shoeboxmickeymousehouse

2010 dec 18 A penchant for shoebox housing by Ong Kah Seng Updated 04:21 PM Dec 17, 2010 Gone are the days where size matters for home seekers. Smaller apartments are making their presence. In the public housing sector, 3-room and studio flats have been re-introduced in new Build-to-Order HDB projects, while new private residential offerings seem to be increasingly smaller, yet popular. Colloquially referred to as "Mickey Mouse" or "shoebox" apartments, there has been an increased demand for such residential units. The year 2007 saw a spike in sales of units smaller than 500 sq ft, from an almost inexistence to 325 units. The story continued from there, to 883 transactions last year. While it can be argued that last year was a recession year and therefore small apartments found favour among financially cautious buyers, the heightened interest in shoebox units this year seems to confirm the growing penchant for smaller apartments. This year, a total of 1,4...

2010 nov 16 http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/12/japan.ultra.tiny.home/index.html?hpt=C2 By Kyung Lah, CNN November 15, 2010 -- Updated 1653 GMT (0053 HKT) (CNN) -- Fuyuhito Moriya is 39 and still lives with his mother, but in circumstances you would call a tad unusual. Moriya, an unmarried man, and his mother, Yoko, live in a house that's built on 30 square meters, that's the same as the size of a parking space for one car. They live in what's called an ultra-small house, a genre of single family homes bred of Japan's economic stagnation and brought to life by architectural ingenuity. Moriya wasn't sure that the land, which was originally sold as a parking space for a car, would be big enough for a single family home. But when he started doing research into ultra-small homes, he began to realize it might work. "My imagination was that it should be doable to build the rooms virtually on top of each other instead of side by side," says Moriya...

2010 oct 3 Leasing out a shoebox flat While Mickey Mouse flats may be relatively affordable, buyers should be aware that rents depend on location and proximity to amenities By Joyce Teo While buyers are paying more for shoebox apartments, rental projections at the launch may not always pan out. Buying a shoebox apartment for lease sounds like a very attractive proposition because such units are relatively more affordable. But investors should know what to expect because not everyone will want to rent such small units, experts said. A record number of these small-format homes - also known as Mickey Mouse flats - have been sold in the first three quarters of the year, and at higher and higher prices. The sale of 906 apartments of 500 sq ft and below in that period is 84 per cent higher than that in the same period last year, said CBRE Research, citing URA Realis. This has also exceeded the full-year sale of 722 units last year, it said. Median prices of such homes have ri...

2010 sep 14 http://www.h88.com.sg/article/Mickey+Mouse+condos+distorting+prices/ Sales for 'Mickey Mouse' or shoebox apartments have skyrocketed, which is a good thing for developers, but analysts are saying that these sub-500sqft studios are keeping prices above $1,000 psf. Just look at the numbers. The median price quantum of private homes sold by developers has fallen from about $1.4 million in April this year to $1.1 million in July yet the median psf prices have hovered above $1,000 psf for most months this year. Many such shoebox condo projects, such as Siglap V, Parc Elegance, Suites @ Katong, Parc Somme, Centra Studios, La Brisa and Casa Aerata, have been selling very well since April. Could it be that these small apartments are driving up the median psf of certain districts, creating an illusion of increasing prices? Here are some shoebox apartment projects and their average prices, if you’re interested: Siglap V: Located across Siglap Centre, this condo saw three...

2010 sep 14 http://lushhomemedia.com/2010/09/13/shoe-box-units-shrink-median-price-of-developers-sales/ Increase in transactions of small units keeping prices above $1,000 psf Small unit size is not only the new popular; it’s also what has skewed per square foot (psf) prices upwards in recent time. The median price quantum of developer sales has dropped from about $1.4 million in April this year to $1.2 million in May and June and $1.1 million in July – but median psf prices have hovered above $1,000 psf for most of this year. Also, the median unit size of new homes sold has shrunk to below 110 square metres (1,184 sq ft) since April this year – after staying at or above this size for most of the preceding 12 months, according to caveats of developer sales since January 2007 based on URA Realis data captured as at Aug 25. CBRE executive director Li Hiaw Ho said that the figures could be due to an increasing number of caveats lodged for ‘small-format’ or ‘shoebox’ apartments from pr...

2010 jul 14 http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-management-news/2010/7/28201/mickey-mouse-flats-still-a-hit Sales have remained strong for the so-called Mickey Mouse flats or those that measure 500 sq ft or less. Credo Real Estate said transactions of these units accounted for 9.5 percent of total transactions in the first half of 2010, a three percent increase over the same period in 2009. However, analysts are divided on whether demand for Mickey Mouse units can be sustained. Shoebox living in 500 sq ft units or below has become a hot topic within the property circles. Experts said these units have become popular due to their lower price quantum, making them affordable to expatriates and young professionals. Mickey Mouse flats are also likely to be located in the prime districts, luring homebuyers with their attractive location. Pricing of these units in the CBD area could start from S$1,800 psf to S$2,000 psf, while those located outside the CBD area could range fr...

2010 mar 15 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-iFJ3ncIDo&feature=share Hong Kong architect turns shoebox apartment into 24 rooms Find out how an award-winning Hong Kong architect has managed to squeeze 24 rooms - including a home cinema and ''spa'' - into 344 square feet of apartment