Issue 269

Copyright 2011-2016 www.propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENTS
p2

FROM THE

EDITOR

Ask Mr. Propwise #9 What Can Be

Welcome to the 269th edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly.

Done About An Errant Agent?

Hope you like it!

p9

Singapore Property News This Week

p11

Resale Property Transactions

Mr. Propwise

(Jun 27 Jul 8)

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 269

Ask Mr. Propwise #9 What Can Be Done

About An Errant Agent?
Dear Mr. Propwise,

I have an issue relating to my former tenants

agent and wonder if might be a good case
story to share with the other readers. Perhaps
you could also give me your advice what I
can do about it.
It all started with my apartment being rented
out to a Chinese national by the name of Mr.
D for a period of one year starting from 1 May
2014 to 30 April 2015.
He was being
represented by his agent, Mr. L.
The tenancy agreement, along with the
inventory list,
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 269

was clearly explained to Mr. D before he
agreed and signed on the agreement. His
agent Mr. L was beside him, assisting in the
translation of the agreement to Mandarin and
explaining the details of the agreement. After
some months, issues started to surface:
1. Late payment
Mr. D had a habit of making late rental
payment and he needed to be constantly
sought after to make his payment. His agent
frequently used the reason that his client
travelled a lot, and thus was not able to make
payment on time.
That was not a valid reason to me and so I
suggested he get his client to make the
transfers via internet banking or tele-banking
in the future.
However, the message was not conveyed to
Mr. D. As such, during the entire rental period
Back to Contents

of a year, Mr. D defaulted in rental payment

thrice, and payment was made only two to
three weeks after the due date.
2. Non-payment
On the final month (April 2015), Mr. D
deliberately decided not to pay the rental fee
altogether. He felt his one months deposit
could be used as the rental for the final month
instead of being withheld for any defects that
may be found upon taking over.
When confronted, he said he was totally
unaware that the deposit could not be used
as rental payment while Mr. L agreed it was
not necessary.
3. Air Con not serviced
The rental agreement clearly stated that the
air con must be serviced every quarter but it
was not carried out.
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 269

In fact, it was serviced only once, a week
prior to end of the lease. Mr. D felt it was not
necessary as he seldom used it. Again, Mr. L
agreed and kept justifying that the one-time
servicing was more than sufficient. He then
challenged us to proceed with legal action if
we wanted.

4. Access to unit
During the tenancy period, we had requested
to collect some personal stuff from the house,
which we knew the tenant would not be using
at all.
Our request was flatly rejected without any
reason. Abiding by the tenancy agreement,
we did not pursue further (we were not legally
able to anyway). Later we found out that Mr.
D wasnt notified at all. It was Mr. L himself
who made the decision to turn down our
request without first consulting his client.
Back to Contents

5. Prospect viewing
It was stated in the agreement that we were
allowed to arrange for prospect viewing two
months prior to the end of Mr. Ds lease. Our
request for this was again turned down by Mr.
L, citing that his client was not in town. In
view of this, we were unable to arrange any
viewings of the apartment and lost the
opportunity of securing a new tenant during
that period.
Mr. L the unprofessional property agent
While I understand all this was caused by the
tenants negligence or ignorance and should
be a disputed between the landlord and
tenant only, Mr. L chose to side with his client
by distorting everything in the agreement to
his clients favor. Despite claiming to have 20
years of experience in the property industry,

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 269

Mr. L chose to disregard the rental terms (as
if it were not binding) and supported his
clients decisions even though he knew they
were wrong.
Based on some of the incidents Ive
mentioned above, he clearly chose the easier
way out by making decisions on his own
(instead of consulting his client first), resulting
in disputes between landlord and tenant
which could otherwise have been avoided.
As I could not tolerate a licensed property
agent with such an unethical and
unprofessional way of working with no
regards to a binding agreement, I proceed to
file a formal complaint to the CEA (Council of
Estate Agencies) in May 2015.

