Top HDB Projects In Singapore

The shocking news of HDB Singapore flats fetching a record high of $1 million dollars has left many Singaporeans in astonishment. These flats are mostly maisonette or executive apartments located near a MRT station. However, newer HDB developments with the current standard floor area of 110sqm for a 5-room flat have not yet crossed the million dollar mark. In my opinion, million dollar HDB flats will become more common when flats in the following top HDB projects enter the resale market.

The Pinnacle @ Duxton

Located just minutes away from the Central Business District, The Pinnacle@Duxton is one of the most highly sought after HDB projects in Singapore. On 29 May 2004, HDB released 528 units under phase 1 of its Build-To-Order system and units quickly became oversubscribed.

This HDB Project was officially completed in December 2009 and a keys handover ceremony was held on 13 Dec 2009. The Pinnacle@Duxton is expected to reach the million-dollar mark as units will be eligible to be sold in the resale market after the five year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) is fulfilled by 2014/2015.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinnacle@Duxton,_Singapore_-_20100101.jpg

Tiong Bahru View

Situated right next to Tiong Bahru MRT and Tiong Bahru Mall, it is quite a surprise that this piece of land is not given to private developers instead. Just a month ago, the piece of land situated next to Tiong Bahru View was sold to Keppel Land for $550million or $1,163 per sqft, the highest price per square foot ever tendered for a purely residential site in the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. In fact, I feel that Tiong Bahru View has a slightly better location than the GLS land parcel due to its closer proximity to the MRT.

The estimated completion date of this project is 31 Dec 2015, meaning that these flats will enter the resale market in 2020 after the 5 year minimum occupational period is fulfilled. With surrounding resale HDB flats selling for more than $900k, it will be a huge surprise if good units in Tiong Bahru View do not cross the $1million mark in 2020.

Mixed Development at Clementi Town Centre

The development, completed in November 2011, is a 40-storey mixed development. The residential component of the mixed development consists of 388 units of new HDB flats. They were built under the HDB’s Selective Enbloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) programme primarily to house home owners from within the same township. Located just above the Clementi Town Centre and less than a minute walk to the MRT and bus interchange, this development is set to be one of the top HDB projects in Singapore. 5 room resale flats located 300 metres from the MRT are already selling in the range of $800k-$900k. 

Source: http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10297p.nsf/ImageView/CORPORATE_PR_15052012_Pic1/$file/IMG_8645.jpg

Moreover, Clementi Town Centre is just one stop away from the upcoming Jurong Lake District. With plans to transform Jurong into the next commercial hub with a good mix of shopping malls, office buildings, hotels, hospitals and residential buildings, the area will be transformed to a unique destination for business and leisure by 2025.  Property prices in Clementi will certainly increase as a result of the spillover effect from the revamped Jurong Lake District. In addition, when these flats enter the resale market in 2016 after the 5 year minimum occupational period is fulfilled, property developments that are currently under construction such as Trivelis (DBSS), Clementi Ridges (BTO), Trilinq (Condominium) and SERS development right beside Clementi Mall, will all be completed. 

As more HDB projects in prime areas start to enter the resale market in the next few years, we will definitely see more million dollar HDB flats being transacted. The expansion of our MRT network will also drive up property prices across the island. Million dollar HDB flats will soon be the norm. What do you think?

Relay for Life 2013

Be visible

Oh my!  I just broke one of the rules for blogging...be visible!  I can't beleive the school year is almost over and it's been months since I've posted something on my class blog!  Anyways, I will try to post some of the highlights of the school year later. Nexts chool year, I plan to do a better job at keeping this blog updated.

Relay for Life

My 9th grade class of 78 students raised around $900 of the $58,000 that the Hoover Relay for Life raised this year for the American Cancer Society.  Initially I had to do some "arm twisting" just to get them to participate but they all step up to the plate and did an amazing job!  So why do we encourage students to participate in events like this? To me, it's simple. I want them to experience the joy of giving which goes above and beyond the satisfaction of getting a good grade in classroom.

Our main fundraiser this year was to sell comfort color tank tops. 

I'm blessed to be working with pretty awesome teachers who are my friends too!

Net Worth Update (April 2013)

Assets	Mar-13	Apr-13	Change	% change
Savings Account 1	$3,539.13	$3,029.26	($509.87)	-14.41
Savings Account 2	$1,525.66	$1,525.66	$0.00	0.00
Savings Account 3	$17,055.99	$18,567.34	$1,511.35	8.86
Investment Linked Fund	$8,550.42	$8,710.40	$159.98	1.87
Schroders Commodity Fund	$9,992.27	$9,510.86	($481.41)	-4.82
Stock Holdings	$10,140.00	$10,050.00	($90.00)	-0.89
Phillip Money Market Fund	$15,013.63	$15,020.14	$6.51	0.04
Physical cash	$1,000.00	$1,000.00	$0.00	0.00
Market Value Of BTO Flat (to be built in 2016/2017)	$750,000.00	$750,000.00	$0.00
Total Assets	$816,817.10	$817,413.66	$596.56	0.07
Liabilities
Home Loan	$617,500	$617,500	$0.00	0.00
Net Worth (including flat to be built in 2016/2017)	$199,317.10	$199,913.66	$596.56	0.30
Investible Net Worth	$66,817.10	$67,413.66	$596.56	0.89

Highlights

• Drop in commodity fund offset the increase in cash, resulting in a slight overall increase of $595.56 in investible net worth
• As I will be starting work full time this month, increase in cash savings from May 2013 onward should be at least $2,000 every month
• I have dropped all my tuition classes as I no longer have the time to give tuition during weekdays due to my full time job. I might consider taking up 1 or 2 weekend tuition assignments after I have settled down in my new job.
• Target of $70,000 by Dec 2013 will be achieved by June 2013.

