YES - Not enough CPF Minimum Sum...sigh.
YES - Need to get higher loan for Condo. Not worth it.
NO - I can get good rental yield. Shiok man.
NO - Other reason.
Have you heard of Bird flu? The chance for SARS to come back is very slim as there has been a case since 2004. For Bird Flu, it is a totally different story. Don't believe, go check out the "Bird Flu Watch" at W.H.O. website. The bird flu has not reached a breakout point, but number of cases has been slowly climbing certainly is a bad sign. If bird flu does breakout and reaches epidemic level, it will be far worse than bird flu.Originally Posted by Unregistered
scare this, scare that. i think u better go home sleep. stay at home 365 days, and u will be safe. But still is not 100%.
Yes, outbreak of bird flu could be a lot worse than SARS. Smart investor should underweight on property but overweight on liquid assets such as gold and diamonds in the next few years.
Aiya, then dont buy and talk lah. stay in ur HDB forever. Or Maybe sell now since HDB can get good price and rent flat from HDB. Happy?
YES, Analysis is the way for good investments.
People got money wat, why cannot?
Agree, but sometime when u want to do something, just do it. Dont spend so much time doing analysis like others. From 2006, TQ selling 450/sqft to yr 2008 now TQ selling 700/sqft, still doing analysis. Think u will analyze for another 10 years. By that time, u will be planning for retirement. Conclusion is the more u think & analyze, the more u wont buy. Then why waste time talking, sleep better.
Re: The Quartz @ Buangkok (99LH By Guocoland)
Don't be surprise. The job of sour grapes is NATO ~ No Action Talk Only. There are a few of them who actively participate in this forum. Don't expect them to buy nor to sell. Their intention is just to complain irrespective whether the price is up or down.
Ya Ya, its going to be END OF THE WORLD. BETTER HIDE AT UR FLAT AND DONT GO OUT.
Agree. Price too high, complain. Price too low,complain. These sourgrape loser is really annoying.
So you are saying that $750psf is cheap since waterwave is even up to $930psf?
$750/sqft is not cheap but reasonable, taking into consideration the existing Real Estate Market. Near MRT, New, Full Condo Facilities....
If u want to compare, u have to use comparable property. WaterFront Wave is at different location. KM will be a better choice.
Conclusion is buyer must be able to service the loan.
Re: The Quartz @ Buangkok (99LH By Guocoland)
I just got mine 3 days before the recent relaunch by the developer. managed to get via subsales from a 1st time buyer during softlaunch 2 yrs back.
i got mine at 637psf. facing tenniscourt. highfloor unblocked.
i consider myself lucky cuz i went to the showflat and after reading the forum.
i think i've a good deal.
however, those people who are my neighbours and had their purchase recently, i'm sure u'll feel the same as me.
we buy because we're happy and would like to own a place @ The Quartz.
no matter what happen later in time. market good or bad, its a place we spent our hardearned money and a place we called home.
unless those who're investing, they post a higher level of risk as compared to owner staying.
whatever the case is. Cheers to everyone who'll be staying there =)
cant wait for TOP...
Yuck, your location is crap, you are comparable to staying in westwood. Which developers gave the highest bid of $78psf.
MRT so what, jurong point also have MRT, so what? Location, location, location. Your location is shit, shit, shit.
Re: The Quartz @ Buangkok (99LH By Guocoland)
You are damm lucky to buy from 1st owner who bought their unit during soft launch as 637psf is a very good deal. This is more than 10% below market price. Congrats. I also bought a unit facing tennis court one year ago. Welcome to TQ. Cheers
Ya man, puggol is so lousy that poor singaporean will even think twice of living there. A condo next to puggol is virtually undesirable. Sad for you owners.
don't you know things change with time? last time, toa payoh was considered ulu, now, it's considered good. with the development of punggol, no one can tell if it is a shitty location in the future. see who laughs last.
Since you say this, you might as well stay in IDR in johore, since there are super developments going on there, talk cock lah you. Property prices are based on location and surroundings, either need to be central, or serene.
You are very wrong about Punggol and the surroundings. There are a lot of young vibrant professionals living here. According to statistics, there are more people buying their 2nd properties here. Better keep your gap shut.
Puggol is ulu and crappy.
You mean people are buying their 2nd hdb unit? When did the government change the rules? Is it only for punggol since the hdb there was under subsribed.
use kidney to think lah, how can u buy 2nd hdb?
Re: The Quartz @ Buangkok (99LH By Guocoland)
Originally Posted by Unregistered
Ya man, puggol is so lousy that poor singaporean will even think twice of living there. A condo next to puggol is virtually undesirable. Sad for you owners.
Originally Posted by Unregistered
Yuck, your location is crap, you are comparable to staying in westwood. Which developers gave the highest bid of $78psf.
MRT so what, jurong point also have MRT, so what? Location, location, location. Your location is shit, shit, shit.
Run Run. Mad dog is invading punggol. Spreading to Sengkang and Hougang soon......
