Singapore at the frontier of skyrise greenery movement: Khaw
Cities around the world are greening upwards, with Singapore being one of the pioneers in the skyrise greenery movement, said National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan in a blog post on Saturday.The city-state is currently home to 61ha of rooftop gardens.“This is no mean feat considering...
Continue Reading • 3 Mar 2014
SingHaiyi to develop luxury seniors' community in US
Singapore-listed SingHaiyi Group will acquire a land parcel in the San Francisco Bay area for US$24.4 million, with plans to build a high-end community for seniors.The 5TM development (pictured) will have a gross development value of around US$600 million. Located in the prestigious Candlestick...
Continue Reading • 27 Feb 2014
CDL posts lower earnings for Q4
Challenging conditions in the property market saw heavyweight City Developments (CDL) report thinner fourth quarter earnings.Revenue for Q4 2013 came in at $774 million, a 12.6 percent decline from the previous year. Net profit for the last three months ended 31 December decreased 11.4 percent to...
Continue Reading • 27 Feb 2014
Budget: Too early to relax cooling measures, says Tharman
In his Budget 2014 statement, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said the property cooling measures are working but it is still too early to tweak any of the tightening policies."Given the run-up in prices in the last four years, it is too early to start...
Continue Reading • 24 Feb 2014
Budget: Tackling the great income divide
More help on the way for low- and middle-income families. SGM 12.00 Expect no changes to the property cooling measures, more help for the low-to middle-income families and more steps to take care of senior citizens - that is the takeaway from today's Budget 2014...
Continue Reading • 24 Feb 2014
Budget: 800,000 HDB households to get rebates
The government will provide a one-off GST Voucher-U-Save Special Payment this year. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in his Budget 2014 statement. The move is expected to help lower- and middle-income households deal with cost of living...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2014
Budget: Govt to further support developers
The government will increase efforts to upgrade Singapore’s construction sector, revealed Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in his Budget 2014 statement. “For selected Government Land Sales (GLS) sites, we will mandate the use of productive technologies...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2014
Ascott Reit acquires first Dalian property for S$118.6m
Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott Reit) has entered into an agreement with Winner Sight Investments Limited to purchase its first serviced residence in Dalian, China for RMB571 million (S$118.6 million) at an EBITDA yield of 5.5 percent. The accretive acquisition is expected to increase FY2013...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2014
URA launches new property app
Those looking to buy or lease a property can now access URA’s online database for free, said National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan. In a blog post, the Minister revealed that URA has launched a new map-based application that will allow users to retrieve detailed records about a...
Continue Reading • 19 Feb 2014
CapitaLand's Q4 profit falls 45% on one-off loss
Property giant CapitaLand reported a 45.6 percent decline in profit after tax and minority interest (PATMI) in Q4 2013, primarily due to a one-off loss on the sale of a stake in Australand.On a yearly basis, the group’s PATMI dropped 8.7 percent to $849.8 million from $930.3 million in...
Continue Reading • 19 Feb 2014
Property firms caught breaching Do-Not-Call rule
Property companies are among those that have been censured by the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) for breaching the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry requirements under the Personal Data Protection Act 2012.Investigations have been taken in response to 1,500 complaints from the public...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2014
Ascott names new MD for Europe and India
CapitaLand’s serviced residence unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has appointed Alfred Ong as Managing Director for Europe and India. Mr Ong, 50, will be responsible for managing Ascott’s assets and growing its hospitality business in those two areas. Since joining the company 15...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2014
Golf course land to be redeveloped
The government will not renew the land lease of Keppel Club and will acquire parts of the fairways at the National Service Resort and Country Club and Tanah Merah Country Club by end-2014, according to media reports.The move will free up about 200ha of land for other uses.The land occupied by...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2014
Further falls for property stocks
Slowing home sales are expected to see the value of stocks in Singapore and Hong Kong property developers fall further, according to media reports.Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times Real Estate Index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Property Index fell to their lowest levels for almost 18 months...
Continue Reading • 14 Feb 2014
Koh Brothers awarded $98m contract to build Yishun BTO
Singapore-listed construction and property development company Koh Brothers Group has clinched a $98 million building contract from the housing board for a Build-to-Order (BTO) project in Yishun. Vine Grove @ Yishun (pictured) will consist of five 13-storey blocks and one seven-storey block,...
Continue Reading • 13 Feb 2014
40% of property owners qualify for TDSR exemptions, report says
Around 40 percent of homeowners in Singapore are eligible for exemptions from the TDSR, based on a recent Credit Suisse Proprietary Housing Survey.The survey polled about 300 respondents and found that 90 percent own a property, of which 49 percent have a mortgage and 83 percent are...
Continue Reading • 13 Feb 2014
TDSR tweaks welcomed by analysts
Property analysts feel yesterday’s shock move by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to relax the TDSR ruling is a step in the right direction.In a statement, MAS said the changes will exempt some homeowners from the TDSR threshold and apply to those who purchased a property before...
Continue Reading • 11 Feb 2014
No impact from changes to TDSR: report
The relaxation of the TDSR for refinancing of owner-occupied properties is unlikely to have any impact on Singapore’s property market, with flat prices and slower volumes likely to continue, according to a Credit Suisse report.“We maintain our view where primary volumes are expected...
Continue Reading • 11 Feb 2014
MAS eases TDSR restrictions
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Monday eased the restrictive Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) on certain property buyers. Below is the full statement from MAS: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has received feedback from borrowers who face challenges refinancing loans for...
Continue Reading • 11 Feb 2014
CapitaLand celebrates 20 years in China
CapitaLand marked its 20th anniversary in China at the Group's Lunar New Year Spring Festival event held at Raffles City Convention Centre last Friday.The celebrations will be held throughout the year with various initiatives introduced across China that will culminate in a gala event in Beijing...
Continue Reading • 11 Feb 2014