KSH Holdings clinches S$78.7m residential contract
Established construction, property development and property management group KSH Holdings Limited has clinched a S$78.7 million contract from Botanica Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wheelock Properties, for the construction of the Ardmore Three development.Under the terms of the contract,...
Continue Reading • 20 May 2011
UK mortgage market favours wealthy
The UK mortgage industry is still giving the best rates to wealthy borrowers, implying that the market remains effectively closed to most first-time home buyers.On average, the best deals offered by lenders to typical first-time home buyers are of “very poor value.”There is also the...
Continue Reading • 20 May 2011
Jones Lang LaSalle announces new appointment
Global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has appointed Martin Hinge as Managing Director for Project and Development Services (PDS) business in Asia Pacific. Mr. Hinge has worked in JLL’s Australia, Greater China, India, Philippines and Singapore offices for 10 years. He...
Continue Reading • 20 May 2011
Inflation to ease 3 - 4%, says MAS
Inflation has most likely peaked and will average three to four percent in 2011, said Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).The Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed 5.2 percent in Q1 2011 but the MAS expects price increases to moderate, due in part to the robust...
Continue Reading • 20 May 2011
US mortgage rates still declining
Mortgage rates in the US continued to slip, falling for the fifth consecutive week, according to the latest figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association.Average interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate home loans dropped to 4.60 percent in the previous week, the lowest since last...
Continue Reading • 19 May 2011
Singapore drops to 3rd place in global economic competitiveness
Singapore has lost its number one spot in the world’s ranking of economic competitiveness, according to the latest annual IMD World Competitiveness report.The United States took the top spot, primarily driven by recovery in its financial markets. Hong Kong came in second, while Singapore...
Continue Reading • 19 May 2011
S'pore revises growth forecast to 5 - 7%
The Singapore government has revised its 2011 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to between five and seven percent from the previous four to six percent, citing healthy Asian growth and modest recovery in developed economies.The revision came after the latest data showed that...
Continue Reading • 19 May 2011
PropNex bags its 4th RDTB Gold Award
PropNex, the leading real estate company in Singapore, has once again received the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands (RDTB) Gold Award. The award is in line with the company’s extensive effort in promoting integrity and competence among its salespersons.“Winning an award based on...
Continue Reading • 19 May 2011
Sky@eleven wins BCA Excellence Award
Sky@eleven, a freehold condo project in prime district 11, will be receiving a Merit Award under the Residential Category for the Design and Engineering Safety Excellence Awards 2011.Developed by Times Development, the project is located off Thomson Road. It was launched in January 2007, with all...
Continue Reading • 19 May 2011
PropertyGuru gets S$5m in funding
PropertyGuru, Singapore’s leading online property portal, has closed a S$5 million line of credit from a Singaporean investment management firm to speed up its expansion plans.The financing allows the company to draw down extra funding at short notice if needed, at very favourable market...
Continue Reading • 19 May 2011
PM Lee reveals new cabinet
Nearly two weeks after the general election, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has announced the new cabinet lineup, bringing in new chiefs and promising all ministers a “free hand” to reshape policies.PM Lee promoted Tharman Shanmugaratnam to Deputy Prime Minister. Aside from...
Continue Reading • 19 May 2011
Aussie mortgage approvals drop to 10-year low
Mortgage approvals in Australia unexpectedly fell in March to its lowest in over 10 years, as higher rates lured buyers away from the mortgage market, according to a Business Times report.The number of mortgages granted to borrowers dropped 1.5 percent to 44,968 in March, from the 4.7 percent...
Continue Reading • 18 May 2011
CapitaLand unit divests Shanghai property
CapitaLand Limited has announced the divestment of a 144,657 sq m residential site in Shanghai’s Qingpu District in China, for a cash consideration of RMB807.7 million (S$152.6 million).CapitaLand’s wholly-owned unit, CapitaLand China Holdings (CCH), has entered into a...
Continue Reading • 18 May 2011
Businesses worry about departure of two ministers
Singapore’s business community viewed the decisions of Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew to leave the Cabinet with concern and hope, according to The Business Times.Concern that the decision might put the country back due to the loss of global connections and...
Continue Reading • 16 May 2011
Mortgage rates up in Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s DBS Bank and Bank of China have increased their HIBOR-based housing loan rates for the second time in a month.The new interbank offered rate at BOCHK, which is the SAR’s second largest mortgage provider, took effect on 13 May 2011.The new rate, which is the highest in the...
Continue Reading • 16 May 2011
Heeton posts strong Q1 results
Niche property developer Heeton Holdings (Heeton) has announced that revenue in the first quarter climbed 29.5 percent to S$9.9 million, on the back of higher sales recognition from property projects such as The Lumos and Juluca.Net profit in the first quarter reached S$2.85 million, slightly...
Continue Reading • 16 May 2011
UOL's Q1 profit up 133% due to property development
Singapore real estate company UOL Group has posted a S$230 million net profit in the first quarter ended 31 March 2011, up 133 percent from S$98.7 million over the same period last year.Q1 revenue also jumped 102 percent to S$725.1 million, from S$358.9 million in the previous year, according to...
Continue Reading • 16 May 2011
SC Global's profit shoots up in Q1
Singapore-based property developer SC Global Developments has posted a net profit of S$72.8 million in the first quarter, a 15-fold increase from the S$4.78 million net profit recorded over the same period last year.This was mainly attributed to higher revenue and gross margins, as well as the...
Continue Reading • 13 May 2011
BCA recognises green-building developers
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) will be giving the BCA Green and Gracious Builder Awards to 10 exceptional property developers during the BCA Awards ceremony on 19 May.Of these, three developers — Gammon Pte Ltd, Tiong Seng Contractors (Pte) Ltd and Woh Hup Pte Ltd —...
Continue Reading • 13 May 2011
Wheelock's Q1 profit sees slight increase
Luxury real estate developer Wheelock Properties (Singapore) saw a 3.9 percent increase in its net profit to S$52.3 million in the first quarter this year.However, group revenue fell 3.6 percent to S$103 million, attributed to the marginal decline in revenue upon the completion of its Ardmore II...
Continue Reading • 13 May 2011