Small private homes popular with HDB dwellers
In the first three months of 2014, HDB dwellers bought a total of 892 non-landed private homes, of which 51 percent or 453 units consisted of smaller units of up to 800 sq ft, revealed DTZ's analysis of caveats and reported in the media.This is an increase from the 44 percent share recorded for...
Continue Reading • 25 Apr 2014
Over 11,000 families bought ECs over 3-year period: Khaw
More than 11,000 Singaporean families purchased executive condominiums (ECs) from Q4 2010 to the same period last year, according to National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.In a blog post, he said that HDB dwellers accounted for 86 percent of such buyers, while 55 percent bought an EC for the...
Continue Reading • 25 Apr 2014
Number of foreign buyers here tumbles to world average
The government's cooling measures have brought the percentage of foreigners buying up Singapore property on par with most other countries. Speaking to the media yesterday at the inaugural OPPLive Asia conference at Marina Bay Sands, OPP Editorial Director John Howell shared that the curbs...
Continue Reading • 24 Apr 2014
Ascott Reit's revenue, profit up 16%
Ascott Residence Trust's (Ascott Reit) revenue for Q1 2014 increased by 16 percent to $80.4 million compared to the same period last year. Gross profit also grew 16 percent to $39.2 million in the quarter. The revenue increase is due mostly to the additional $7.9 million from Ascott Reit's...
Continue Reading • 24 Apr 2014
Developers may be eyeing privatisation
Some publicly-listed developers may consider going private due to stocks trading at huge discounts, weak buying activity in the luxury segment and potential extension charge for unsold units, according to media reports quoting CIMB. Based on five criteria, there are four candidates for...
Continue Reading • 24 Apr 2014
Pearl Bank residents look to conservation
After failing to go en bloc three times, the owners of Pearl Bank Apartments (pictured) plan to get a conservation order to attract a developer to rejuvenate the property, media reports said.The management committee plans to ask the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to increase the 38-year-old...
Continue Reading • 24 Apr 2014
Housing market still struggling, report reveals
Following the introduction of the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework in June last year, the private housing market continued to be weak in Q1 2014 with price declines led by mid-tier and high-end homes, according to a Colliers International report. During the period, developers launched...
Continue Reading • 23 Apr 2014
Home purchases by foreigners up
Private home purchases in Singapore fell to just over 2,000 units in Q1 2014, the first time in more than five years that it dropped below 3,000 units, media reports said.However, foreigners’ share of home purchases moved up as the share of Singaporean buyers declined significantly.Notably,...
Continue Reading • 23 Apr 2014
Slashed prices at Sky Habitat's relaunch draws buyers
The relaunch of Sky Habitat over the weekend attracted a crowd of buyers as prices at the 509-unit condominium were cut by around 10 to 15 percent, media reports said.Developer CapitaLand sold 80 units last Saturday, bringing the total number of units sold at the project to 262.A spokesperson...
Continue Reading • 22 Apr 2014
URA awards tender for Prince Charles Crescent site
The tender for a residential site (pictured) at Prince Charles Crescent (Parcel B) has been awarded to UOL Venture Investments and Kheng Leong Company, the URA said.The consortium submitted the highest bid of $463.1 million for the 24,964.3 sqm site. This translates to $8,833 psm on the gross...
Continue Reading • 22 Apr 2014
LTA awards $1.15b contracts for Thomson, Eastern Region lines
Construction work on three MRT stations on the Thomson Line are set to get underway this quarter, as part of $1.15 billion in contracts awarded by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for the Thomson and Eastern Region Lines. The contracts involve the construction of Mount Pleasant, Stevens and...
Continue Reading • 21 Apr 2014
New agent courses in the works for marketing foreign property
Real estate salespersons can soon look forward to new Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses focusing on overseas property. Speaking to PropertyGuru, SAEA Ltd (formerly known as Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies Ltd) CEO Dennis Tay revealed that SAEA and other industry bodies...
Continue Reading • 21 Apr 2014
Industry experts head to S'pore
Overseas property professionals from around the world will descend on Singapore later this month for the Asian edition of a popular property and real estate industry business-to-business event.OPP Live Asia, which will take place on April 23 and April 24 at Marina Bay Sands, offers more...
Continue Reading • 21 Apr 2014
OPP Live Asia on this week
Property professionals from around the world will be in Singapore this week for the Asian edition of a popular property and real estate industry business-to-business event. OPP Live Asia, which will take place on Wednesday, April 23 and Thursday, April 24 at Marina Bay Sands, offers more...
Continue Reading • 21 Apr 2014
Insight into Singapore's property surge and decline
There has been a lot of talk about the property market in recent years. Almost everyone has been discussing on investing in property and the rapidly escalating housing prices. A friend of mine who has no interest in property once told me: “The market is going to crash; an abrupt rise always...
Continue Reading • 21 Apr 2014
76% of The Sorrento condo sold
The Sorrento (pictured), a new freehold condominium on West Coast Road has seen strong interest from buyers since its launch last Friday, with around 100 of the 131 available units finding buyers, media reports said. Developer Allgreen Properties initially released 80 units, but given the healthy...
Continue Reading • 21 Apr 2014
Eye on Jurong: New Western Frontier
In recent years, this part of the island has been going through a holistic transformation by tapping on development potential and opportunities. Muneerah Bee explores. What used to be swamps and fish farms has since transformed into a vibrant suburban hub over the decades. Developed as an...
Continue Reading • 17 Apr 2014
CDL makes two senior appointments
Following in the footsteps of their fathers, the sons of CDL's chiefs have joined the developer's senior management team, media reports said.38-year-old Sherman Kwek (pictured), the son of Executive Chairman Kwek Leng Beng, was appointed as Chief Investment Officer on Tuesday. His job will be to...
Continue Reading • 17 Apr 2014
500-800 new homes could be sold in April: expert
Excluding The Santorini condominium, sales of new private homes in March was robust despite the fact that take-up in the primary market fell 35 percent month-on-month, revealed a Credit Suisse report. Last month saw a total of 724 private residential units launched, the most since November...
Continue Reading • 17 Apr 2014
Singapore's measures discouraging foreign property investment
Overseas real estate investments tend to flow into countries with fewer tax regulations, according to Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru in a recent interview with Channel NewsAsia.“There is a lot of money out there right now looking for investments in property, so the...
Continue Reading • 17 Apr 2014