Don't you think singapore is getting more and more expensive

[ksl]

I see you hit the nail on the head "Do they have the Emotional Intelligence of children?"

The answer is yes, many Singaporeans that have inherited wealth are no more than spoilt wailing brats, that have very little to offer Singapore in terms of role models it is quite sad really, that so many feel henpecked and their self confidence is zilch.

[sundaymorningstaple]

ksl,

Singaporeans aren't the only sufferers of the inherited wealth syndrome. Most inherited wealth people (especially the 3rd generation) are like that world wide from my experience.

However, the childlike silliness here is does tend to take it to an all new level!

[rodimus]

sundaymorningstaple and saint,

so it seems to me then that the chief cost in Singapore will be our accomodation

and clearly there is room for negotiation on this point although landlords/agents are not willing to budge much from asking prices

this is worrying for me, bring over a wife and baby girl

think our budget will be pretty low on my lone salary, say around SGD 3500 per month - not sure if this will suffice for a 2 bed apartment - will have a look around more

[Saint]

Rodimus,

You're best bet would be to rent a 2 room HDB which you should be able to get for around $1.5k, depending on location.

Unfortunately I don't think this site deal with HDB rentals but I know a couple of sites that do but I don't think I'm allowed to post the links here

[durain]

even at S$1500 for a 2 bedroom, it's a dog fight to get it. someone will jack up the price to S$1600, then someone will up it to S$1650 and on and on.

sometimes even if you shake on it, the deal can go pear shape if the greedy landlord want someone else who is willing to pay more.

btw, if you are not in singapore doing viewing, it is even more difficult to gauge what you are getting, etc.

[Saint]

And lies the problem, unless you are able to take your time looking for a place and walking away from situations like this, you're always going to pay over the odds........ and landlords know this!

[EADG]

that is a double-edged sword

we've been looking, and there are a lot of apartments on the market, and more becoming available soon

there is lower occupancy rates and slower movement than usual this time of year over the last few, according to friends in the business

if it's not 50-50 then it's a buyer's (renter's) market, and this will become more so over the next few months, maybe until end of year (no one knows for sure)

would anyone else attest to this, or challenge it?

And lies the problem, unless you are able to take your time looking for a place and walking away from situations like this, you're always going to pay over the odds........ and landlords know this!

[x3 Candy]

I have been living in SG for the last 5 years and it really feels like it's getting more expensive every month.

Housing : it's just nuts the price you have to pay now, i really wonder how they want to attract expats in the current market. I know many people that refused to move in SG because of the hire cost of living. I saw a few apartments, if it's not in a condo you can really feel the greedy chinese landlord renting places that are so badly done for a crazy price. On top of it many of those landlords are keeping the place empty (sometimes for years) until they find some crazy expat to pay the price they think it should go for.
(part of the problem comes from the finance sector that subsidies most of their employees rent. One other factor is the goverment, i don't understand why they would let the price go so high because of speculation. Land is rare in SG, if the real estate market goes uncontrolled everything gets more expensive, therefore less competitive. If you want 6.5M people, you can not let the rental market go crazy like that. It directly affects expats, who mostly rent)

Commuting: Taxi fare keep going up with all kind on none sense extra charges for everything, plus ERP fare going up all the time. I'm not even talking of cars, i decided not to go for one, even though i miss the freedom it provides (may be i should reconsider)

Traveling: what makes SG an interesting place to live is because the region is really nice and you can be to many gorgeous place in a few hours. With the oil price so high, airfares are really getting expensive.

What do you guys think ? Is it just me ... ?

what is an expat: ?

[Saint]

what is an expat: ?

[QRM]

for sure its a piss take

[Saint]

for sure its a piss take

You would hope so!

[micknlea]

I'm really hoping it all keeps taking a downturn, my lease is up in December and I don't want to move, I like my place.

Mind you, our twin next door owned by the same landord has been empty since February this year, and only now are they repainting and changing things a bit to rent it out because they haven't been able to do so for the price they were asking in the previous state (which was pretty good I might add) so obviously asking too much. Personally I don't think they will get what they are asking even with the "touch ups" as they still want over the odds.

If they had taken a lesser amount in March they would be on a good thing for the next two years.

[EADG]

there must be an algorithm to account for the Kiasu Factor on the ultimate cost

something like: Market Rate * #of months vacant / KF = break-even point

I wish I knew this because I know my landlord is going to pull this one on us fairly soon, and want to give him some numerical justification for not being a d*ckhead about the inevitable increase

our twin next door ... has been empty ... and changing things a bit to rent it out because they haven't been able to do so for the price they were asking ....If they had taken a lesser amount in March they would be on a good thing for the next two years.

[micknlea]

I wish I knew it too, would make things a lot easier at renewal time.

[Saint]

that is a double-edged sword

we've been looking, and there are a lot of apartments on the market, and more becoming available soon

there is lower occupancy rates and slower movement than usual this time of year over the last few, according to friends in the business

if it's not 50-50 then it's a buyer's (renter's) market, and this will become more so over the next few months, maybe until end of year (no one knows for sure)

would anyone else attest to this, or challenge it?

And lies the problem, unless you are able to take your time looking for a place and walking away from situations like this, you're always going to pay over the odds........ and landlords know this!

I guess I should have said for virgin expats to Singapore. Most of them fall into 2 categories,

A) Their comapny is paying the rent or getting an allowance, most likely being put up in a hotel/service apartment for a month while they look for somewhere to rent. As long as the place is within budget, no need for them to haggle over a couple of hundred dollars.

B) Expats arriving on a local package who will most probably have to fund a couple of weeks in a hotel themselves while they frantically look for somewhere to rent quickly. No time to play the haggling game with LLs.