Back to Contents

My experience with the CEA (Council of

Estate Agencies)
Surprisingly, the case took more a year to
conclude. I had to constantly email the officer
in charge for updates (otherwise there might
not be any conclusion even now). This lack of
action from the CEA gives the impression that
the officer is too busy to bother about my
case.
The findings were equally disappointing. The
officer explained the CEA had interviewed Mr.
L and he denied any wrongdoing. And since
there was an amicable settlement (payment
for the tenants non-service of air con and
interest penalty for late rental fees), this
suggested the matter had been resolved.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 269

So there was insufficient evidence for them to
establish that the agent had breached the
Estate Agents Act or its Regulations.
She then mentioned she had cases where
complainants
actually
provided
video
recordings of the disputes as evidence, and
concluded by informing me that no action (not
even a warning) would be taken against Mr.
L, although a record would be filed for
reference if there was any future complaint
against him.

I was speechless. The settlement I reached

with the tenant was by no means amicable.
All I wanted was to get the get my unit remarketed ASAP. Challenging the tenant in the
small claims tribunal would cause more
delay and effort, adding on to the full time job
and family responsibilities that Im busy with.
However, that is a separate issue between
Back to Contents

the tenant and me. The subject here is on the

misconduct and misrepresentation of a CEA
licensed property agent Mr. L. Should
reaching a settlement with Mr. Ls client
excuse him from his wrongful action and
misconduct as a licensed professional?
Being a single unit landlord, and this being
my first time facing such a property agent, I
did not have the experience required to react
in such a situation. Even my agent seemed
helpless at the moment. It did not occur to me
at the time of dispute to have all
conversations recorded.
What can be done to set the record
straight?

I wish to highlight that I am not seeking any

form of compensation. I only want the record
to be set straight. How can a property agent
who claims to have over 20 years of
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 269

experience prey on inexperienced landlords,
knowing that most do not have the time or
knowledge to seek recourse against him or
his client. As a licensed property agent
registered with Council for Estate Agencies in
Singapore, such unprofessional and unethical
behavior should not be condoned.

I am also puzzled by the conclusion from the

CEA officer which resulted in no disciplinary
action (not even a warning) taken against
him.
So Id really appreciate your advice do I
have a case to escalate or should I just treat
this as an unfortunate incident?
Yours Faithfully, C.

Back to Contents

Dear C.,
Sorry to hear about your experience
unfortunately I don't think it's uncommon.Ive
heard many horror stories involving both
landlords and tenants. Given you've already
escalated to the CEA and they've looked into
it, I don't think there's much more you can do.
Like you pointed out, taking legal action might
not make sense given the cost and expense,
and it'll be difficult for you to prove what
damages you suffered in this case.

To prevent this from happening in the future, I

would suggest:
1. Being more selective about the tenants and
agents you work with (I know it's tough given
it's a tenant's market now).

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 269

2. Having direct contact with the tenant get
their number, email etc. so you can contact
them directly instead of going through the
agent.
3.In the case of disputes, keeping records of
evidence (e.g. emails, videos etc.) where
possible.
To Wisdom and Beyond,
Mr. Propwise
P.S. Dear readers do you have any other
ideas about what can be done for C. to seek
redress? Or do you think its not worthwhile
for him to do so? You can email me at
info@propwise.sg with your thoughts.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 269

Singapore Property This Week

Residential

New sale of private homes up by 10%

Treasure Crest priced at S$742 psf

Some market watchers believe that the

market for private homes is bottoming out,
based on the data from the Urban
Redevelopment Authority which was released
on Friday. The June sales figure is 42.9 per
cent higher than a year ago, signalling a more
positive outlook, said JLL national director
Ong Teck Hui, CBRE Research's Head of
Singapore and South-east Asia.
Many
market experts also highlighted that this yearon-year increase took place despite the fact
that there have been fewer new launches.

Sim Lian Group Limited has priced its

executive condominium (EC) project Treasure
Crest at an average S$742 per square foot
(psf).The 504-unit project garnered 1,077 eapplications, after a 10-day e-application
period. Sim Lian opines that the strong
response to Treasure Crest is due to the
development's attractive pricing, ideal location
and the spacious layout of the units.

