What property agents really look for at viewings (that you might miss)

Always view a resale property more than once: it’s a rule most of us are familiar with. 

But increasingly, I find there’s a certain “form over function” approach to this. While most buyers do view a property more than once, there’s sometimes no real strategy or reason behind the timing; and some of the more relaxed buyers even leave it up to the realtor (in which case you’d better have a good one, who doesn’t just schedule viewings based on the sellers’ convenience.) 

A recent example: I spoke to a couple who viewed a home they’re close to buying three times. But on two occasions the viewing was at around 6.30pm, and the last viewing was at around 7.30pm. It was just convenient to stick to this timing, because it was after work. 

And to be sure, extra viewings do raise the chances of picking out defects, or getting a better sense of the vibe. It’s not without value. But by always conducting viewings at the same time, they would have missed out on issues such as sun glare, the noise levels at different times of day, how occupied the facilities get at different times, etc. 

So multiple viewings are less helpful, when they aren’t timed to reveal different aspects of the property or location. Here’s a couple of things I’d pay more attention to:

• The sun around noon, and the period just before 5pm: These are the best times to determine if the living room will become an oven; an important detail for those who Work From Home or have pets.
• Weekdays versus weekend noise levels, and facility use: In some condos, the weekend crowd can be huge due to residents who invite family, friends, friends’ families, etc. This results in a higher noise level, and I’ve seen condos where BBQ pits or tennis courts are booked back-to-back on weekends. 

(Strangely, this isn’t always related to the number of units in a condo. I think it boils down to whether your fellow residents happen to be the type who do things in big groups.) 

• Crickets and cicadas: This is an often overlooked issue, for landed properties or low floor units. For the record, road and highway noise often ranges from ~70–85 dB (depending on traffic and distance). A cicada or cricket chorus can reach around ~90–100+ dB, so yes, cicadas can beat the noise of a road or highway. Probably worth mentioning that a live chainsaw is about 120 dB, by the way.

(If you hear a loud buzzing and it’s daytime, it’s cicada problems. If it’s loud night time chirping, it’s crickets. This makes crickets worse for most people, since most of us are at work during the day.)

• If there are places of worship nearby, visit around the time of worship sessions: This gives you a sense of the noise level and, more importantly, how congested the roads get. A particularly notorious area is Siglap, where many of the landed property owners have trouble even driving out during worship sessions on Sundays (although traffic wardens there have helped to ease the situation a bit).
• If you view the property and the neighbours aren’t in, view it again when they are: This is just to ensure you’re not living next to a particularly noisy family, or other related problems. One buyer I encountered got quite unhappy, when they found out their next door neighbour is a medium who drew big crowds almost every evening. 

Your agent can fill you in on some others; but the point is, multiple viewings don’t mean much if you aren’t deliberately using them to find out certain things. 

Elsewhere in the property market, property agents will face tougher penalties for money-laundering issues

The important phrase here is “per contravention.” In the past, the maximum fine was $100,000 “per case,” for agents who help with illicit transactions. That is, no matter how many breaches happened within a single infringement or transaction, the most an agent could be fined is $100,000.

Given that a money launderer might pay even more than the usual two per cent commission (to ensure no questions asked), the $100,000 cap had no real teeth. The commission might more than pay for it. 

But under new amended laws, the fines can be imposed “per contravention.” Each individual breach highlighted can result in a fine of up to $5,000; and given the long list of breaches that may stem from a single investigation, the end result is probably going to be much more than $100,000.

The new rules also require property agents to play detective to some extent: from now on, real estate agents (and agencies) have to conduct “due diligence” on “unrepresented counterparties.” For example, a buyer’s agent doesn’t just need to look into their own buyer, but also the seller (if the seller has no agent or other professional representation). 

Weekly sales roundup (April 1 – 6)

Top 5 most expensive new sales (by project)

Top 5 cheapest new sales (by project)

PROJECT NAME	PRICE S$	AREA (SQFT)	$PSF	TENURE
THE LAKEGARDEN RESIDENCES	$1,352,400	635	$2,130	99 yrs (2023)
HILL HOUSE	$1,399,000	431	$3,249	999 yrs (1841)
LUMINA GRAND	$1,402,000	936	$1,497	99 yrs (2022)
NOVO PLACE	$1,418,000	883	$1,607	99 yrs (2023)
THE COLLECTIVE AT ONE SOPHIA	$1,492,000	549	$2,718	99 yrs (2023)

Top 5 most expensive resale

PROJECT NAME	PRICE S$	AREA (SQFT)	$PSF	TENURE
BEVERLY HILL	$9,450,000	3778	$2,501	FH
ST THOMAS SUITES	$8,900,000	3757	$2,369	FH
PARK INFINIA AT WEE NAM	$6,500,000	3283	$1,980	FH
CAPE ROYALE	$5,649,700	2508	$2,253	99 yrs (2008)
BALMORAL HILLS	$4,880,000	1841	$2,651	FH

Top 5 cheapest resale

PROJECT NAME	PRICE S$	AREA (SQFT)	$PSF	TENURE
HILLSTA	$780,000	570	$1,367	99 yrs (2011)
THOMSON THREE	$900,000	495	$1,818	99 yrs (2012)
MELVILLE PARK	$912,000	958	$952	99 yrs (1992)
PARK COLONIAL	$915,000	463	$1,977	99 yrs (2017)
PARC CLEMATIS	$935,000	452	$2,068	99 yrs (2019)

Top 5 biggest winners

PROJECT NAME	PRICE S$	AREA (SQFT)	$PSF	RETURNS	HOLDING PERIOD
CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENT	$22,554,000	4489	$5,025	$19,643,000	18 Years
PINEWOOD GARDENS	$3,720,000	1668	$2,230	$2,620,000	21 Years
VARSITY PARK CONDOMINIUM	$3,120,000	2271	$1,374	$2,200,610	19 Years
PARK INFINIA AT WEE NAM	$3,380,000	1464	$2,309	$2,143,000	18 Years
COSTA RHU	$4,725,017	2217	$2,131	$1,705,017	8 Years

Top 5 biggest winners

PROJECT NAME	PRICE S$	AREA (SQFT)	$PSF	RETURNS	HOLDING PERIOD
MARINA BAY SUITES	$4,208,000	2067	$2,036	-$842,000	10 Years
OUE TWIN PEAKS	$2,380,000	1055	$2,256	-$340,000	9 Years
THE SAIL @ MARINA BAY	$1,300,000	667	$1,948	-$300,000	15 Months
LIV ON SOPHIA	$1,250,000	527	$2,370	-$74,000	12 Months
VIDA	$1,130,000	506	$2,234	-$70,000	14 Years

Transaction breakdown

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By: first published in Stackedhomes.