While there are many amazing condominiums in the popular areas of Singapore, Reflections At Keppel Bay in District 4 for example, there are many other amazing developments outside of those area.

Most of them are not usually mentioned when people bring up names of real estate in Singapore. Take a look at my colleague Benson‘s article on Boonview condominium for a great example of a development that is unlikely to be mentioned by realtors and investors, but which beauty is appreciated by many alike.

Clover By The Park is, on the contrary, a very popular development despite being in District  20, an area unlikely to be chosen by most investors.

And why is that?

It is HIGGGGH RISE

While there are a few other high-rise developments in the area, Clover By The Park is currently the highest condominium in Bishan.

Example of a park facing unit in Clover By The Park

This is just an example of a view from a park facing unit around the 20th floor, though it could be a different angle depending on the unit you’re in.

This is the main reason why some people prefer high-rise apartments to low-rise ones, you’ll get the view!  I am one of those “some people” as mentioned, nothing gets me more than a great view.

Among the many great things of Clover By The Park, there is nothing obstructing the park facing units from getting a view of the park.

As for those wondering why it’s named “Clover By The Park”…

Four-leaved clover

The clubhouse is shaped like a four-leaved clover when you look at it from the top!

This development is one of the very few condominiums located right beside a park. It is literally less than five minutes’ walk from your development to the park.

Details below:

As usual, do call me at +65 8163 6126 if you need more information on this development.

This update consist merely of photos but is completely necessary as these photos are taken by an expert.

Before I forget, here is the post with complete info. Now feast your eyes on them!

Boat is proof that this isn't a miniature model structure - it's the real deal!

No proof now but it's still real

As always, if you are interested in any of the real estate in this site, do call me at +65 8163 6126 for more information.

MCL Land, the people responsible for various premium condominiums such as Hillcrest Villas, The Metz, Meraprime and many others, have come up with a massive 400+ unit development at Hougang Avenue 2.

Over the past decades of constant evolution of condominium homes development, today, normal condominiums just don’t cut it anymore.

By normal condominiums, I mean the usual few blocks of condominium buildings in addition to a swimming pool, a gym, a tennis court, a main gate with security and probably an extra squash court. Of course, many people still do enjoy living in condominiums like these, provided the location is good and the price is fair.

But with the scarcity of land in Singapore, with the competition of big-name developers and with the breakthrough of brilliant architects, condominium developments today are designed to provide you a lifestyle.

Some people love to wake up to a cup of warm coffee, watching the ocean from their living room.

Some like to take a morning stroll or jog in the greenery.

Some enjoy the convenience of being surrounded by activities in the city.

The developers today all understand that beyond spacious layouts and the variety of amenities around, home-seekers are in for a lifestyle of their choice.

And Terrasse (pronounced as ‘tear-us’), presents a unique lifestyle of its own.

Site plan for Terrasse, as well as the various facilities provided within (click to enlarge)

To describe Terrasse in a nutshell to the best of my linguistic abilities, it is a parkland filled with nature and man-made recreational artistic facilities at the same time.

As seen from the siteplan provided above, Terrasse offers a facade of greenery, an entire arsenal of unique water features, three different themed clubhouses, complete with the usual fitness facilities and even a kids zone!

I’ll quote a short passage from the brochure which describes a few of the features in the development,

…Or you can choose to indulge in nature’s many wonders at the Firefly Creek, a unique water feature that comes to life at night with fiber-optic lights that mimic dancing fireflies. Take a dreamy afternoon stroll through the Fern Valley, where lush greenery and outdoor BBQ Pavilions make for a perfectly sumptuous scene. These are only a few of the wonders that await you at Terrasse…

Finally, as most home-seekers are concerned about, the location.

Location of Terrasse (click to enlarge)

And here are the rest of the details:

Location: Hougang Avenue 2 (District 19)
Tenure: 99 years leasehold
Expected Completion: 2015
Site Area: approx 325,024 sqft
Total Units: 414 (16 blocks of 5 storeys with attic)

Unit Types:
1 Bedroom ~ 550 sqft
2 Bedroom ~ 730-900 sqft
3 Bedroom ~ 1000-1250 sqft
4 Bedroom ~ 1350-1450 sqft
3 Bedroom Penthouse ~ 1450-1550 sqft
4 Bedroom Penthouse ~ 1750-1900 sqft
4 Bedroom Garden Duplex ~ 2500 sqft
5 Bedroom Penthouse ~ 2100-2250 sqft

As usual, if you are interested in any of the properties in this website, please do give me a call for more information at (65) 8163 6126.

It is widely considered that condominiums in the River Valley area of Singapore have some of the best investment potential in Singapore. A few popular examples are: Cosmopolitan, The Luma and Urbana.

The Trillium @ Kim Seng is located directly opposite Great World City, an important shopping mall for locals who prefer not to join the weekends crowd in Orchard Road. Also nearby is Zion Road Food Centre, a popular place for awesome local food.

