My long-time friend was recently relocated to Singapore a second time. When her stay home notice ended, I tagged along with her to go for rental viewings. We shortlisted many one and two-bedroom units that met her budget and criteria. They were all in prime districts, from Newton, Orchard, River Valley, and all the way to Marina Bay. Since she is not driving, we decided to check the actual walking time from the development to the nearest train station and shopping mall. For two consecutive days I had overachieved my daily target of 10,000 walking steps. Saturday alone clocked up a total of 22,000 steps walking under the sun. Sunday was a bit better with 18,500 steps taken on a rainy day.
Where have all the expat tenants gone? I had been a multiple-property landlord myself for nine years a decade ago. For the first two years, I would be...