What sort of rent would expats pay

[ninja]

For apartments in the East Coast area near the Tanah Merah MRT and Still Rd vicinity, what sort of monthly rents are being asked by LLs?

[Big Sis]

It really depends Ninja - I've seen them as low as $1,700 or up to as much as $5,000 depending what size place you are looking at and how popular the place is too. That other expat website has a good property section - singaporeexpats.com.

[ninja]

Thanks Big Sis. I'm just planning ahead to get a place in the area hopefully within a year. I spent some of the most fun years of my life hooning around in the Still Rd/St Pat's/Katong Convent/Jackie's Bowl vicinity and love the area. So, would it be correct to assume a monthly rent of around SGD$2000-2300/month for a 2 bedroom condo?

[madmac]

This budget should get you easily a 3+1 in the Siglap area. I would not spend more than 1700 for 2 bedrooms.

[sanctuary green]

how much should i be looking at for a 3 or 4 bedder at sanctuary green?

[bernie]

You are probably looking at $3200 to $4000 for a 3 to 4 bedder at Sanctuary Green. To be there, you probably need decent transportation otherwise you are looking at the waiting time for the shuttle service and the inconvenience to leave as and when you like. Of course, you can always get the taxis. No other public transportation nearby.

[not worth it]

I have viewed Sanctuary Green and decided that it is not worth the money. There are much better condos around the area.

[ninja]

I'm still thinking about investing in a property in Singers, but isn't the rental market rather stagnant ie. because of over-supply?

[localaunt]

ninja, go for landed properties. Condominiums are sprouting up everywhere, even along the expressway! Prices for condos have dropped especially when the developers have a hard time filling up its units. Lots of people invest in condos hoping to get returns via unrealistically high rentals.

I am not too sure if foreigners are allowed to purchase landed properties though. Got to check with our dear Bernie.

[bernie]

To purchase a landed property, foreigners must go get a pre-approval through your realtor making an application with the Land Dealings (Approval) Unit. LDAU.

Basically you must contribute to the economy (of course). You probably need to be an investor with a start up capital of S$2M.
However, there are other criterias involved. And there are exceptions, of course. It all depends on what are you doing in Singapore and why do you need a landed property. Not as tough as it sounds, however. Most legit applications will go through. Incidentally, Ninja, Australians own 7% of all landed properties owned by foreigners in Singapore.

Once the initial approval is given, it lasts for 6 months. Non renewable. Which means within that 6 months of getting pre-approved, you have to find a house. Then, once you find the property that you really like, you would submit in an application for that particular house.

Most realtors will not work with foreigners before they are approved. It is a waste of everyone's time if after finding the right property after sifting through all the available ones on the market and you don't get approved. If a realtor will search for a foreigner a landed property before they get pre-approved, that realtor is probably new to the business and grabs any prospect that comes. As I said, it's a waste of time. Kind of like spending two months searching a property for someone with no money.

Ninja, the high end property is picking up, instead of stagnating. The rest of the market is stable.
It is probably now a sellers market because sellers are getting greedy and asking for more.
And they are willing to hold it out till the offer comes in. But those who cannot afford to hold will suffer because the market will re-educate them to bring down the prices anyway in the long run.

Properties in district 9, 10 and 11 are still going at good prices.

[bernie]

Sweet old lady,

It all depends on location, location, location. Southbank, (you would have seen its full page advert on the papers or the commercial on tv) which has 197 units of residential units and 60 units of SOHO (small office/home office) units, has sold 160 out of 197 units before they even launched it. Less than 3 weeks after the first commercial, it's fully sold out. The last time I checked (two weeks) there were only 30 odd units of the SOHO units left.

And this development is NOT EVEN BUILT. The warehouse that it will supposedly be built over is not even demolished yet.
Earliest move in date is 2010. Full legal completion date expected in 2013. Market is definitely bullish in the right locations.

[localaunt]

Okay Bernie. You are the expert. Sorry if I gave the wrong info. A thousand apologies. I'll invite you for a meal of home-cooked nonya laksa okay?