(Source: Business Times)

(Source: Business Times)

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 269

SRX non-landed private home price index
rises again
Resale prices of non-landed private homes in
Singapore rose 0.5 per cent in June 2016
over the previous month, based on SRX
Propertys flash estimates for last month
released on Tuesday. This marks the fourth
consecutive month-on-month price increase.
Last month's price rise applies across the
board to all three geographical regions. The
prices went up 0.9 per cent in Core Central
Region (CCR), 0.3 per cent in the city-fringe
or Rest of Central Region (RCR) and 0.5 per
cent in the suburbs or Outside Central Region
(OCR).
(Source: Business Times)
S$10m deal for smarter estates
The Housing & Development Board (HDB) on
Monday signed three agreements for
collaboration with industry partners at the
Back to Contents

World Cities Summit. These new partnerships

will enable HDB to tap the expertise of the
private industry partners to better plan and
design its HDB towns. The first deal is a S$10
million contract that aims to develop a digital
master plan and smart hub for HDB towns
and estates over four years.
(Source: Business Times)
Commercial
Asia Square Tower 1 sets Asia-Pac record
Singapore's Asia Square Tower 1 has set the
record of being the largest single-asset and
office transaction in the Asia-Pacific region
with a sale value of US$2.45 billion,
according to real estate consultancy JLL.
Many experts believe that this sale is a strong
signal to the market that Singapore is a
choice destination for cross-border investors.
(Source: Business Times)
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 269

Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Jun 27 Jul 8
Postal
District
1
2
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
7
7
8
8
9

Project Name
THE CLIFT
ICON
TWIN REGENCY
THE ANCHORAGE
TANGLIN VIEW
YONG SIAK VIEW
PEARL BANK APARTMENT
REFLECTIONS AT KEPPEL BAY
REFLECTIONS AT KEPPEL BAY
CARIBBEAN AT KEPPEL BAY
THE INTERLACE
THE INTERLACE
THE INTERLACE
ONE-NORTH RESIDENCES
VARSITY PARK CONDOMINIUM
CARABELLE
FLYNN PARK
WEST BAY CONDOMINIUM
VISTA PARK
VISTA PARK
CONCOURSE SKYLINE
TEXTILE CENTRE
OXFORD SUITES
HERTFORD MANSION
OUE TWIN PEAKS

Back to Contents

Area
(sqft)
775
560
980
883
2,088
1,066
1,324
2,616
1,561
1,636
1,873
2,260
4,456
1,033
1,421
1,152
2,013
850
969
947
1,313
1,163
893
1,259
549

Transacted
Price ($)
1,350,000
1,050,000
1,620,000
1,100,000
2,350,000
1,065,000
1,000,000
6,600,000
3,000,000
2,388,000
2,093,000
2,421,000
3,027,000
1,378,000
1,650,000
1,327,104
2,150,000
700,000
780,000
720,000
2,300,000
700,000
1,168,000
1,240,000
1,671,705

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
1,742
99
1,876
99
1,654
FH
1,246
FH
1,125
99
999
FH
755
99
2,523
99
1,922
99
1,460
99
1,117
99
1,071
99
679
99
1,334
99
1,161
99
1,152 956
1,068
FH
823
99
805
99
760
99
1,751
99
602
99
1,307
FH
985
FH
3,045
99

Postal
District
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10

Project Name
OUE TWIN PEAKS
THE LIGHT @ CAIRNHILL
HIJAUAN
STARLIGHT SUITES
THE PATERSON
PARC EMILY
TIARA
UE SQUARE
WATERFORD RESIDENCE
VILLE ROYALE
TIARA
8 @ MOUNT SOPHIA
LA CRYSTAL
GRANGE HEIGHTS
THE NASSIM
THE NASSIM
THE NASSIM
NATHAN SUITES
NATHAN SUITES
D'LEEDON
D'LEEDON
PARVIS
D'LEEDON
THE CORNWALL
AVALON

Area
(sqft)
1,055
1,561
732
1,076
1,313
603
893
1,485
980
1,044
1,561
893
1,055
2,659
4,273
3,003
9,009
2,067
1,442
635
786
2,013
1,399
1,044
1,582

