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Before you jump on the red-hot property-investing bandwagon, know what criteria banks look at when granting a second mortgage

When Mr Andrew Ang, a manager in his 40s, went around the banks last month scouting for a second home loan, for an investment property, he was surprised to discover that ‘everyone and his mother-in-law’ seemed to be doing the same.

‘I bumped into so many people - my army buddies, colleagues, even my own mother-in-law - who were all asking if they qualified for another home loan,’ he said, and laughed.

The reason is simple. The dazzling property market rebound has enticed growing numbers of buyers into snapping up a second or even third home for investment.

These investors had initially focused on the higher-end districts 9,10 and 11, but interest has spread to other areas, including East Coast, Newton, Meyer Road and Thomson in recent months, said Mr Tan Chia Seng, Citibank’s business director.

These buyers are seeking properties with a good rental yield as well as the potential for a collective sale - or one-off sale - at a tidy profit if the property boom is sustained.

Figures from Credit Bureau Singapore reflect this trend: The number of home owners with at least two home loans more than doubled to 41,078 as at March from 19,901 two years earlier.

Banks such as United Overseas Bank, DBS Bank and Standard Chartered Bank (Stanchart) have noticed more customers seeking second mortgages lately. Citibank has seen one in 10 mortgage customers apply for a second home loan, for a second property.

Most of these borrowers tend to be higher-income customers with comfortable six-figure annual salaries, say banks. So they can easily meet the requirements for a second or third home loan.

But those in the middle-income brackets, such as Mr Ang, have also been swept up in the investment property buzz, and are knocking on banks’ doors for a second home loan as well.

Financial advisers urge caution when making such a major financial commitment.

‘Overstretching your financial limits can be disastrous. A property correction can potentially lead to bankruptcy,’ warned Ms Tang Yin Fon of independent financial advisory firm Providend.

A borrower should ensure that his total loans do not exceed 50 per cent of his total assets, which include salary, savings and equities.

Ms Elaine Heng, Stanchart’s general manager for mortgage and car loans, advised customers to consider four factors before committing to a home loan.

They are: employment stability, current cash flow, long-term wealth management goals and view on the long-term interest rate environment.

Borrowers may also wish to ‘maintain a surplus or savings buffer in your Central Provident Fund account to service one to two years of monthly instalments’ in case of an unforeseen temporary financial crunch, said Mr Koh Kar Siong, DBS’ head of home loans.

And of course, having ensured that they have the financial muscle to handle a second or third home loan, borrowers need to cross another hurdle - getting approval from the banks.

What banks look for

Repayment ability

The key factor that banks look at is the customer’s debt servicing ratio, said Stanchart’s Ms Heng.

This refers to the customer’s ability to service all his loans, which include existing home loans, car and personal loans, as well as credit cards.

The ratio that banks accept normally ranges from 40 to 60 per cent, said DBS’ Mr Koh.

This represents the proportion of a borrower’s monthly income taken up by total monthly loan payments.

Income may include rental from investment property.

Loan amount

Banks also assess the loan amount that they can grant to customers by considering the valuation of the investment property.

They use a measure called a loan to valuation ratio: the home loan value divided by the property valuation.

Banks say they typically do not grant loans of more than 80 per cent of an investment property’s value.

Steps you can take

There are some steps that you, the borrower, can take to endear yourself to the bank to get your investment home loan approved without too much hassle. Here are some tips to boost your chances:

Keep debt servicing ratio at or below 50 per cent

If you have enough cash, you can choose to pay off your car loan, and wipe your slate clean in terms of personal loans and credit cards, said Mr Dennis Ng of mortgage consultancy portal www.HousingLoanSG.com.

This may boost your chances of getting approval for a higher loan value even if your income is relatively low.

Maintain a good credit history

Stanchart’s Ms Heng noted that banks assess customers’ credit reports over the previous 12 months or longer, to find out if customers pay their credit card bills and monthly mortgage instalments on time.

A good credit history over the previous 12 months is a plus factor when the bank is considering whether to grant a second loan, said Citibank’s Mr Tan.

Show a commitment to repay

One way to show your commitment to repaying your mortgage is to opt for a shorter loan tenure than you are entitled to, said Mr Koh.

This may signal that you are prepared to pay up the principal sum as well as the interest on your property, that you are not just servicing the interest until the market is hot enough to allow you to sell off your unit.

