4/14/2013

A mansion for US$242m

A 85,000 sq ft mansion in the heart of Singapore has an asking price of US$242m. It has a 2 storey house, maybe 10 rms at the most, an antique tennis court and a swimming pool, and the rest is just empty land. The most expensive property sold in the US according to Times, was a Dallas mansion for US$135m. And that came with a 42,500 sq ft 5 storey house, 3 swimming pools, guest house and 25 acres of landscaped greenery.

Now what can US$242m buy? I think the Buckingham Palace would go for under $200m, minus its occupants and the treasures in it. This is how the land owning class in Singapore made their money, with high inflated prices of properties that they were bought by their parents or grand parents and inherited as heirlooms, no estate duties. The children and grandchildren just sit on a pot of gold that is growing bigger by the day. And this is supported by a govt that only wants to see property prices going one way, up, up and away. Falling property prices is just inconceiveable given that more than 85% of the residents are owners of some properties, or at least a 99 year lease public housing flat.

The game of inflating the balloon of property prices is most welcomed by the residents. They cannot think of anything else. Anything else like a drop in property price can be suicidal as many are up to their necks in mortgages, except the old rich. Singapore is now worth its weight in gold. And all the rich foreigners are rushing in to park their good money and ill gotten money in properties, a sure bet asset that will not lose its value. The more tycoons coming into the island, despite regulations against foreign ownership of landed properties, the higher will property price appreciate. Soon all Singaporeans including those living in 99 year lease public housing could sell their properties in the millions. No fear of a decreasing lease life that will expire to nothing. What a great formula to generate wealth without working.

They say when something is too good to be true, be careful.

17 comments:

  1. RB, where do u think the money from the reserve coming from. Sell a small piece of land at orchard road like converting two small open car park spaces into shopping mall, one collects over three billion. You can sell this type of price if you get a stable environment where foreigners are prepared to pay that kind of money with the expectation of strong revenue stream and cash flow plus expected capital gain in the near future. Same piece of land say in saigon, no one is interested.

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  2. Dear redbean
    I'm so happy to see that I'm not the only Sinkie who noticed the absurdity of this property price.

    Dear Sinkies & Patriots.
    If you love Singapore.
    Please ask yourself.
    What is the real wealth of Singapore?

    High property prices?
    A big reserve that gahmen says we have?
    The money GIC and Temasek that our sovereign funds claim they have?

    OR
    does Singapore's wealth lie in the ingenuity of the Singaporean population?
    A population whose ingenuity is exhausted by high property prices.

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  3. There are many castles in Europe that can be had for anything above $50 millions Sin$.

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  4. No Estate Duty!

    Is there Capital Gain Tax?

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  5. 10.53am I am afraid I have to disappoint u as the short answer is no

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  6. Ever since PAP asccended in 1959, houses in Nassim road has been up at the rate of 13.5% per year.

    The elites of SG is the biggest maggots in the whole universe. At 1959, a house in Nassim rd cost around $18,000. Today, it is around S$250 millions.

    The elites can sit by on parasitic asset appreciation, not working a single day, and has enough $$$ to sustain himself from the day God created Adam.

    The price level is scandalous. The system perpetuate by LKY is to make asset perpetually rise faster than wages. It make workers perpetually slave to the elites.

    Today, we are already dalits.

    Sadly, when I try explaining this concepts to my relative, I can only get frustrations.

    In the eyes of my relative, I am a mad hater of LKY.

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    Replies

    1. ya bro, heard conversations in coffeeshops of old folks telling to each other.

      A: wow, my 3 room flat now worth three hundred over thousand. Hope it further.

      B: mine not so much as yours as in suburbs but ok we only buy nine thousand plus

      Me: I would be the most stupid person on earth to buy your flat fir this price. You have stayed there fir nearly thirty over years and anytime the building might collapse.

      For five thousand maybe I consider with the depreciation.

      Khaw boon wan said an old lady cannot sleep when she heard that the flats value are gonna fall that she went to see him not to let the prices fall.

      This stupid old lady does not consider her children and great grand children will be slaves forever paying their mortage loans so that she could make a few hundred thousands.

      Bring the monies into get grave

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  7. There are incensed haters of Lee Kuan Yew. They are all over Sg, Malaysia, Indonesia and in other parts of the World.

    He does have plenty of admirers in the US, India and PRC though.

    One can be very sure that his hearse will be armed guarded and so too will be his tomb.

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  8. Yeah.
    Lee Kuan Yew and his successors will not be left and rest in peace for at least a decade or two after his death
    He has a legacy too large to be forgotten.

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  9. Don't know about "too big to be forgotten".
    Certainly the smell is too smelly to be forgotten.

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  10. When the poor and vulnerable needs help, the G will render no help cos do not want to develop 'entitlement mentality'. However, the G will offer no land tax, no capital gain tax and other sort of entitlements to the super rich. Even the very poor has to pay gst and coe for buying a load of plain bread for survival. But the super rich entitleds to all kinds of 'discounts' to reduce their tax liabilty. We are living in an extremely unjust situation created by the conyou party. Stop voting for them.

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  11. Youngsters should try to get out of spore.

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  12. >>10:51 am

    No need S$50million sg, less than S$1m can get you a castle in France.

    See below link.
    http://www.moulin.nl/prop_view.php?iface=3&iaj_prop_search_id=1305262592&iaj_prop_start=0&p=106003&mode=list

    http://www.moulin.nl/prop_view.php?iface=3&iaj_prop_search_id=614614744&iaj_prop_start=0&p=109266&mode=list

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  13. All the owners of private properties must be smiling looking at their property prices. No need to work anymore and everyday praying that property prices go higher and higher. Don't burst the bubble.

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  14. The owner of this property is really into cloud nine all thanks to those nincompoops running the country. But the buyers better beware as thiese nincompoops' days are numbered. When they go, all their lackeys like tax avoiding filnstars and billionaires will go too not forgetting those usekess foreign trash now robbing our jobs and destroying our children's future.

    Mark my words, in 2020 this rundown "mansion" will revert back to it's uninflated value of 500000 even allowing for inflation.

    These scumbags destroyed our hard earned money by making it into banana notes.

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  15. One day, there will be a collapse. So relax.

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  16. That day is very far away
    So long as PAP holds sway.
    Put your money in realty
    to make money many many.
    Long live PAP

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