Honey I shrunk the wantoon

[phantom_opera]

SG properties are unlikely to correct even 20% from today's level:

1. REITS pushing up inflation - wonder why Singapore inflation starts to pick up momentum after 2005, other than the obvious factors like petrol / commodities ... increasingly, shopping malls in Singapore are controlled by few REITs ...when rental growth of 5% is the norm every year, how could inflation be controlled? Just check your food court kopi prices ...

2. Everything shrinks - To counter the rental / food price hikes, everything shrinks, not just MMs ... your barber shop is halved in size, you hardly can move around in Daiso, your wantoon noodle is now MM standard ... a pair of 6y old sport shoes shocked you with the $50 tag (after discount), fast food kopi super diluted ...

3. High COE prices for years to come

Inflation expectation is getting higher with each passing year

[roly8]

hyper inflation ...
but not sure if we have hit the peak of the inflation or not

[howgozit]

Forgive my ignorance.... what is a "wantoon"?

[price]

Forgive my ignorance.... what is a "wantoon"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonton_noodles

[howgozit]

Oops my bad...... got it! Thanks!

[mygeemeel]

Nice bowl of wanton Mee. Today's standard in spore, this should cost S$6.00.

[buttercarp]

Forgive my ignorance.... what is a "wantoon"?

Initially I did not know its meaning too.
I thought TS is referring to wanton - which can have 2 meanings - English and Hokkien.
In this case TS means the wanton as in wanton mee.

[phantom_opera]

http://forums.condosingapore.com/showthread.php?t=12473

Hawker centres and REITs: An inflation face-off?


by Tan Chin Keong
04:45 AM Nov 25, 2011


http://www.todayonline.com/Commentar...ation-face-off?

The Government has recently decided to restart a building programme for hawker centres - an icon of local food culture that is often neglected as a property asset class.

These mass market spaces house food stalls that serve up the true taste of Singapore. There are 112 hawker centres today, the last one having been built in 1985. After 26 years, the plan to build 10 new such establishments in the next decade is a welcome move.

But this is not simply because of the growing trend of Singaporeans eating out. Some Government officials have argued that hawker centres could also help contain inflation. Consumer prices in Singapore have been on the rise since late 2009 and the inflation rate recorded last month was 5.4 per cent - the fifth straight month that the reading has topped 5 per cent. With about 6,000 licensed hawkers selling cheap cooked food around housing estates today, there is a strong case for such an argument.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that hawker stalls in mature housing estates such as Toa Payoh have held food prices steady for many years. A bowl of fish ball noodles at a stall I have been going to has cost a affordable S$2.50 for the last few years. This is likely because many hawker stalls enjoy rental subsidies from the Government.

In Parliament early this year, then Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said about half of the 6,258 cooked food stalls in hawker centres had been subsidised. The subsidised rent for a hawker stall ranges between S$160 and S$320 a month, considerably less than the market range of S$275 to S$2,900, he said.

With more hawker centres in the pipeline and assuming no changes in the Government's subsidy policy, stall owners' rental costs are unlikely to see substantial increases. Thus, the construction of new hawker centres could very well lead to more affordable dining choices and contain inflation in Singapore.

Or could it?

Another property asset class - real estate investment trusts (REITS) - could have the unintended opposite effect of boosting inflation in Singapore. A typical REIT owns one or a pool of properties out of which rental income is distributed as dividends to shareholders. Since the first REIT was introduced in Singapore in 2002, the sector has become an increasingly popular asset class among investors due to its tax-efficient status and high dividend yields.

There are now more than 20 listed REITs in Singapore owning a variety of properties they have built or acquired. Due to their focus on delivering superior shareholder returns - as well as pressure from their investors and the analyst community - Singapore REITs have generally been proactive and efficient in raising the rental rates of their investment properties whenever market conditions allow.

For example, some of the retail REITs track their tenants' sales turnover on a monthly basis and the REIT managers would thus know who can afford to pay higher rental rates when the tenancy contract comes up for renegotiation.

The growth of retail REITs has also resulted in a larger supply of shopping mall space being concentrated in the hands of a few large REITs. Naturally, these REITs have better bargaining power against their tenants during rental rate negotiations.

One retail REIT, for example, was able to increase its rental rates by an estimated 25 per cent from 2003 to last year, significantly higher than the average 11 per cent increase in non-REIT suburban retail rental over the same period.

In short, higher REIT dividends come at the expense of higher rental costs for the tenants. This in turn filters through to higher product prices and, ultimately, higher inflation. However, we cannot blame REITs for raising rents given the pressure they face from investors and analysts such as myself to deliver higher shareholder returns.