Also, if you feel comfortable doing so, tell the bank how much you have squirrelled away in your CPF accounts, unit trusts and bank savings accounts.

This may reassure the bank that you have enough funds to pay your instalments if rental income from your investment property dries up in a market downturn.

Cultivate a stronger and longer relationship with your bank

If you have several products such as savings accounts, home loans and unit trusts with the bank, this may boost the debt servicing ratio it grants to you - lifting your chances of getting a higher loan value.

And it also pays to be a loyal customer. The longer your relationship with the bank, the more leeway you may get.

‘Two years and above is already quite telling for the quality of the relationship,’ said Mr Tan.

‘You don’t necessarily need to have had a loan relationship with the bank previously. Investments with the bank can also help it to gauge your repayment ability and creditworthiness better.’

Make sure your rental income more than covers your interest instalments

One common misconception among investors is that banks take into account the entire rental income from the property when granting a second or third home loan.

Banks actually look at a portion - possibly 50 to 70 per cent - of monthly rental as they also consider the fluctuations and sustainability of this cash flow in covering monthly loan payments, said Mr Ng.

Try not to opt for interest-servicing loans

Such loans allow customers to service only the interest but not pay up the principal amount borrowed. By paying interest only, you are ultimately paying more interest over the long run.

DBS said it offers this option only ‘to assist customers during a transition period in order to manage cash flow’. Thus, such loans will usually be offered only on a short-term basis.

Financial advisers also note that banks are unlikely to grant approval for such loans to customers unless they are high net-worth individuals who are savvy property investors.

What may crop up

Extra charges

You may need to set aside extra funds to pay for maintenance, income tax and stamp duty for your second property, said Mr Ng.

Investment properties, especially older condos, may also require refurbishment expenditure.

Unfavourable property cycles

Mr Tan cautioned: ‘If there is an economic downturn, the rental rates may fall faster than your mortgage interest rate, especially for fixed rates.

‘Be prepared with enough cash to top up the difference for the monthly instalment.’

Higher interest rates

Customers should also take note that investment property generally has a higher mortgage rate compared with residential property, said Prudential financial adviser Lim Szer Khee.

He explained: ‘Investment property generally has a shorter loan life span as there is a greater tendency to sell the property, so the banks may make less money from lending to finance investment properties.’

He sets aside 3 years’ worth of mortgage payments

MR S. Cai, 50, sleeps soundly every night even though he has taken on two mortgages totalling more than $1.3 million after snapping up two investment properties recently.

The businessman, who is ‘very bullish’ on the property market, has sold most of his share portfolio and is ploughing a considerable sum, including savings, into property.

But he breezily declares he ‘wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep even if the market crashed’. This is because he swears by what he calls the ‘first rule of property investing’ - ensure you do not overstretch yourself.

‘Generally, people should keep aside enough cash to cover one year’s worth of mortgage payments. But I set aside three years’ worth just to play it safe,’ says Mr Cai, who runs a construction firm and two bakeries.

Banks were still willing to grant him approval for his second home loan not just because he earns a six-digit annual salary, but also because he has more than enough cash stowed away for a rainy day.

Mr Cai, who lives in an HDB executive flat, took out a $350,000 loan to buy an apartment at Pearl Bank near Chinatown in September last year.

Two weeks ago, he zoomed in on an old apartment in Goodwill Mansions in Balestier requiring an extra home loan. He has applied for a loan that covers 80 per cent of the valuation of the unit, but declined to name the total amount.

These two investments may not have the speculative appeal of high-end units in Marina Bay, but they caught Mr Cai’s eye because of their ‘attractive rental yield and potential for collective sales’.

‘The rental yields are easily 4.5 per cent, even in bad times, so they will cover interest payments. For the Pearl Bank unit, which has a higher potential of going en bloc, I applied for a loan that has a one-year penalty, so that I would not have to pay as much interest.’

Only 35 and holding 2 home loans worth $1.2m

MR PETER Seow, 35, is convinced he is young enough to risk it all on the current property market boom - even if it means chalking up a debt of $1.2 million.

Last month, he took out a second loan of $600,000 to buy a freehold four-room condominium in East Coast, hoping to ‘make big bucks in a few years’.

