London asking prices fall, outlook less frothy
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Residential asking prices in London fell some four percent to average £464,398 (S$919,090) this month, the biggest decline for a December in five years, according to property website Rightmove plc.This was attributed to seasonal factors and an upsurge in supply....
Continue Reading • 18 Dec 2012
New home sales plunge 44%
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:New private home sales in Singapore slumped 44.2 percent in November, with only 14,087 units sold excluding executive condominiums (ECs), according to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The best performing location last month was the Core Central...
Continue Reading • 18 Dec 2012
Sembawang EC site sold for S$211.92m
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has awarded an executive condominium (EC) site at Sembawang Crescent/Sembawang Drive (pictured) to JBE Holdings. The developer submitted the top bid of S$211.92 million.The 21,718.4 sq m site could yield some 650 housing units and...
Continue Reading • 18 Dec 2012
URA awards tender for Alexandra View site
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:The public tender for a 6,501.4 sq m residential site (pictured) at Alexandra View (Parcel B) has been awarded by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to Singland Homes, after it offered the highest bid of S$332.68 million. The sale of the site had closed on 11...
Continue Reading • 18 Dec 2012
Village @ Pasir Panjang to revive West Coast charm
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:The 148-unit Village @ Pasir Panjang condominium (pictured) looks to recapture some of the historic charm of Singapore’s West Coast – the kampung ambiance of old Pasir Panjang and the façade of black and white houses of the 1950s. The project by...
Continue Reading • 18 Dec 2012
Many UK mortgage borrowers overpaying
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Some 33 percent of all home loans taken out in the UK since 2005 were overpaid, with mortgage holders forking out £31 billion (S$61 billion) in extra payments, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Thanks to nearly four years of historically low...
Continue Reading • 17 Dec 2012
HUDC unit sale breaks record
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:A spacious maisonette at Shunfu Road has broken the record for the most expensive HUDC unit. The house was sold to a young Singaporean couple for S$1.33 million beating the previous record of S$1.28 million set in September for a similar unit in the area, reported The...
Continue Reading • 17 Dec 2012
S'pore real estate outlook encouraging
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Despite a weaker economic environment dampened by issues in the US and Eurozone, Malaysian developer Selangor Dredging Bhd (SDB) remains optimistic towards Singapore’s private property market.Yeoh Guan Jin, Communications and Corporate Affairs Manager at SDB, said...
Continue Reading • 17 Dec 2012
Overseas property still popular in 2013: report
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Wealthy Asian buyers will continue to be on the lookout for overseas residential properties next year, according to a Knight Frank report. Based on data this year, it is clear that mainstream markets in the Asia Pacific region have outperformed prime markets.This is due...
Continue Reading • 17 Dec 2012
Home prices fall for five quarters claim is true
By Andrew Batt:Claims published last week which suggested that private home prices in Singapore have fallen for five consecutive quarters, once adjusted for inflation, were questioned by a large number of PropertyGuru readers.In a report published on Wednesday by The Global Property Guide and...
Continue Reading • 17 Dec 2012
Rental market strong, but more vacant units
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Singapore’s residential leasing market is set to record stellar growth this year with the number of leases between January to October 2012 at 42,139 – just 2,923 leases below last year’s 45,062, according to a Savills report.The year’s total is...
Continue Reading • 14 Dec 2012
Experts optimistic about Malaysia property market
By Farah Wahida: Despite several concerns this year, Malaysia's property market is expected to remain bullish in 2013 and prices are unlikely to drop, said Nixon Paul, President of the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA). In a report carried on PropertyGuru Malaysia, Paul noted that...
Continue Reading • 14 Dec 2012
US mortgage rates fall further
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The average rate for 30-year fixed loans in the US declined to 3.32 percent this week compared to 3.4 percent previously, according to McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac (FMCC). The average 15-year rate also slipped from 2.67 to 2.66 percent, Bloomberg reported. The US...
Continue Reading • 14 Dec 2012
What will happen in 2013? Find out in The PropertyGuru
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:The PropertyGuru, Singapore's only dedicated property newspaper today published its final issue of 2012.As the top story, PropertyGuru's regional editorial teams in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand spoke to real estate experts from around the world for their...
Continue Reading • 14 Dec 2012
Govt continues push to provide housing
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Singapore will continue to ramp up housing supply in the coming year, with the Ministry of National Development (MND) today announcing the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for the first half of 2013.The sites are expected to generate 14,000 private homes, including...
Continue Reading • 14 Dec 2012
Property investors still bullish on Asia: survey
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Property investors in Asia have got a positive outlook for the region’s property market in 2013, with 70 percent likely to expand their investment and property portfolio, according to Colliers International’s Global Investor Sentiment Survey 2012.The survey...
Continue Reading • 14 Dec 2012
Brazil is top of the props
By Andrew Batt:The most popular overseas property investment for Singaporeans this year will probably come as a big surprise to many consumers and industry watchers alike.Whilst developments from Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Australia and Thailand have all been popular, it’s likely that a...
Continue Reading • 14 Dec 2012
8 bids for Sembawang EC site
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: A 21,718.4 sq m executive condominium (EC) site at Sembawang Crescent/Sembawang Drive (pictured) received a total of eight bids when its public tender closed yesterday, said the Housing and Development Board (HDB).Offered on a 99-year lease, the site has a maximum...
Continue Reading • 14 Dec 2012
Property market too hot to stop?
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Singapore’s property market is booming despite a series of negative factors, including global economic uncertainties, a subdued local economy and looming supply of new homes. Even after the implementation of various property curbs, the market has been surprisingly...
Continue Reading • 13 Dec 2012
HK risks property price slump: IMF
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:With a limited supply of new residential units and low interest rates, property prices in Hong Kong could fall sharply, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “The property sector is the main source of domestic economic risk,” said the...
Continue Reading • 13 Dec 2012