SINGAPORE: Property agents appear to be finding Bidadari the next hot thing, given that they offer residents high prices for their units. Many residents, who are happy where they are, have even had to turn the agents away, not just one or two here and there but in droves.
A 5-room HDB flat along Bidadari Park Drive may have sparked the fire, so to speak.
Last month, it was reported that the unit in the Alkaff Vista development fetched an eye-watering S$1.2 million on the resale market. The estate has 199 four-room and 151 five-room flats.
Recently, a few four-room units at Bidadari Park Drive were re-sold for between $937,500 and $1.17 million, according to a recent report in AsiaOne.
Since the flats at the Alkaff Vista were originally purchased for between S$400,000 and S$600,000, re-selling them at top prices means the owners earn a pretty penny indeed.
Significantly, Alkaff Vista was completed only in 2019 and had only recently met its Minimum Occupation Period (MOP).
The minimum time homeowners must live in their flat before selling it on the open market is usually set at five years.
The Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao reported on Monday (Oct 7) that residents of Alkaff Vista have taken to hanging signs to deter real estate agents away.
The signs clearly state that the units are “NOT FOR SALE,” though the recently completed MOP allows them to be legally resold.
In Singapore, where the property market has been as hot as can be, agents seem unable to wait to get their hands on the units at Bidadari. Residents have told the media that some property agents have been persistent, knocking on residents’ doors daily.
Around 200 residents living in the four-building development have already hung signs on their doors to prevent agents from bothering them. A sample sign says, “Our dream home is not for sale. Please respect our ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign!”
Another appealed to agents to desist from disturbing them, especially during dinner time, which is “family time.”
“We are not planning to sell our home anytime soon,” the sign says. Nevertheless, some residents are happy about the potential high prices their units will likely fetch, if not now, then one day in the future.
But who knows? Some residents may even just say yes now if the price is fairly right. /TISG
Read also: Bidadari Park Drive 5-room flat sells for S$1.2M just after reaching MOP