My vision is to create a cohesive group for my family of financial planners to better serve our clients. You may wish to read more in our page “Why our Blog”
Coming from a person who is suffering from a mild genetic disorder, I have experienced the importance of how insurance has dramatically shaped my life. My mission is to share with you readers the importance of Retirement Planning, Risk management and Wealth Management before we ever live to regret our lack of planning.
No one wants to outlive their money. No one plans to fail. Let us not fail to plan.
Should you have any query, please do not hesitate to drop me an email - asoongch@gmail.com, Mobile - 96667946. As a family of agents, we are committed to providing you the best value - Alvin Soong
This is the King of Pop who got into scandals about children, earns millions, bought over Beatles songs rights but at his death, left a huge amount of debts and his legacy to SONY. His songs are controversial and his dances are memorable. He will be remembered for his times. A tribute to his songs I like ( I place it in chronological to tell a story):
I found this video rather inspiring. Of people we found talking about their quarrels with family/friends, or of people talking about their loss of money through stocks or scams, and felt weak and sorrowful, or of people who met with many setbacks and felt dejected in life..maybe a look at this video would help to see that each time we fall we should stand up stronger. At least this man did, and we should learn from him:
These are some of the common economic indicators used for analysis. It was also mentioned in Straits Times. I summarised in here for reference:
1) Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
GDP (total value of goods and services produced by a country within its borders). Singapore Government expects GDP growth in ‘normal’ years to average between 4-6%. Beyond this figure, it shows booming economy.
2) Manufacturing output (value of the amount of goods that Singapore’s factories produce) which accounts for one-quarter of the economy, growth of 40 per cent in the industry roughly corresponds to 10 per cent growth in GDP
3) Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) , roughly 2X Singapore’s GDP to show positive growth.
4) Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). >50 indicating that manufacturing is growing, <50 meaning that activity is shrinking. This is one of the earliest monthly indicators of how the manufacturing sector is faring.
5) For services and retails industry, other indicators include Business Receipts Index & Retail Sales Index. The Business Receipts Index tracks sub-sectors like financial services, accounting, property services and telecommunications. Retail Sales Index include service sub-sectors like tourism and retail.
6) Straits Times Index that is a barometer of the stock market, Monthly home sales and unemployment rates are also lagging indicators.
When total residential investment sales, including good class bungalows (GCBs), plunged by 60.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year from the last quarter of last year, international buyers such as the actor Jet Li bought one at $19.8M. The private property sales also shot up despite the recession, as Kwek Leng Beng in the Edge magazine felt that this could be attributed by many locals who felt that the eventual price would go up since these people who entered the market recently were afraid of missing the boat, having seen how fast prices climbed in 2007. They want to get a good bargain as they believe the market has bottomed.
6 things to note before buying the investment property:
1. Weigh the pros can cons. when the market is declining in price, like now, don’t buy, but wait for the URA quarterly index to rebound
2. Check on financing. We can actually help in terms of mortgage planning and refinancing. This also includes advice if one has geared up too much in debts?
3. Spare more cash to cover renovation and repair costs.
4. Do not rely completely on rental income to help pay the mortgage. Although one may be able to buy a tenanted property, but when the tenancy ends in the next year or two, you may not be able to get the same rent. (Many analysts expect rents to continue falling, though some believe they are stabilising). Also, there may be zero rental when there are no takers.
5. Watch out for top up calls. Sometimes the temporary occupation permit are issued, before they disimburse the loan. If price today is not supported by the banks one or two years down the road, there is a possibility that one may be asked to cough up the difference in cash.
6. Don’t overcommit. Developers are launching more properties. They typically hold preview sales for guests, who may also be offered discounts of around 5 per cent. They then raise their prices slightly at the proper launch. That is when some flippers will offer to sell their units at slightly below the launch price to earn the difference. Always consider the purchase seriously - because either as the flippers or long term buyers/investors, the same risks remain .
