Singapore's inflation eases
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Singapore’s inflation rate dipped to five percent in May, a slight drop from the 5.1 percent previously forecasted by economists.While risks have shifted from inflation towards growth, many economists remain doubtful that the central bank will ease its policy in...
Continue Reading • 26 Jun 2012
London's York House to launch in Singapore
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: UK developer Berkeley Homes will showcase its York House development at a property exhibition taking place from 7 to 8 July at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore. York House is the latest phase of One Tower Bridge (pictured), a luxury riverside project in London....
Continue Reading • 26 Jun 2012
Asians need mortgage broker education, says expert
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:The role of a mortgage broker should be made clear to prospective Asian borrowers as many of them do not use brokers because they don’t understand the concept, according to Mortgage House franchisee Tom Mak. Mak’s business is based in New South Wales,...
Continue Reading • 26 Jun 2012
Mortgage forgiveness helping to prevent US foreclosures
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: A report by Amherst Securities Group has found that reducing the amount U.S. homeowners owe on their mortgages is helping to prevent foreclosures. This method has proven to be more effective than other ways, which includes postponing payments and reducing interest rates....
Continue Reading • 25 Jun 2012
HUDC estate protests against fees
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The management of Braddell View estate (pictured) has urged its residents to sign a petition calling for the reduction in fees that they’ll need to pay once the estate is privatised. They also sought the help of Member of Parliament Hri Kumar Nair to negotiate with...
Continue Reading • 25 Jun 2012
Big-ticket bungalow deals reasonably priced
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Some big-ticket bungalow deals took place recently on Sentosa Cove (pictured) and the Good Class Bungalow (GCB) areas of mainland Singapore. One Singaporean bought a two-storey freehold bungalow with five bedrooms and a study at White House Park for S$24.8 million or...
Continue Reading • 25 Jun 2012
New condo launches expected to revive Jurong
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: A number of new projects are now in the pipeline that will provide residents in the Jurong and Lakeside areas with more housing options. For more than a year, there was no new condo launched in the vicinity despite a lot of buzz taking place in suburbs across the island....
Continue Reading • 25 Jun 2012
Westvale Condo sold in collective sale exercise for S$77.5m
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: RL West Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned unit of Roxy Pacific Holdings Ltd, has acquired Westvale Condominium (pictured) for S$77.5 million in a collective sale, according to a statement by marketing agent Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). The sale translates to around S$883 psf ppr with...
Continue Reading • 25 Jun 2012
CapitaLand CEO's retirement the end of an era
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Property developer CapitaLand announced late last week that its CEO Liew Mun Leong (pictured) will give up his position on 28 June 2013. After serving two term extensions – a three-year extension from 28 June 2008 and a two-year extension from 28 June 2011, Liew...
Continue Reading • 25 Jun 2012
Singapore developers turning to foreign architects to lure buyers
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Local developers looking to add value to their new projects are turning to world-renowned overseas architects, with 14 developments being backed by 12 foreign designers. Since the mid-80s, Singapore’s residential property market has been welcoming architects...
Continue Reading • 25 Jun 2012
Keppel Land appoints Loh Chin Hua to its Board
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Keppel Land has appointed Loh Chin Hua (pictured), Chief Financial Officer of Keppel Corporation, as a non-independent, non-executive Director on its Board as well as a member of its Audit Committee with effect from 1 July. In a statement, Choo Chiau Beng, Chairman of...
Continue Reading • 22 Jun 2012
UK mortgage lending rebounds
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Following a decline in April, mortgage lending in the UK rose by 24 percent to £12.2 billion (S$24.35 billion) in May, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).At the same time, the UK’s customs and tax department also reported that sales of...
Continue Reading • 22 Jun 2012
Inflation a major concern for baby-boomers: survey
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: A growing number of baby-boomers in Asia are concerned about the effects of inflation on their retirement purchasing power, according to a survey conducted by Allianz Global Investors (AGI). Two-thirds or 67 percent of boomers in Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong...
Continue Reading • 22 Jun 2012
Buy a condo and get free club membership
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Property developer Far East Organization is offering a new deal to lure more buyers. With the purchase of an apartment at its upcoming Seastrand project (pictured), buyers will get a free country club term membership worth more than S$16,000. Purchasers of...
Continue Reading • 22 Jun 2012
Overseas exhibitions tempt Singapore buyers
By Andrew Batt: Singapore property buyers and investors will again have the world at their feet when a range of property investment opportunities are exhibited in Singapore this weekend.Developments from Malaysia, Australia, Thailand and the United Kingdom will be touting opportunities in various...
Continue Reading • 22 Jun 2012
Farrer Drive site attracts top bid of S$113.2m
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: A residential site (pictured) at Farrer Drive has received a total of six bids with the highest offer of S$113.2 million coming from SingLand Development. The 99-year leasehold site, launched under the reserve list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme, was...
Continue Reading • 22 Jun 2012
Top Asian companies less positive on outlook: survey
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Top companies in Asia are less optimistic about their business outlook than in the first quarter, on the back of growing pressure from the Eurozone crisis and slow growth in China, according to a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asia Business Sentiment Survey. Of the 177 companies...
Continue Reading • 21 Jun 2012
Rebound seen in big-ticket property sales
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Property investment deals covering big-ticket developments rose to around S$6.4 billion in Q2 2012, according to preliminary figures released by Savills Singapore.In the first quarter of this year, such transactions fell to S$4.8 billion, compared to S$7.9 billion in Q4...
Continue Reading • 21 Jun 2012
Singapore getting cheaper for expats in Asia
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Singapore has slipped from sixth to eighth spot on the list of Asia’s most expensive locations for international assignees, according to research done by ECA International. Beijing overtook Singapore clinching fifth spot from eighth last year while Shanghai rose...
Continue Reading • 21 Jun 2012
Top Aussie bank puts brakes on mortgage lending
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB), one of Australia’s largest lenders, has announced that it will ease off its aggressive residential mortgage lending. However, it still intends to keep growing at a faster pace than its competitors. “We are anticipating that...
Continue Reading • 21 Jun 2012