US mortgages to drop below US$1t mark in 2011
Home lending in the United States will likely to drop below US$1 trillion in 2011 to the lowest level since 1996, according to the mortgage trade group Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).The MBA said mortgage originations in the US will drop to US$996 billion next year, from US$1.4 trillion...
Continue Reading • 28 Oct 2010
Stellar Q3 results for Starhill Global REIT
Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) has announced that its distributable income for Q3 rose 5.8 percent to $19.4 million, up from $18.4 million in 2009, while Q3 distribution per unit (DPU) climbed 5 percent to one cent, from 0.95 cent over the same period last year.The latest...
Continue Reading • 27 Oct 2010
Suntec Reit to acquire stake in MBFC
Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) has agreed to spend S$1.4958 billion, or approximately $2,568 psf of NLA to acquire a one-third stake in some properties in Phase One of Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) from companies Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings, which are both owned by...
Continue Reading • 27 Oct 2010
Wing Tai posts lower Q1 results
Singapore property developer Wing Tai Holdings has posted a Q1 net profit of $30.2 million, down 35 percent from $46.3 million in the previous year, while revenue dropped 52 percent to $131 million from $275.8 million a year ago.The developer said the Q1 revenue was mainly attributed to sales...
Continue Reading • 27 Oct 2010
TCT's Q3 NPAT hits S$18.675m
Treasury China Trust (TCT) has posted a net profit after tax of S$18.675 million for the quarter that ended September 30 2010, which resulted in a net distributable income of S$0.845 million, said Treasury Holdings Real Estate Pte. Ltd, the trust’s manager.TCT, which focuses exclusively on...
Continue Reading • 27 Oct 2010
Suntec REIT distribution income down 3.2% in Q3
Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Suntec REIT) has seen a 3.2 percent decline in its distribution income to $46.2 million in the third quarter this year.Among the assets of Suntec REIT include Suntec City Mall, some office units in Suntec Towers One, Two and Three, and the entire Suntec Towers...
Continue Reading • 27 Oct 2010
Mortgage pressures rising in Melbourne and Brisbane
First-time homebuyers in Melbourne and Brisbane are now facing mortgage pressures similar with those in Sydney, according to new research.A study conducted by the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) at the University of Canberra showed that more than 50 percent of...
Continue Reading • 27 Oct 2010
FCT to acquire Bedok Point next year
Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT), a wholly-owned unit of Fraser and Neave Group, will acquire Bedok Point Mall from its parent company by Q2 next year, said Chew Tuan Chiong, chief executive of FCT.In January, FCT paid Frasers Centrepoint approximately $290 million for two malls, the YewTee Point...
Continue Reading • 27 Oct 2010
UK mortgage approvals at its lowest
Mortgage approvals in the United Kingdom dropped in September to its lowest level since March last year, due to weaker home loan demand, according to the British Bankers' Association (BBA).UK lenders had granted 31,104 home loans in September compared with 31,781 in the previous month, said BBA...
Continue Reading • 26 Oct 2010
Frasers Hospitality to open more Middle East properties
Frasers Hospitality debuted in the Middle East in March with the launch of the 91-unit Fraser Suites Seef, Bahrain. This will be followed by the opening of Fraser Suites Doha and another three assets in the region over the next two years.Fraser Suites Doha comprises 158 suites and penthouses and...
Continue Reading • 26 Oct 2010
MCL Land's Q3 results plummet
Property developer MCL Land has announced that its Q3 net profit declined 91 percent to US$8.84 million, from US$96.4 million last year, as Q3 sales dived 83 percent to US$46.58 million due to lower revenue from completed projects.Earnings per share in the third quarter plunged to 2.39 US cents...
Continue Reading • 26 Oct 2010
US foreclosures easing out
The foreclosure process in the US is easing out, allowing delinquent home borrowers to stay in their homes for months after they stop paying mortgage debts, according to Freddie Mac.It said that homes are taking as long as eight months to work their way through the foreclosure process, two months...
Continue Reading • 25 Oct 2010
Estate agencies council commences operations
The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), a new statutory board set up under the Estate Agents Act 2010, has commenced operations since last Friday.Aside from raising the professionalism of the real estate agency industry, the new regulatory framework also aims to enable consumers to better protect...
Continue Reading • 25 Oct 2010
Ascott Reit's Q3 revenue up 5%
CapitaLand’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott Reit) has announced that Q3 revenue hit S$46.5 million, up 5 percent compared to the same period last year, while unitholders’ distribution and distribution per unit (DPU) in Q3 were S$12 million and 1.85 cents,...
Continue Reading • 25 Oct 2010
CMT delivers steady Q3 results
CapitaMall Trust (CMT), a wholly-owned unit of CapitaLand Limited, has delivered steady Q3 results, with gross revenue in the third quarter climbing 6 percent to $148.2 million.The strong Q3 results were supported by higher rents from its mall, as well as contributions from Clarke Quay, which it...
Continue Reading • 25 Oct 2010
FCOT's property income up 16%
Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) has posted a 16 percent year-on-year increase in net property income to $23.2 million in the fourth quarter this year, boosted by contributions from Alexandra Technopark, which it acquired in August last year.Contributions from two of the trust’s properties...
Continue Reading • 25 Oct 2010
Tougher regime means better protection for financial investors
Under the new Regulatory Regime for Listed and Unlisted Investment Products, retail financial investors will be required to prove that they know what they are getting into before they can buy certain investment products.However, the burden of the new regime falls on financial institutions, which...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2010
UK's buy-to-let mortgage holders need government help
The UK government must offer support to buy-to-let mortgage holders if the private rental market is going to cope with the demand level in the country, said the National Landlords Association (NLA).David Salusbury, chairman of the NLA, noted that the social housing market is unlikely to cope with...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2010
Oxley to launch 5 projects before year ends
Property developer Oxley Holdings will likely launch five more residential and commercial property projects before the year ends.Ching Chiat Kwong, chief executive of Oxley, told The Business Times that it will launch freehold projects at Stevens Road, Devonshire Road, Kovan Road, Telok Kurau...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2010
Keppel Corp's Q3 net profit up 8.4%
Keppel Corporation Limited has posted an 8.4 percent increase in profit to S$346.3 million for the three months that ended September 30 from S$319.6 million over the same period last year, driven by improved earnings and margins from its offshore business.For the nine months that ended September...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2010