shoeboxmickeymousehouse

2011 jun 28 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXBm8XBk0Ng&feature=share

2011 jun 26 Is leaving things to the market a good move? It seems like National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan is doing just that, in terms of defining apartment size. There are no plans to impose a minimum size on increasingly popular shoebox flats, according to National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday. Mr Khaw wrote on his blog that he is inclined to let market forces determine if such flats, which are smaller than 500 sq ft, have a place in the property spectrum. A standard HDB three-room flat is about 700 sq ft. ‘Some analysts wonder aloud if buyers know what they are in for. Some have suggested that the Government should step in to impose a minimum size,’ the minister noted. ‘My instinct is not to second-guess the market. Some shoebox units do add to the diversity of housing options here. But we are closely watching its development.’ But he did sound a warning, urging buyers to ‘go in with eyes open’. Mr Khaw wrote that while 1,100 flats have already been bu...

2011 may 17 Are we moving towards the situations that land-strapped cities such as Tokyo or Hong Kong experience? As more and more shoebox apartments sprout across our island, is the URA doing enough to stop them from getting smaller. The Urban Redevelopment Authority seems to be encouraging developers of shoebox units to increase the size of their apartments. The minimum apartment size that URA is likely to approve these days, especially in projects with many micro apartments, seems to be 35 square metres, up from 28 sq m a couple of years ago, developers told Business Times recently. Analysts say that promoting an increase in the size of shoebox units may help to cool the property market since these micro apartments have been blamed for fuelling increases in per square foot prices at some property launches. A URA spokeswoman stressed that the planning authority does not stipulate a minimum size for apartments to give developers flexibility to build apartments of varying sizes t...

2011 apr 23 http://popupcity.net/2011/04/shoe-box-apartment-turned-into-luxury-loft/ Tiny apartments are everywhere and most city dwellers around the globe actually live in one. When you live in such a tiny apartment or urban shoe box, the only thing you have got to do is grab your phone and call the Spanish architects of ARQUITECTURA-G. They did a great job in transforming this 366 square feet (34 square meters) apartment in Barcelona into a very pretty loft. Complete with a bedroom, an office, a dining room and kitchen, a living room, and plenty of storage space. According to Co.Design, the design concept is all about efficiency: “The trick was to slice the place into manageable parts to create some sense of privacy, without evoking the cramped recesses of a prison cell”. Diverse multifunctional pieces were put together as if they are pieces of a puzzle. The stairs, for instance, were not made out of one piece, but put together by a combination of storage elements and a hanging li...

2011 mar 25 http://www.h88.com.sg/article/Why+shoebox+apartments+are+still+popular/ Ever since the trend for shoebox or Mickey Mouse apartments started way back in 2009, they are still popular as their sales are still going strong. But why? Read on to find out. Experts have found out that with each round of cooling measures, the volume of smaller units transacted has increased. And most buyers are getting units that are going under $800,000. Why? Because of the current 60% loan-to-valuation for investors buying a second unit means that more cash needs to be put upfront. Smaller units have a smaller total price, hence the strong demand from investors. This obviously is resulting in an increase in the prices of such units (as well as the resulting price per square foot) Analysts are saying that because of this increase in the PSF, it is actually distorting the URA's property price index. With demand so high, more shoebox units will be developed, like Skysuites 17 and Devonshire Re...

2011 feb 20 SMALL CHANGE Shrink from shoebox apartments By Dennis Chan , DEPUTY MONEY EDITOR There is a Foochow fishball noodle stall at a Zion Road coffee shop that I used to patronise regularly as it was near my office. While the noodles lacked the springiness of, say, the Pontian version, the fabulous fishballs - stuffed with minced cuttlefish and fish fillings - more than made up for it. For $3 a bowl, you got a decent serving of noodles plus six fishballs of various varieties. My patronage dropped sharply in 2002 when my office moved from Kim Seng Road to Toa Payoh North. There were the occasional visits when I needed to satisfy my pangs for Foochow fishballs but over time, they grew less frequent. After a while, they stopped. A few months ago, I dropped by for a meal as I was in the vicinity. The taste was as good as I remembered it and the price remained the same. But to my dismay, the portion had shrunk visibly and I got two fewer fishballs than before. And this was ...

2011 jan 19 http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-management-news/2011/1/29534/demand-for-shoe-box-apartments-to-stay The demand for “shoe-box” apartments will likely stay, said Ching Chiat Kwong, CEO of Oxley Holdings. “If you look at the way Singapore is developing — high economic growth, rising home-owning aspirations, more local and expatriate singles, young couples who prefer dogs rather than kids — you can see a very clear demand pattern emerging,“ he said. “There is a market for good-quality, affordable private homes in good locations.” Oxley hopes to capitalise on this demand. The Catalist-quoted company specialises in developing 350 sq ft to 400 sq ft private apartments with one bedroom, living room and fully fitted kitchenettes. Three months after its October 2010 listing, Oxley has already sold out five of its “shoe-box” apartment projects. Loft@Holland was totally snapped up within two hours of its launch a week ago. This year, the company will launch at least two com...