All's well with the world, property bull run to resume

[rich ah pek]

excuse me hor. this monaco place, the beachfront bungalow nice view or not?
i want to buy sentosa bungalow but my femblee says donch buy because they say got container ships pass by every minute

[Blaze]

"20 yrs is a long time. To be honest, I'm not quite sure if Singapore will be what it is today in 20 years time. The IRs are meant to be its next growth engine and it is stuttering even before it got started. I've been to Monaco and the French and Italian Riviera and I have to submit that there is no way Singapore can be comparable to its beauty and rich history. Singapore's awful weather, alone, would have easily counted it out of reckoning. The Singapore government's valiant attempt to remake Singapore is laudable, but there is only so much that sound policies and some bricks and mortar can do to make a place attractive, and that's not even considering the fact that Singapore is in a rather dodgy neighbourhood. As another poster correctly pointed out, out of Monaco, you can quite easily reach popular tourists destinations that are peppered all over Europe. Speaking of which, has anyone here visited Duvronik in Croatia?? It's incredible and beautiful, and the city attracts hordes of well-informed tourists without even having to try too hard. And for those outside Europe, how many would have thought that a country that was involved in the Balkans war some 15yrs ago would survive to leave the world with a fascinating tourist destination.

Singapore is a fine country, and being born and bred here, I love my country, but I have to be sensible enough not to be blinded by our own marketing ploys and dreams..."



I agree, Singapore is lacking the beauty and rich history of the competitors. I think they made a Huge Mistake by building the CBD skyscrapers and demolishing the old buildings. Those skyscrapers you could have built anywhere, but have you seen photographs of the old Raffles Place? I was surprised how beautiful and attractive the place use to be, with decorated colonial buildings around the city square. With renovating that square you would have created a real attraction, not those silly IR-Disneyland developments they are now hoping would bring in tourists.

Sure, it made a lot of money in its time, but I'm sure more than that is lost with the latest off-shore investments. In the long run, money doesn't matter, it's culture.

[Culture]

"20 yrs is a long time. To be honest, I'm not quite sure if Singapore will be what it is today in 20 years time. The IRs are meant to be its next growth engine and it is stuttering even before it got started. I've been to Monaco and the French and Italian Riviera and I have to submit that there is no way Singapore can be comparable to its beauty and rich history. Singapore's awful weather, alone, would have easily counted it out of reckoning. The Singapore government's valiant attempt to remake Singapore is laudable, but there is only so much that sound policies and some bricks and mortar can do to make a place attractive, and that's not even considering the fact that Singapore is in a rather dodgy neighbourhood. As another poster correctly pointed out, out of Monaco, you can quite easily reach popular tourists destinations that are peppered all over Europe. Speaking of which, has anyone here visited Duvronik in Croatia?? It's incredible and beautiful, and the city attracts hordes of well-informed tourists without even having to try too hard. And for those outside Europe, how many would have thought that a country that was involved in the Balkans war some 15yrs ago would survive to leave the world with a fascinating tourist destination.

Singapore is a fine country, and being born and bred here, I love my country, but I have to be sensible enough not to be blinded by our own marketing ploys and dreams..."



I agree, Singapore is lacking the beauty and rich history of the competitors. I think they made a Huge Mistake by building the CBD skyscrapers and demolishing the old buildings. Those skyscrapers you could have built anywhere, but have you seen photographs of the old Raffles Place? I was surprised how beautiful and attractive the place use to be, with decorated colonial buildings around the city square. With renovating that square you would have created a real attraction, not those silly IR-Disneyland developments they are now hoping would bring in tourists.

Sure, it made a lot of money in its time, but I'm sure more than that is lost with the latest off-shore investments. In the long run, money doesn't matter, it's culture.

So you choose the country you work in as an expat based on its culture and not the amount of money you can make?

[Well...]

So you choose the country you work in as an expat based on its culture and not the amount of money you can make?

Well that's exactly the issue isn't it?

Expats have been flocking into Singapore for years to make a quick buck and then leave after 3-5 years because the place was not attractive enough for them to stay long term. I think "boredom" was the main motto among the expat community the 1st time I cam here in the mid 90's.

But now the Government's plans is to convince at least a part of this population to stay, become PR's and eventually (they hope) citizens. Because it's a relatively high net worth population and also to make up for the fact that Singapore's birth rate is dismally low.

But, as they are finding out, creating a culture and sense of belonging out of thin air is not that easy. Especially after spending the past 40 years destroying their heritage in the name of modernization.

