Private home sales hit new low
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: New home sales for the month of June hit an all-time low in 2012. 1,371 private homes were sold during the month, a 19 percent decline month-on-month (m/m) from the 1,702 seen in May. Including executive condominiums (ECs), home sales fell 16 percent m/m and reached...
Continue Reading • 16 Jul 2012
Major Aussie bank maintains mortgage rates
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has announced that its mortgage rate will remain at 6.9 percent, following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision not to reduce the cash rate this month.The move to maintain the lending rate was driven by the...
Continue Reading • 16 Jul 2012
New residential launches attract keen buyers
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Parc Olympia (pictured), a new 486-unit condo development at Flora Drive, has sold around 80 of the 118 units released. Koh Brothers, the project’s developer, was offering the units at an average price of S$820 psf after a 16 percent early-bird discount. Market...
Continue Reading • 16 Jul 2012
Bahamas project a hit with Singapore buyers
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Baha Mar (pictured), a mega resort development in the Bahamas, saw strong interest among buyers and investors at its recent launch in Singapore. “We are very satisfied by the level of interest at the reception and launch recognising Baha Mar’s luxurious...
Continue Reading • 16 Jul 2012
Keppel Land to jointly develop S$70m condo in Colombo
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Keppel Land and Sri Lanka-based developer CT Properties will jointly develop around 260 luxury condominium units on a 1.25-acre site in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.With a total development cost of S$70 million, the project will mainly target wealthy buyers and is...
Continue Reading • 16 Jul 2012
56 rogue agents from ECG could get the boot
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: ECG Property may fire 56 of its property agents who violated regulations set by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA).The errant agents were either caught moonlighting or using client information from the company’s database to sell other products, according to Eric...
Continue Reading • 16 Jul 2012
Outlook positive for Vietnam property market
The Vietnam real estate market is witnessing positive signs for residential apartments in the low to medium range. Since interest rates fell to 11 percent, positive changes have been seen in the market. According to recent research from the market research division of Batdongsan.com.vn, interest...
Continue Reading • 13 Jul 2012
UK lenders cut mortgage rates
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: UK lenders are expected to cut their five-year fixed-rate mortgages due to a sharp decline in swap rates amid an upcoming scheme that will make more cash available to households and businesses. The “funding for lending” scheme from the Bank of England and...
Continue Reading • 13 Jul 2012
Global launch of Damai 88 this weekend
By Andrew Batt: Malaysian luxury freehold property Damai 88 (pictured) will receive its global launch in Singapore this weekend, thanks to the continuing strong interest among Singaporeans in overseas properties, buoyed by Singaporeans’ continuing strong interest in foreign...
Continue Reading • 13 Jul 2012
Selling The Charm of Phuket
By Andrew Batt: The Charm Residence (pictured) is launching Phase D of its project to property buyers and investors in Singapore this weekend, after what agency Trillion Property described as “pretty encouraging” sales which has seen sell-outs of Blocks A and B, and 80 percent sales...
Continue Reading • 13 Jul 2012
Property prices expected to rise: survey
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The majority of respondents in a new survey by Credit Suisse feel that property prices are likely to continue rising and the government is expected to introduce more cooling measures. Out of 300 polled, around 47 percent believe that housing prices will rise next year,...
Continue Reading • 13 Jul 2012
Over 100 landed homes to be showcased at SLP event
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: SLP Realty is set to hold its first-ever Landed Property Exhibition 2012 tomorrow, showcasing over 100 landed homes in Singapore.To be held at No. 37 Jalan Pemimpin, CLARUS Centre #01-02A, the exhibition will feature a wide range of inter terraces, detached houses, Good...
Continue Reading • 13 Jul 2012
35% drop in US mortgage fraud cases
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Cases of residential mortgage fraud in the US done in collusion with mortgage industry professionals dropped 35 percent between 2010 and 2011, according to the LexisNexis Risk Solutions Mortgage Fraud Report.The report tracked actual cases of mortgage fraud or...
Continue Reading • 12 Jul 2012
Q2 property investment sales pick up steam
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Singapore’s property investment sales market rebounded strongly in Q2 2012, with all sectors seeing growth, according to the latest report from Colliers International on the investment sales market. Total investment sales value jumped almost 89 percent to S$8.9...
Continue Reading • 12 Jul 2012
Highly anticipated Khazanah-Temasek project breaks ground
By Cheryl Tay: The Marina Bay district will witness a new addition to its skyline in 2017 with the completion of the S$7 billion Marina One (pictured), a project by M+S Pte Ltd that broke ground yesterday. The project is one of two developments by M+S, a 60:40 joint venture (JV) between Khazanah...
Continue Reading • 12 Jul 2012
Japan apartment could be world's priciest one-bedder
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Sotheby’s Japan has listed an apartment worth a staggering 1.8 billion yen (S$27.6 million), possibly the most expensive one-bedroom condo in the world. The unit is located at “The House Minami Azabu”, one of the most luxurious condo complexes in the...
Continue Reading • 12 Jul 2012
Mabuhay: Philippines Property Show this weekend
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:PropertyGuru’s first ever Philippines Property Show (PPS) 2012 will take place this weekend, 14 to 15 July at the Orchard Hotel Singapore. PPS will be an avenue for developers from the Philippines to showcase their latest projects, many of which offer high...
Continue Reading • 12 Jul 2012
Singapore buyers still hot for homes up to S$1 million
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: New homes priced between S$500,000 and S$1 million are still the most popular among Singaporean buyers, according to data from the URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority). A total of 3,361 units or 46.3 percent of all new residential transactions done in 1H2012 were found to...
Continue Reading • 12 Jul 2012
More Singaporeans buying Johor homes despite crime threat
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: A growing number of Singaporeans are buying homes in Johor despite news of them being victims of crimes in the area. According to the Johor-Singapore Community Care Association (JSCA), about 5,000 Singaporeans own homes in Johor. “I see more Singaporeans buying...
Continue Reading • 12 Jul 2012
Koh Brothers launching sporting themed condo this weekend
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Parc Olympia (pictured), a new condo project at Flora Drive is set to launch over this weekend (14 – 15 July). Developed by Koh Brothers Development (KBD), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koh Brothers Group Limited, the 99-year leasehold property will comprise 486...
Continue Reading • 12 Jul 2012