Ernest Lim's investing blog

Unique insights into SGX small caps

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The Skyscraper for Keppel+ Visionaries (22 May 20)

el15

This write-up was reproduced with permission from Ray’s Estate Clinic, written by Founder, Raymond Chng. Please refer to the end of the article for more information on Raymond. There is rarely a time where we think a new condominium is almost a perfect 10, we think we finally found the one. This is one for both visionary homeowners and investors who would like to participate in two of Singapore’s most ambitious masterplan which we will elaborate further in the article. Sustainable desirability is an important trait that has to be built from the beginning and we believe that the condo […]

Navigating Depressions and Great Recessions (Real Estate Edition, 8 May 20)

el15

This write-up was reproduced with permission from Ray’s Estate Clinic, written by Founder, Raymond Chng. Please refer to the end of the article for more information on Raymond. We are currently in unprecedented times (as of writing in April 2020). Covid-19 is upon us as a global pandemic which will go down in history books as the gravest health crisis mankind ever faced in this century. Over the past few weeks, I had the fortune to converse and interview numerous Seniors (our Merdeka & Pioneer Generation) whom I knew for some time already. The wiser generation I interviewed range from […]

Why Property Investors should look at the Private Resale Condo Segment (11 April 2020)

el15

This write-up was reproduced with permission from Ray’s Estate Clinic, written by Founder, Raymond Chng. Please refer to the end of the article for more information on Raymond. With the record number of new launch properties on the market in 2019 and 2020, all eyes have been on the new launch segment of the property market. Some new property buyers believe that they should buy new properties because they would be buying at the lowest price in the development, and therefore are more likely to make profits when the property obtains TOP. These same property buyers are afraid of buying […]

10 things you must know when upgrading from HDB to private (1st October 2019)

el15

This write-up was reproduced with permission from Ray’s Estate Clinic, written by Founder, Raymond Chng. Please refer to the end of the article for more information on Raymond. The decision to upgrade from a HDB to a private property whether a condominium or landed property is a big decision to many, over the past few years, I have had many clients ask me for my opinions and particularly if they should upgrade. Many HDB owners upgrade because they are fearful of their HDB price being stagnant. The worst thing that can happen is a HDB owner to upgrade into a […]

How to select a good unit in a new launch property that outperforms? (17 Sep 2019)

el15

This write-up was reproduced with permission from Ray’s Estate Clinic, written by Founder, Raymond Chng. Please refer to the end of the article for more information on Raymond. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to market numerous properties in different developments, some within the same developments. What I noticed was, even within the same condominium, there are units that sell within 3-4 weeks, while some took more than 3 months. There are some units that are just more desirable by most buyers. There are also some owners that managed to make significant profits while some struggled to make […]

How to select the right new launch property development? (11 Sep 2019)

el15

This write-up was reproduced with permission from Ray’s Estate Clinic, written by Founder, Raymond Chng. Please refer to the end of the article for more information on Raymond. This is a follow up article from a previous article – 10 things you must know before buying a new launch property (click HERE). Some readers wrote to me after reading the article, I’m glad that the article provided good insights. Some even came to me for my opinions on what to consider when selecting a new launch. This article is for anyone who needs an un-biased view on new launch property […]

10 things you must know before buying a new launch property (26 Jul 19)

el15

This write-up was reproduced with permission from Ray’s Estate Clinic, written by Founder, Raymond Chng. Please refer to the end of the article for more information on Raymond. In 2019, there are close to 60 new launches coming onto the market. Many of my clients and readers have been asking me which new launch I think is the good value buy. I think what is more important is to understand more about new launch properties first, before analysing which is a good buy. Source: Colliers International Research, URA / Image 1: Total # of units and new projects 2019 That […]

REC Insights Part 2 of 3: This undervalued property cluster may be the next gem (4 Jul 2019)

el15

This write-up was reproduced with permission from Ray’s Estate Clinic, written by Founder, Raymond Chng. Please refer to the below for more information on Raymond. After much hesitation in publishing this article, I was persuaded by clients to share my views about the next big location to buy real estate. So much hype has been in locations like Marine Parade and Jurong. For those who are familiar with the investment logic –“be fearful when others are greedy”, I am cautious over buying properties in areas with hype. Buying a property is easy but selecting the right property is not. When […]

Halliburton trades at 9-year low price, amid 10-year low valuations (17 Jun 19)

el15

Dear all This week, Halliburton (“HAL”) caught my attention as it closed at US$21.38 on 14 Jun 2019, lowest since 1 Jun 2010 and 7 Aug 2009, amid 10-year low valuations. Given the basis below, my personal view is that HAL may be presenting a favourable risk reward setup for a long trade.   Potential basis to long a)  At US$21.38, this is the lowest close since 1 Jun 2010. At 12.5x current PE and 1.9x P/BV (see Figure 1 below), these valuations seem attractive as compared to its 10Y average PE and P/BV 29.3x and 3.2x respectively; Figure 1: […]

Winners, Losers, Opportunities – How does the latest Property Cooling Measures affect you? (Guest Post,12 Jul 18)

el15

The sudden Singapore property market cooling measures on 5th July 2018 had shocked the market as no one was expecting this measures. Many panicked causing a knee-jerk reaction which caused developers to launch 3 projects on the very night these measures were announced, find out more about these measures in this article and how it affects you. In any measure, there will be different impact on different groups of stakeholders. Inadvertently, there are winners, losers and opportunities created.   In this article, four main questions will be discussed 1.How does the cooling measures affect different groups of people? 2.What is […]