Measures to maintain a stable and sustainable Property Market

The Government announced the following measures to maintain a stable and sustainable property market:

- Increase the holding period for imposition of Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) from the current one year to three years.

- For property buyers who already have one or more outstanding housing loans at the time of the new housing purchase:

      - Increase the minimum cash payment from 5% to 10% of the valuation limit; and

      - Decrease the Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit for housing loans granted by financial institutions regulated by MAS to these buyers from the current 80% to 70%.

The measures will take immediate effect on 30 August 2010.

[ an excerpt of the press release from MND ]

More property cooling measures

Measures to cool the property market. Last evening, during the National Day Rally speech, the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong covered a wide range of issues ranging from foreign talents and workers to continuous emphasis on education. Of key interest is the segment on more measures to cool the Singapore property market. This came after two earlier measures to cool the market, once last year (removal of the Interest Absorption Scheme (IAS) and Interest-Only Housing Loans in Sep 2009) and once in Feb (seller’s stamp duty and lower loan-to-value limit) this year. The emphasis was on the need to “do more” to ensure that in the longer term Singaporeans are able to own their own homes and that these “will be a gradually appreciating asset which will grow as Singapore grows.” More details were announced this morning (see next page for more information). This included the increase in minimum cash payment from 5% to 10% of the valuation limit for property purchasers with one or more outstanding housing loans and the decrease in the loan-to-value (LTV) limit for housing loans from the current 80% to 70% for property purchasers with one or more outstanding housing loans.

[By Carmen Lee, 30 Aug 2010, 09:37:05 SGT ]

Success Breeds Success

finally start this new blogging section in a Brand New Year.... yeah!  :)

How to Help Your Boss Have More Confidence in You

There's no better feeling in a job than when you know the boss has full confidence in you. You enter a zone where you can really be yourself, where you move beyond worrying about what others think or feeling concerned about being constantly monitored and evaluated.

So how do you get to that zone? How do you show your bosses and co-workers that they can rely on you? By showing that you're disciplined, both in the work you create and in the way you work. Employees who show they have things under control--employees who are disciplined at work--are more likely to be handed greater responsibilities. And that means they tend to move up in their company faster than others. Somewhere along the way, they've won the confidence of the boss and likely, of the boss's boss.

To help your boss have confidence in you, focus on establishing these work habits:

Never miss a deadline. If the report is due on Tuesday afternoon, plan to deliver it on Tuesday morning. Always aim to exceed your boss's expectations. And while you're at it, exceed the expectations of your colleagues, too.

[See How to Beat 8 Job-Search Time-Wasters.]

Be predictable. Commit to a set schedule, and don't deviate from it. This includes when you show up at work and when you're available. If you need to change that schedule, over-communicate these changes so no one who relies on you is left hanging or surprised.

Get organized. From the cleanliness of your workspace to your ability to digest obscure concepts, show how well you can manage information and data. What many of us fail to recognize is that every now and then someone looks over your shoulder to see how many e-mails are in your inbox. Remember, a full e-mail inbox is no different than an overflowing paper inbox of yesterday. Besides, being organized will not only make you look good, it will make you feel good, too.

Walk strong. Carry yourself with an attitude that says, "I've got my stuff together." You may not feel like the most well-dressed or fashionable person, but if you give off a sense of organization and control, others will perceive you that way. That confidence is likely to rub off on the quality of your work, too.

[For more career advice, visit U.S. News Careers, or find us on Facebook or Twitter.]

Being disciplined doesn't mean you can't also be fun, creative, and sociable. Many disciplined employees have all of those qualities, and they're far from being thought of as sticks in the mud. So add a dose of discipline to your work day, let the confidence build, and see where it takes you.

Rusty Rueff, director and career expert for jobs and career website Glassdoor.com has been a CEO, led HR in global companies and is co-author of Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business.