His first loan is for a three-room condo in the Thomson area. The engineer, who works in a multinational firm, acknowledges he has a relatively modest annual income ‘in the high five digits’.

‘I was initially worried I would not get my second loan approved because I heard from my banker friends that banks usually grant loans only to those with six-figure incomes,’ he said. But he also had trump cards that convinced the bank to grant him the much-needed mortgage - his youth, clean bill of credit health and a handy stash of cash.

‘Since I am 35, I am able to stretch the loan over 30 years so that I can pay a smaller loan instalment each month,’ he said.

He had to fork out several thousand dollars to refurbish his condo unit, but hopes to use the monthly rental income of under $2,500 a month to cover his interest payments in future. He also paid up his car and personal loans, as well as all his credit card bills, before applying for the loan. This means his income is set aside to cover only living expenses and the home loans.

Mr Seow also has combined CPF and bank savings with his wife of $100,000. Part of this came from his 14-month bonus and unit trust investments.

‘I was pleasantly surprised I didn’t have any difficulty getting the loan. The economy is doing well so perhaps the banks are also more willing to lend even to middle-income people like me.’

Source : Sunday Times - 27 May 2007

Traders who sniff out old units and push hard for collective sale stir up mixed emotions among residents

They call themselves ‘investors’, but property agents prefer to label them ’speculators’. Residents, rather less politely, describe them as ‘agitators’.

The en bloc fever has spawned a small but growing number of entrepreneurs who sniff out old property developments and then gun for a collective sale.

They wheedle their way onto estate sale committees and fight to push a sale through, in the hope of pocketing some good money in these good times.

One man who was on two sale committees was upfront about his intentions, which grated on some of his neighbours. He got booted out of one.

‘They were saying people like us have no emotion. We just want to make money and run,” he said.

And so it is. ‘I just want to make money.’

Such traders usually jump into an estate late, buying units from sellers who do not want to wait for a collective sale to come through and are looking for a price ’somewhere between individual value and collective sale value’, said Mr Jeremy Lake, executive director of investment properties at CB Richard Ellis.

Depending on when they bought the units, they can make between 20 and 80 per cent profit over what they paid for, said Mr Ho Eng Joo, director of investment sales at property firm Colliers International.

Collective sale trading has made Mr Mark Chow quite a tidy sum in the last three years.

In 2004, the 44-year-old oil and gas engineer bought two units at Phoenix Mansion in Cairnhill, which was sold en bloc less than a year later.

It netted him close to $1 million in what he called ‘purely a gamble’, given that the 40-year-old apartment block had poor rental returns.

He is now sitting on two sale committees - at Pearl Bank Apartments near Chinatown, and Tulip Garden in Farrer Road where a collective sale now could earn him $1.8 million, almost double what he paid for it.

Mr Chow admitted that some residents view him with suspicion - not surprising given that some of these amateur traders are aggressive in forcing a sale through.

He sees himself differently; he is merely sharing his experience. ‘The most important thing is that you must be responsible and have ethics. Get the best value out of it for everyone,’ he said.

Businessman Lee Peng Shu, 57, said such traders do have something to offer. He had a trader on the sale committee he was heading at Jervois Court, which was sold four years ago.

‘He was very aggressive, very clear about the en bloc situation and all the rules,’ he said. ‘But that was good too because his experience helped, since many of us were first-timers.’

Disagreeing, a senior property consultant said their rush to cash in can create problems for residents who cannot find comparable replacement homes in time. ‘They don’t consider the social needs of residents. They are troublemakers,’ he said.

Property agents who advertise sales of homes said they receive more calls when they include the words ‘en bloc potential’ in their ads.

‘There’s always interest in anything that’s old,’ said one property agent who has been advertising a unit in a River Valley condominium that is more than 30 years old. He is getting as many as 30 calls a day and is quite close to sealing a deal.

Insiders say even some property agents are getting in on the act, sometimes using their family members’ names to purchase apartments with collective sale potential.

The frenzy is getting too much for retired librarian Dev Nair, 66, who gets mail and phone calls every day from property agents asking if she wants to sell her 32-year-old Neptune Court apartment. The 752-unit estate in Marine Parade got the ball rolling for a collective sale last year.

‘I ask them why they are so keen to buy. They pretend they don’t know about the collective sale,’ she said.