The goal of this video highlights is to show that in The Trillium, despite being located in the busy city area of Singapore, you are able to have your own private sanctuary and it can be quite enchanting too.

Have a look.

Also, before you forget, if you are interested in any of the projects as showcased in this website, feel free to contact me at +65 8163 6126!

Reflections at Keppel Bay

When Carribean at Keppel Bay was first introduced, the development was one of it’s kind and had nothing to compare to. Reasons for that are

• It has 969 units of multiple different layouts
• It is by the waterfront and nearby amenities include a marina club and a golf club
• It is low-rise and just minutes away from the CBD

Massive developments like these are not usually found in the city. This statement still holds true, for that Keppel Bay isn’t in the Central Business District area – just the shortest drive away from it.

Also, Sentosa Cove excluded, there were no true waterfront homes in Singapore. Sure, there are many developments that had amazing sea views, but they are all separated from the sea by an expressway. Keppel Bay isn’t. Obviously these other sea view apartments are high-rise and you have to be living high enough to obtain a good view of the sea.

Well, of course there are different pros and cons to living in low-rise developments as there are to high-rise ones, but now, Keppel Land has brought us a development one notch higher than Carribean at Keppel Bay, that is Reflections at Keppel Bay.

Artiste's Impression of Reflections at Keppel Bay

This amazing development, a phenomenal masterpiece by world renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, is as iconic as it gets for residential development in Singapore. Apartments are categorised into Tower and Villas units, providing home-owners a choice of being close to nature or overlooking the seas from the skies.

Details as follow:

Address: 1 Keppel Bay View, Singapore

Type: Condominium with 6 high-rise Towers and 11 Villa Blocks
Number of Units: 1129
Tenure: 99-year Leasehold
Temporary Occupation Period (TOP): 1st Quarter of 2012

Developer: Keppel Land Pte Ltd
Architect: Daniel Libeskind

Unit Size:

• 2bedroom: 786 – 1012 sqft
• 3bedroom: 1,507 – 1,851 sqft
• 4bedroom: 2,561 – 2,657 sqft

Amazed yet? Visit the SRI5000 reflections site for more info, or call me at +65 8163 6126 to register your interest before it’s sold out.

excerpt from channelnewsasia.com – 29 Oct 2010

SINGAPORE: The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) released new rules on Friday that will set standards and regulate the conduct of estate agency work.

From 15 November, salespersons cannot represent both buyers and sellers in a property transaction under the Estate Agents (Estate Agency Work) Regulations.

It will also prohibit estate agents and salespersons from handling cash in certain transactions or referring their clients to any moneylender.

Other provisions will kick in on 1 January.

They include prescribed estate agency agreements that estate agents will use with their clients for the sale, purchase or lease of residential property in Singapore.

Individuals who undertake estate agency work will also be required to take part in continuing professional development programmes for a minimum of 6 hours per year from 2011.

From March next year, the regulations will require salespersons to display their estate agent’s card, when doing estate agency work. This is to allow the industry sufficient time to comply with the estate agent’s card requirement.

Separately, the Estate Agents (Licensing and Registration) Regulations and the Estate Agents (Fees) Regulations will take effect on 1 November.

Application for estate agent’s license and salesperson’s registration will start from that date and those who successfully register with CEA will have their names published on its website from 1 January.

Those who do not meet the licensing or registration criteria will not be granted a license or registration. This includes those with criminal records, especially for fraud and dishonesty.

Also from January next year, it will be an offence for sales persons who are not registered with CEA to handle estate agency work.

They must also have written agreements with estate agents before they can practise.

My opinion on the whole matter: It’s wonderful.

For years there was no actual set of standards or rules governing us agents when we practise estate agency work. All we had was our own professionalism and ethics, and if some of us don’t have moral values, it will look bad on agents as a whole.

I’ve personally had problems convincing a client to trust me in handling her lease for her, all because she had a bad experience with her previous agent. Good thing I managed to convince her, and I’m pretty sure she feels that I’ve maintained my duty of care to her and her property.

The thing is, previously, joining an estate agency seemed so easy. People just attended basic courses on marketing properties, learning the various clauses in a standard agreement etc. and they’re good to go. What’s next is they will learn the ropes from their manager and hopefully they’ll practise properly.

And then there’s always the success stories of real estate agents who make it big and live in big houses! And since it’s so easy,  most people will think that there is no harm giving it a try.

And then there are some black sheep among the agents felt that there is ‘no harm’ trying out, also felt that they needed to cheat and lie to make money in this line of work. And in this case, the victims are the clients, and sometimes other agents as well. But in general, all agents are affected eventually as these agents make the rest of us look like money-leeching bloodsuckers with no care for our clients at all.

Good thing I’m an honest person and have a set of moral code to live by!

It also depends a lot on ‘work culture’, so good thing  I learned from the right person, and everyone I’m currently working with are generally ethical.

So, what I’m saying is, soon every agent has to go through an almost ridiculously difficult exam (believe me, I know), submit their certificate for accreditation with the governing body and apply for a license before they can practise.

