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Thread: Holland Road freehold land at 10 cents psf? Read on...

  1. #1
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    Default Holland Road freehold land at 10 cents psf? Read on...

    http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...-read-20150422

    Holland Road freehold land at 10 cents psf? Read on...

    Published on Apr 22, 2015 1:37 AM

    By Rennie Whang


    EVEN keen market observers in property-obsessed Singapore might be surprised to learn that land in the prime Shenton Way district went for just $22 per sq ft - about 60 years ago.

    This and other interesting nuggets can be found in a new book launched yesterday to mark the 75th anniversary of Knight Frank Singapore this year.

    It traces the evolution of real estate from 1940 to the present. And what a rise it has been. In 1940, vacant freehold land in Holland Road was just 10 cents psf.

    The Government then changed the game by acquiring sites in the 1950s and selling them in the 1960s. The first plot sold became Oasis Theatre Restaurant in Kallang Park.

    Now it is all about the rise of regional and sub-regional centres, where prices of once scorned land have soared.

    Knight Frank, one of the oldest property firms here, has been part and parcel of this ride. It started out as Cheong Hock Chye and Company (CHC) in 1940 as a six-man team doing mainly valuations and auctions.

    Apart from detailing the history of real estate - gleaned in part from CHC records - the book, which is not for sale, also charts key property milestones.

    "This being the Jubilee Year, we (wanted) to write a book so... people can look back and see how we got from Third World to First," said Knight Frank Singapore executive chairman Tan Tiong Cheng yesterday.

    When the Government began acquiring properties and selling land under its Land Sales programme, Knight Frank initiated its own urban renewal programme and was the agent for the first collective sale - that of Cosy Mansion in Upper East Coast in 1994.

    The industry has weathered many growing pains. Uncertainty in the US and European currencies in the early 1970s led a flow of hot money into Singapore, but property prices then nosedived when stock markets worldwide crashed; activity only picked up again in 1976.

    In the 1980s, property prices soared as foreign companies set up base here, and speculation was rife in condo and shop units in the first half of 1981. But the economy went into a slump in 1984 due to the global recession.

    The market was again thrown into turmoil during the Asian financial crisis in 1997. It stayed subdued in the early 2000s with a technical recession and Sars. Residential prices last took a tumble with the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, but picked up in 2009.

    While the cycle has turned yet again, with cooling measures hitting revenue from local sales and project marketing, Knight Frank is tapping other revenue streams, including helping clients looking to invest in other countries.

    "As our headquarters are in Britain, London is a low-lying fruit for us," said Mr Tan.

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  2. #2
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    Default

    60 years ago what do Singapore have.

    After spending Billion of dollars and the land still the same possible or not.

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