One agent even offered her $1 million, which tops the latest sale transaction - at $975,000 - in that estate this month.

‘These must be speculators but we don’t have proof,’ she said.

Striking a balance

‘You want to make money but, morally, you should do the right thing too.’ - INVESTOR MARK CHOW, who roped in 200 agents from Knight Frank to help residents at Pearl Bank Apartments with their needs to find a new home. He is on the sale committee of this property and that of Tulip Garden

Brisk business in collective sales

Last year, 13,086 private homes changed hands in the secondary market, the highest since 2001 when only 4,105 private homes were sold, a report by real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield Asia showed.

According to Colliers International’s report for the first quarter of this year, collective sales took up nearly 80 per cent share of the total private residential investment sales at $4.1 billion.

The number of transactions also almost doubled, from 16 in the last quarter to 30 in the first quarter of this year.

Source : Sunday Times - 27 May 2007

Q I HAVE been a bankrupt since Aug 8, 2003. I still own a property as a joint tenant with my former wife. Under the Decree Nisi, it was to be transferred to me 100 per cent, with me assuming the balance in liability.

I was unable to do the transfer then due to refinancing problems. Before my bankruptcy about 1 1/2 years later, in order for the bank not to go after my former wife for the deficit, we did a reverse mortgage that resulted in the bank having priority over the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board.

We had also made a variation to the Decree Nisi that the property was to be sold on the open market at a mutually agreed upon price and time. Until then, I would pay the monthly loan instalment from my CPF account. If there was not enough money in my account, my former wife would pay.

When the property is sold, the proceeds will first be used to pay any outstanding debts to the bank and then go to the respective CPF accounts. Any excess is to be shared equally.

I have since remarried and now have three children. My questions are:

a) Upon my death, does the property automatically go to my former wife under joint tenancy law or the Official Assignee (OA)? If it goes to the OA, will the OA get 50 or 100 per cent?

b) If I sign a sale and purchase agreement, but it has not reached completion, upon my death, what will the distribution status be?

A As you are a bankrupt, all of your property vests automatically in the OA without the need for any further conveyance, assignment or transfer.

In short, you no longer own anything in your property, and any attempt by you to dispose of your property would be void because you have no title to pass or give. Therefore, any share that you have in the property will form part of your estate available for distribution to creditors.

However, HDB flats are exempted, provided both owners are Singapore citizens.

If the HDB flat is wholly- or jointly-owned by a permanent resident, then the bankrupt’s interest will vest in the OA as well.

As your interest was already vested in the OA when you were made a bankrupt, your former wife has really no right of survivorship to whatever might have been your share.

You should also not sign any sale and purchase agreement without the OA’s consent as you really have no capacity to contract and to pass title.

If there is any refund to your CPF account upon the sale of the property, the CPF Act affords considerable protection in the event of bankruptcy.

Under the Act, a person’s CPF monies do not vest in the OA. If you are an undischarged bankrupt upon reaching 55, withdrawal of your CPF monies would be at the discretion of the Board.

Generally, you would be allowed to withdraw a lump sum less the Minimum Sum, Medisave and any other sum you might be required to set aside, subject to the Manpower Minister’s approval.

If there is insufficient money in your CPF account even for the Minimum Sum and Medisave, then you would be allowed to make monthly withdrawals instead of a lump sum.

Amolat Singh Lawyer Amolat & Partners

Advice in this column is not meant as a substitute for comprehensive financial advice.

Source : Sunday Times - 27 May 2007

With HDB flats in great demand, those without housing allowance find high rents hard to bear

RENTING a home is becoming near impossible for many expatriates.

Spikes in property rentals - especially for government housing - have mostly affected those who do not receive housing allowance and generally make less than $5,000 a month.

It does not seem to matter if units are in far-flung locations, nowhere near amenities, and far from MRT stations.

The situation has got to such a point that it is driving some, such as Indian national Yogesh Powale, to give up altogether and send his family back to India.

But not for want of trying.

Mr Powale spent three months searching for a rental flat when he arrived in November last year.

He found a three-room Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat in Bishan, which he rented for $1,500 in January.

But after four months of living there, the 37-year-old IT consultant has found costs too high.

‘I’m earning $4,000 and paying $1,500 for rent alone. It’s not feasible,’ he explained.

