New Reporter
15-06-23, 13:43
Buying a condo? Check if there are enough car park spaces
Jun 12, 2023
I SHOP the old-fashioned way, visiting physical stores to make purchases. I want to see, touch and sometimes try out items before buying.
My wife shops differently. Her faith in online shopping is strong. Her confidence is helped by the ease of returning products and getting a refund.
Many private home buyers here make one of their biggest purchases in life just as my wife does: by taking a big leap of faith.
New private homes here are commonly sold off-plan, well ahead of their completion. There were 1,163 new sales of uncompleted homes in the first quarter of this year, accounting for over 28 per cent of private home transactions.
One can analyse data, study floor plans, recce the location, peruse marketing collateral, visit the show flat and have a virtual tour of a new home.
Still, when buying an uncompleted home off-plan, one needs to have faith that the end product meets expectations. Should one’s new home fall short of expectations, it can be hard to reject the home and get monies back from the developer.
A buyer of an uncompleted new home may have to fret over whether the finishings of a unit are good, and where a particular piece of furniture can fit.
A car-owning homebuyer also needs to worry about car park spaces. A buyer of an uncompleted new home can know in advance the number of car park spaces in a development. But he may need to worry whether the car park provisioning is adequate when residents move into their homes upon a project’s completion.
The launch of Tembusu Grand in the Katong area drew a strong response. At this 638-unit residential development, there are 516 car park spaces. Another new housing project coming up nearby, The Continuum, is more generous in providing one car park space per unit.
If a development is well-served by public transportation, one can reasonably assume that having far fewer car park spaces relative to the number of homes is a non-issue. There may be many households that do not own cars.
If new condominiums provide relatively fewer car park spaces versus older developments, however, will fights break out among residents over car park spaces? Anxiety could run high among residents who have problems parking their pricey cars within a condominium development’s compound.
Value of collecting revenue
Today, many people associate the condominium lifestyle with having free access to amenities such as a swimming pool, gardens, a gymnasium, a clubhouse, a playground and car park facilities.
Maybe, over time, many condominiums will charge residents for using car park facilities, similar to charging for use of function rooms or tennis courts.
With the rising cost of utilities and labour, the Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST) of condominium developments may see the value of collecting revenue from car park usage.
Moreover, there is equity in having residents who have cars pay for using the car park spaces.
Could some new condominium developments eventually sell car park spaces, as is fairly widely practised in Hong Kong and China?
If car park spaces are sold by the developer, the extra revenue generated will help enhance what may be thin profit margins from a project. If car park spaces are sold by the MCST, proceeds can be used by the MCST to help fund upgrading works at a development.
Selling individual car park spaces at a condominium development may sound radical. But the fairest way to allocate car park spaces at developments where there are insufficient spaces could be to sell them to the highest bidders.
There can even be differentiated pricing for car park spaces within a condominium development, depending on the location of the spaces.
Fuss-free parking
As it stands, a car-owning homebuyer may need to be savvy in figuring out whether a particular new development will have many car owners or not. Some old condominium developments with generous provision of car park spaces may therefore appeal to homebuyers with multiple cars.
Homeowners who enjoy entertaining may wish to pay heed to the provision of visitor spaces in a condominium. The experience of one’s visitors could be spoiled should they face difficulty parking their cars.
Some homebuyers may choose landed homes because there is free parking on the public road in front of one’s home. Yet, the space along the road near one’s home is open for others to park their vehicles too.
Also, street-side parking of vehicles can make navigating the streets of some landed housing enclaves a nightmare.
A landed homeowner may need to contend with neighbours who use cones, potted plants, chairs or rubbish bins to reserve parking spots along a street. One may need to skilfully weave through many parked cars on narrow roads to reach one’s home.
Going forward, could street-side parking in landed housing estates be largely abolished so that streets become more pedestrian-friendly?
The huge investment in public transport here, coupled with good urban planning, means many households need not own a car. Moreover, efforts to enhance the experience of pedestrians and cyclists will improve the liveability of many neighbourhoods.
As Singapore goes car-lite, property values can get a boost from Singapore improving as a live, work and play destination. Homebuyers may pay a premium to live in areas designated to be car-lite – such as the site of the former Keppel Club in Telok Blangah, which will have fewer parking spaces.
In early 2019, new rules kicked in for developers on provision of car park spaces – allowing for fewer car park spaces to be provided in various types of property developments. Possibly, future rule changes could lead to developers providing even fewer car park spaces in new developments.
https://i.imgur.com/Id3cUa9.png
Developers can be expected to cut back on providing parking spaces for various types of developments over time.
