Bedok property attracts unusual queues
Shin Min Daily News
An upcoming property launch has attracted a bizarre queue of more than a thousand people, including many students and retirees.
The queue began to form on Sunday evening, three days before the new "Bedok Residences" is due to be launched.
Analysts were taken aback by the unusual turnout, given the unstable economic outlook.
Bedok Residences is situated near Bedok Town Centre, opposite Bedok MRT station. Due to be completed in 2015, a one-bedroom unit in the development is expected to cost around $723,000.
Reporters spoke to some of the people in the queue and that found a number of them were in fact queuing there as a part-time job.
One 16-year-old student in the queue, Chen, said he had just finished his O level exams and claimed he was queuing on behalf of his cousin. He is being paid $10 per hour and expects to make about $500 for three days of queuing.
The popularity of the project appears to have spawned a mini-industry for queuing. A number of ads have surfaced on the internet looking for people to queue at the property launch.
Students spotted in the queue also revealed to reporters that they were being hired by property agents at rates of about $100 a day.
Many netizens are surprised and even stunned to see the unusual queue and the mini-queuing industry centred around this project. Some also speculate that this may be a marketing ploy to drum up interest for the property.
Property agents appear to be clambering to get units in the development as they believe it will be highly sought-after. An agent explained that this is because the property is at a good location near an MRT and bus interchange.
Source: Shin Min Daily News, 22 November 2011.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3Bm81rJ5WYw?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