National Financial Literacy Month Comes to a Close

 

Financial Literacy Month comes to a Close

Well, I for one think it is awesome that we have a National Financial Literacy Month in the USA.  Financial Literacy is so important to all of us.  When I first started teaching Personal Finance I thought students were taking my class because they wanted to get rich by investing in the stock market.  Boy was I wrong.  What they taught me was that they just wanted to enjoy life and be able to easily pay their monthly bills. Those first kids taught me a valuable lesson that I carry with me today in every lesson I design.  They were so smart!

To end the month on a high note let’s take a look at two fascinating businessmen.  Check out the videos below.

Whiz Kid Investor (MoneyTrack Episode 312)



 Buffett's best tip for personal finance

 

Thanks for Stopping By!   See you in the Funny Pages!

Better To Be An Academically Uninclined Female In Singapore?

Jack and Jane were the best of friends in secondary school. Jack had always been the smarter guy who scored all As for his exams while Jane would be struggling to get just a B grade. Jack scored 8 points for O'Levels while Jane scored 20. As expected, Jack got into a top junior college while Jane enrolled at a polytechnic. Few years later, Jack achieved distinctions for his A'level exams and got accepted into a local university while Jane managed to earn her diploma and enrolled to a part-time private university programme. 

Fast forward a few years, Jack finally graduated from the local university and began looking for a job. He secured a job interview and when he arrived at the office in a tailored suit , he saw Jane. Jane was one of the interviewers. What happened?

It is proven time and time again that academic performance does not always guarantee career success. All things being equal, is the light at the end of the tunnel brighter for an academically uninclined female in Singapore? Females in Singapore have a 2 year advantage over guys who served NS. In addition to the shorter duration of a private university course compared to a local university's, private universities also offer part time degree courses, allowing students to take up a full time job in the day and gain valuable working experience while beefing up his/her resume. 

The timelines below show a clearer view of the opportunity costs of serving National Service and taking up a full time university programme :

	JC To Full-Time Local University Route
	Female	Male - Jack
Age 12	PSLE	PSLE
Age 16	O'Level	O'Level
Age 18	A'Level	A'Level
Age 19	Start of University Year 1 (June)	Army
Age 20	Start of University Year 2	Army
Age 21	Start of University Year 3	Start of University Year 1 (June)
Age 22	Start of University Year 4	Start of University Year 2
Age 23	End of University Year 4 (June)	Start of University Year 3
Age 24	First year of work @ $33600/year	Start of University Year 4
Age 25	2nd year of work @ $36000/year	End of University Year 4 (June)
Total Salary earned by age 25	$69,600.00	$0.00
Amt saved @ 20% savings rate	$13,920.00	$0.00

	Diploma to Part-Time Private University Route
	Female - Jane	Male
Age 12	PSLE	PSLE
Age 16	O'Level	O'Level
Age 18	Polytechnic 2nd year	Polytechnic 2nd year
Age 19	Earned diploma	Earned diploma
Age 20	Part Time Degree + Full Time Work @ $26400/year	Army
Age 21	Part Time Degree + Full Time Work @ $27720/year	Army
Age 22	Part Time Degree + Full Time Work @ $29106/year	Part Time Degree + Full Time Work @ $26400/year
Age 23	Full time work @ $31200/year	Part Time Degree + Full Time Work @ $27720/year
Age 24	Full time work @ $32760/year	Part Time Degree + Full Time Work @ $29106/year
Age 25	Full Time work @ $34398/year	Full time work @ $31200/year
Total Salary earned by age 25	$181,584.00	$31,200.00
Amt saved @ 20% savings rate	$36,317.00	$6,240.00

Assumptions have to be made as there are too many variations. As such, I came up with the following non-exhaustive list of assumptions for the tables above :

• No part-time job and no money saved in the 2 years of army, 3 years of diploma and 4 years of  local university
• No year-end bonus
• Annual salary increment of 5%
• Salary of full time job after diploma = $2200/month or $26400/year
• Salary of full time job after part time private university = $2600/month or $31200/year
• Salary of full time job after full time local university = $2800/month or $33600/year
• Full time job is in private sector : Male with NS same pay as female of the same rank in the company 
• Private University : 3 year course
• Local University : 4 year course
• Total tuition fees for Private & Local University assumed to be the same

In addition to the salary earned and amount saved, Jane has already accumulated 6 years of full-time working experience at the time when Jack graduated from a local university. When will Jack be able catch up?