{"id":34550,"date":"2020-06-21T16:20:49","date_gmt":"2020-06-21T08:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/blog\/singapore\/?p=34550"},"modified":"2022-06-13T17:25:28","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T09:25:28","slug":"5-property-marketing-cliches-were-tired-of-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/5-property-marketing-cliches-were-tired-of-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"5 property marketing cliches we’re seriously tired of hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Did you know you can advertise a property by stringing together a bunch of words that have nothing to do with real estate? Luxurious lifestyle, heart of the city, unparallelled elegance..<\/em>.<\/p>\n

See? You already know I’m about to try and sell you a condo. Here are the 5 most annoying cliches we see in property ads\/listings and what they really<\/em> mean.<\/p>\n

Property Cliche #1: Luxury condo\/luxury city living\/luxury anything<\/em><\/h2>\n

We don’t want to point fingers, but there are a number of so-called luxury condos out there which are about as genuinely luxurious as an $8 wagyu steak from Astons.<\/p>\n

Gone are the days when the word “luxury” used to be much more specific. Back then, when you see the term in a condo ad, you’d usually expect a price tag from $3 million onwards, or perhaps something near $3,000 per square foot (psf), or a penthouse unit overlooking Orchard road. The Prada of the property market, so to speak.<\/p>\n

Today, just about anything in the city or city fringe gets billed as a “luxury” property.<\/strong> Even if the facilities are limited, the kitchen and dining areas are nearly non-existent and the common bedrooms are barely of habitable size, it can be billed as luxury.<\/p>\n

There are even resale apartments pushing past 20 years of age, which were never marketed as luxury when they w<\/em>ere new<\/em>, now being labelled as such just because of hipster renovation, a new coat of paint or a new mall within walking distance.<\/p>\n

So if you see the term “luxury” today, take it with a big spoonful of salt. It almost always just means it’s on the city fringe or in the city. It might <\/em>actually be a luxury property, but don’t be too shocked if it instead turns out to be a walk-up aparment or a surburban condo with a glorious view of HDB flats next door.<\/p>\n

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\"hdb<\/a>
Luxury condo with a view.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Property Cliche #2: Nestled in XXX\/private residential enclave<\/h2>\n

This is code for “if you can’t afford a car, don’t live here”.<\/p>\n

It’s not as if a developer or agent can outright tell you that a property is ulu<\/em>, since it against marketing principles. But anything in a “private residential enclave” is typically so far from the MRT station and key amenities, it will trigger flashbacks of your National Service route march.<\/p>\n

Not only is getting to public transport a pain, getting things to come to you will also prove a constant headache. Private-hire drivers won’t pick up your requests, and food delivery will take ages.<\/strong> Your child’s school bus operator might even refuse to travel to your “enclave”.<\/p>\n

This isn’t all bad if, again, you drive<\/em>. But if you don’t have a car, or live with a family and have only one car, you’d better rethink these properties (or get used to living far away from civilisation).<\/p>\n

\"la<\/a>
Expat residential enclave, check. 30 minute walk from MRT station with hill climb, also check.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(Tip: To save time finding a property within walking distance to an MRT station, use the ‘Search by MRT station’ feature on 99.co<\/a>!)<\/p>\n

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Property Cliche #3: Lush greenery\/garden living<\/h2>\n

This just means “landscaping”, and gets used when the copywriter runs out of things to shout about the property. The ‘nature park-ish’ greenery you had in mind might just turn out to be a couple of potted plants.<\/p>\n

If you want to know whether a developer has really\u00a0<\/em>put effort into the landscaping, look for highly specific descriptions instead.\u00a0 That means phrases like “70% of plot space used for landscaped gardens”, or “15th storey sky garden with city view”. Those really legit ones, such as Jardin<\/a>, Highline Residences<\/a> and The Glades<\/a>, would’ve won architectural awards for landscaping.<\/p>\n

This is an example of what good landscaping looks like:<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Kelvin Fong (@kelvinfong_ks)<\/a> on