Transacted
Price ($)
2,640,000
3,150,000
1,400,000
1,980,000
2,390,000
1,070,000
1,510,000
2,500,000
1,600,000
1,610,000
2,375,000
1,350,000
1,528,000
3,800,000
13,734,000
9,240,270
20,250,000
4,348,667
3,000,000
1,264,000
1,500,000
3,623,400
2,308,000
1,650,000
2,430,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
2,503
99
2,018
FH
1,913
FH
1,839
FH
1,820
FH
1,775
FH
1,690
FH
1,683 929
1,633 999
1,542
FH
1,522
FH
1,511 103
1,449
FH
1,429
FH
3,214
FH
3,077
FH
2,248
FH
2,104
FH
2,080
FH
1,990
99
1,909
99
1,800
FH
1,649
99
1,580
FH
1,536
FH

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 269

Postal
District
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
11
11
11
11
11
12
12
12
12
13
14
14
14
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
`

Project Name
D'LEEDON
JAYA TOWERS
D'LEEDON
D'LEEDON
D'LEEDON
SPRING GROVE
URBAN EDGE @ HOLLAND V
AMARYLLIS VILLE
SHELFORD SUITES
THE LINCOLN MODERN
THE TREVOSE
MANDALAY MANSION
THE VERVE
TREVISTA
RIVERBAY
BOON TECK TOWERS
THE ACACIAS
VACANZA @ EAST
ASTORIA PARK
GROSVENOR VIEW
THE MEYERISE
THE MEYERISE
THE MEYERISE
CORALIS
MEIER SUITES
TIERRA VUE
SUITES@ KATONG
THE WATERSIDE

Back to Contents

Area
(sqft)
1,615
2,142
2,077
2,228
2,077
1,389
1,195
958
1,270
1,378
2,303
2,088
441
1,141
958
1,722
1,313
807
1,195
1,249
1,270
1,313
1,270
1,206
2,228
1,270
452
2,174

Transacted
Price ($)
2,464,000
3,250,000
2,837,000
2,957,000
2,736,000
1,800,000
1,540,000
1,450,000
1,850,000
1,910,000
2,500,000
2,080,000
700,000
1,505,000
1,252,000
1,680,000
1,378,650
980,000
1,150,000
1,128,000
2,549,000
2,508,000
2,200,000
2,000,000
3,410,000
1,800,000
610,000
2,850,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
1,526
99
1,517
FH
1,366
99
1,327
99
1,317
99
1,296
99
1,289
FH
1,514
99
1,457
FH
1,386
FH
1,085
99
996
FH
1,586
FH
1,319
99
1,307 999
975
FH
1,050
FH
1,214
FH
963
99
903
FH
2,007
FH
1,910
FH
1,732
FH
1,659
FH
1,530
FH
1,417
FH
1,349
FH
1,311
FH

Postal
District
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
17
17
17
18
18
19
19
19

Project Name
COTE D'AZUR
WATER PLACE
WATER PLACE
THE TREELINE
GALLERY 8
LE M RESIDENCE
SPRING @ KATONG
KATONG GARDENS
SUNNY PALMS
UNITED MANSION
THE NCLAVE
RIVIERA RESIDENCES
WATERFRONT GOLD
THE SUMMIT
THE CLEARWATER
THE BAYSHORE
THE BAYSHORE
BAYSHORE PARK
BAYSHORE PARK
BEDOK COURT
CARISSA PARK CONDOMINIUM
AZALEA PARK CONDOMINIUM
LOYANG VALLEY
WATERVIEW
EASTPOINT GREEN
KOVAN RESIDENCES
TANGERINE GROVE
SUITES @ KOVAN

Area
(sqft)
1,141
1,216
1,356
893
1,163
969
1,679
2,347
1,184
1,141
1,927
1,292
667
1,249
678
926
1,184
936
936
1,173
969
829
1,528
786
1,141
947
915
807