[aaaaaaaaa]

So you choose the country you work in as an expat based on its culture and not the amount of money you can make?

Well that's exactly the issue isn't it?

Expats have been flocking into Singapore for years to make a quick buck and then leave after 3-5 years because the place was not attractive enough for them to stay long term. I think "boredom" was the main motto among the expat community the 1st time I cam here in the mid 90's.

But now the Government's plans is to convince at least a part of this population to stay, become PR's and eventually (they hope) citizens. Because it's a relatively high net worth population and also to make up for the fact that Singapore's birth rate is dismally low.

But, as they are finding out, creating a culture and sense of belonging out of thin air is not that easy. Especially after spending the past 40 years destroying their heritage in the name of modernization.

The people the Govt is concentrating on becoming PRs are Asians especially Indians and Chinese. They are well aware very few Westerners will fit in and stay for long term as PRs. As far as Asians are concerned, they do not give give a damn to culture/heritage - what buildings etc has been destroyed. Singapore has been a nation of 99% Asian immigrants - and that is where the focus is.

[Blaze]

"So you choose the country you work in as an expat based on its culture and not the amount of money you can make?"

Obviously I was talking about tourism industry, not expats...

[leveraged]

back to the topic, recent property launches seems to be doing all right, from the suburbs (caspian micasa) to the city (illuminaire). lots of developers advertising, and agents are getting snobbish again.
rivergate 2 bdrm are also asking for 1400 psf again (and apparently changing hands at that price).....

turn the corner or bear rally? does that happen in the property mkt? or is this a case of whatever remnant liquidity being soaked up???

[Forgot To Tell]

Yeah, I wonder why MM and PM are so pessimistic, and the Fed must be even more stupid. The local real estate agent is the real thing.

back to the topic, recent property launches seems to be doing all right, from the suburbs (caspian micasa) to the city (illuminaire). lots of developers advertising, and agents are getting snobbish again.
rivergate 2 bdrm are also asking for 1400 psf again (and apparently changing hands at that price).....

turn the corner or bear rally? does that happen in the property mkt? or is this a case of whatever remnant liquidity being soaked up???

[Local.]

The more the Indians and Chinese come the better ....so that i can bail out and move overseas ... hmmmm mebe Vancouver 

[To Local]

And what makes you think there aren't that many Indians and Chinese in Vancouver? 

The more the Indians and Chinese come the better ....so that i can bail out and move overseas ... hmmmm mebe Vancouver 

[MrHttp]

So you choose the country you work in as an expat based on its culture and not the amount of money you can make?

Well that's exactly the issue isn't it?

Expats have been flocking into Singapore for years to make a quick buck and then leave after 3-5 years because the place was not attractive enough for them to stay long term. I think "boredom" was the main motto among the expat community the 1st time I cam here in the mid 90's.

But now the Government's plans is to convince at least a part of this population to stay, become PR's and eventually (they hope) citizens. Because it's a relatively high net worth population and also to make up for the fact that Singapore's birth rate is dismally low.

But, as they are finding out, creating a culture and sense of belonging out of thin air is not that easy. Especially after spending the past 40 years destroying their heritage in the name of modernization.

I think allowing for dual citizenship would be a good start.

[Culture]

So you choose the country you work in as an expat based on its culture and not the amount of money you can make?

Well that's exactly the issue isn't it?

Expats have been flocking into Singapore for years to make a quick buck and then leave after 3-5 years because the place was not attractive enough for them to stay long term. I think "boredom" was the main motto among the expat community the 1st time I cam here in the mid 90's.

But now the Government's plans is to convince at least a part of this population to stay, become PR's and eventually (they hope) citizens. Because it's a relatively high net worth population and also to make up for the fact that Singapore's birth rate is dismally low.

But, as they are finding out, creating a culture and sense of belonging out of thin air is not that easy. Especially after spending the past 40 years destroying their heritage in the name of modernization.

I think allowing for dual citizenship would be a good start.

Indeed.

But then, in Singapore you get the standard answer: "Cannot. What if your country was to declare war to Singapore? Where would be your allegiance?"

It's true that the odds of a war between Singapore and the EU, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, China etc. are extremely high.

If they really had balls, they'd say: we allow double citizenship EXCEPT for Malaysians / Indonesians citizens given the geopolitical situation. Fat chance...

[varnakum]

The more the Indians and Chinese come the better ....so that i can bail out and move overseas ... hmmmm mebe Vancouver 

There are even more Indians and Chinese in Vancouver. Just came back from Vancouver and discovered that it has the most Asians among major cities...