Thus, the next time I pay a higher price for a shirt or a pair of shoes in a REIT-operated mall, I should compensate by dining at my usual hawker centre more frequently.

Tan Chin Keong is an analyst at UBS Wealth Management Research.

[phantom_opera]

That's why I always think a 50% crash of property price in next few years will only happen in the wildest dream ... it is obvious that the valuation of a residential land near a shopping mall operated by very successful REITs will indirectly be pushed up year after year ... I am sure the garmen Chief Valuer will always take this into account when considering whether to accept a bid or not ...

And will the curse of peak psf in mass market condo happen to Bishan again?

[howgozit]

Nice bowl of wanton Mee. Today's standard in spore, this should cost S$6.00.

$6....? no lah I think hawker centre wanton mee starts at $2.50... Pontian wanton mee I think only about $3. Other than in restaurants like Crystal Jade, I have not found a regularly priced wanton mee to cost over $5.

Prawn noodle... yes... prices start at $4 for a bowl of decent big prawn noodle at say Adam Road hawker centre.... can go up to $12..

[phantom_opera]

$2.5 wantoon noodle is not enough even to feed my dog

BTW, inflation will stay high this year due to sky high COE, look at the COE for commercial vehicles (and new taxi COE is close to $60k ... what do u think Comfort Delgro will do??)

C GOODS VEHICLE & BUS 163 $53,989 (Apr 2012)

was $38,699 Jan 2012

was $21,889 May 2011

was $3,502 Jan 2009

was $5,889 Jan 2006

[howgozit]

Yep... no dispute with high inflation... totally agree that prices of things are going up,

I don't mean to sound argumentative but I think that most hawker food portions have not changed much thru the years. definitely not wanton mee... abit more expensive maybe but not smaller portions.

Is it possible our apetite has gotten bigger?

$2.5 wantoon noodle is not enough even to feed my dog

BTW, inflation will stay high this year due to sky high COE, look at the COE for commercial vehicles (and new taxi COE is close to $60k ... what do u think Comfort Delgro will do??)

C GOODS VEHICLE & BUS 163 $53,989 (Apr 2012)

was $38,699 Jan 2012

was $21,889 May 2011

was $3,502 Jan 2009

was $5,889 Jan 2006

[buttercarp]

$2.5 wantoon noodle is not enough even to feed my dog

Dog food can be more expensive than hawker food.
The corn that is sold in the pet shop for guinea pigs is more expensive than the fresh corn!

[phantom_opera]

Yep... no dispute with high inflation... totally agree that prices of things are going up,

I don't mean to sound argumentative but I think that most hawker food portions have not changed much thru the years. definitely not wanton mee... abit more expensive maybe but not smaller portions.

Is it possible our apetite has gotten bigger?

Checked out Bedok hawker food recently (not that I am very fond of hawker food) ... it is simply horrible, the $2.5 for 3 MM size wantoon (pork .. not prawn) ... the quantity of noodle is like for baby ... the soup is tasteless ... some more claim is top 10 in SG ... beware that the oil they use is palm oil and reuse 10X for frying ... there is no free lunch in this world ...

Tharman said must wait a little bit to buy house ... seems same as MBT 3y ago, same as Khaw 1y ago
So buy car ... must also wait a little bit
I think what they really mean is... must wait long long

[DC33_2008]

Recommend you go to the other bedok hawker centre closer to the park. It has good carrot cake at $2 and tea at 0.70cents.

Checked out Bedok hawker food recently (not that I am very fond of hawker food) ... it is simply horrible, the $2.5 for 3 MM size wantoon (pork .. not prawn) ... the quantity of noodle is like for baby ... the soup is tasteless ... some more claim is top 10 in SG ... beware that the oil they use is palm oil and reuse 10X for frying ... there is no free lunch in this world ...

Tharman said must wait a little bit to buy house ... seems same as MBT 3y ago, same as Khaw 1y ago
So buy car ... must also wait a little bit
I think what they really mean is... must wait long long

[phantom_opera]

Recommend you go to the other bedok hawker centre closer to the park. It has good carrot cake at $2 and tea at 0.70cents.

Thanks, prefer carrot cake at Bedok Point Killiney with kopi ... at least I think they do not reuse their oil

[peterng8]

small wanton, but overall one bowl of wanton noodle still made to be affordable...

small unit , high psf but overrall the small unit still made to be at affordable quantum...

jia muay pa, yeow buay si...

[DC33_2008]

We only live once. Nice food is important as long as we do not eat those junk food excessively.

