Singapore the new tourism hotspot
By Nikki De Guzman:Singapore is now widely considered the leisure and tourism capital of the 21st century, offering a wide mix of cultures, modern developments and strong economy, according to the San Francisco Examiner. With a land area of about 270 square miles and population of around five...
Continue Reading • 6 May 2013
HK, Dubai are hottest property markets
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Supported by the sharp rise in average home prices, Hong Kong and Dubai have emerged as the top two destinations in ‘The Hottest Real Estate Markets on Earth’ 2012 ranking by Forbes.Notably, Hong Kong house prices soared a whopping 23.6 percent. Currently, a...
Continue Reading • 6 May 2013
PropNex consumer empowerment seminar gets positive feedback
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:As part of plans to support its salespersons and clients, property agency PropNex recently held its inaugural Consumer Empowerment Seminar at Kallang Theatre.The event was attended by more than 1,300 consumers who not only had their property queries answered, but were...
Continue Reading • 6 May 2013
Khaw reminds buyers to exercise prudence
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Home buyers need to take future interest rate hikes into account when making decisions on property purchases, cautioned National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.In the latest National Conversation for property, he reminded buyers that prices will not always move...
Continue Reading • 6 May 2013
Mixed views on outlook for Vietnam property
By Shabnam Muzammil:Liquidity in Vietnam’s property market is expected to rise in the third quarter, but will recover in the last three months of 2013, according to Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, Vice-President of the National Financial Supervisory Committee.Speaking at a recent conference held in Ho...
Continue Reading • 6 May 2013
Roxy-Pacific Q1 net profit up 31%
By Nikki De Guzman:Property and hospitality group Roxy-Pacific Holdings posted a 31 percent rise in net profit to S$11.8 million in the first quarter of 2013 from S$9.0 million over the same period last year.Gross profit also increased to S$18.3 million, up 10 percent from last year’s...
Continue Reading • 6 May 2013
S'pore needs more crane operators: Khaw
By Shabnam Muzammil:National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday said in a blog post that Singapore needs to increase its construction productivity urgently and one way is through the use of prefabrication and standardization.But he added that such a strategy requires many more crane...
Continue Reading • 3 May 2013
Japanese developers stay positive on Singapore property
By Shabnam Muzammil:Despite on-going economic uncertainty in Singapore, Japanese developers remain optimistic about investing in the city-state, reported The Business Times.Most have credited their success to joint ventures with more established local developers.However, the recent property...
Continue Reading • 3 May 2013
Rental market faces roadblocks
By Nikki De Guzman:Aside from an expected surge in new completions, there are other headwinds that Singapore's residential property market will face in the future, according to Nomura. One of the concerns is higher property taxes due to changes in Budget 2013, like the removal of property...
Continue Reading • 3 May 2013
Plans unveiled for Singapore's tallest building
By Shabnam Muzammil:Singapore-listed developer GuocoLand has unveiled details of its upcoming Tanjong Pagar Centre (pictured). Set to become the city-state's tallest building, the 290m mixed-use development will be located above Tanjong Pagar MRT station.It comprises Guoco Tower, a 38-storey...
Continue Reading • 3 May 2013
Singapore's super-prime home sales value to rise 27%
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:The value of residential property purchases worth more than US$15.5 million (S$19.18 million) in London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore is expected to rise by 27 percent in the next five years, according to a report.Produced by British luxury developer Candy &...
Continue Reading • 3 May 2013
KSH wins awards for construction excellence
By Nikki De Guzman:Listed construction group KSH Holdings has won two awards at the Construction Excellence Awards 2013 by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).The firm's winning projects are the construction of Fullerton Bay Hotel (pictured) and NUS University Town's Educational...
Continue Reading • 3 May 2013
Singapore property to remain resilient: report
By Shabnam Muzammil:Singapore's domestic-driven sectors such as construction, real estate and related financing are expected to remain resilient, according to a central bank report.“The level of output in the economy will further converge to its underlying potential, while the labour market...
Continue Reading • 2 May 2013
Ascott Reit expands its Asia presence
By Nikki De Guzman:Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott Reit) has agreed to purchase three prime serviced residences in China and 11 Japanese rental properties for S$287.4 million.Ascott Reit will acquire Citadines Biyun Shanghai (pictured) for around S$63.2 million and Somerset Heping Shenyang...
Continue Reading • 2 May 2013
Far East launches condo with Ferrari design
By Shabnam Muzammil:Property developer Far East Organization yesterday launched a new ultra-luxury condominium development under its Inessence brand, releasing 30 of the 104 available units with prices starting from S$2.3 million.Located at 1 Leonie Hill, Ferra (pictured) is the first residential...
Continue Reading • 2 May 2013
China tops Asia Pacific stock rankings
By Nikki De Guzman:The Asia Pacific region reported an eight percent growth in invested stock last year, outperforming both North America and Europe, according to a DTZ report. Emerging markets fuelled the region’s robust performance, with China surpassing Japan as the region's...
Continue Reading • 2 May 2013
Jones Lang posts moderate revenue growth
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Jones Lang LaSalle reported a six percent revenue increase to US$856 million (S$1.056 billion) in the first quarter of 2013, from US$813.3 million (S$1.003 billion) during the same period last year. Fee revenue stood at US$781 million (S$963 million), up six percent from...
Continue Reading • 2 May 2013
Tanjong Pagar: The next new hotspot
By Shabnam Muzammil:Tanjong Pagar is quickly becoming a popular and vibrant destination for swanky boutique hotels, creative office spaces and award-winning celebrity restaurants, according to Savills Singapore.With many new residential projects such as Eon Shenton and Pinnacle@Duxton, the area...
Continue Reading • 2 May 2013
Govt taking serious look at EC scheme
By Nikki De Guzman:National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said there is “something wrong somewhere” with the executive condominium (EC) scheme due to "a sense of inequity", and it cannot carry on in its current form.At a recent dialogue on housing, Mr Khaw highlighted...
Continue Reading • 30 Apr 2013
Non-landed private home prices up 0.9% last month
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Prices of completed non-landed private homes rose 0.9 percent in March after a 1.2 percent decline in February, according to the NUS Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI).The uptrend was primarily due to the 2.2 percent increase in the sub-index for the Central Region...
Continue Reading • 30 Apr 2013