Subang SOHO

I have been travelling to Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya area very often. Naturally, I'm looking into various investment oportunities over there.


This is the first one in Malaysia - a fully-furnished duplex concept Studio apartment at Subang SOHO!

My Property Investment - Manhanttan in Cairns?!

Despite anticipating for the purchase of the property at 132 Smith Street, I think I have waited for too long - almost half a year already.

Anyway, this is the one I have decided to go in.

Manhattan (left) & Central Park Cairns (right)
[Picture from centralparkcairns.com.au]

Manhattan is in Cairns, Australia. Ya, Manhattan is the name of the property. It's very near the largest shopping centre, Performing Arts Centre, Convention Centre, City Mall etc. Furthermore, with the recent tourism boom and the scarity of land in Cairns, I trust my property investment will be in good hands especially with this market leader property developer and management.

On top of these and the world famous one-and-only Great Barrier Reef, the biggest point to me (and which is why I was sold to this property) is the proximity to the CASINO (only 600-metres away).

132 Smith Street, Collingwood - My First Australia Property

I had been telling people that I'm going into Australia property soon, and this is the location 132, Smith Street, Collingwood, Victoria!

I have been eying this location for quite a while with my pal KS Low and finally the project is going to be launched soon.

Above is the picture of Smith Street with the old post office in the foreground (picture by Mat Connolley, from Wiki).


Why we favour this location?
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Smith Street is one of Melbourne’s oldest shopping strips. It'a between the suburb of Fitzroy and Collingwood. Filled with cafes, restaurants, Smith Street is a Gen-Y street that is rather close to the Melbourne CBD. Perpendicular to Smith Street is Johnston Street where nightlife is prevalent with the happening pubs spanning almost the whole street.

Smith Street is analogous to Lygon street of Carlton where countless Italian restaurants are located. Collingwood's proximity to the CBD prompted numerous residential developments over the year. Gradually, warehouses are being renovated and converted to residential units to meet the growing demand of inner-city suburb living.

Location wise, Smith Street runs north-south from Victoria Parade at its southernmost end to Queens Parade. Between Victoria Parade and Alexandra Parade, it forms the boundary between Fitzroy and Collingwood; the short segment north of Alexandra Parade is in Clifton Hill. Smith Street is located a block east of Brunswick Street. From Gertrude Street to Queens Parade, Smith Street forms part of tram route 86.

S'pore residential market is world's hottest this year

Straits Times reported this article today.



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Dec 24, 2007

S'pore residential market is world's hottest this year
By Nicholas Fang

SINGAPORE'S booming housing market is the world's hottest this year, with local home prices recording the fastest increase.

Residential property prices in the Republic surged 24.3 per cent, after adjustments for inflation, ahead of other bullish markets such as Shanghai in China and Bulgaria, said property investment research house Global Property Guide.

In a report published online, the firm said Singapore's strong performance, like those of Japan and South Korea, was due to robust economic growth.

The survey was compiled using the latest official data from 42 countries, though other statistics were used for a few markets, such as Japan and the Philippines, where such figures were not available.

The latest Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) numbers used in the survey show that Singapore home prices registered a 27.6 per cent annual jump at the end of September, significantly higher than the 7.6 per cent posted a year ago.

This nominal, non-inflation adjusted figure was below the 30.6 per cent recorded by Bulgaria in September and the 27.9 per cent recorded by Shanghai in October.

But in real terms, after adjustments for low inflation of only 2.66 per cent, the Republic leapfrogged these two markets to reach the top spot, said the report.

Singapore's strong showing underscored a more general recovery in Asia, where several markets gained momentum in the first three quarters of the year.

Global Property said this reflected, to some extent, continued recovery from the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

In contrast, the United States housing market crashed due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis, while high interest rates were behind the slowdown in European house prices.

'In Europe, most countries registered unimpressive year-on-year house price changes in 2007, aside from Norway and Estonia,' the report said.

Looking to the year ahead, Global Property said property prices in much of Asia are still undervalued compared with pre-Asian crisis levels, despite strong increases this year.
It expects potential improvement in rentals in Singapore.

'We believe gross rental yields are now too low, at 2 to 3 per cent.

'Nevertheless, Singapore is attracting and admitting more foreign-born workers - which is positive for prices,' it said.

Elsewhere in the region, Global Property also recommended Cambodia, Thailand, Japan, Australia and New Zealand to property investors.

It, however, cautioned against investing in Europe, apart from a handful of Eastern European states, because of high valuations after a long period of price appreciation.

In the Middle East, it found Egypt attractive for its high rental yields and low taxes, but warned of a possible oversupply in Dubai as more properties come on stream over the next two years.

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I'm living in hottest residential market in the world!

My new company

A short intro and advertising for my new trading and investment company.

My new company sources and evaluates consistent exceptional investment opportunities, an area traditionally reserved for the wealthy, to individuals. With a unique propriety investment plan customized for every individual, The Financial Routemap is a personalised financial blueprint by combining trading, property and mutiple sources of passive income streams for individuals to reach their financial goals in a shorter possible time.

Property Prices in Vietnam

Yesterday I read the Straits Times and I realised that the property prices skyrocketed to more than US$460 psf already (from US$180 psf 3 years back). Who knows whether the property market in Vietnam will be on par with Singapore within a few more years?

This truly proves the statement "Buy property and wait" rather than "wait and buy property"!