Now, without his wife and one young daughter, he has moved to another Bishan three-room HDB flat, which he shares with two other friends, and pays $450 of the $1,350 monthly rent.

Like Mr Powale, others too are having problems finding rentals within their means.

Property agents say they are mostly from China, India and the Philippines, and are usually here with their families.

The problem is supply.

Since HDB eased rules to enable more residents to rent out their flats in March, as many as 1,780 home owners were given approval - 570 more than would have been allowed to do so under the old policy.

However, newly arriving expatriates have increased demand for such flats.

Last year alone, the expat population here grew by 9.7 per cent from 798,000 to 875,500.

Not all can afford to rent private properties, which are in abundance, because rental options can cost more than their wages.

A 760 sq ft apartment in the East Coast - puny for families - can start at about $2,500, while a two-bedroom Jurong apartment can easily cost $3,000 a month.

As many as 20 property agents reported that demand for HDB is now so high, they some- times have trouble coping with calls, which can number as many as 30 in an hour.

Units are snapped up within two days of being advertised in The Straits Times, and interested parties start calling as early as sunrise.

Property agent S.C. Ong said: ‘Even when the flat is in Jurong, my phone can start ringing from as early as 7.30am.’

Singaporeans themselves are competing for HDB rental units, many sold their private property to make a quick buck from the boom and are looking for a place to live, said Ms May Tan, a rental specialist.

‘They are waiting for prices to dip before buying a new house. While waiting, they rent HDB flats,’ she explained.

Exacerbating the problem are picky landlords, who reject potential tenants based on where they are from.

Mr Willy Chua, a property agent who has been distributing fliers door-to-door to encourage people to let their homes, said: ‘Some landlords claim they don’t recognise their houses after letting them to people of certain nationalities.’

Until more flats come up for rental, finding a place to stay will remain tough.

Indian national Raj Ragavan, a project manager, spent two months searching before landing himself a three-room flat in Bedok.

Said the 42-year-old: ‘Whenever I viewed flats, there would be at least 10 other expats viewing the same unit at the same time.’

Source : Sunday Times - 27 May 2007

Greenleaf - Quiet stretch with much promise

TOWARDS the far end of Holland Road, after it diverts from the main thoroughfare, is a quiet residential area not many people have heard of.

A large patch of undeveloped land separates this area from the busy stretch of Holland Road. This provides a clue to its name - Greenleaf - and conjures up development possibilities for the future.

Greenery indeed seems to be the theme of the area, giving shade to pedestrians and lending a secluded air to the boutique condominiums and semi-detached houses there.

‘The area is not very well known and most of the houses are old, so prices haven’t risen very much,’ said Mr Ku Swee Yong, the director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.

But he added that rising demand and prices of bungalows in the nearby Queen Astrid area are starting to spill over.

As bungalow rentals and capital values go up, some home buyers and tenants looking for cheaper alternatives are turning to Greenleaf, said Mr Ku.

In this area, landed homes are selling for an average of $468 psf, Savills said. This means an average price of $3.7 million for a 8,000 sq ft semi-detached four bedroom house.

Asking rentals keep pace with the price, at between $14,000 and $16,000 a month.

Mount Sinai / Ghim Moh - High price for right schooling

The strong presence of schools such as Henry Park Primary and Dunman High help boost home prices in this area, which extends from Ghim Moh near Holland Village to Mount Sinai and Moonbeam towards Ulu Pandan.

The choices range from HDB flats in Ghim Moh to a sprinkling of condominiums near Ridgewood and Ulu Pandan.

The middle portion is dominated by landed housing, mostly semi-detached ones.

Prices for HDB flats in Ghim Moh hover around $200,000 for a three-roomer and $300,000 for a four-roomer.

Condo prices vary more. At Pandan Valley, buyers can expect to pay $588 psf, or nearly $1 million, for a 1,700 sq ft unit, said Savills. This amount will cover only a 1,033 sq ft unit at Allsworth Park, where units average $956 psf, it added.

At Moonbeam, semi-detached houses cost about $689 psf, or $2.4 million and up. The houses sold recently range from 3,400 sq ft to about 4,000 sq ft.

Queen Astrid / Leedon - Where space comes at a premium

IT IS easy to form a defining impression of the bungalow area encompassing Queen Astrid, Oei Tiong Ham and Leedon Parks.

