Cooling measures have discouraged multiple property purchases
By Nikki De Guzman:The number of home loan applicants buying private property without any outstanding loans continued to increase in Q1 2013, according to Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS). According to analysts, this implies that the seventh round of cooling measures implemented in January have...
Continue Reading • 23 May 2013
Canary Wharf gets nod for mega devt near London Eye
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:The London Borough of Lambeth has granted approval to property company Canary Wharf Group and Qatar’s sovereign-wealth fund to build eight towers near the London Eye on the River Thames.To be located at the Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA)’s UK headquarters...
Continue Reading • 23 May 2013
8 Napier bags design award in Hong Kong
By Shabnam Muzammil:The 46-unit residential development 8 Napier (pictured) along Napier Road in Singapore has won the Merit Award in the overseas category at the Hong Kong Institute of Architect (HKIA) Annual Awards.Designed by architectural firm Aedas, the project comprises a 10-storey...
Continue Reading • 23 May 2013
Buy Pattaya, or bye bye Pattaya?
By Andrew Batt: EXCLUSIVE: What does this week’s news of Tulip Group’s decision to pull out of Pattaya’s residential market to focus on standalone hotels mean for the booming property sector in the Gulf of Thailand city?Whilst the company is just one of many who have chosen to...
Continue Reading • 23 May 2013
Weak demand for resale property to continue: DTZ
By Nikki De Guzman: Singapore saw a sharp decline in residential resale volumes across all segments in the first quarter of 2013, according to a DTZ report. The quarterly and year-on-year drop is a “stark contrast” to 2012, when resale deals rebounded following the introduction of the...
Continue Reading • 23 May 2013
More S'pore companies entering Tianjin Eco-City
By Nikki De Guzman:Around 60 Singapore companies have poured in US$850 million (S$1.07 billion) worth of investments into the massive Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City project.Master developer Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development announced this at a recent investment seminar...
Continue Reading • 22 May 2013
No signs of asset bubble in Asia: economist
By Shabnam Muzammil:Asia is unlikely to see an asset bubble, although financial tensions could increase in the next 18 months, according to Michael Spencer, Chief Economist at Deutsche Bank.While some of these tensions could take place as record-low interest rates start to pick up from near zero,...
Continue Reading • 22 May 2013
Cooling measures fairly successful: MAS head
By Nikki De Guzman:The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) macroprudential measures are said to have achieved “some degree of success” in cooling the property market and will be tweaked depending on market conditions.At a dinner organised on Tuesday by the Asian Bureau of...
Continue Reading • 22 May 2013
You can't live here if you have kids
By Andrew Batt: There was an explosion of interest in one Brisbane apartment block last week after it was featured on a current affairs television programme, highlighting rules which prevent families with children and pregnant women from living there.The heritage-listed Glenfalloch building in...
Continue Reading • 22 May 2013
Tudor Close bungalow on sale for $38m
By Shabnam Muzammil:A two-storey freehold bungalow (pictured) at Tudor Close in District 11 is up for sale by tender with a price tag of over S$38 million, said the property’s marketing agent Savills Singapore.Located on a 22,534 sq ft site, the plot has been approved for subdivision into...
Continue Reading • 22 May 2013
Condo sales heat up
By Nikki De Guzman:New mass market projects launched last weekend received strong interest from home buyers, reported The Straits Times. The 380-unit Stratum (pictured) sold 190 of the 250 units released under its initial phase. The 99-year leasehold project by Elitist Development was launched at...
Continue Reading • 22 May 2013
Indonesians are among top buyers of S'pore property
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Indonesians were the third largest group of overseas property buyers in Singapore during the first quarter of 2013, accounting for 24 percent of all foreign deals. “Indonesia’s purchase position rose one percent from 2012,” said Novriyanto Lius, a...
Continue Reading • 22 May 2013
Govt not doing enough to curb soaring house prices: survey
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:The government’s recent cooling measures to moderate property prices are still not enough, according to 60 percent of the 662 online respondents in PropertyGuru’s latest Property Sentiment Survey for the second quarter of 2013.This is 13 percent higher than...
Continue Reading • 22 May 2013
Buy a home, get a visa in Spain
By Andrew Batt:A new law in Spain which is expected to come into force in July is expected to see many more buyers from Southeast Asia investing in property there - because it will come with residency. The law, which we first reported about in late 2012, will allow non-European Union residents to...
Continue Reading • 22 May 2013
Vesak Day Seminar at Sennett Residence
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:PropertyGuru, Asia’s leading property portal, in partnership with developer Tuan Sing Holdings Limited, is organising a Vesak Day Special Invitation Consumer Seminar at 12:30pm this Friday (24 May).The seminar will feature three key speakers: Keith Cheong, Head of...
Continue Reading • 22 May 2013
Ascott marks entrance into Saudi market
By Nikki De Guzman:CapitaLand’s Ascott has secured its first contract in Saudi Arabia from Rafal Real Estate Development (RAFAL), to manage the 230-unit Ascott Olaya Riyadh (pictured).Expected to open in 2015, the property will be near the upcoming King Abdullah Financial District....
Continue Reading • 21 May 2013
Battersea sells 95% in just five months
By Andrew Batt:Less than 50 of the 866 units which form part of the first phase of the Battersea Power Station project (pictured) in London remain for sale after the developer reported it has exchanged contracts with close to 95 percent of buyers - worth £675 million.Units officially opened...
Continue Reading • 21 May 2013
200 units at Reflections project still unsold
By Nikki De Guzman:With around 200 units still left unsold, property agents for Keppel Land’s Reflections project (pictured) are worried that it will be difficult to rent out the remaining homes. According to CIMB, most owners had cut rents to as low as S$4 psf which amounts to a 2.4...
Continue Reading • 21 May 2013
70 units sold at preview of Keppel Bay condo
By Nikki De Guzman:Corals at Keppel Bay (pictured) sold 70 units at its preview over the weekend, with most of the buyers being Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs). Located at Keppel Road, the 366-unit condominium development by Keppel Land comprises one- to two-bedroom apartments between...
Continue Reading • 21 May 2013
London price confidence rising
By Andrew Batt:For only the second time since June 2010, London homeowners believe the value of their homes went up in the last month, and they expect them to carry on rising over the next year.The latest Sentiment Index from Knight Frank and Markit showed the second-highest confidence level...
Continue Reading • 21 May 2013