December resale prices down 0.7%
Following a decline of 0.5 percent in November 2013, overall prices of resale non-landed private houses dropped further to 0.7 percent in December, according to the NUS Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI).In particular, resale homes in OCR (outside central region) saw the largest dip of 0.9...
Continue Reading • 29 Jan 2014
Malaysia in top 8 places to invest
Malaysia has been named in the list of top 8 places to invest in 2014 by the influential Live and Invest Overseas newsletter.The portal’s audience is primarily U.S. nationals looking to invest in overseas property not only to boost assets, but also for life, retirement and legacy...
Continue Reading • 29 Jan 2014
OCBC admits EcoHouse error
EXCLUSIVE: Singapore bank OCBC has admitted that is was at fault for cheques issued to EcoHouse investors, some of which were not honoured by what it described as ‘new signing conditions’.PropertyGuru was swamped with emails from angry and confused investors when news emerged...
Continue Reading • 29 Jan 2014
Myanmar agents look for tax cut
Real estate agents in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second city, are set to petition authorities to cut the current 37 percent property transaction tax. The tax, imposed in August 2012, replaced a top rate of 15 percent and was widely criticised as detrimental to the property market.Following a...
Continue Reading • 29 Jan 2014
Market Outlook: Year of the decline
Just how much will Singapore’s private property sector decline during 2014? That’s the question that everyone wants answered, and in PropertyGuru’s 2014 Market Outlook eBook we give ours.We look at the factors that will see downward pressure on the market, including a continued...
Continue Reading • 29 Jan 2014
Luxury homes under pressure
Consultants believe that the luxury home market will likely bear the brunt of the overall decline in private property prices.Most analysts expect overall private home prices to fall between 5 and 10 percent this year.Notably, overall prices climbed 1.1 percent last year, down from 2012's 2.8...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2014
Portugal preview exceeded expectations
EXCLUSIVE: Singapore’s first Portugal property preview, which took place in the city-state“ last weekend, “exceeded expectations” according to the local agency responsible for the event.Both sales and enquiries for the Lisbon 8 project was described as being brisk, and...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2014
Speculators spooked by stamp duty
It appears that speculators are fleeing Singapore's real estate market in droves due to the Government's property cooling measures, particularly the seller's stamp duty (SSD).Figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) revealed that sub-sale transactions slumped in Q4 2013 to 147 units;...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2014
Perth sees growth in popularity
Western Australia’s strong residential fundamentals and growing popularity is increasing demand quality residential development sites, according to Knight Frank.The company has sold 12 major development sites in the last few months, including four in South Perth and in Cockburn Central for...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2014
British buyers bouncing back
More than half of British homeowners think the value of their current home will increase within the next 12 months, an increase of 17% from last year’s survey results.Location, understandably, is the most important factor when buying a property. A total of 36 percent of people buying a...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2014
A record year for real estate
Last year proved to be a record year for real estate transactions, with volumes hitting their highest levels since 2005 to reach US$90.4 billion.The 24.2 percent year-on-year increase was led by strong investment activity in Australia, China and Japan, with these three markets each likewise...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2014
Lacklustre London lacking 'wow' factor
Just one year ago London property was recording triple-digit sales and now, 12 months later, it’s largely a different story with some recent London property exhibitions held this month struggling to sell even a handful of units between them.As one agent told PropertyGuru, “What...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2014
Penang property prices booming
Property prices in Penang have significantly increased, especially in the capital Georgetown, based on the lack of prime land on the island as well as the skyrocketing land prices.Notably, prices have increased by more than 500 percent on the island while Seberang Prai saw prices soar by 700...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2014
Variety of property at auction
A total of 12 properties will come under the hammer at this afternoon’s Knight Frank monthly Singapore property auction, including residential property, shop houses, land, retail, warehouses and industrial units.Last year’s auction sector in Singapore was lacklustre at best. Buyers...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2014
Investors go overseas to beat TDSR
EXCLUSIVE: Some Singaporean property investors are circumventing the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) rules about how much they can spend to service their property loans by using offshore and developer financing.A small number of local real estate agencies who specialise in overseas projects...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2014
Abu Dhabi residential market recovers from a slump: JLL
The residential property market in Abu Dhabi rebounded strongly in 2013 following a slump and 'government intervention, according to a Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) report.According to JLL that prime residential sales prices soared 25 percent in 2013, posting a six percent increase in Q4 alone.Prime...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2014
Hong Kong private home completions down in 2013
Hong Kong posted its second-lowest private home completions in 2013 with only 8,300 units, an 18 percent decline from the 10,100 units completed in the previous year. This is also lower than the previous estimate by the government at 13,551 units.According to media reports, the decline may be...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2014
S'pore drops in prime rental survey
Prime property rents around the world rose by 6.4 percent in the year to September, the index’s strongest annual performance since Q2 2008 in Knight Frank’s survey of the top 5 percent of the residential property market is 17 global cities.Prime property rents in Singapore were ranked...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2014
RM1 million delay spooks foreign buyers
Delays in implementing the new RM1 million minimum price for foreign property buyers in Malaysia may act as a turn off foreign buyers, according to Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector, Malaysia president Lim Lian Hong.Lim...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2014
Flying the flag at MIPIM 2014
Singapore property developments feature prominently in the list of 28 short-listed projects at the prestigious MIPIM 2014 Awards, with three of the finalists coming from the city-state.Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay is one of the four projects to make the final list in the ‘Best...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2014