REAL ESTATE VETERAN SAYS OF COOLING MARKET:
Her view: Upgraders and enbloc sales will keep demand up
WHILE most people her age would be blissfully retired, Madam Marlena Chong, a 70-year-old grandmother, is still working, aggressively.
She's no newbie: Madam Marlena Chong has been an active player on the property market for more than 40 years. - Picture: Kelvin ChngAnd her work involves millions of dollars.
She is an active player in Singapore's property market, as she has been since she was in her 20s.
One of her friends even calls her 'Queen of Leedon Park' for owning four bungalows there.
They occupy an area of around 100,000 sq ft.
She also has investments in Australia and Malaysia, and is developing a condominium project in China.
Having invested in property locally and regionally for more than 40 years, Madam Chong has seen her share of people going bankrupt over the last three property cycles.
BRIGHT OUTLOOK
Despite the gloom cast by threats of recession in the US and the battering that Asian stock markets took over the last week, Madam Chong retains her 'bright outlook for the Singapore property market'.
Madam Chong, who recently bought a freehold luxury apartment at Scotts Square for $3 million, said: 'The market has softened, but I think it's still holding up. With many en-bloc sales and HDB upgraders, there is still a demand for private housing in the market.
'The prices of freehold landed properties are still far below those in other global cities like London, Hong Kong and New York. People will soon realise that land is still under-valued and will buy the freehold land,' she added, observing how landed property in Sentosa has shot up from $200 to $1,800 per square foot.
Madam Chong's interest in property was first stimulated through discussions with her father, who was in the hotel business.
But Madam Chong, who is a very private person, declined to reveal more details about her family.
She started out first with a few commercial units at People's Park in the 1960s.
In 1972, she bought an apartment at Beverly Mai, a Tomlinson Road condominium, and slowly expanded the number of properties to her name over the years.
Madam Chong declined to reveal the number of properties she and her family own, and also declined to reveal how much she has earned in the property market.
She bought a plot of land with an area of 1hectare for $16 million some years ago.
The land is now worth a cool $40 million.
UNCANNY ABILITY
Talking about her uncanny ability to make predictions about where the property market is headed, Madam Chong said: 'I can feel it.'
In 2004, she asked her friends to buy property when prices were at their lowest.
'But many of them were reluctant to, because property prices had been declining since 1996.
'The mood was still not there and the market was still quiet so they were still unsure,' she said.
Now, Madam's Chong's friends chip in when she makes investments so that they can get a share of the profits as well.
She said: 'Every high that a property cycle brings with it will be higher than that of the last property cycle. It is a good time to buy freehold land.'
Madam Chong's property agent, MsAnnabelle Khan, describes her client as someone with 'good foresight, careful when she makes decisions'.
Madam Chong has bought three properties through Ms Khan since they got to know each other last September.
Ms Khan said: 'She's not stuck up, and she's always willing to give younger people a chance.
'She's always very happy to help people.'
Ms Khan also described Madam Chong as a 'very compassionate' woman, who, after she knew of Ms Khan's family problems, even offered to visit her family.
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