You’d expect most property agents not to bother about the estate in which they specialise. Alvin Yeo is not your average real estate person.
The Tiong Bahru Estate blog is Alvin’s labour of love. He set it up to highlight property (particularly the SIT flats) in Tiong Bahru, which he calls “Singapore’s oldest and most charming neighbourhood”. By design or by accident, his blog has taken on a heritage bent as recent posts reveal that he lives and breathes the area:
What I feel sad about and at times even angry is that I’m constantly being asked if there are En-Bloc possibilities for these OLD flats. Why are SOME people so determind to see this place go? I was asked this question this morning by a delivery man. Just last night, someone called to enquired about Tiong Bahru and the reason why he wants to buy is based on a rumour that this place will go under the wreaking ball soon.
Alvin intersperses practical advice about home-ownership between posts about Tiong Bahru past and present, media articles about the estate, and interior design tips and suggestions. Make no mistake, his blog is a PR/marketing tool – one which is more effective than typical mailbox flyer. In sharing his passion for this housing estate, the blog has transformed into something much more.
If you’re reading this, Alvin, thank you for the effort. Please consider enabling comments on your blog. Comments now enabled! =)
Cheers to Dexterine Ho for alerting me to the Tiong Bahru Estate blog.
P.S. If you’re interested in the Tiong Bahru blog, you might also want to check out the Jalan Kayu Trail, a project blog by a group of students from Pei Hwa Secondary School. They have done a marvellous job in documenting stories from the area.
Technorati Tags: tiong bahru, singapore improvement trust, housing development board, singapore, heritage, housing estate
IZ Reloaded
/ Tuesday, 24 July 2007Ain’t blogs amazing!
Lam Chun See
/ Tuesday, 24 July 2007There’s another one who specialises in Serangoon Garden. He has a link to my article about SG but I cannot recall his address. Funny; when I click on Links to this post, his url does not appear?
acroamatic
/ Tuesday, 24 July 2007@ IZ Right on!
@ Chun See Is it this blog? I think Blogger didn’t catch it ‘cos he put the link in his sidebar instead of in a post.
acroamatic
/ Tuesday, 24 July 2007Accidentally came across another Tiong Bahru blog.
Lam Chun See
/ Wednesday, 25 July 2007Yup. That’s him.
walter
/ Friday, 27 July 2007Fascinating Kenneth and a great way to use blogging to sell real estate! I like both blogs and the way they describe the places beyond just the superficial stuff like the proximity to schools, transport, amenities, blah blah…. Good work there and maybe I should start something for my estate too? hmmmm….
acroamatic
/ Saturday, 28 July 2007You’re right, Walter. I think some of the more progressive agents are catching on. Alvin seems to make better use of his blog to build a connection though. I know who I’m going to for a Tiong Bahru property! (Maybe, now I might consider it in the future…)
Heheh… I set up a new blog a couple of days ago: http://bloggingbishan.blogspot.com/
Maybe this is the start of a new trend: housing estate blogs!
You remember Siva’s friend, John Larkin? The evening we met at Toa Payoh, he shared about how he used to hang around coffee shops in various neighbourhoods to observe life go by. He noticed that most of the places were unique!
I think I’ve overlooked the character of my housing estate. Perhaps it’s time to start looking more closely. Sit down and take it in, like how John did.
Lam Chun See
/ Sunday, 29 July 2007John Larkin is Siva’s freind? He wrote me an email about my blog months ago when it was still quite new.
acroamatic
/ Sunday, 29 July 2007Yup, they know each other. Small world, eh?