Did you know?

Number of condos and private apartments

1999: 118,575

2004: 148,265

2009 (1st quarter): 174,243

Number of strata-titled (or multi-unit) residential developments

About 1,900. Most of them are apartments and condominiums.

The oldest strata-titled homes

Beng Tong Mansion, at 241-259 Tanjong Katong Road. Built in the late 1960s, this three-storey mixed development has shops on the ground floor.

Some of the oldest condos here

Grange Heights: a 120-unit freehold condo at Grange Road.

Mandalay Towers: a 56-unit freehold condo at Mandalay Road.

Both were built in 1976.

One of the newest condos

The Metropolitan, a 382-unit, 99-year leasehold condo in Alexandra Road. It was completed this year.

Required number of security guards

The rule of the thumb is the more exits and entrances, the more guards that are needed. But CCTVs and card entry systems can help reduce manpower needs.

For a 200-unit suburban condo with one front gate and a CCTV trained on the back gate, four guards would be needed at any one time, says Mr Albert Leo, the local director of property management at Jones Lang LaSalle. Security guards work 12-hour shifts and cost $2,500 to $2,800 a month to hire.

How much do condo managers get paid and what level of qualifications should they have?

Generally bigger estates with 200 units or more need a full-time condo manager. Mr Poh Teng Ban, director of estate management firm Ace Body Corporate Management, estimates a condo manager with a diploma in building services and three to four years of experience would cost about $3,000 a month to hire.

Usually, bigger estates also require an administrative assistant and a technician. An administrative assistant with 0-level qualifications would expect to be paid $1,300 to $1,500 per month. A technician would cost about $1,800 to $2,400 per month.

Source: Straits Times, 1 Aug 2009