PropertyGuru reaches 10 millionth listing milestone
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: In what could be described as a special milestone, PropertyGuru, Asia’s leading property portal, recorded its 10 millionth property listing last week. The property, a bungalow nestled on a 5,226 sq ft freehold land site at Highland Road in the east was listed...
Continue Reading • 12 Jun 2012
No way HDB will shrink flat sizes: Khaw
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will not shrink flat sizes, assured National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan. In a bid to clarify the issue, Mr Khaw said that Singapore will not emulate other cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong which have reduced the sizes of their...
Continue Reading • 12 Jun 2012
UK borrowers face soaring rates, fees
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Mortgage borrowers in the UK are dealing with rising mortgage rates and sky-high fees, which have risen by 70 percent in the last three years. Figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk show that the average cost of obtaining a home loan now stands at £1,511 (S$1,927),...
Continue Reading • 11 Jun 2012
Ang Wee Gee to become CEO of Keppel Land
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Kevin Wong, the Chief Executive of Keppel Land, will be leaving his post on 31 December 2012 to pursue personal interests. He will be succeeded by Ang Wee Gee (pictured), the current Executive Vice Chairman of Keppel Land China Ltd. “On behalf of the Board of...
Continue Reading • 11 Jun 2012
Real estate to play key role in ASEAN's development
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Real estate will play a pivotal role in the on-going development of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), noted the heads of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) who attended the World Economic Forum on East Asia 2012 in Bangkok last week. According to Chris Fossick,...
Continue Reading • 11 Jun 2012
PropertyGuru inks S$60m online deal, largest in SEA
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: PropertyGuru, the leading property portal in Asia, has received a whopping S$60 million strategic investment from ImmobilienScout24, one of the top three property portals in the world and a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom. Considered the largest online deal in...
Continue Reading • 11 Jun 2012
MAS warns of slowdown in global economy
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Renewed uncertainty stemming from the Eurozone debt crisis, a slowdown in emerging economies and flagging recovery in the US pose major challenges to near-term global economic growth, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). “The trade-oriented Asian...
Continue Reading • 8 Jun 2012
1 in 5 UK mortgage applications are Buy to Let
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Buy to let mortgage applications in the UK hit an 18-month high, according to Haart, the UK’s largest independent estate agent. Figures show that the percentage of buy to let mortgages in May hit 19.6 percent, or one in every five mortgage applications. The...
Continue Reading • 8 Jun 2012
US mortgage applications up slightly
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Mortgage applications in the US inched up 1.3 percent last week from a week ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). At the same time, the refinancing index climbed two percent from the previous week, reaching its highest level since February 10. This is...
Continue Reading • 7 Jun 2012
London listing for Feng Shui firm
By Andrew Batt: Singapore-based Feng Shui consultancy firm New Trend Lifestyle Group has announced plans to list on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Media reported that the seven-year-old company, formerly known as Yuan Zhong Siu Services Pte Ltd, plans to raise £1.5...
Continue Reading • 7 Jun 2012
US fixed rate mortgages at new lows
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Average 30-year fixed rate mortgages in the US dropped one basis point to 3.59 percent from 3.6 percent in the previous week, according to Zillow(R) Mortgage Marketplace. This is the lowest level since the mortgage comparison website was launched in 2008. After earlier...
Continue Reading • 6 Jun 2012
Flat buyers now have better chance, says Khaw
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The bumper supply of public housing this year has given more chances for both first-timers and second-timers to own their own homes, according to National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan in his latest blog post.“The mega launch in March of a combined BTO...
Continue Reading • 6 Jun 2012
Aussie mortgage broker expects no rate change
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Mortgage provider Loan Market does not expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to make any changes to its cash rate for now. This is amid sharp movements in the market on Monday to price in a near 75 percent chance of a 50 basis point cut when the central bank holds its...
Continue Reading • 5 Jun 2012
Frasers Hospitality strengthens presence in Middle East
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Serviced residences operator Frasers Hospitality will embark on an ambitious expansion into the Middle East with plans to manage 10 properties in the region over the coming years. It will open three developments by the end of next year, according to Choe Peng Sum,...
Continue Reading • 5 Jun 2012
UK developer to open Singapore office
By Andrew Batt: U.K. developer Berkeley Group is planning to open an office in Singapore to cater to the increasing number of local buyers of its London properties.The company, which sells properties under the St George, St James, St Edward and Berkeley Homes brands, has been selling properties...
Continue Reading • 5 Jun 2012
BCA bags UN Public Service Award 2012
By Cheryl Tay: The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has been presented the United Nations Public Service Award (UNPSA) 2012 for establishing a centralised one-stop registration system for contractors who want to tender for public sector construction projects in Singapore.The BCA is the...
Continue Reading • 4 Jun 2012
More first-loan cases in Singapore
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: If latest figures from Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS) are anything to go by, the property cooling measures may indeed be taking effect. According to data, 58.3 percent of the 15,410 Singaporeans / permanent residents (PRs) who were granted mortgages (including...
Continue Reading • 4 Jun 2012
Smaller firms pool resources to develop prime sites
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Amid tough competition in the buoyant property market, smaller firms are combining forces and funds to secure a number of prime development sites in the country. Out of the 11 residential sites sold under the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme this year, three were...
Continue Reading • 4 Jun 2012
Colliers hires Harvey Coe to expand Asia investment services
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Global property consultancy Colliers International has appointed Harvey Coe (pictured) as Senior Director of Asia Investment Services. A veteran in the property investment field, he will be responsible for growing and promoting the company’s real estate investment...
Continue Reading • 4 Jun 2012
Singapore millionaires on the rise
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Singapore has retained top spot for having the highest percentage of millionaires in the world, according to a study published by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).It showed that the number of households with investable assets of more than S$1.26 million rose 14 percent to...
Continue Reading • 4 Jun 2012