Month: February 2020

As far as the properties are concerned, we can safely say that Singapore is in quite some luck right now and justifiably so. The co-living company, known by the name of Hmlet, has decided to stretch its realms and accommodate the heritage properties located in Tiong Bahru. After including these assets, Hmlet’s present configuration in Singapore shows that it manages a total of 48 properties that comprises of more than 1,000 rooms.

The latest apartments that are essentially walk-up and have loft conversions are spread over 18,000 square feet and across seven locations namely, Tiong Bahru Road, Hoot Kiam Road, Zion Road, Chan Yan Street, Moh Guan Terrace, Guan Chuan Street, and Tiong Poh. More so, these apartments will be rendered as studios and one-bedroom and two-bedroom units along with a courtyard and kitchen for each and communal areas. In the press release on February 6^th, 2020, Hmlet confirmed that some of the 80 rooms that are being targeted to be made available for procurement have been already inaugurated on the firm’s platform.

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The only thing that could have worsened the current fluctuations in the economic sector was confusion to seek the best data and somehow, this prospect has now been turned into a reality. Economists are constantly struggling to evaluate the ways in which the breakout of the coronavirus has affected the world economy with the impacts of the former still on its way to strengthen its grip. Economists are constantly on the look-out for hints on the points of growth from the configurations put forward by factory shutdowns, store closures, flight-tracking websites about the fatalities of the disease.

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On June 2019, the Singapore Housing Development Board set up a seven-member Home Ownership Support Team (HST) in a bid to enable families from making a move from renting to buying homes.

Several families have benefitted from the assistance provided by the team. Records show that over 200 rental households have been provided with guidelines and support. Many have already applied for buying out their flats, some have booked or are ready to book new ones. Depending on family size, age and income of the applicant , many are also settling for Build-to-Order houses.

Most citizens of Singapore, the team found out, were interested in making an investment in their homes but they were hesitant to buy flats as they were not aware of the various assistance schemes available. The  HST officers have been outlining available schemes to several families since the team was formed, moreover, they are also assisting in preparing necessary documents for applications as well as starting off the application process.

The guidance of the HST does not stop here, they are also assisting the applicants in planning their finances so they may set up a housing budget in order to actualize their homeownership dreams.  This has enabled several persons to work out major factors like home loans, education loans, medical expenses and taxes

The HDB’s move has been well appreciated by the people of Singapore. The team has been looking into each applicant on a case-by-case basis to perform a cohesive all-round assessment of their circumstances. The eligibility is determined only after considering all financial factors like existing loans, savings, employment status. The team has been working very efficiently and has been reaching out to interested households through phone, email, house visits, besides using local advertising.

The HST is also working hand in hand with different social service agencies and partners to enable the families not yet financially stable to move closer to the dream of owning a house. A primary reason for setting up the HST was to work with Singapore’s income disparity so that lower-income families too could dream of owning homes.

As of now, the HST has a mission to reach out to 1,000 rental households as an approximate of 50,000 households currently live in public rental flats.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/hdb-team-guides-rental-flat-families-in-buying-their-own-homes

The anti-government protests that rocked Hong Kong in the second half of 2019 made its impact felt on the country’s economy severely. Among the hard-hit was the property market.  Until the country hit a financial crisis, Hong Kong had one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world. The December 2019 price index, however, confirmed a 1.7 per cent decline.

This decline came after a sudden marginal gain in November. Data shows that the gain, however, was more a result of mortgage leniency that was brought in to stall the five-month-long decline in the market.  Ever since the protests started, HongKong’s economy has been reeling. The tourism and retail industries of the country were first to bear the brunt of the pro-democracy revolution. In addition, the US-China trade dispute had also brought down the markets.

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On January 19. 2020, the Housing Board announced its final plans for the Jurong Lake area under its Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) programme. The area has been under a scheme of rejuvenation since 2011.

Jurong as an industrial town has its beginnings in the 1960s. By the 70s, it had grown to include the resettled areas like Boon Lay, Taman Jurong, Bukit Batok, Bukit Gombak, Hong Kah, Teban Gardens and Yuhua. The huge area was in need of a makeover suitable for the times and was selected for the same in 2011.

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