from the ground Up

I meant to post this earlier: I particularly like George Monbiot’s recent column: I’d rather be a hypocrite than a cynic like Julie Burchill published in The Guardian.

“Give me a posh, preachy eco-activist over a narcissist without a moral compass any day”, he writes, striking out against Julie Burchill, who was waxing lyrical in her latest book about the hypocrisy of environmentalists.

What pisses me so often is that people who couldn’t care less about the environment often use this “hypocrisy” tag as a moralistic stick to beat over the heads of ordinary people trying to be a bit greener, trying to spread the message.

I myself have had fair share of cynics judging my way of life since I’ve started supporting the environmental cause, and all I say to them is, look, I’m not the greenest of people, but at least I’m trying in the ways that I can. So don’t judge me.

Monbiot has put it so poetically about these cynical narcissists who completely disregard environmental issues and sees climate change/global warming as a joke. They are those, who in their skepticism, try to negate the little bit of good that eco-conscious people try to instill in their lives.

“Sure, we are hypocrites. Every one of us, almost by definition. Hypocrisy is the gap between your aspirations and your actions. Greens have high aspirations – they want to live more ethically – and they will always fall short. But the alternative to hypocrisy isn’t moral purity (no one manages that), but cynicism. Give me hypocrisy any day.”

Will the cynics please dismount from their high horse in a corner far away, please.

The Straits Times got a new look today, since it’s last revamp four years ago.

There has been much discussion about its makeover, what’s good, and what can be improved… but if there’s one thing I have to single out, which I’m happy about, is the fact we’ve now got an ST blog.

For years, cutting-edge newspapers in Europe and the US have moved quickly to “own the online space” and I’ve often wondered why we did not have the same.

So now we do, and hopefully this will give our readers more insight into the experiences of local journalists as we carry out our daily jobs and interviews, reporting from the ground.

You can go here The Straits Times Blogs to have a look and leave some comments.

I have written a post Who wins with no agent fee rules? as part of the first lift-off of our new online sites.

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, Aug 7 2008
With guidelines axed next month, rates will come under pressure but big fall unlikely, say experts
PROPERTY experts expect agents to feel the pinch once fee guidelines are abolished next month, but the big question in the industry is just how low fees can go.
Real estate insiders concede [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, Aug 6 2008
Move could foster competition and a price war among real estate agents
HOME buyers and sellers will be able to haggle over the commission they pay property agents after a guideline on fees is axed next month.
The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) said yesterday that the guidelines adopted [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, Aug 5 2008

KSH Holdings seeking more time to close property deal, say sources

THE collective sale of five small estates near Thomson Road seems to have hit the rocks, with the owners of 88 units set to walk away – taking the $12 million deposit with them.
Unlike in recently aborted sales, where the developers appeared to have changed their minds because of the property slide, this deal may likely become a victim of a three-way stalemate among the buyers, sellers and the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).
The deal was inked last November, when a unit of listed developer KSH Holdings signed up to buy Norfolk Court, Mergui Lodge, Northern Mansion, Mergui Court and The Mergui for $120 million.
It also paid a 10 per cent deposit.
The buyers, however, have failed to close the sale despite a two-month extension.
One owner, who declined to be named, told The Straits Times yesterday that KSH offered to stump up $3 million as additional deposit if the sellers would agree to a further three-month extension.
It is understood the sellers are considering the offer.
KSH declined to comment yesterday, but sources said the deal hit problems when the firm tried to buy a 1,000sq m section of a road from the SLA.
The land is needed so the five estates near Rangoon and Moulmein roads can be combined and developed into one large project.
This will give a land area of 74,355 sq ft and a gross floor area of 208,196 sq ft. It will allow a high-rise block with about 142 luxury flats each measuring 1,250 sq ft on average.
Industry sources told The Straits Times that the SLA had priced the land at $16 million – double what KSH and industry experts expected.
The property firm has appealed to the SLA to review the price.
The deal now seems to hinge on whether the sellers and buyers can reach an agreement.
The owners are said to be considering the offer and have requested a specific date when the sale can be completed from the buyers.
If no consensus is reached – and the sellers reject the $3 million sweetener – the deal will be off, but the flat owners will keep the $12 million deposit. That works out to about $136,000 on average for each of the 88 units.
If the deal goes through, on the other hand, each unit stands to receive between $906,856 and $1,908,491.
There has been a string of failed collective sales since sentiment in the property market turned sour.
Bravo Building Construction withdrew from a series of purchases earlier this year.
It forfeited deposits of $1.6million for Makeway View, $25.8 million for Tulip Garden and $12 million for Pender Court rather than go ahead with the deals.
Property giants Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint walked away from a $405 million deal to buy Tampines Court when the Strata Titles Board dismissed their sale application.
Analysts said the failed deals could be indicative of the wider credit crunch, with developers finding it difficult to find financiers to complete their purchases.
“Even if the developers can complete their projects, they will be wondering if they can achieve their desired prices in this market,” said Mr Colin Tan, the head of research and consultancy at Chesterton International.
Savills Singapore’s director of business development and marketing, Mr Ku Swee Yong, agreed: “Buyers face quite high levels of risk now to go ahead with projects inked at last year’s prices.”

*KSH has since clarified that they are not the only buyers. They are part of a joint venture called Mergui Development in which it holds a 35% stake, while 53% is owned by Multi Wealth, a unit of Bursa-listed IOI Properties and 12% by LBH.

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, 1 Aug 2008
PROPERTY agency PropNex has unveiled a range of initiatives aimed at improving the quality of its agents.
The measures range from ensuring that agents are properly insured to proficiency tests covering subject like ethics and HDB regulations.
PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said the new benchmark could result in [...]