Bankruptcies sneak back despite good times
Situation could worsen if economy slows and people start losing their jobs
By SIOW LI SEN
(SINGAPORE) Despite full employment and robust economic growth, the number of people facing financial ruin has begun to rise.
After falling from a high in 2004, the number of bankruptcy petitions and orders has begun to flatten and the delinquency rate for credit card holders has started to go up.
Lawyers and those involved in bankruptcy counselling say new bankrupts tend to be younger and are mainly men. Also showing up are parents who acted as guarantors for their children.
While the upward trend is far from alarming as it springs from a very low base, the situation could turn bleaker if the economy slows down and some people lose their jobs.
'As far as I am aware, 99.9 per cent of the people made bankrupt are holding jobs; they complain that their salary is too low to pay (the debt) and that they have a family to feed,' said Aaron Chan, Advent Law director.
The economy expanded 7.5 per cent last year and the unemployment rate was 2.1 per cent - a 10-year low. The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said retrenchments hit a 14-year-low, while unionised firms paid out the fattest bonuses in 18 years.
Yet people seem to be living beyond their means.
'When the country is doing well, there's a feel-good factor and people just want to spend,' said Mr Chan, who has been a banking litigation lawyer for some 15 years.
He said the weekly list which comes out for bankruptcy hearings includes professionals such as lawyers and doctors.
But these professionals usually pay up at this stage as they would not be allowed to practise if they were made bankrupt, Mr Chan said.
Creditors can petition for a person to be made bankrupt once the debt exceeds $10,000.
Leong Sze Hian, president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, volunteers at the Official Assignee's office. He said the number of bankrupts could be even higher as creditors are holding back.
In January this year, there were 292 petitions for bankruptcy and 215 bankruptcy orders were passed. In 2007, the average monthly bankruptcy petitions stood at 268 and the orders at 230, according to the Insolvency & Public Trustee's Office.
In the works is a debt repayment scheme to help debtors avoid bankruptcy.
Since he began counselling debtors two years ago, Mr Leong said he noticed that a number of new bankrupts seem younger, and are overwhelmingly men.
Bankrupts include those who have problems paying rent for their HDB shops as well as those who cannot pay the bank loans for their HDB homes.
In addition, quite a few are parents who acted as guarantors for the unsecured credit taken out by their children, Mr Leong said.
There was also one case of a man who did not own a car but was bankrupted for his certificate of entitlement (COE) bid.
He had bid $8,000 for the COE but found his application for a car loan rejected by a bank, said Mr Leong. With fees and charges, his debt snowballed to over $10,000, he said.
Credit Bureau (Singapore) Pte Ltd data shows that the number of delinquent credit card holders began rising steadily from July last year.
In December, there were 14,379 delinquent credit card holders representing a delinquency rate of 1.42 per cent against 11,346 or 1.16 per cent in July.
Said Credit Bureau general manager Mark Rowley: 'I agree that we are seeing some early signs that delinquency is trending upwards although arguably off a low base. The numbers over the next few months will be interesting.'
Credit Bureau's data also shows that a majority of those having payment problems are between 21 and 44 years old, and men make up almost 70 per cent.
Some 80 per cent have credit cards with at least two banks. In most cases, the delinquent owes less than $5,000.
OH MY MY SOON MANY CONDOS ON FIRE SALE SURELY AT THIS RATE. IN GOOD TIMES LIKE THIS SO CAN IMAGINE WHAT WILL HAPPEN SOON.
Maddog, talking rubbish again?
Which part of the article says many condos are on fire sale? Your maybe, loser?
Still struck in your dream?
Ha ha ha!
Just drove past. The sign says new showroom is ready for viewing.
Re: The Quartz @ Buangkok (99LH By Guocoland)
Boy, how many times uncle tell you, we buy to stay not to speculate. There is no playground here and don't play with fire. Want to play fire, go else where please.
Asian Stocks Fall, Led by Commodity Producers; BHP Tumbles
By Chua Kong Ho and Shani Raja
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, led by commodity producers, after oil, copper and gold prices plunged amid concern a global slowdown will reduce demand for raw materials.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, tumbled the most in more than 20 years in Sydney and Zhongjin Gold Corp. plunged to a four-month low in Shanghai. PetroChina Co., the country's biggest oil producer, declined in Hong Kong after posting less-than-estimated profit as drilling costs rose.
``The U.S. is still the biggest contributor to global growth, so any slowdown will have implications for commodity prices,'' said Jason Teh, who helps manage the equivalent of $5.3 billion at Investors Mutual Ltd. in Sydney. ``It's going to be a one-way street for resources today.''
The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index fell 2.5 percent to 425.65 as of 11:51 a.m. in Hong Kong, snapping a two-day, 3.6 percent advance. About four stocks fell for each that rose. The benchmark has slumped 20 percent this year, poised for its worst quarter in more than six years, on concern the U.S. will sink into a recession amid mounting losses tied to the country's subprime mortgage industry.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 3.1 percent, the most in two weeks, in shortened trading, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 3.5 percent. Japan's markets are closed for a holiday today, in addition to Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. Other markets, including Hong Kong, will close tomorrow for Easter holidays until March 25.