Transacted
Price ($)
1,450,000
1,485,000
1,650,000
990,000
1,280,000
1,040,000
1,650,000
2,300,000
1,140,000
1,020,000
1,700,000
1,550,000
785,000
1,360,000
688,000
910,000
1,088,000
800,000
758,000
818,000
830,000
675,000
955,000
788,000
818,000
1,185,000
1,085,000
918,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
1,271
99
1,221
99
1,217
99
1,108
FH
1,101
FH
1,074
FH
983
FH
980
FH
963
FH
894
FH
882
FH
1,200
FH
1,176
99
1,089
FH
1,015
99
983
99
919
99
854
99
809
99
697
99
857
FH
814
999
625
99
1,003
99
717
99
1,251
99
1,186
FH
1,137
FH

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 267

Postal
District
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21

Project Name
KOVAN MELODY
THE SPRINGBLOOM
THE MINTON
SUNSHINE GROVE
CHILTERN PARK
COMPASS HEIGHTS
REGENTVILLE
JANSEN SPRING
FRAGRANT GARDENS
EVERGREEN PARK
EVERGREEN PARK
RIVERVALE CREST
REGENTVILLE
CLOVER BY THE PARK
THE GARDENS AT BISHAN
GRANDEUR 8
THE GARDENS AT BISHAN
FLAME TREE PARK
THE GARDENS AT BISHAN
FLAME TREE PARK
JARDIN
THE BLOSSOMVALE
SUMMERHILL
SIGNATURE PARK
SIGNATURE PARK
THE RAINTREE
HILLVIEW GREEN
PARC PALAIS

Back to Contents

Area
(sqft)
1,249
1,302
980
1,528
1,518
1,335
980
1,281
1,163
1,238
1,173
1,507
1,744
1,216
1,206
1,259
883
1,862
1,948
1,862
1,701
840
1,604
1,421
1,044
1,335
1,281
1,335

Transacted
Price ($)
1,320,000
1,320,000
935,000
1,388,000
1,350,000
1,180,000
780,000
1,000,000
888,000
840,000
795,000
1,020,000
1,085,000
1,390,000
1,238,000
1,285,000
895,000
1,880,000
1,928,000
1,800,000
2,588,000
1,240,000
1,738,000
1,500,000
1,100,000
1,360,000
1,238,000
1,250,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
1,057
99
1,013
99
955
99
908
FH
889
99
884
99
796
99
781
999
764
FH
679
99
678
99
677
99
622
99
1,143
99
1,027
99
1,020
99
1,014
99
1,010
FH
990
99
967
FH
1,522
FH
1,477 999
1,084
FH
1,056
FH
1,054
FH
1,019
99
966
999
937
FH

Postal
District
21
21
21
21
21
21
22
22
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
23
25
25
25
25
25
26
27
27

Project Name
THE CASCADIA
GRAND CHATEAU
TOH TUCK LODGE
KILAT CENTRE
MAYFAIR GARDENS
KISMIS COURT
THE LAKESHORE
THE MAYFAIR
TREE HOUSE
HAZEL PARK CONDOMINIUM
HAZEL PARK CONDOMINIUM
MI CASA
MAYSPRINGS
REGENT HEIGHTS
HILLVIEW REGENCY
REGENT HEIGHTS
HILLTOP GROVE
PARC ROSEWOOD
WOODHAVEN
ROSEWOOD
THE WOODGROVE
WOODGROVE CONDOMINIUM
MEADOWS @ PEIRCE
THE MILTONIA RESIDENCES
THE MILTONIA RESIDENCES

Area
(sqft)
1,744
1,249
1,345
1,249
1,798
1,948
1,163
1,163
1,152
1,518
1,335
990
915
1,023
1,119
1,173
1,787
517
689
1,475
1,023
2,422
1,851
592
861

Transacted
Price ($)
1,620,000
1,110,000
1,150,000
980,000
1,220,000
1,190,000
1,150,000
1,060,000
1,250,000
1,515,000
1,313,000
892,000
750,000
825,000
880,000
860,000
1,225,000
558,000
690,000
1,050,000
705,000
1,450,000
1,980,000
628,000
850,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
929
FH
889
FH
855
FH
785
FH
679
99
611
99
989
99
912
99
1,085
99
998
999
984
999
901
99
820
99
807
99
786
99
733
99
686
99
1,080
99
1,002
99
712
99
689
99
599
99
1,069
FH
1,061
99
987
99

NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale property

transactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore Land Authority.
Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after a purchaser
signs an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.
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