Car owners will need to carefully navigate the housing market to find a home where they can park their precious vehicles hassle-free.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/buying-condo-check-if-there-are-enough-car-park-spaces
Jun 12, 2023
I SHOP the old-fashioned way, visiting physical stores to make purchases. I want to see, touch and sometimes try out items before buying.
My wife shops differently. Her faith in online shopping is strong. Her confidence is helped by the ease of returning products and getting a refund.
Many private home buyers here make one of their biggest purchases in life just as my wife does: by taking a big leap of faith.
New private homes here are commonly sold off-plan, well ahead of their completion. There were 1,163 new sales of uncompleted homes in the first quarter of this year, accounting for over 28 per cent of private home transactions.
One can analyse data, study floor plans, recce the location, peruse marketing collateral, visit the show flat and have a virtual tour of a new home.
Still, when buying an uncompleted home off-plan, one needs to have faith that the end product meets expectations. Should one’s new home fall short of expectations, it can be hard to reject the home and get monies back from the developer.
A buyer of an uncompleted new home may have to fret over whether the finishings of a unit are good, and where a particular piece of furniture can fit.
A car-owning homebuyer also needs to worry about car park spaces. A buyer of an uncompleted new home can know in advance the number of car park spaces in a development. But he may need to worry whether the car park provisioning is adequate when residents move into their homes upon a project’s completion.
The launch of Tembusu Grand in the Katong area drew a strong response. At this 638-unit residential development, there are 516 car park spaces. Another new housing project coming up nearby, The Continuum, is more generous in providing one car park space per unit.
If a development is well-served by public transportation, one can reasonably assume that having far fewer car park spaces relative to the number of homes is a non-issue. There may be many households that do not own cars.
If new condominiums provide relatively fewer car park spaces versus older developments, however, will fights break out among residents over car park spaces? Anxiety could run high among residents who have problems parking their pricey cars within a condominium development’s compound.
Value of collecting revenue
Today, many people associate the condominium lifestyle with having free access to amenities such as a swimming pool, gardens, a gymnasium, a clubhouse, a playground and car park facilities.
Maybe, over time, many condominiums will charge residents for using car park facilities, similar to charging for use of function rooms or tennis courts.
With the rising cost of utilities and labour, the Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST) of condominium developments may see the value of collecting revenue from car park usage.
Moreover, there is equity in having residents who have cars pay for using the car park spaces.
Could some new condominium developments eventually sell car park spaces, as is fairly widely practised in Hong Kong and China?
If car park spaces are sold by the developer, the extra revenue generated will help enhance what may be thin profit margins from a project. If car park spaces are sold by the MCST, proceeds can be used by the MCST to help fund upgrading works at a development.
Selling individual car park spaces at a condominium development may sound radical. But the fairest way to allocate car park spaces at developments where there are insufficient spaces could be to sell them to the highest bidders.
There can even be differentiated pricing for car park spaces within a condominium development, depending on the location of the spaces.
Fuss-free parking
As it stands, a car-owning homebuyer may need to be savvy in figuring out whether a particular new development will have many car owners or not. Some old condominium developments with generous provision of car park spaces may therefore appeal to homebuyers with multiple cars.
Homeowners who enjoy entertaining may wish to pay heed to the provision of visitor spaces in a condominium. The experience of one’s visitors could be spoiled should they face difficulty parking their cars.
Some homebuyers may choose landed homes because there is free parking on the public road in front of one’s home. Yet, the space along the road near one’s home is open for others to park their vehicles too.
Also, street-side parking of vehicles can make navigating the streets of some landed housing enclaves a nightmare.
A landed homeowner may need to contend with neighbours who use cones, potted plants, chairs or rubbish bins to reserve parking spots along a street. One may need to skilfully weave through many parked cars on narrow roads to reach one’s home.
Going forward, could street-side parking in landed housing estates be largely abolished so that streets become more pedestrian-friendly?
The huge investment in public transport here, coupled with good urban planning, means many households need not own a car. Moreover, efforts to enhance the experience of pedestrians and cyclists will improve the liveability of many neighbourhoods.
As Singapore goes car-lite, property values can get a boost from Singapore improving as a live, work and play destination. Homebuyers may pay a premium to live in areas designated to be car-lite – such as the site of the former Keppel Club in Telok Blangah, which will have fewer parking spaces.
In early 2019, new rules kicked in for developers on provision of car park spaces – allowing for fewer car park spaces to be provided in various types of property developments. Possibly, future rule changes could lead to developers providing even fewer car park spaces in new developments.
https://i.imgur.com/Id3cUa9.png
Developers can be expected to cut back on providing parking spaces for various types of developments over time.
Car owners will need to carefully navigate the housing market to find a home where they can park their precious vehicles hassle-free.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/buying-condo-check-if-there-are-enough-car-park-spaces