Victoria, Capital Territory among Australia's residential hotspots
By Nikki De Guzman:The annual HIA Population and Residential Building Hotspots report named Western Australia, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) as home to the country’s premiere housing hotspots.Covering the fastest growing areas from 2011 to 2012, the report defines...
Continue Reading • 7 Jun 2013
Fatal accident at Novena Ville site
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:A serious accident occurred yesterday at the Novena Ville site along Thomson Road, which is being redeveloped by Fragrance Group into a four-storey residential and commercial property called Novena Regency. A Chinese Singaporean in his 50s was killed when the...
Continue Reading • 7 Jun 2013
Sentosa Cove houseboat on sale for $1.38m
By Nikki De Guzman:A rare houseboat (pictured) berthed at the luxury residential enclave of Sentosa Cove in Singapore is up for sale at an eye-popping price of S$1.38 million, or around S$460 psf.Measuring 3,000 sq ft, the boat is currently owned by a Singaporean couple and has been listed on...
Continue Reading • 7 Jun 2013
Dutch offices converted into student accommodation
By Nikki De Guzman:Dutch investors have found a way to address office oversupply and student housing shortage by converting vacant office buildings into student accommodation, according to a Savills report. In the town of Diemen, five former office buildings of Snippe BV will be redeveloped...
Continue Reading • 7 Jun 2013
Philippine shines as more foreigners buy up property
By Nikki De Guzman:With the property cooling measures starting to bite in Singapore and Hong Kong, more foreign buyers are buying residential properties in the Philippines, according to CBRE Philippines Chairman Rick Santos. “New restrictive property tax laws in Hong Kong and...
Continue Reading • 6 Jun 2013
Australia a top destination for SEA house hunters
By Nikki De Guzman:Australia has emerged as the top destination of choice among the 1,282 respondents across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia who are interested in buying property overseas, according to PropertyGuru’s Q2 Regional Property Affordability Survey. Three in every 10...
Continue Reading • 6 Jun 2013
S'pore is Asia's 9th most expensive location for expats
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Singapore has fallen three spots to the 36th most expensive location in the world for expatriates, according to the latest report on cost of living by human resources consultants ECA International. Within Asia, the city-state is ranked 9th, one spot higher than Hong...
Continue Reading • 6 Jun 2013
PropertyGuru seminar draws crowds to Sennett Residence
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:PropertyGuru’s recent collaboration with Tuan Sing Holdings for a consumer seminar on Vesak Day has been a boon for the developer’s Sennett Residence, with a strong turnout from home buyers and healthy sales reported. “The turnout was very good,...
Continue Reading • 6 Jun 2013
Agent jailed, fined for unlicensed moneylending
By Shabnam Muzammil:Lee Pit Chin, director of a real estate company, was sentenced to three months in jail and fined S$160,000 for unlicensed moneylending offences.He was fined an additional S$314,000 for providing unsecured loans to borrowers and submitting false returns to the Registrar of...
Continue Reading • 6 Jun 2013
Over 1500 applications for Afiniti Residences in Johor
By Nikki De Guzman:Afiniti Residences (pictured), the residential component of the Afiniti Medini mixed wellness development in Medini, Iskandar Malaysia, has received a total of 1,570 applications with Malaysians accounting for about 60 percent. The rest comprise of foreigners from Singapore,...
Continue Reading • 6 Jun 2013
NYC luxury housing in full swing
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:New York’s luxury housing market is seeing robust demand as buyers snap up properties ahead of completion, according to media reports.“The luxury market in New York City has rebounded to even higher prices than the last peak market. The stability of the New...
Continue Reading • 6 Jun 2013
Angry Birds theme park to open in Johor
By Farah Wahida:Johor Corporation (JCorp) has unveiled the Masterplan for its RM1.5 billion (S$607.4 million) redevelopment of the Tun Abdul Razak Complex (KOMTAR) in Johor Baru, including the project’s new logo and design of its mall, expected to open in May 2014.To be renamed...
Continue Reading • 5 Jun 2013
Second-hand EC seeing strong demand
By Shabnam Muzammil:La Casa (pictured), a 444-unit executive condominium (EC) in Woodlands Drive 16, is reporting healthy interest from prospective buyers as some of its units near the five-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP), The New Paper reported.Transactions have been brisk since February...
Continue Reading • 5 Jun 2013
Business as usual for S'poreans investing in Johor
By Shabnam Muzammil:Despite the recent announcement of higher taxes for foreign property owners in Johor, interest among Singaporeans for real estate in the state will likely remain as prices there are significantly more attractive, The Business Times reported.“It’s business as usual...
Continue Reading • 5 Jun 2013
Hooker targets children
By Andrew Batt:An Australian real estate agency has introduced a marketing campaign which is targeting children as the next generation of property buyers.Mr Hooker Bear (pictured) is the brainchild of LJ Hooker, one of the country’s leading real estate agencies, and has recently launched an...
Continue Reading • 5 Jun 2013
ASEAN property to get even hotter: report
By Nikki De Guzman:In line with ASEAN economic integration by 2015, the region’s real estate markets, especially the commercial sector, are expected to see increased demand, according to a new report by Jones Lang LaSalle.Released in conjunction with the 2013 World Economic Forum East Asia...
Continue Reading • 5 Jun 2013
A strong weekend for new project sales
By Shabnam Muzammil:Newly launched residential and commercial property developments recorded strong interest from buyers over the weekend, helped by good location and prices, reported The Straits Times.“Buyers are interested to look at residential projects that have good location...
Continue Reading • 5 Jun 2013
India approves new real estate law
By Andrew Batt:India’s government yesterday approved the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill 2013 with the aim of providing greater transparency in the sector.Developers who publish misleading property advertisements could face jail. Project launches can now only take place once...
Continue Reading • 5 Jun 2013
Bungalow market thaws
By Nikki De Guzman:The freezing Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market seems to be thawing with a few sizeable deals done lately, reported The Business Times. For instance, SC Global founder Simon Cheong is selling his mansion at Cornwall Gardens for S$42.5 million or S$2,051 psf based on the...
Continue Reading • 5 Jun 2013
Johor tax hike draws mixed views
By Farah Wahida:The Johor government’s plan to impose a higher property tax on foreigners drew mixed reactions as details of the proposal are still under discussion, reported The Star.According to Chief Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin, approximately 130,000 foreigners owning properties in...
Continue Reading • 4 Jun 2013