One house has a Bentley and a Mercedes-Benz sitting pretty in a driveway that leads to a massive bungalow with a swimming pool in the backyard.

Indeed, the tranquillity of the well-known bungalow area - complete with sweeping driveways, large cars and even larger houses - is conducive for dreaming big. Houses in the area range from 12,000 sq ft to 16,000 sq ft, according to Savills Singapore.

As can be expected, prices are equally mammoth. A 15,500 sq ft Leedon Road bungalow was sold for $11.5 million in July last year, or about $740 psf, an unusually high psf price for a bungalow.

Average prices in the area are about $568 psf, said Savills, and average asking rents can be anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000 a month.

Even speculators have cashed in on the rising demand for bungalows. Last year, a 27,372 sq ft house in Queen Astrid Park changed hands three times, for a handsome profit each time.

It fetched $12.5 million in April, and was then re-sold in May for $16 million. The new owner went on to sell it again for $18 million in December.

A Oei Tiong Ham Park bungalow was sold last December for $11 million. At almost 21,000 sq ft, this works out to $526 psf, said Savills.

‘It is still considered a very high-quality, low-density housing area, and the scarcity value of all these good-class bungalows has pushed up the value of land prices a lot,’ said Mr Ku Swee Yong, Savills Singapore’s director of marketing and business development.

Holland Village - It’s hip and happening

The heart and soul of Holland Road is Holland Village, which boasts arguably the most hip HDB estate in town, with chic shops and eateries interspersed with a church and a swimming complex.

Even the never-ending Circle Line construction has not dimmed the area’s energy - nor the steady rise in home prices.

Home prices have jumped over the last year, by up to 60 per cent in condos such as The Merasaga. Two units were recently sold for $1,100 per sq ft (psf), up from about $710 psf last year.

The Ford @ Holland, which grabbed headlines when it sold out within an hour last November, has seen average prices moving up from $1,200 psf then to $1,300 now.

In general, average prices of condos in the area are $1,092 psf, said Savills Singapore.

It added that average asking rentals for a two- or three-bedroom apartment range from $3,500 to $4,000 a month.

As for HDB flats, Holland Village includes some of the priciest flats in Singapore. Buyers can expect to pay close to $500,000 for a five-room flat - almost as much as a small condo would cost.

Three-room flats are more affordable, ranging from about $170,000 to about $210,000.

Home prices here are moving up mainly because buyers anticipate a rise in values when the new Circle Line MRT stations come up nearby, said Mr Ku Swee Yong, Savills Singapore’s director of marketing and business development. He added the recent buzz around Buona Vista, including one-north and Rochester Park, has spilled over to the area.

Farrer Road - Homing in on the junction

SURROUNDING the busy Farrer Road/Holland Road junction is a well-established residential area that is home to several notable condominiums.

Among them are Leedon Heights, the estate that recorded Singapore’s most expensive collective sale, and Farrer Court, which looks set to topple that record soon.

Interest in the area is growing, thanks to a few recent condo launches in the area, as well as the stirrings of collective sale activity.

Home prices seem to depend on whether the development is along the Farrer side of Holland Road or on Queensway, at the opposite end.

At Farrer, average prices are up to 50 per cent higher than at Queensway. Newly launched Waterfall Gardens, for instance, commands $1,439 psf, while Viz @ Holland averages $854 psf.

Generally, you can expect to pay about $800 psf along Queensway and well upwards of $950 psf for most Farrer homes.

Dempsey Road - Good-class homes aplenty

THANKS to up-and-coming Tanglin Village, most people now associate Dempsey Road with trendy eateries and chic watering holes.

But the area is better known - to property watchers at least - for its clusters of good-class bungalows, the most prestigious homes available in Singapore.

Tucked away along the winding roads of Ridout, Swettenham and Peirce are these spacious, limited-edition houses - there are only about 2,500 of them in the whole island.

Their scarcity means that few deals have occurred this year. But last year, some bungalows in Peirce changed hands for an average of about $600 per sq ft, or $9.7 million for 16,100 sq ft of space, said property firm Savills Singapore.

Rents average $20,000 to $30,000.

As demand for high-end homes soars, experts predict that prices and rentals for good-class bungalows will follow. Dempsey Road, with its proximity to town and the spillover from Tanglin Village, is set to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this trend.

Source : Sunday Times - 27 May 2007