Singapore private property market has just gone crazy.


I read in the newspaper that home income in Singapore has dropped last year, for families of all income levels. But other costs are rising. One example is the fees of the kindergarten that my kids went to increase from S$400 to near S$1000. To me, for a family of with a monthly income around S$10k – the majority of professionals fall in this case, S$800k is the highest price they can afford for a condo apartment.

On the other hand, Many newly introduced projects, even not in central area, just go up to S$1000/sqfeet or even above. In far areas, I think of Chinese Garden and around, the price is not lower than S$700. As a consequence, one has to fork out at least S$1M(!) to buy a mid-range condo apartment. Some are expecting the price going higher.

Now comes the question: is the S$1000/sqfeet or S$1M/apt bar definitely crossed? If yes, how can the current market sustain?

(I myself am foreseeing a drop of 20% this year.)

KSP:

nettie:

Anyone have the latest statistic from the gov?

Do you trust statistic especially from gov? I don't really believe. I just treat them as numbers.

Do you imply that actually you think the ministers' salary is lower than published? Or may be it's actually way higher.

To me, there's no need for gvt to play with income stats here. Even the same for other things. But they can choose what to hide from us.

Blobbi:

Glad you're getting to know the local CHinese \"cuisine\" here :).

I've been here since 1996, only away for 2 and half years!

My favorite dish is \"chau kui tiao\". Yet I cannot eat it too often for the reason you know lah!

sashimi:

[Editor's note: Topic selected for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/should-we-expose-children-multiple-languages.]


I feel that there is nothing wrong in being the master of just one language; and that while there *are* advantages in being \"multi-lingual\", IF one is master of none, then there are also disadvantages too.

Increasingly I find that in work, people who have a weak grasp of English, who cannot write to save their lives, hamper productivity and creativity. How can a person innovate if he can't express in complex/abstract/poetic/metaphysical terms what he's trying to invent? I have realized with increasing worry that project documents are often being dumbed down to the point of irrelevance because people don't know how to articulate complex ideas.

Have you ever watched two people with poor English argue a complex issue in English? (eg. it could be a Malay with a Chinese). You will get what I mean.

Coming back to parenthood, have you ever torn your hair in frustration trying to answer an innocent question from your child which involves complex reasoning/words? You will see then how important it is to be able to understand the words of someone who is linguistically more capable.

So anyway, it may be great for international business and this trendy thing called \"globalization\", but I feel that while many expound on the merits of being multi-lingual, they forget that they are master of no language. This means everything they say is half-baked. The fact is: many Singaporeans may be \"multi-lingual\" but they are certainly NOT multi/LINGUISTS. A truly bilingual person would be one who has mastered two languages, for example.

Face the fact: in Singapore, PRCs laugh at our Chinese, while Americans laugh at our English. What does this tell you?

I make no excuses for the fact that my Mandarin is weak (which I regret a little) - for my English is excellent. Employers continue to underrate this, even as standards of English in Singapore continue to degenerate. And yet, I am always the target of pleas for help in vetting documents, cleaning up language, improving resumes, articulating design ideas, etc. My Mandarin has improved with exposure, I also speak decent Hokkien, and I'm learning Japanese. I'm master of none of these languages, but I have at least mastered English.

My point - if you ask me for my recommendation, it would be that, go ahead and let your child speak/learn as many languages as he wishes, but please ensure she is at least master of one.

I agree with on most of your points, especially that one must master 1 language to be able to articulate and think in depth. I would add that this is also a condition that one masters the 2nd or even the 3rd language. The reason is simple: one who is good in one language, when starting to learn a new one, feels the sheer need in express him/herself with the same depth. This is why the last generation of Chinese scholars who went to the West to study (before 1950s) were excellent in foreign languages they learned. This is also why nowadays, I find Malaysian Chinese often speak English more correctly than local Singaporeans (sorry to say this, guys) because they have solid grasp of Chinese (and they learn grammar).

As to the \"negative\" effect of learning several languages at the same time, as seen in many Singaporeans, my solution is not to allow my kids to mix languages. I tell them clearly:\"That you speak English/Chinese in a mixed way means you are good in none!\" It's kind of cheating ourselves to switch to a different language when we don't know the right words/expressions. Another way is to teach them different other ways to express a same idea and correct the minor errors -- of course after they finish up -- as much as I can. Now they are used to ask me the right words when they don't know.

Being from the North of China, where there are no dialects in proper sense but only difference in some expressions, I have always regreted not to be able to speak any dialect. I stayed one year in HK but my Cantonese stops at counting up 10 and a few isolated words like \"thank you/please\". We do speak an odd \"dialect\" at home: French. I have studied/worked in France for many years and my kids have been with me for 2 years and 4 months there, for P1/P2 and P3/P4, respectively. In the end, they have a sound understanding of French. I find multilingualism does help. After all, in a big part, acquiring new knowledge is about making connection with that already acquired. Once my son told me that his English teacher asked the class who knew the word \"marionnette\". My son was the only one, because it's from French. For his Chinese, although usually I try to explain them new words all in Chinese, sometimes it is still hard for him to understand fully. In this case, I just tell him the equal expressions in English or French and it is more effective.

In summary, (1) mastering 1 language is a must (2) when learning several languages, one should avoid mixing them up.

Just my 2 cents.

Blobbi:

Cheval:

Personal opinion: the most horrible food in Singapore.


(Sorry to all who like it. I have to dare to say it )

No problem, Cheval. Personally, I dislike the coloured, gimicky stuff that is sold for ($18 or $88 or something like that) at restaurants.

Yusheng reminds me of that super fresh raw fish Teochew dish that is served with soy sauce and sesame oil. There used to be one in Commonwealth, I think. We used to love it, then got scared that it wasn't safe. I really love that dish, :drool: .

That sounds like sashimi. As long as freshness and hygiene are guaranteed, safety should not be a problem. I bought fresh or live fish and process it myself. My two kids are crazy about sushi with raw fish.

Regarding YuSheng, I was told by a local (I am from China) that it's purely a commercial drive -- 10 years ago, very few people knew about it. In addition to the taste, the price is also ridiculously high. That is, before any good luck comes to you, as is wished by eating the dish, others make money on you.

Personal opinion: the most horrible food in Singapore.


(Sorry to all who like it. I have to dare to say it )

kady:

Hi all, was wondering if anyone come across such recipe books as of above? Like we can add in red dates (a type of TCM) to our kid porridge by 1 yr old, etc etc. 药膳recipe where can i find/buy? Tks.

Hi, Kady. You are doing too much to add any of those TCM things to a baby. There is no any formal proof of positive effects, but quite some negative effects (that TCM supporter chose to close their eyes).

Just give balanced meals and that is all a baby needs. All the bests.

Dad of 2 kids, a boy of 11 and a girl of 9.

Hobbies: photography, cooking and French culture (music, films).

Cheers!

Joy:

Hello ladies



thanks...

I used newspaper...clean and clean, still got stain...any advice?

peterch:

Could try using a piece of newspaper and spraying glass cleaner instead of water A bottle of glass cleaner won't cost u too much I think :lol: My mom used to do this and it's very effective

My 2 cents:

* observe and learn from how professionals work
* products are indispensable. (I'll try out with a steamer cleaner though for CNY)

mummyo:

Cheval,

Is it true? HPPS has huge amounts of homework?!!!

My girl is transferred to HPPS from a neighborhood school this year. She feels so compared to her former school. My son claims so too; he is a fast worker.

This is what I think. What about others?