[bernie]

Lol, I will TAKE YOU UP on that offer!

[Wondering]

bernie, I am curious how much the commission of a realtor would be, if he helps someone buying a house.

[bernie]

It kind of depend on you and your realtor. According to the Singapore Government Gazette, the realtor is entitled to a MINIMUM 2% of commissions on the sale price. But that is not stated WHO pays.

But since then, agents with a scarcity mentality would offer lower and lower commissions so as to get the deal. There are many agents these days who will not sell a house for less than 2%. (Paid by seller)
There are also agents out there who will sell whatever at 1%, 0.5% commission, etc. Their mentality is 'if I reduce my price, I will get the listing. So when they sell your house, the same voice says, if I reduce the price of the house, I can sell it', and will try to get you to sell the house at a lower and lower price.

Fast forward to the present. The unwritten rule nowadays is buyer is not obgligated to pay commissions when making a purchase. However, they give a form of 'thank you' fee to the agent if he does a great job. (Not uncommon for a realtor to receive $20 K - $50 K as a thank you on a $10 M property transaction, especially if the realtor saved the buyer $1 M by his negotiations).

If you are talking about HDB flats, then the seller pays 2% to the agent, and the buyer pays 1% to the agent. Of course... the unscrupulous agents who charge 0.5% are lurking in the corner, as usual. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Don't expect them to pick up your calls when you have a problem after the purchase or signing on the lease agreement.

Realtors who are worth the money already has jobs on their hands. If you are selling a $2 M property... and you offer 1% in commission, and this agent has 5 other properties in the $1 M region, each paying him 2%, which property do you think he will push for? There are only so many hours in a day for him to do his best. If he sells a $1 M property at 2%, he gets exactly the commission he gets for your $2 M property at 1%.
And the higher the dollar the property, the smaller pool of customers available. So the $1 M property would be hotter than the $2 M property, naturally. Given limited resources such as time to spend on work VS time with family, advertising budgets and other overheads, it is clear that the agent will push for the $1 M properties first. In fact, it is likely he will not accept your $2 M property at 1% and would probably skip that listing, for accepting it would be unfair to him and the other sellers that he is serving with 100% effort as well.


It is better to talk with your realtor about the commissions right in the beginning after he outlines how is he going to assist you in your property transaction.

Let me know if I didn't fully answer your question.

[Wondering]

Hi bernie,

Thank you very much! You answered my question very fully indeed. So I see that good realtors can make a lot of money!

[bernie]

You're most welcome, wondering.

The government makes the most money. For EVERY property transacted in Singapore everyday, they make a 3% of the purchase price (stamping fee) for doing nothing in the entire transaction. While agents make 2% after spending months searching for buyers, viewing with them, and having to face some nasty clients/agents sometimes.

Income taxes for non residents is at 20%.
Taxes for locals go up to 28%.

If I can survive being in school, rather than being a realtor, I would prefer to be a surgeon or a doctor... you should have seen some of the luxurious PALACES they are living in! Totally mind blowing!

[ninja]

Thanks Bernie and SOL for the tips. I'm always keeping an eye out on the Singapore real estate market. But $2m for a landed property is out of my league.
And this is the interesting bit from my perspective. I have Singaporean friends who visit me in sleepy old Perth and they drool at my front/side/backyards at my truly humble shack, and they hanker for a landed property... until I tell them about the weeding, gardening, pruning, mulching and how much time it all takes. Even worse in winter. There is no such thing as a lazy, easy-care garden.
Grass always looks greener from a distance.

[bernie]

There are landed properties under a Million, mate.
Those are likely to be a resale, on a leasehold, usually 99 years. There are also freehold landed properties in the region of $1.2 M +/-.

[Landed man]

A small freehold landed terrace or semi detached in districts 10 and 11 costs upwards of $2 million.

A medium sized detached house (bungalow) in D10 and D11 costs $4 to $7 million.

A good class bungalow (GCB) in D 10 and D11 costs from $8 million upwards and can go up to $20 million.

Keep in mind however that these are only available for sale to locals or PRs.