Fed tapering to benefit Asian property
The United States Federal Reserve’s recent announcement that it will cut monthly purchases of mortgage-backed and treasury securities from US$85 billion to US$75 billion is likely to have positive implications for the Asia real estate market, international property brokerage CBRE has...
Continue Reading • 7 Feb 2014
Call to reduce cooling measures
Property industry experts are hoping to see a reduction of some of the previous market cooling measures in the Singapore Budget 2014, which will be revealed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam (pictured) on February 21.Tweaks, or an entire roll-back of the...
Continue Reading • 7 Feb 2014
Housing loan growth to slow further
Housing loan growth in Singapore fell to 9.5 percent in 2013 from 15.9 percent in 2012, indicating weaker property sales as well as a higher base factor, said Maybank Kim Eng.However, Maybank noted that the pace of deceleration, particularly over the last quarter of 2013, was sharper than...
Continue Reading • 5 Feb 2014
Most now paying less property tax
Most owner-occupiers of Singapore property are now paying lower property tax bills after the Progressive Property Tax Rates, announced in Budget 2013, came into effect at the start of the year.The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) said that all owner-occupied HDB flats and three...
Continue Reading • 1 Feb 2014
Rich Asians hold more in property
Ultra-rich Asians are keeping more of their wealth - up to 27% - in real estate assets according to a report which highlights how private wealth is increasingly shaping the world’s real estate markets.Real estate now accounts for around a fifth of the invested wealth of the nearly...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2014
Singapore 10th most dynamic city
Singapore has been ranked 10th in a list of dynamic cities, with Jones Lang LaSalle identifying San Francisco, London, Dubai, Shanghai and Wuhan as the leading five cities demonstrating the combination of strong short term socio-economic, commercial real estate momentum and the longer-term...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2014
Keppel net profit down 26%
Keppel Corporation's net profit in Q4 2013 rose by nine percent to S$332 million, bringing the year's total to about S$1.41 billion compared to S$1.91 billion in fiscal year 2012.The significant drop in earnings was due to the higher profits posted in FY2012, which include one-off earnings from...
Continue Reading • 24 Jan 2014
CDL among top for sustainability
For a fifth consecutive year, City Developments Limited (CDL) has made the list in the Corporate Knights Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World. The real estate developer is both the first and only Singapore company to be listed on the global benchmark since 2010. Those who...
Continue Reading • 23 Jan 2014
More property taxes looming
Rich Singaporean property owners could be one target in the 2014 budget statement which will be announced on February 21.Media reports yesterday suggested that car and property owners could well be forced to pay more, and a higher level of personal income tax could be introduced.Speaking to CNBC,...
Continue Reading • 22 Jan 2014
Keppel REIT income soars
Singapore’s office property market concluded on a positive note in 2H2013 as office rents continued to record positive quarter-on-quarter increases, according to a Knight Frank report.According to the report, the URA Office Space Rental Index for the Central Region showed that, prior to Q2...
Continue Reading • 21 Jan 2014
20% of borrowers nearly overstretched: MAS
Despite the decline of debt-to-income ratio by 2.1 percent in 2012, one in five borrowers has loan repayments of between 40 to 60 percent of the monthly income, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) revealed.Responding to a parliamentary inquiry held last week, MAS said Singapore’s...
Continue Reading • 20 Jan 2014
PropertyGuru wins gold again at Mob-Ex Awards
Singapore’s leading real estate portal PropertyGuru scooped up awards for its mobile apps at last night’s Mob-Ex Awards 2014, which was held at the Marriott hotel. Celebrating the best in mobile excellence, this year’s competition saw 50 brands vie for 23 award categories.For...
Continue Reading • 17 Jan 2014
CDL makes changes to senior management team
Property giant City Developments Limited (CDL) has announced changes to its senior management structure as part of plans to further grow its business overseas.Grant L. Kelley (pictured) has been appointed the group’s Chief Executive Officer. The 49-year old has more than 20 years of global...
Continue Reading • 17 Jan 2014
OEL to acquire two property firms
OEL Holdings has entered into an agreement with Corporate Space and its holding company Heng Fai Enterprises for the acquisition of two Singapore investment companies at S$53.9 million.Notably, the target companies are Singapore Service Residence and Expats Residences.OEL will satisfy the S$53.9...
Continue Reading • 17 Jan 2014
No credit bubble here: MAS
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has reacted strongly to a media article which claimed that Singapore was on the verge of an “Icelandic-style meltdown.”In a statement to the media, MAS said Singapore is not facing a credit bubble that puts the country or the banking system at any...
Continue Reading • 15 Jan 2014
Propnex partners with Infiniti for HNWIs
Singapore's largest real estate agency PropNex Realty has formed an alliance with Infiniti Asset Management Pte with the aim of bringing investors a first-of-its-kind real esttae investment solution.The Infiniti Real Estate Strategies Fund, launched today, will cater specifically to...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2014
Ringgit loans for Singapore homes
OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad has expanded its Ringgit loan facility for residential properties in Singapore in line with its positioning to be a global Premier mortgage provider for overseas properties.The bank already offers overseas financing in Australia and United Kingdom, and the Singapore...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2014
SingHaiyi joins consortium to aquire TripleOne Somerset
SGX-listed SingHaiyi Group has announced that it will take a 20 percent stake, valued at S$66 million, in a consortium acquiring TripleOne Somerset for S$970 million. This is the company’s first investment in Singapore commercial property.SingHaiyi TripleOne (SHTPL), a wholly owned...
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2014
Urban Land Institute to open Singapore office
The Singapore office of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) will open later this month, the organisation said on Thursday. Dedicated to responsible land use, the global non-profit research and education institute also named Pauline Oh as Senior Vice President for ULI Asia Pacific.Oh, who joined ULI in...
Continue Reading • 9 Jan 2014
Frasers targets overseas expansion
Fraser & Neave's property arm, Frasers Centrepoint (FCL), has announced plans to expand in China, Australia and Thailand, media reports said.This comes ahead of FCL's scheduled listing on the Singapore exchange on Thursday. CIMB expects FCL's market capitalisation to stand at S$5.3 billion,...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2014