UK mortgage costs continue to decline
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) confirmed on Thursday that the cost of UK mortgages has dropped to a five-year low. The required percentage of income to cover the average mortgage payment has dropped to 12 percent, which will bring more people into the mortgage market and improve demand for...
Continue Reading • 15 Jan 2010
Demand for home loans in Australia drops
The number of housing loans issued by Australian banks is falling due to the reduction of the government’s stimulus measures and increasing interest rates.Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the number of home loans issued in November last year fell to 5.6 percent....
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2010
DBS sees a promising first half in 2010 for earnings
DBS Group, the biggest lender in Southeast Asia, said on Wednesday that the first half of 2010 looks positive for its earnings.“Overall it looks very promising for the first half,” said Chairman Koh Boon Hwee, referring to both the economy and earnings.Changes in the regulatory...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2010
CapitaLand and Hoang Thanh sign second JV agreement for residential project
CapitaLand, one of the largest real estate developers in Asia, signed a joint venture agreement with Hoang Thanh, a Vietnamese property developer, for a second residential project in Hanoi, Vietnam.The agreement is aimed at developing a 14,000-sq-m residential site in Ha Dong district in...
Continue Reading • 13 Jan 2010
UEM Land to raise RM970 million
UEM Land Holdings Berhad (ULHB) intends to undertake a rights issue to raise about RM970 million gross proceeds.The proceeds will be used for payment of the acquisition of land in Cyberjaya, repayment of borrowings, working capital purposes, and payment for property development, said ULHB in a...
Continue Reading • 12 Jan 2010
Singapore expects sluggish economy, but no double dip recession
Singapore is not likely to experience another recession, but expects sluggish economic recovery, said Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang.Mr. Lim said that the consumption-boosting effects of stimulus packages implemented by the government at the peak of the global economic slump are waning and the...
Continue Reading • 12 Jan 2010
Holiday homes market bounces back
With the mortgage crisis taking place last year, fewer people had the chance to buy their dream vacation homes.However, lenders are now willing to finance second homes. Borrowers must still be patient, eminently qualified and strategic in choosing their vacation homes.“People are beginning...
Continue Reading • 12 Jan 2010
GIC incurs losses on New York property project
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) confirmed that it incurred losses from a prime New York real estate project, after American owners missed payment of their debt.GIC is believed to have written off more than $798 million (US$575 million). It confirmed that it...
Continue Reading • 12 Jan 2010
ARA Fund to sell units at Grange Infinite
ARA Asset Management’s private fund is said to have put 53 units at Grange Infinite up for sale, as activity in the high-end residential sector returns.Some of these freehold apartments at Grange Road could be sold for $2,900 per square feet or more, depending on the floor they are on and...
Continue Reading • 12 Jan 2010
CDL sold The Office Chamber for $13 million
City Developments Ltd (CDL) has sold another small office block located at the corner of Kitchener Road and Jalan Besar.The Office Chamber was sold for nearly $13 million, which works out at around $940 per square foot (psf) of the net lettable area (NLA).The buyer, ERC holdings, is expected to...
Continue Reading • 12 Jan 2010
More debt issuances this year, says top banker
The beginning of 2010 will likely see more debt issuances, as more companies seek to take advantage of the low interest rates, according to Keith Magnus, the new Head of Investment for UBS in Singapore and Malaysia.However, he warns that easy money in the capital market will not transform to a...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2010
FCT to acquire two malls in Singapore for over $290m
Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT), a leading mainboard-listed real estate investment trust (REIT), plans to purchase two shopping malls in Singapore for $290.2 million.It will buy Yew Tee Point and Northpoint 2 from Yishun Development, a wholly-owned subsidiary of its parent company, Neave and...
Continue Reading • 8 Jan 2010
IRs will not be major growth drivers
The buzz surrounding Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands has intensified recently, as the resorts prepare for their grand openings and Singapore readies itself for a robust recovery this year.According to several analysts, the timing could not be better. Economists forecast that the...
Continue Reading • 8 Jan 2010
The Lunar New Year is spurring the renovation business
Singapore’s renovation business is experiencing a boom, mainly due to the upcoming Lunar New Year and the anticipated improvement in the property market. According to several contractors, they have seen business increase by 20 percent from Q4 2009.For contractors, the New Year period is...
Continue Reading • 7 Jan 2010
Mortgage rates protected
ICBC (Asia) gave assurances that banks are not driving mortgage rates down because of heavy industry competition.Stanley Wong Yuen-Fai, the director and deputy general manager, said that all banks agreed to have the same mortgage rates and rejected claims that banks have reduced their mortgage...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2010
CityDev shares up by 4.7 percent
Shares of City Developments (CityDev) climbed 4.7 percent on Tuesday, as confidence in the Singapore property market increased.CityDev is gaining more from the rising real estate values, as the company owns various properties, unlike its rival CapitaLand, which distributes its properties to other...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2010
Tuas View Lane lot still available following the dismissal of the leaseback agreement
First Real Estate Investment Trust (First REIT) said that it has dismissed the option agreement to purchase a private lot located at Tuas View Lane from Tech-Link Storage Engineering.The sale and leaseback deal was supposed to be completed by the end of 2009, but the two parties were unable to...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2010
Prime mortgage foreclosures seen rising in the US
The next big risk for the US housing market will concern homeowners with the best credit.“There will be continuing foreclosures, and not just sub-prime, it will be prime mortgages,” said Professor Robert Shiller of Yale University in an interview. “This is creating a huge shadow...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2010
Knight Frank reorganizes its operations
Knight Frank Singapore is reorganizing its operations along five divisions – property management, residential, commercial, retail and advisory. Each division is headed by a managing director, who will provide strategic leadership to the unit, as well as identify and train the next...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2010
Main market themes for 2010
It is interesting to ponder what the main market themes for 2010 may be, as the second-liners and window-dressing of blue chips had been completed for 2009. Property brokers have been busy over the past month with their market outlook reports, which all leans towards the positive. However, what...
Continue Reading • 4 Jan 2010