A lot of us just want the year to be over!
Singapore border remains closed to visitors. A trip outside of Singapore comes with the cost of Stay Home Notice for 14 days on the way back. It all went down in April when Circuit Breaker was announced and tightened only a few weeks later as the number of cases was greater than expected.
At that time, the mood was gloomy and there was a real sense of worry among all. As a property agent, I became a casualty of Covid-19. Stuck at home with no perspective on when we would be able to operate again.
When Phase 2 was announced, I was pretty sure that this year would be quiet and I would have more time to perfect my new skills picked up during the lockdown – cooking and running.
Surprisingly, right after the announcement from the Prime Minister on phase 2, the phone started ringing. First were the Tenants based in Singapore. Some had spent weeks locked up in a tiny apartment and wanted to get a bigger unit with outdoor space. Houses with large gardens became the target. A good example of this is Sentosa where demand increased tremendously. If we look at W Residences which is a pure rental building – most units are owned by the developer CDL – in 2019 Jan to Nov, we saw 96 rental contracts, 2020 for the same period had 147, over 50% increase.
Then came the expats that had been waiting for Singapore to reopen to make their first time move to Singapore. All of them have to proceed to 14 days quarantine in a “random” hotel. Surely this would not motivate people to come here? Wrong – June to September arrivals were nonstop for us.
Last but not least the Buyers – Speculation? Boredom? Or simple House Upgrade? Buyers started making enquiries and wanting to see units. And sales picked up.
While some industries have been heavily hit – Tourism and Aviation. Others have done very well. Two months of circuit breaker had a massive hit on restaurants. The ones that managed to shift their sales to take away and push through till phase 2 ended up with more customers that they had ever expected and they started setting new sales records.
Real Estate has been like that too. We forgot our plans and focused on what we could control. We adapted, we got through it, and now some of us are having record years.
One thing I love about real estate is that it’s always here. Houses will be bought, sold and rented no matter what happens.
Our plans
We love to stay connected with all our clients, old and new. We are thinking about some meet-and-greet sessions next year where we do something fun together – such as a go-kart event, yoga classes, painting classes and so on. Let us know if you will be interested and we will make it happen!
Since we just received the news that Phase 3 is going to start, we will host an “open house” in our office with some wine and cheese on the 30th December from 12pm-6pm. It’ll be limited to 8 persons per session, book your slot via email to shyeni@vesperhomes.com so we can plan accordingly.
The power of social media is huge and I realized that. So, I would like to put forth some efforts and be more active on our social media platforms beginning from next year. We are currently working on it and will update you guys with the details once they are ready.
Help each other
As we produce more content, we will try to provide information outside of property and let you know of the good products and services we come across.
Anyone out there that is like me? I NEED at least a cup of coffee every morning to get my brain cells working. We found a great gem downtown CBD that does such great coffee that even a picky drinker like me loves it. Go check it out, it’s worth a cup!
Runes
18 Raffles Quay, #79-87, Singapore 048582
Photo credit: doggaebi instagram
Last but certainly not least, we are ending the year with some giving. Habitat for Humanity Singapore is a charity that helps rehabilitate flats in Singapore for vulnerable families. We have setup a campaign with a target of $2,000. We encourage you to help and donate as this year has been very difficult on low-income families. Vesper Homes will match that amount. You can find more about them and how they use your donations here.
Please donate here: https://habitat.give.asia/campaign/vesper-homes-helping-vulnerable-families#/
While most of us won’t be able to travel we do hope you can make the best of this end of year to recharge and enjoy some down time.
Vesper Homes wishes you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