[by Rusty Rueff, On Saturday 11 December 2010, 4:17 SGT]

HDB flats get smaller, families also shrink

HDB flats have become smaller over the years, but the majority of occupants nowadays actually have more space as the size of families has also decreased.
This trend is reflected from the data that The Business Times obtained from HDB. Since the 1980s to 2000s, each type of flat has been scaled down. The changes appear most noticeable from the 1990s to the 2000s.
HDB said it "reviews flat sizes regularly, taking into consideration changes in demographic trends and lifestyle habits, as well as the need to optimise limited land available for housing".
Property hunters have observed the change in the sizes of flats. The change stands out especially to those who have been looking for resale flats across estates, said Chris Koh, director of Dennis Wee Group.
Mohamed Ismail, chief executive of PropNex, agreed that flats have gotten smaller in the past 20 to 30 years, but stressed that there has also been a more "efficient use of space".
While data from HDB proves that flats have gotten smaller, it also emphasises that many residents nowadays should have more living space since their families are smaller.
Based on official surveys, the average household size was 3.4 and 4.6 in the 2000s and the 1980s, respectively. This means that an occupant in a 110 sq m five-room flat will have 32 sq m of space to himself, while a resident in a 123 sq m five-room flat in the 1980s had only about 27 sq m of space.
"Over the years, while flat sizes have been adjusted, living space per person has improved for HDB residents as household size has decreased due to the nuclearisation of families and formation of smaller families," said HDB.
HDB "will continue to provide a wide variety of flats and ensure that flat sizes are reviewed regularly to cater to prevailing and future needs".


[by Propertyguru - Thursday, December 30]

The Christmas Report

Frankly, December was tough for me:  too much to do, too little sun, too difficult 2 year old, too much eating.  But…

Christmas was really lovely.  It was the first Christmas that we’ve ever spent with just our little (big?) family and it was nice to just connect and enjoy each other on that level. 

We all donned the obligatory Christmas attire and headed out for our restaurant-and-a-movie Christmas Eve tradition. 

The restaurant was so kid friendly and pretty low stress.

 

Faith found a boyfriend there:

 

We watched Tangled for our movie and I concur with everyone else:  super great. 

We went to the Daines for our Bethlehem night tradition: bathrobe Bethlehem attire, candlelight, fish, pitas, hummus, no utensils, silly cousins. 

We did a ridiculously irreverent Nativity Play and opened PJs and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.

We love the easy-going familiarity and good spirit we feel when we’re with the Daines.

Christmas morning was early for us. 

We’d bargained 6:00 am with Gabe and at 5:45 we got a knock on our door “Um.  I know you said 6:00, but I thought you’d want time to comb hair and take pictures, so I thought I’d make sure you had 15 minutes.”  Thanks, Gabe.

Seth won for Most Enthusiastic during present opening.

…especially when the whale/dolphin pillow pet made it’s appearance near the end.  He was sweating that one.  We finally got a Wii and though the big kids found out about it early (such a bummer to not get a Pay-off Reaction for such a begged for present!), it’s been the most popular present by a mile.

We spent the day playing games, watching movies, taking a chilly walk, doing puzzles. 

I didn’t make any special Christmas meal on the 25th (I was tired of spending my holidays in the kitchen!), so I made our “fancy” meal the next day (Sunday). 

I honestly couldn’t imagine that the grouchiness and stress of the first few weeks of the month would go away, but it did and paid off in a sweet, easy, blessed holiday with my favorite people in the world.

Countdown Year 2011 at The Curve

Happy New Year!!! let shout that together tonight! and we're at THE CURVE for doing that. human traffic jammed everywhere.all come here for one same objective. NEW YEAR COUNTDOWN! Welcome 2011 and good bye 2010


we're at The Curve, look at the crowd behind... everyone is expecting year 2011 to come.. gan jiong!!


Crazy Night, the Snow Spray War.. both of them seem so excited.. hmph...


Fui lee, Shin Lee and Allan Goh, all here for year 2011 countdown.


someone know someone selling snow spray at there, so we just bought some for self defense. hehehe, dun mess with us.


another group photo before year 2011


That's all, countdown is over, firework is over, snow spray war is over. time to head back for sleep :)


2011 is here. and here is the damage after the snow spray war.. woot...