So you can be pretty sure that these accredited agents know what they are doing. And with a governing body around, not happy, complain, lah!  Because like most other licenses issued in Singapore, I’m pretty sure these can be revoked too.

P.S: Please take note that there are many good agents around in Singapore. The new rules will rid off the most of the bad eggs, you are only left with good eggs now.

At around late 2009, when I was still working under my first company, I was serving a buyer and brought them to view one of the most beautiful and luxurious HDB estates in Singapore, Forfar Heights at Strathmore Avenue.

Forfar Heights can be a really complicated matter for us realtors when it comes to marketing apartments like these. Well firstly, the estate is only three years old in 2009, therefore most Singaporeans will not be allowed to sell their apartments, because of the minimum occupation period (MOP) rule set by the HDB.

Second, it’s one of the most sought-after areas to live in Singapore, even for private apartments. Queens Condominium, The Metropolitan, are a few examples of the condominium in the vicinity.

Then it comes to the pricing. The selling price of the HDB flats in the area is considered to be pretty high as compared to the usual HDB prices in other areas. Therefore, when it comes to bringing buyers to view the unit, we really want to make sure they can afford the apartment first.

Truth is, the prices for these HDB flats are so high, most people who are able to afford flats like these are able to afford condominiums already.

After all that’s been said, Forfar Heights is truly one of the nicest HDB apartments in Singapore.

“Nice” seem to be a very general term, so let me pen down some of the cosmetic attributes here.

• Highest storey is 40th floor. (If I remember correctly, the highest storey of HDB apartments then as Pinnacle @ Duxton wasn’t built yet)
• Strathmore Avenue is literally a 5-minutes drive away from Orchard Road
• It is possible to see the sea from the top floors.

Basically, it is as if living in a condominium estate with the lack of facilities.

So anyway, I brought my client to view one of the apartments there with a co-broke agent named Benson and she made a commitment on the very day we viewed the place.

And that was the very day Benson and I sold one of the most, if not THE MOST expensive (as according to an article in the newpaper)  HDB flat in 2009.

Fast-forward a few months, and I was unhappy with my manager in my company to say the least, and the second appointment date for the transaction was approaching. So Benson called me a few days prior to the second appointment for some arrangements, and he learned that I had expressions to leave the company.

We met up, had a chat, and I decided to join Benson in KF Property Network as I needed a change of pace in my career.

At the time when I joined Benson’s team, we came up with the team name SRI which stands for Singapore Realtors Inc.

SRI - Singapore Realtors Inc

The main motivations for establishing the team name was to provide true professionalism and ethics in our service, as we have met too many people with the opposite.

As the team slowly expanded, we created a bond and or the first time in my life, I enjoyed every single minute of work with the team.

SRI Dinner, 25/07/10

Months passed, and we know we definitely made a difference in the Real Estate Industry.

However, as we meet up with people in our line all the time, we come across brilliant ideas from brilliant people all the time.

And then we met Bruce and his team, the Team 5000 which specialize in a different sector of the business across the industry, the great ideas fused and a new team was formed.

On the 8th of October, 2010, marks the day of the official merger of SRI Group and Team 5000, to be renamed as SRI5000.

Official Merger, 08/10/10

This is what exactly happened on my page of the book, and if you have read this far, I hope you find this story fulfilling.

We got really excited when the TOP for Seafront On Meyer was here.

From the brochures ( you can view the e-brochure from www.theseafrontonmeyerroad.com ) , we could swear it would be an amazing place. Not just the location, but the landscaping in the development, the overall ‘feel’ you get when you’re inside.

Call it a Realtor’s Instinct, if you will.

Looking into the development from the outside,  you could already tell this place was worth every owner’s single cent when they bought an apartment here.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves for now.

Pretty amazing view of the Marina Bay Sands

The weather was slightly cloudy that day so the pictures might seem slightly dark, possibly not doing enough justice to the photos, but still…

A preview of the pool area

Breath-taking, isn’t it ?

Artist's Impression of Orchard View

The next best thing from a sea-view apartment, in my opinion, is a city-view apartment. Kind of goes without saying.

Wheelock Properties are responsible for some of the most luxurious condominiums in Singapore, which include The Seaview, The Cosmopolitan, Ardmore Park, Ardmore II and many others.

Now, this development takes “privacy” to another level, because there is only one unit on each floor.

Which goes to say, if you live here, you will not have next-door neighbors anymore, because next-door is pretty much only yourself, and the view of the entire Orchard shopping belt.

Project Information of Orchard View
Tenure: Freehold
Ready in: 2010 Q2
Type: A block of 36-storey high-rise condominium, consisting of only one apartment one floor.
Number of Units: 30 apartments only
Developer: Wheelock Properties

Each unit occupies a floor level with a size plate of 2,530sqft each. Orchard View will be ready for occupation this year.

Facilities of Orchard View

• Sky Terrace
• Gym
• Playground
• 50m Swimming Pool
• Jacuzzi
• Reflective Pool
• Pool Deck
• Shallow Pool

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