ULI, CLC sign sustainable urban planning MOU
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) in Singapore to jointly conduct global conferences, publications and other international knowledge-sharing events aimed at creating resilient cities for the future.Founded in...
Continue Reading • 6 Jun 2011
PropNex wins 2 property awards
PropNex Realty has won two of the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2011’s Highly Commended Awards.“I am proud to announce that PropNex Realty won in both categories submitted for the International Property Awards: Real Estate Agency and Real Estate Agency Marketing,” noted Adam Tan,...
Continue Reading • 6 Jun 2011
CapitaLand buys China firm for S$72m
CapitaLand Ltd, Southeast Asia’s largest property developer, has acquired a 100 percent stake in Wuhan Kaihui Real Estate Co. for approximately RMB361 million (S$72 million).The Chinese company owns a 124,737 sq m land plot in the Caidian District in Wuhan and plans to develop the land into...
Continue Reading • 6 Jun 2011
Hongkong Land, Sabana REIT now part of global indices
Two Singapore-listed real estate stocks have been included in the global indices.Replacing the US-based ProLogis, Hongkong Land Holdings is now part of the Dow Jones Real Estate Titans 30 Index, while Sabana REIT has been included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Global...
Continue Reading • 3 Jun 2011
UK mortgage approvals hit new low
The number of UK mortgage approvals dropped to its lowest level in four months, as increasing jobless claims undermined consumer confidence and an additional public holiday in April dampened home purchases.According to the Bank of England, mortgage approvals to buy homes dropped to 45,166 in...
Continue Reading • 3 Jun 2011
Credit Suisse's favourite property stock picks
International financial services group Credit Suisse has named Mapletree Commercial Trust and City Developments Limited (CDL) Hospitality Trust among its stock picks in the Singapore property sector, as the two companies are likely to be insulated from any slowdown in local gross domestic product...
Continue Reading • 3 Jun 2011
ONG&ONG wins top property awards
ONG&ONG Pte Ltd, a local multi-disciplinary design practice, has announced that four of its projects bagged various recognitions at the recently concluded 2011 Asia Pacific Property Awards.The company won the Best Property (single unit) award in the Singapore and Asia Pacific categories for...
Continue Reading • 2 Jun 2011
OCBC expands mortgage services in China
OCBC, Asia's leading financial services group, has revealed plans to launch a yuan-denominated mortgage service in its Chongqing branch by the third quarter this year, according to a Global Times report.Hu Linhua, General Manager of Consumer Financial Services at OCBC China, said the Chongqing...
Continue Reading • 2 Jun 2011
Savills hires new research head
International real estate advisor Savills has strengthened its Research & Consultancy team with the appointment of Alan Cheong as its new Head of Research & Consultancy for Singapore.“I’m delighted to welcome Alan to our team,” said Mr. Chris Marriott, Chief Executive of...
Continue Reading • 2 Jun 2011
Policy changes could lead to lower private home demand
The Housing & Development Board’s (HDB) two recent policy changes may affect the market for mass market private homes, according to a report by Credit Suisse.In an effort to make its public flats more attractive to couples looking for their first homes, the HDB announced last week that...
Continue Reading • 2 Jun 2011
Not all estates can have BTO projects, says Khaw
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on his blog that while he has ordered the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to launch more new flats in mature estates next year, it will not be possible to accommodate build-to-order (BTO) projects in every mature estate.Mr. Khaw noted that...
Continue Reading • 2 Jun 2011
OCBC's HDB loan documents crystal clear
HDB mortgage application forms are usually filled with terminology that most customers find difficult to understand. Acknowledging this, OCBC recently achieved the Crystal Mark for making its HDB Home Loan documents understandable and clear for customers.The Singapore-based bank is the first...
Continue Reading • 1 Jun 2011
Roxy-Pacific wins top award
Roxy-Pacific Holdings Limited, a Singapore-based real estate and hospitality group, has won the top award in Singapore for “Best Small Cap Company” category in the recent Asia’s Best Managed Companies Poll, conducted by FinanceAsia.The award marks the first year that...
Continue Reading • 1 Jun 2011
Jones Lang merges with King Sturge
Global commercial property company Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has announced that it will merge with international real estate consultancy King Sturge.With significantly improved strength and depth of service capabilities across the region, the merged company will be the clear leader in the UK, as...
Continue Reading • 31 May 2011
UK banks urged to continue with strict mortgage rules
UK banks should continue imposing their tough mortgage lending criteria to help prevent another home price bubble in the future, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).The group also argued that mortgages should be limited at 90 percent of a property’s value, while...
Continue Reading • 31 May 2011
CapitaValue Homes to develop 4th residential project in Asia
CapitaValue Homes Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand that focuses on building good value homes in Asia, has acquired a 65 percent stake in Quoc Cuong Sai Gon Company Ltd (QCSG) through its unit CVH Sparkle Ltd, for a cash consideration of VND121.2 billion (S$7.3 million).QCSG owns...
Continue Reading • 31 May 2011
Khaw asks HDB to build more BTO flats in mature towns
In his third blog posting, Minister of National Development Khaw Boon Wan has asked the HDB to consider building more Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in mature estates.Entitled “Making A Calculated Move”, Mr. Khaw’s third entry acknowledged that his ministry has been hesitant to...
Continue Reading • 31 May 2011
Aussie banks offer larger discounts to attract big borrowers
Australian homeowners are being offered large discounts on increasingly high mortgages, as banks attempt to revive the lending market.Customers who borrow over A$250,000 can have at least 0.7 percent off the interest rate on a standard variable mortgage and 0.8 percent off a A$500,000 loan.This...
Continue Reading • 30 May 2011
URA conserves Bukit Timah Railway Station
The Bukit Timah Railway Station has been officially gazetted by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) as a conserved building.This follows the gazetting of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station as a National Monument on 8 April 2011.At a retreat last year, the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and...
Continue Reading • 30 May 2011
Khaw tells HDB to build more flats
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan revealed in his Housing Matters blog on Friday about some policy changes that his ministry will administer.“Given robust demand, I told them (HDB) to proceed to build, knowing that the orders will definitely come,” wrote Mr. Khaw.“In...
Continue Reading • 30 May 2011