When the location is awesome, the demand is great and the price is crazily high. One Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) flat in Tiong Bahru is being put up for sale at S$1.2 million. I do not know a lot about Tiong Bahru but a friend of mine who knows Singapore well told me that the location is a good one. Close to everything anyone would need. I reminded her that after buying it for S$1.2 million, some renovation is most likely as it is already nearly 50 years old! The 99-year leasehold conservation flat is a 1,080 sq ft flat and situation on a low floor. At the price that it’s listed, it is around S$1,111 per sq ft. Even more astonishing is that it has just one bed-room and one-bathroom.
The agent who is marketing the property, DTZ property agent Daniel Tan said, “The unit has been on the market for about two months and has only received four to five enquiries from potential buyers. The owner paid a fair bit to renovate the place, which is within walking distance to the MRT station and famous Tiong Bahru Market.” One advantage is that foreigners are also eligible to buy and research has shown that there are just 138 of such type of SIT blocks remaining in Singapore. The price is however much higher than many similar units for sale. One example is another SIT flat nearby which is going for around S$900,000 but that one is a little run down.
So, are you ready to buy one? A foreigner who’s wealthy enough can buy the unit too. Sometimes, these were put up to test the market. If the owner was desperate, he may not want to put a price which is high above the rest. It would really be good to know who bought that unit in the end as well as the actual transacted price. Quoting my friend who invests in just landed, many times, the quoted price and the transacted price would be totally different. Many times, when the price is way too high above everyone else, the seller can continue to feel good about that price but no buyer would feel good and thus the buying does not happen. Happy visiting Singapore.
written on 5 Nov 2015
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