PropertyGuru agent seminar next Tuesday
To help property agents find the right property to market, real estate portal PropertyGuru will hold an Agent Seminar at HDB Hub Auditorium (B1) next Tuesday (23 July) between 12:30pm and 5:00pm. At the event, experts will share insights on how to identify the 'gems' within the property...
Continue Reading • 19 Jul 2013
Oxley buys stake in Chinese firm
Singapore-listed developer Oxley Holdings will acquire a 10 percent stake in Chinese firm GD Capital for 35.71 million yuan (S$7.3 million). This is in line with the company’s plans to expand within the development zone of Anhui province.Oxley signed a sale and purchase agreement with GD...
Continue Reading • 19 Jul 2013
Singapore launch for Eternity condo
Singapore will this weekend host the first overseas sales exhibition for Eternity Sukhumvit 8, a freehold condominium development in central Bangkok.The eight-storey property, which is expected to be completed in 2015, will feature a total of 131 units with one-bedrooms ranging in size from 33.6...
Continue Reading • 19 Jul 2013
Aussies pump cash into US oil boom
Australian property investors have pumped more than US$2 million (S$2.53 million) into North Dakota just in the last six weeks, and are keen to further boost their portfolio based around the mining industry.The mining boom in Western Australia has made it the strongest economy in the country....
Continue Reading • 19 Jul 2013
Belvedere marks construction milestone
Winten Property Group's AUD140 million (S$162.9 million) Belvedere apartment project that led North Sydney's residential revival has celebrated a major milestone, with construction reaching the topping out stage.The site of 138 Walker Street, North Sydney, has seen a flurry of activity since...
Continue Reading • 19 Jul 2013
Vietnam real estate market thaws
Vietnam's property market is starting to attract overseas investors once again, following a two-year freeze. While the market has not yet bottomed out, some investors believe that it will rebound soon.For instance, EXS Capital announced on 16 July that it has spearheaded the formation of a US$37...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2013
US new home construction drops in June
New home construction in the United States dropped significantly in the month of June, according to the Commerce Department.Housing starts declined by 9.9 percent on May figures to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 836,000 units, with building permits also dropping 7.5 percent.The decline was...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2013
US sees surge in mortgage applications
The overall number of housing loan applications filed in the US soared 22 percent last week compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey, which covers more than 75 percent of all residential loan applications in the country.However, the market...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2013
Keppel first half profit drops
Lower property earnings contributed to a drop in Keppel Land's first half net profits while earnings from overseas projects grew almost 80 percent on last year for the property company. Keppel Land posted a net profit of S$192.1 million in 1H2013, down 18.8percent from the S$236.6 million...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2013
Aussie PM cancels sale of Canberra home
After almost two months of being on the market, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's five-bedroom house in Canberra will no longer be for sale.First listed on 29 May, the 465sq m home located in the suburb of Yarralumla was priced at A$2.25 million (S$2.61 million), said reports.According to...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2013
Singapore, Columbia sign investment guarantee deal
Agreement (IGA) that will provide a legal framework for investment between the two countries, according to media reports.“With this IGA, Singapore companies can further explore new business and investment opportunities in Colombia, especially in sectors such as oil and gas, infocomms...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2013
Investor confidence reaches two-year high
INVESTOR confidence in Singapore reached a two-year high between May and June, before the US Federal Reserve announced it would curtail its bond-buying programme by year-end.The JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) report showed confidence reached 122 points between May and June this year, up from...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2013
No sign of foreign buying law changes
Restrictions for international property buyers and investors who want to buy property in the Asia-Pacific region are unlikely to be lifted in the near future, according to Knight Frank’s latest review of property markets in the region.Although the number of cross-border residential property...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2013
Local banks not at risk despite Moody's downgrade: MAS
Singapore banks are not at risk from potential downturns as they have adequate buffers to cope with rising interest rates, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in its reaction to Moody’s outlook downgrade for Singapore banks from stable to negative. “Local...
Continue Reading • 17 Jul 2013
US home builder confidence soars
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in the US revealed that confidence in the industry has increased six points in July to its highest level since January 2006. This is also the third consecutive month of increase in the index of newly-built, single-family homes, reaching 57 in...
Continue Reading • 17 Jul 2013
S'pore banks raise fixed-rate loans
In an effort to hedge against rising mortgage rates in the US, Singaporeans are expected to switch to fixed-rate loans. However, some local banks have already raised the interest rates on their products. For instance, Maybank increased the interest rate of its three-year fixed loan by 0.1...
Continue Reading • 17 Jul 2013
More agents marketing commercial, overseas properties
After a slew of cooling measures that mainly affected the residential market, property agents are beginning to diversify their income into other segments, including commercial and industrial sectors as well as overseas projects.PropNex Realty Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Ismail said about 10...
Continue Reading • 17 Jul 2013
Residential market dominates property sales in June
Investment sales in the residential market accounted for 55 percent or S$3.3 billion of the total S$6.0 billion transaction volume recorded in Q2 2013, according to Savills. Within the quarter, there were seven residential sites awarded under the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme at a...
Continue Reading • 17 Jul 2013
PropertyGuru holds successful seminar at Sky Habitat
Asia's leading real estate portal PropertyGuru and property giant CapitaLand successfully staged an exclusive property seminar at the Sky Habitat Show Suite next to Bishan MRT station on 29 June. The event featured two key speakers: Keith Cheong, Head of Research & Analytics,...
Continue Reading • 17 Jul 2013
Good time to lock-in loans, says DBS head
With mortgage interest rates in the US and Singapore expected to rise in the next one to two years, now is an opportune time for borrowers to switch from variable interest rate loans to fixed-rate loans, according to DBS CEO Piyush Gupta (pictured). But most Asian borrowers prefer floating rate...
Continue Reading • 17 Jul 2013