Alvin Lock

Alvin has enjoyed extensive success with more than 11 years of experience and track record in Retail and Private Banking. His core expertise encompasses a full spectrum of wealth management services including Investment Advisory, Portfolio Management and Financing, Margin Trading, Legacy Planning, and Property Loans.

How does Buyer’s Stamp Duty in Singapore Affect your Home Purchase?

With a million and one things to take note of when purchasing a home, it is no wonder buyers are overwhelmed with information. Although there is a wealth of property-related content online, it is still easy, especially for first-time buyers, to feel lost and confused on where to start. But fret not because we will be breaking down one of the many property jargons often thrown around — Buyer’s Stamp Duty, or BSD for short. So, what exactly is BSD

Alvin Lock July 6, 2022

Protecting Your Property: Home Fire Prevention & Safety Tips We All Need to Know

The truth is, many of us think we know what we’d do in the event of a blaze — but actually don’t. As a homeowner, there is never a bad time to review fire prevention and safety tips with your loved ones. This is especially so when the frequency of fire-related incidents seems to be on the rise, as evident from recent news reports such as ‘Help, my house is on fire’: What you need to do when you see

Alvin Lock February 16, 2022

Your Cheat Sheet to November 2021 HDB BTOs

As we approach the end of the year, the final Build-To-Order (BTO) launch has also approached. If you have not managed to ballot for a unit in the past launches, here’s your chance! The highly anticipated November BTO Launch will feature 8 sites. The launch includes a central location, Rochor, alongside mature estates like Kallang/Whampoa. If you’re still pondering, this article will give you a quick rundown of the main pros and cons of each site. Rochor (Central) This is

Alvin Lock November 17, 2021

5 Reasons Why Good Class Bungalow (GCB) at Cluny Hill Fetched Record Price

In 2018, Sebastian Soh bought a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) at 2 Cluny Hill to build his family’s dream home. What he did not expect was to sell the freehold bungalow in 2021 at a record-breaking price of $63.7 million or $4,291 per square foot (psf) surpassing the $4,005 psf record set in March this year. Curious about why the local tech entrepreneur was willing to pay a hefty premium for the bungalow amidst the economic recession? This article delves

Alvin Lock July 14, 2021

Why is there such strong demand for BTO flats in Telok Blangah and Tengah?

“Do you want to…BTO?” The surreal rite of passage for most Singaporeans. To some, just a casual journey to Toa Payoh might seem like an ordinary day with your partner. Suddenly, there you stand with your key in your hand, unsure of the life ahead but certain that you are going to make this home. So where would you choose to build your life? This 2021, HDB’s BTO launch encompasses a diverse offering including mature and non-mature estates. Many resources

Alvin Lock June 2, 2021

5 new areas in Singapore for your next home

Singapore as we know is always striving to become a beautiful livable city. We often see buildings in mid-construction and these sites are not a rare sight at all. Amidst all the hustle and bustle of the city-state, new residential towns are emerging, slowly but surely. In this article, we will look at 5 areas in Singapore undergoing rapid development. The reason for this? The following emerging towns show Singapore’s urban planning direction. Let’s take a look at some of

Alvin Lock April 23, 2021

How would a low Interest rate environment affect you?

The Covid-19 situation has changed much of how the world functions. As we head into 2021 and beyond, governments all over the world have initiated policies to ensure that their economies do not crash. Interest rates are one of the many ingredients required to regulate the economy. In this article, we shall discuss about interest rates and how interest rates affect the property sector in Singapore. Hard Truths of Interest Rate Interest rate is the fee that is paid by

Alvin Lock March 10, 2021

Battle of the BTOs: November 2020 Launch (Part 1)

The demand for BTOs in 2020 has been fierce, to say the least, with the August BTO launches being oversubscribed within a day of a one-week launch period. The potential delays for the completion of BTO launches due to Covid-19, as announced by HDB, have not shaken the demand. With over 38,500 applicants for 7,862 BTO flats, it is likely we will see the same level of competition for the November BTO launches. That being said, let us take an

Alvin Lock November 4, 2020

3 Ways COVID-19 Has Redesigned Our Homes

In April 2020, the Singapore government announced the start of the circuit breaker and made it mandatory for employees to adopt the ‘Work from Home’ (WFH) scheme, forcing everyone to work in a non-office environment. Never have we stayed indoors for so long that our homes have now become our offices, school and for some, even a gym. While phase 2 is well underway and the start of phase 3 approaches, we are not likely to return to the life

Alvin Lock October 1, 2020

Brief Review of Mortgage Rates in 2018 and 2019 and a Revisit for SIBOR?

General Trends in 2018 Looking back at the trend of mortgages in 2018, we would have noticed that people are all big about fixed rates and many of you would have to ask why? The reason is simple, fixed rates were at a 1.55%, 2-years fixed whereas floating rates were at 1.6%, and looking at this minimal difference between the 2, it’s obvious why people would rather opt for a fixed rate mortgage. The US Fed had forecasted 4 increases

Alvin Lock March 30, 2019