In ST (11 Jan 2014) an impressive pull-out advert announces the “Hillford’, a retirement resort, as a first of its kind in Singapore. The announcement features an elaborate advertisement that boasts, among other “first in Singapore” attractions, a 24-hour concierge service and a resort manager (whatever that is).
This latest attempt at developing a retirement village does not seem to be the kind of”retirement village” we have been talking about for quite a long time.
The fact that the developer has seen it fit to name it a “resort” speaks for itself. Or a very shrewd marketing ploy.
I’m not belittling or disparaging the developer for embarking on such a project. After all, a developer is out to make money, and he is free to market his product to achieve maximum sale by whatever brilliant marketing strategy and language he sees fit to use.
But what floored me was the artist’s impression of the retirement resort. It’s no different from the myriads of condominiums in Singapore, what with the de rigueur swimming pool and all! I can just see the 85 year old uncle and aunty retirees doing lap swimming in the pool!
Apart from one photo showing rather healthy and youthful looking retirees with local Asian features, the rest exclusively show young and attractive Caucasian guys and gals. More like tourists, if you ask me.
It is one thing to announce a “24-hour concierge service” and an entirely different matter to make such a service workable for close to 300 residential units.
Perhaps I am mistaken for assuming that it is a retirement “village” in the generally accepted interpretation of the term. Thus the word “resort” in place of “village” is probably appropriate in this instance.
This development appears to be nothing more than a “serviced apartment” type of venture. Has anyone bothered to find out what it costs to rent a serviced apartment? It costs the equivalent of a room in a five-star hotel!
And that is what it will cost you to have all the services touted by the advertisement.
Although it was reported that the units will cost from $388,000 to $648,000, THAT IS ONLY FOR THE UNIT ITSELF. THE SERVICES ANNOUNCED BY THE DEVELOPER WILL NOT BE FREE.
In a better class condo, you already have to pay anything from $300 to $500 a month in service charge, and for that, you only get a “condo manager”, swimming pool and maybe a tennis court. Imagine what you have to pay for concierge service and a resort manager!
Remember when the HDB first announced those 1-room flats for retirees? They proposed amenities like a nursing station, visits by doctors, emergency call devices and other stuff for retirees? What happened? They were all scrapped because of the cost to provide them.
Now, I’ve asked myself, what is the market segment targeted for such a development? Surely not our average local retirees. Nor Caucasians (the tourist or retiree kind).
It definitely is not meant for the average Singaporean retiree. Even the rich and famous will not want to spend his dying days in a 1-bedroom flat, not for all the grab bars in the flat!
Then who is the developer targeting? The borderline well-to-do-investor, that’s who. What’s more attractive than a “sure thing” investment in Singapore private property that costs as little as $500,000? Much better than a HDB resale flat. No restrictions and no stigma attached like a public housing HDB FLAT.
There are enough affluent Singaporeans, PRs, new citizens and foreigners that make a great potential market for such an investment product. Never mind the affordability of providing all the amenities that the development claims to offer. Never mind the eventual high cost for such retirement (read resort) living.
Just buy it as an investment. Private property in Singapore is a sure winner! You can easily service a bank loan of $500,000. Just make sure you flip the property and don’t get caught holding the baby. Oh, one last thing. The lease is only 52 years! Read the small print.
KTK