of $275,000.
It was a decent gain and we were not financially stretched either despite the downturn in 2009. It allowed us to comfortably accumulate more savings for our next property purchase.
Q Are you planning to buy in the next three to five years? What kind of property and where are you considering?
A We are probably looking to buy if the opportunity arises because of the Covid-19 situation. We have always been buying in troughs and this might be the best time to look for a second property.
We still prefer landed because of the scarcity of the asset class.
Although it is restricted to only Singaporeans, we have a very long investment horizon, so I am prepared to wait for the next upturn if I want to exit.
I would also be actively looking for units that have collective sale potential, especially those which failed during the last en bloc cycle.
If the price is right, I would not mind buying a unit.
Q What's your financing strategy?
A Home loans are still among the cheapest loans around. If possible, we would like to take up a larger home loan and put the money into other instruments if the timing is right.
Currently, our loan tenure is 25 years and we went for the maximum loan-to-valuation at that time. Loan interest rates have been benign, which is to our advantage.
I would like to stay in floating rates for the foreseeable future - with the United States Federal Reserve keeping interest rates near zero and indicating that rates will stay until the economy recovers from Covid-19, it is unlikely that we will see mortgage rates go up to pre-coronavirus levels in the next two to three years.
Q What's your overall investing strategy?
A I buy and hold real estate investment trusts because I am quite familiar with the products and how they generate income and pay unitholders.
Sometimes, I also buy into growth sectors such as data centres and e-commerce, which have turned out to be the biggest winner in the Covid-19 situation.
My husband is much more sophisticated in trading stocks, exchange-traded funds and foreign exchange, so I leave the short-term trading to him.
Due to the current volatility in the stock market, we have increased our allocation to these financial products to boost our investment coffers.
Q My dream home is ...
A I would like to build my dream home from scratch if it is in Singapore. Preferably a bungalow in my current neighbourhood, unless I can afford a good class bungalow in a GCB cluster.
My dream home overseas would be a house overlooking the Swiss Alps.
https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_pictrure_780x520_/public/articles/2020/07/05/ST_20200705_YTPROPERTY05_5786511.jpg
https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_pictrure_780x520_/public/articles/2020/07/05/ST_20200705_YTPROPERTY052399_5786512.jpg