``People are nervous about the long weekend,'' said Ivan Leung, who helps manage $400 billion as Hong Kong-based chief investment strategist at JPMorgan Private Bank. ``If you're expecting any surprise, it's likely to be a negative one.''
Commodity Producers
A measure of raw materials producers tumbled 6 percent today, the most in two months. BHP, also Australia's largest oil producer, lost 8.3 percent to A$33.87, the most since October 1987. Rio Tinto Group, the world's third-largest mining company, fell 7.7 percent to A$116.29.
A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, including copper and nickel, dropped 2.8 percent. Zinc fell by the exchanged-imposed daily limit of 4 percent in Shanghai. Gold futures plunged the most since June 2006 to $945.30 an ounce in New York. Crude oil fell the most since August to $104.48 a barrel, after a government report showed U.S. demand dropped.
Zhongjin Gold tumbled 8.3 percent to 89.98 yuan, its lowest since Dec. 20. Jiangxi Copper Co., China's No. 2 producer of the metal, plunged 9.8 percent to HK$13.60 in Hong Kong, its weakest since August. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia's largest gold producer, dived 13 percent to A$31.30.
PetroChina dropped 6.6 percent to HK$9.19, the lowest level since May. Profit for 2007 climbed 3.7 percent to 63.8 billion yuan ($9.03 billion), lower than the median estimate of 72.2 billion yuan in a Bloomberg News survey.
Leading Economic Indicators in U.S. Probably Fell in February
By Courtney Schlisserman
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- The index of U.S. leading economic indicators fell for a fifth month in February, reflecting mounting signs that a recession has begun, economists said before a report today.
The Conference Board's gauge, which points to the direction of the economy over the next three to six months, fell 0.3 percent last month, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. The last time the index dropped for as many months was in 1990, when the economy was shrinking.
The leading index dropped as building permits, stock prices and consumer sentiment sank and first-time claims for jobless benefits jumped. Federal Reserve policy makers this week said risks to growth remain even after lowering the benchmark interest rate and making billions of dollars available to banks and securities firms to try to stabilize financial markets.
``A losing streak of five months is usually reserved for recessionary periods,'' said Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse Holdings in New York. ``Once the labor market cracks, like it did last month, it shows the cycle is starting to turn down.''
The Conference Board, a New York-based non-profit research group, is scheduled to issue the report at 10 a.m. local time. The 58 estimates in the Bloomberg News survey ranged from a 0.7 percent decline to an increase of 0.2 percent.
Reports so far this month signal the leading index will keep falling. A report from the Labor Department due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington is forecast to show that initial jobless claims rose to 360,000 last week, according to the median survey projection.
Rising Claims
Applications for unemployment benefits last month averaged 359,200, compared with 326,500 in January, according to Labor Department figures.
A 10:00 a.m. report from the Fed Bank of Philadelphia is forecast to show manufacturing in the region contracted for a fourth month in March.
Seven of the 10 components of the leading index are known ahead of time: stock prices, jobless claims, building permits, consumer expectations, the yield curve, supplier delivery times and factory hours. The Conference Board estimates the remaining three: new orders for consumer goods, new orders for non-defense capital goods and the money supply.
Building permits for February fell 7.8 percent to an annual pace of 707,000, the lowest level in more than 16 years, the Commerce Department said on March 18.
The Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer expectations dropped to the lowest level since 1992 last month and a preliminary reading for March, issued last week, showed the measure is still declining.
Spending Cools
Americans are spending less as pessimism grows. AnnTaylor Stores Corp., the clothing retailer geared toward women ages 25 to 55, last week reported a fourth-quarter loss and said same- store sales may decline in 2008.
The deteriorating economy had a ``major impact'' on store traffic, Chief Executive Officer Kay Krill said in a March 14 conference call.
``Downside risks to the economy remain,'' Fed policy makers said in a March 18 statement announcing the central bank lowered its target for the benchmark rate by three-quarters of a point to 2.25 percent. The Fed has cut the rate by three percentage points since September.
On March 16, the central bank also lowered the rate on direct loans to banks and said it will provide up to $30 billion to JPMorgan Chase & Co. to help finance the purchase of Bear Stearns Cos. after a run on the fifth-largest U.S. securities dealer.
More Funding
Less than a week earlier, the Fed said it would make up to $200 billion in Treasuries available through weekly auctions in exchange for other securities that for the first time will include those backed by mortgages issued by private lenders.
Companies are counting on gains overseas as the U.S. economy slows. General Electric Co. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt told investors on March 13 that demand for the company's products from infrastructure projects and growth in Europe, Asia and Africa is helping offset any drag from a slump in the U.S.
``I still believe in the strength of the global economy now, but the U.S. consumer is in a tougher patch,'' Immelt said in a forum on the company's Web site.
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