[Post 656] Nearly 6,400 resale flats sold in Q1, lowest volume in 5 years

Summary

The number of resale flats sold have fallen to a five-year low. Nearly 6,400 of such units were transacted in the first quarter of the year. This is down 7.7 per cent from the nearly 7,000 sold in the same period last year. Prices of these flats were up 1.5 per cent, lower than the 2.6 per cent jump in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, home prices in the private property market have moderated, growing 0.6 per cent in the first quarter. This is down from the 2.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

[Post 655] Cheap Vegetarian Food At This Hidden Food Court Under Temple In Chinatown | Lunch With Us: Singapore

Summary

How good can cheap vegetarian food really be? Office workers Ken and Yvette often make the 20-minute walk to a “hidden” vegetarian food court, Lian Xin Restaurant, in the basement of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown, Singapore.  

The space used to serve as a dining hall for monks and devotees, before it was turned into a non-profit food court serving budget meals to the public. It runs on donations, and those who can’t afford a meal can eat for free. 

[Post 654] Why We Moved Into Malaysia’s “Ghost City”: Forest City's Growing Community

Summary

Forest City, Malaysia’s multibillion-dollar real estate project in Johor, has long been labelled a "ghost town”. Planned to house 700,000 residents, it is only 15% completed to date - and has just 9,000 residents. So, what fuels its residents' optimism towards the megacity’s future?

[Post 653] Best Answers To Tough Hiring Interview Questions: Advice From A Job Coach | Money Mind | Employment

Summary

Best Answers To Tough Hiring Interview Questions: Advice From A Job Coach | Money Mind | Employment

[Post 652] Recession-Proof Investing: Timing, Opportunities & What To Buy During A Downturn | Money Mind

Summary

Can you make money during a downturn, and how do you know when the time is right?

[Post 651] When Will I Get My Home? | Singapore's Public Housing Revealed

Summary

Unlike most countries, nearly 80% of Singapore’s resident population live in subsidised public housing. And for many locals, getting a BTO – the Housing and Development Board’s Build-to-Order flats – has become a rite of passage. But as with most such rites, it comes with its challenges. A quick search on social media will throw up numerous stories about how frustrating the BTO balloting system is and how some are not able to get a flat even after multiple tries.

With new launches regularly oversubscribed, is it a simple matter of supply not meeting demand? Can a tiny nation ever sate its population’s hunger for public housing? We examine the push-pull factors the HDB and the government have to grapple with and look to the future on what public housing in Singapore might look like.

[Post 650] Has Housing Become Unaffordable? | Singapore's Public Housing Revealed

Summary

The Singapore public housing model has been lauded by near and far. It is a unique system that has undeniably been a success from the very early years since the Housing and Development Board’s founding.

But as Singapore’s housing needs and aspirations have grown and changed over the decades, has the system kept pace? It would appear not, as the affordability of HDB’s Build-to-Order flats has been hotly debated in Parliament in recent years, and complaints and commentaries about rising prices are commonplace. Is our public housing really affordable? We get to the root of the issue and pull back the curtains on how our BTO flats are priced, speaking to the HDB teams at the very heart of the question.