UrbaneSpaces: 08/05/2007

The Next Neighbourhood

I get this a lot.

And right now I answer ‘Pasir Panjang’, although some people believe it’s Geylang(once the government cleans it up). On the latter note, I personally like Little India- it’s closer to town, a lot more atmospheric, with an interesting group of people. And early morning trips to Mustafa would make you believe you’re not in Singapore(people smile, for one).

The rules are easy:

9/10/11 are the blue chips- it precedes and outperforms other neighbourhoods in an ‘up’ market and keeps its value the most in a ‘down’ market. The best are the ones walking distance to amenities whilst still being a relatively green, sedate neighbourhood.

Within the blue chips, some neighbourhoods are particularly ‘undervalued’. Get your nearest estate agent to show you the supporting caveats. Then again, some fashionable neighbourhoods go out of fashion. I believed the immediate neighbourhoods(it’s dist 21, a long-accepted alternative to 9/10/11) surrounding the Turf Club became unfashionable after the latter was moved to Kranji(what took it’s place- used car showrooms?)

If you want to invest in a ‘gentrifying’ neighbourhood, be sure of your timeline. Geylang might take some time to pan out- even with Singapore’s political will. What makes sense in a market characterized by en bloc sales is the need for homeowners(profiting from the en bloc deal but priced out of the neighbourhood) to find neighbourhoods accessible to town without the same price tag.

Back to Pasir Panjang- it’s a great neighbourhood to speculate on because its proximity to the IR has not been reflected in its real estate prices. Other reasons:

1.The development of surrounding amenities(Vivocity, St James).

2.The relative ease by which to travel to the city made possible by the expressway, an alternative trend of living away from the city in an effort to reclaim a piece of suburbia(the surrounding greenery and the sea views if you managed to get the right apartment)

and the settling in of a vibrant community.The next time you hear of ‘that party over the weekend in an interesting apartment overlooking the sea’, it might(probably is) Pasir Panjang.

House Guests

Read the email that started it all here:

From: Dick ****** [mailto:******.******@******.******.******]
Sent: Thursday, 12 July 2007 4:23 PM
To: Tina ******; Harry ******
Cc: Thomas ******; Simon ******
Subject: RE: 44 ****** Road

Tina,

There is definitely not more than four people living in the house and never has been. I will declare that formally if required. There may have been a guest staying at the time (but I don’t think so) but this is unusual - unusual it would occur during the week that is.

As you know Tina, we are four single young men making every day count. We feel we are at the peak of our powers right now and sometimes this involves us flexing it a little on the Sydney social circuit. I don’t proclaim to be a rock star but I am not a homebody either - my fellow housemates will attest to this and I will attest to them in the same vein.

Some things transcend from heightened social stamina and one of those Tina is over night guests. I think we both know what we’re talking about.

So it seems we may simply be caught up on a definitional point. We only have four people living at ********* but we do have guests quite regularly. Harry has more guests than Simon for example but Simon’s standards are higher - that’s neither here nor there.

We work hard and we play hard Tina and unfortunately the play spills over a little but this does not constitute a breach of lease. All in all I think we are excellent tenants and hold the premises in high regard. Please put this on the file.

Dick

P.S. About that dinner we have been trying to organize, how about next week?

Why you should live in a walkable neighbourhood

Condodomain never fails to yield interesting, blog-gable material.

In their post ‘Don’t be lazy and walk home’- the site’s inspiration is WalkScore which lists these reasons:
Why Walking Matters

Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to our health, the environment, and our communities.

Better health: A study in Washington State found that the average resident of a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood1. Residents of walkable neighborhoods drive less and suffer fewer car accidents, a leading cause of death between the ages of 15 - 45.

“We are here to show those guys that are inching their way on the freeways in their metal coffins that the human spirit is still alive.”

- Patrick Swayze, Point Break

–>Reduction in greenhouse gas: Cars are a leading cause of global warming. Your feet are zero pollution transportation machines.

More transportation options: Compact neighborhoods tend to have higher population density, which leads to more public transportation options and bicycle infrastructure. Not only is taking the bus cheaper than driving, but riding a bus is ten times safer than driving a car2!

Increased social capital: Walking increases social capital by promoting face-to-face interaction with your neighbors. Studies have shown that for each 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10 percent3.

Stronger local businesses: Dense, walkable neighborhoods provide local businesses with the foot traffic they need to thrive. It’s easier for pedestrians to shop at many stores on one trip, since they don’t need to drive between destinations.

as to why you (should) live in ‘compact neighbourhoods’.

Below is my (very Singapore-specific) take on the ‘walking distance to everything’ phenomenon:

1. The trend for downtown living just about contributed to the disproportionate benefits to the 9/10/11 districts in the property boom. 9 took off phenomenally, because 9 essentially means- walking distance to Orchard Road- which spells just about anything from Starbucks, to movie theatres and plenty of shopping.

Dist 11, you’d notice is stratified- from the Novena/Chancery areas which are walking distance to amenities to the ones on Bukit Timah(which still has plenty of ‘bargains’ given the otherwise exorbitant 9/10/11 pricetags) and the prices for the latter I’ve always chalked up to the inaccessibility to ‘amenities’.

