It finally happened...after years of refusing to put any money in properties and being extremely risk-averse, I've finally started looking at buying a place of my own.
I was looking around for a place in HK, an older place which I can renovate into a nice place to live in, done just the way I like it. Unfortunately we are rather high up on the property cycle, and thanks to the Fed we now have rather high interest rates. Monthly mortgage payments look a bit frightening, so maybe this is not to time to get that dream apartment done.
Lots of people have been going to Shanghai, and it still looks like a market with significant upside. But recent government measures bring uncertainty to the market, so we'll need to revisit next year.
That leaves Singapore. Lots of friends, colleagues and hedge funds have jumped into this market recently, pushing up prices on new developments. I should have got into this market 2 years ago as I was living there, but the general view is that market cycle is unlikely to dip until after 2009-10. So maybe there's still some opportunity here for leveraged exposure... Anyway, going down next week to check things out and we'll see what happens.
A chronicle of all things fun - eating, drinking, traveling... plus the occasional ranting
August 28, 2006
August 10, 2006
Krispy Kreme has landed!!
OH - MY - GOD!! There is a Krispy Kreme outlet in Hong Kong!
I can't tell you how long I have waited for this... Now I no longer have to wait until my business trips to Seoul to get my fix - it's right here in Causeway Bay on Lee Garden Road, between (what else) Lee Garden and Lee Theatre Plaza. For those unfamiliar with Krispy Kreme, it is only the best doughnuts in the world, by far. Check out www.krispykreme.com.
Yesterday was the grand opening of the store, so we dropped by around 8ish to check out the lines. Fortunately the line wasn't too bad and was kept to the interior of the store. Apparently HKers haven't caught on to this, otherwise I'd be forced to line up for an hour or more (which I would never do).
We decided anyway to come back after dinner. Mistake. By the time we returned, all the other varieties have been sold and we were left with only the Original Glazed... It is still delicious, but I wanted my Chocolate Iced Custard Filled.
Apparently plans are in store to open another outlet on Elgin Street in Mid-Levels. Looks like I will be hanging out in SoHo a lot more in the future...
I can't tell you how long I have waited for this... Now I no longer have to wait until my business trips to Seoul to get my fix - it's right here in Causeway Bay on Lee Garden Road, between (what else) Lee Garden and Lee Theatre Plaza. For those unfamiliar with Krispy Kreme, it is only the best doughnuts in the world, by far. Check out www.krispykreme.com.
Yesterday was the grand opening of the store, so we dropped by around 8ish to check out the lines. Fortunately the line wasn't too bad and was kept to the interior of the store. Apparently HKers haven't caught on to this, otherwise I'd be forced to line up for an hour or more (which I would never do).
We decided anyway to come back after dinner. Mistake. By the time we returned, all the other varieties have been sold and we were left with only the Original Glazed... It is still delicious, but I wanted my Chocolate Iced Custard Filled.
Apparently plans are in store to open another outlet on Elgin Street in Mid-Levels. Looks like I will be hanging out in SoHo a lot more in the future...