http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...-tips-20141204

Developer's ad offers home-buying tips

Chinese firm gives advice on what to look for in choosing the ideal unit

Published on Dec 4, 2014 1:07 AM

By Cheryl Ong


IF YOU are clueless about what to look for when buying a new home, an advertisement from Chinese developer Qingjian Realty could be the answer.

The firm has taken the unusual step of placing the ad to advise homeowners on how to choose their ideal unit. It offers tips on how much space is ideal, how rooms should be laid out and even where the telly should go.

And while it might seem a statement of the obvious, the company reckons the guidance will be helpful and may even entice buyers back into the slowing market.

The move is just the latest gambit by developers trying to kick-start buying activity.

Qingjian offered 20 one-carat diamonds in a lucky draw to applicants for its Bellewoods executive condominium project last month, while another firm even dangled discounts on sports cars.

The ad, which has run in The Straits Times, marks a whole new approach. Entitled "How to choose an ideal unit layout", it lists seven considerations for buyers to ponder while helpfully pointing out that "every inch of space must be utilised completely to ensure there is no wastage of space, thus giving you more value for money in the process".

The ad, which features the layout of a 1,152 sq ft four-bedder from the Bellewaters executive condominium in Sengkang, suggests the distance from the sofa to a wall-mounted TV set should not be less than 3.6m. That way, there is room for a coffee table and a TV console if needed.

The width of a wall behind a three-seater sofa should not be shorter than 2.4m and the master bedroom must be able to accommodate two bedside tables and a king-size bed, while ledges for air-conditioners should not take up more than 7 per cent of the unit's floor area.

Mr Donald Ng, head of sales and marketing at the Chinese developer, told The Straits Times that "people can use this as a reference to decide if they want to buy and if it will be comfortable enough". While analysing a unit's layout is "not rocket science", said Mr Ng, there is no market standard defining what constitutes an ideal unit layout.

"But to us, it should be able to accommodate standard furniture available on the market without the need for customisation to fit them into the unit. For the buyers, this will also help them utilise as much of the space that they've paid for and cut down on areas that cannot be used meaningfully," he said.

Long corridors leading from the living rooms to bedrooms, for instance, are spaces that cannot be used for purposes other than access to the rooms, Mr Ng added.

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