Thanks, prefer carrot cake at Bedok Point Killiney with kopi ... at least I think they do not reuse their oil

[phantom_opera]

Hearsay, Jollibean going to increase price by 20 cents on all items in August

Hanis (Hans) NZ Apple Pie was 1.40, then 1.60, then 1.80 now is $2

[phantom_opera]

TIP is stable despite turmoil in financial market

http://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=...RCA:TIP&ntsp=0

Inflation expectation stays high ... where is the deflation threat??

[gn108]

Like wait for the next MRT train...during rush-hour...

Checked out Bedok hawker food recently (not that I am very fond of hawker food) ... it is simply horrible, the $2.5 for 3 MM size wantoon (pork .. not prawn) ... the quantity of noodle is like for baby ... the soup is tasteless ... some more claim is top 10 in SG ... beware that the oil they use is palm oil and reuse 10X for frying ... there is no free lunch in this world ...

Tharman said must wait a little bit to buy house ... seems same as MBT 3y ago, same as Khaw 1y ago
So buy car ... must also wait a little bit
I think what they really mean is... must wait long long

[gn108]

Amt of noodle/rice maybe the same but ingredients can disappear over-night...

My fave mince-pork noodle maintained the price, but the dumpling now gone. Pay extra to have it...

Yep... no dispute with high inflation... totally agree that prices of things are going up,

I don't mean to sound argumentative but I think that most hawker food portions have not changed much thru the years. definitely not wanton mee... abit more expensive maybe but not smaller portions.

Is it possible our apetite has gotten bigger?

[Rysk]

Wow!! Looks delicious... suddenly feel like eating Wonton Mee..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonton_noodles

[eng81157]

my fav wanton stall @ tiong bahru market just upped their price by 50cents recently, $3.50 to $4.00.

[Kelonguni]

small wanton, but overall one bowl of wanton noodle still made to be affordable...

small unit , high psf but overrall the small unit still made to be at affordable quantum...

jia muay pa, yeow buay si...

For noodles should be pi (per inch): high pi.

[minority]

SG properties are unlikely to correct even 20% from today's level:

1. REITS pushing up inflation - wonder why Singapore inflation starts to pick up momentum after 2005, other than the obvious factors like petrol / commodities ... increasingly, shopping malls in Singapore are controlled by few REITs ...when rental growth of 5% is the norm every year, how could inflation be controlled? Just check your food court kopi prices ...

2. Everything shrinks - To counter the rental / food price hikes, everything shrinks, not just MMs ... your barber shop is halved in size, you hardly can move around in Daiso, your wantoon noodle is now MM standard ... a pair of 6y old sport shoes shocked you with the $50 tag (after discount), fast food kopi super diluted ...

3. High COE prices for years to come

Inflation expectation is getting higher with each passing year

REITs holders demand higher yield. Well economy dynamics. if consumers refuse to pay for the items at inflated price. i.e. buy online. Busisness fails and REITs can't get tenants. then Adjustment have to happen.

What we see are smaller shops these days. cutting down the floor size giving more variety and smaller rental.

I guess this is market economics..

consumers like me have moved online so many choice today in the global economy...

Amazon, Q100, taobao.. just to names a few. Also direct online buying from overseas too!

[minority]

Nice bowl of wanton Mee. Today's standard in spore, this should cost S$6.00.

Wat to do? have to fund the cleaner , Land lord, transport etc cost.. Time to ask for a raise!

n the cycle repeat itself. Nothing is as certain than death ,life, tax and inflation

Question is What are you doing abt it.

[phantom_opera]

REITs holders demand higher yield. Well economy dynamics. if consumers refuse to pay for the items at inflated price. i.e. buy online. Busisness fails and REITs can't get tenants. then Adjustment have to happen. ...

Amazon, Q100, taobao.. just to names a few. Also direct online buying from overseas too!

Not everything can buy online, can u buy soy milk online? Of course you can import your own Canadian beans and grind yourself if you have all the time in the world but not everyone can.

SREITS return 10% for past 10y vs 5% of STI .....

[minority]

Not everything can buy online, can u buy soy milk online? Of course you can import your own Canadian beans and grind yourself if you have all the time in the world but not everyone can.

SREITS return 10% for past 10y vs 5% of STI .....

expensive then don't consume lor. soybean milk is not essential staple. sugar, rice, flour are staples.

some stuff buy local. some buy online then.

[carbuncle]

Wat to do? have to fund the cleaner , Land lord, transport etc cost.. Time to ask for a raise!

n the cycle repeat itself. Nothing is as certain than death ,life, tax and inflation

Question is What are you doing abt it.

The enlightened ones have come to their senses and took matters into their own hands at certain reservoirs.