Holland Village(district 10)- took off in a belated manner, and never quite as much as its dist. 9 brethrens. Most telling, perhaps, is the way en bloc sales have taken place, with Dist 10 sites being slated for re-development after most of the prime sites in Dist 9 have been taken up.

So with respect to ‘less consumption’ in the vein of ‘less pollution=we’re saving the world’- I don’t think so. Compact neighbourhoods, whether they be in Dist 9 or somewhere in Jurong, are always characterised by an accessibility to shopping centres and have traditionally attracted those attracted to the availability and accessibility of consumption.

Whatever greenhouse gases saved from not having to drive around are probably offset through the level of consumption generated both due to the expectations and habits of the people such centrally located neighbourhoods attract as well as the level of consumption expected of and encouraged by-living in these neighbourhoods.

2.In terms of ‘being healthy’- I’d reckon I’d see more people ‘being healthy’(evening jogs, walking their dogs) around the green area of Bukit Timah and Pasir Panjang as opposed to the highly dense, highly accessible areas of Orchard Rd.

And everytime you see a property ad touting ‘private lifts’- remember it’s for the comfort of those who do NOT want to see their neighbours.

Although I agree with the last point.

City clock-Singapore

'Exotic' facilities

Singapore, being the 'beginner's guide to Asia' sees some interesting facilities within its condominiums worthy of its tag. So- rooftop pools and private lifts aside, below are some of the more interesting 'facilities' developments have to offer:

1. Asian 'herb and spice garden' where you can pick out 'fresh ingredients for your culinary enjoyment' in this Asian cluster development:

2. Rainforest showers, reading alcoves and hot and cold jacuzzis in this development that looked set to reverse the trend of (not) having any facilities aside from an aesthetic pool.Photos can be found here:

3. Am pretty sure there's a condominium in Jurong with bowling alleys..
Wait- Savannah condopark has one(2-lane bowling alley). As the name indicates, Savannah condopark is landscaped with animals like hippos, its entrance flanked by giraffes- and I thought I saw burning torches amidst thatched roofs when I drove past…

4. As I am that a certain development in Holland Village comes with tree houses for the kids.

5. Sinaran@Soleil, covered in a previous post, similarly has spa alcoves.

6. Draycott 8 offers a wine cellar(with biometric access) within its colonial clubhouse.

7. One of the more bizarre offerings is from a modern condominium development in Bukit Timah with its camp site for children(with tepee-like tents) and aromatic mist stops for adults next to the reflexology corner.

8. River Place has an outdoor close-t0-life sized chess set.

9. Orchard Scotts offers a furo bath

Other developments, meanwhile, capitalise on their other 'core competencies'.

Beaufort@Nassim, The Four Seasons Residences, The St Regis Residences and Orchard Scotts offers either access to their spa network, concierge and butler services, as well as catering and management services from the Fullerton Hotel respectively. Picture above from St Regis Residences

Condos on Stilts

A friend of mine insists that the proliferation of high rise buildings is contributing to this sickening heat in Singapore. Enter condominiums with sky gardens in the middle(BLVD, the ones near Lavender MRT, Novena Suites) and those on stilts.

Soleil@Sinaran, a condominium built on stilts(along with The Cosmopolitan, apparently)allows its occupants more privacy, better views and, apparently, spa alcoves(pictured above) within the condominium compounds. More information can be found here:

Shawn has a listing at Soleil@Sinaran- do get in touch with him for more information on pricing and unit availability.

Real estate commissions worldwide

The Sellsius blog is starting to look like quite a fun source of information:

I found out about the 6% commission in the US when a US-based estate agent asked me for a co-broking fee of 3% of the sale price when I tried to list a property I had with his site. THAT'S when I realized!
The Filipino system seems to make sense in avoiding that broker's conflict of interest- issues. I also happen to love the sound of Mexico. In places like Indonesia- how do you decide who pays? It's like when the check arrives after a bad dinner date.
Anyway you can register more of the whining here:

Playboy townhouse

Am not sure what year this was published but from the furniture it looks decidedly mid century modern . Check the full report here:

My house and how it reflects on my personality

You know those drawings psychologists make traumatised kids come up with identify the causes of their trauma? Ok- maybe you don't. But this exercises is probably on a similar(condescending but fun) precept.
My house is as above and somehow that means that my personality is as such:
Your house tells the world that you ought to be a leader. You are a freedom lover and a strong person. You will avoid being alone and seek the company of others whenever possible. You love excitement and create it wherever you go. Once you have a problem, you need a friend with you. Your life is always full of changes.

You will avoid being alone and seek the company of others whenever possible. You love excitement and create it wherever you go. You have a strong personality and you like to command, influence and control people.

You are not a romantic person by nature. It also safe to say that others don't see you as a flirt. You don't think much about yourself. Take the test here:
We'd set up some variation(more condescending, if not more fun and definitely more literal) of the real estate suited to your personality test here:
Except that instead of using real estate as a medium through which to analyse your personality, we instead try to gauge your personality (and then) recommend you some real estate

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