The state of real estate

23/11/2001 NST-PROP By Nicholas Mun

Certain foreign standards will resolve some of the problems currently plaguing the industry

Travel and real estate. What has one got to do with the other? Actually, quite a bit, after thinking about it on my return from a short break last weekend.

Far from being just a way for us to escape the mundane routine of work, travel affords the opportunity to gain new insights and perspectives on pretty much everything and anything under the sun, real estate included. In travelling, we have the occasion to compare and perhaps to question why things are the way they are on this side of the fence. Here are two observations based on my brief and infrequent sojourns.

The first is that the grass is indeed greener on the other side of the fence. This, I believe, may have some thing to do with the fact that the lawns of houses like those Down Under are a lot larger. Larger lawns means more grass and more grass equals a richer shade of green.

At the heart of this matter is space and how the general house-buying population here is deprived of it. An aerial photographer I met who travels extensively the length and breadth of the peninsula wondered out loud why are all cramped into 22ft by 75ft terraces when we have all this land which he sees every time he's up in the air. In the same breath he informed me that this was one of the reasons his friends both here and on the other side of the Causeway had chosen to throw their lot in countries where quality of life is better. The Singaporeans have valid reason I suppose, being an island and quite a small one for that matter where ubiquitous HDB home in the sky is the solution to a permanent land scarcity problem. But what's our excuse?

An industry player explained to me that the state of affairs here is partially due to a peculiarly Asian inclination to live in close communities. Funny, I thought cramming in as many houses and people, on a plot of land was due to property developer's greed. But whatever the case, circumstances has conspired against house buyers.

Our colonial "masters" brought terrace housing which was the staple in their country, to our shores. Barrack housing, as it is sometimes referred to, made perfect sense in a temperate climate because heating a detached house was not only difficult but also terribly expensive. Building houses this way solved the problem, keeping occupants warm and toasty during the colder months.

Unfortunately, this form of housing has very little relevance to our climate. Generally over-built given the absence of  extreme weather conditions and designed without paying heed to our temperatures, our houses are monuments of our inability to deliver a product that is truly suited to our own peculiar circumstances. This however has not stopped it from being slavishly adopted, perhaps unintentionally as this country's staple for the masses - a state of affairs that suits developers just fine, given their high-density nature.

My second observation concerns design that perhaps through time has fallen behind in meeting the needs of buyers. Though it is tied-in with space, the design element of a house is the final brush stroke of a masterpiece if one may call it that or the final nail in the coffin as the case may be.

Comparisons with houses abroad reveal that we, in many cases have a roof, four walls and some rooms within, with lifestyle issues barely being addressed. So it isn't surprising that home renovation is as common as it is today. And if you need any evidence of this, just drive into any new scheme and you will see quite a number of owners taking a sledgehammer to the walls before moving in. If this isn't convincing enough evidence, consider the fact that banks today are even willing to bump up the margin of financing to enable you to do the renovations that your heart desires. Scathing indictment of an industry bankrupt of ideas? Maybe not, but it is at least an indication that we have a long way to go before we can say we are doing this business of housing people with some semblance of sophistication.

While we shouldn't embark on a wholesale adoption of foreign standards, we should not miss out on the fact that certain practices will resolve our problems of abandoned projects, late delivery, poor workmanship and defects.

Having said that, the industry is slowly changing. We are beginning to see some developers addressing lifestyle concerns with practical designs and features while others have embarked on a crude build and sell approach. Whether this marks the beginning of new era remains to be seen. But in the meantime the learning and especially the comparing, must continue.