Kuala Lumpur draws in property investors
Malaysia’s well-regulated market is drawing interest from Asia Pacific investors keen on expanding their portfolios by acquiring well-priced, mid-range properties in the country, according to property investment company IP Global.Kuala Lumpur (pictured) was the top destination, driven by...
Continue Reading • 2 Mar 2012
Top banker owned S$39m Sentosa Cove bungalow
The bungalow at Sentosa Cove (pictured) sold for a record S$39 million was once owned by Deepak Sharma, Chairman at Citi Private Bank and his wife Susan Lim, a well-known surgeon, reported The Business Times.The sea-fronting property achieved the highest selling price ever for a bungalow on...
Continue Reading • 2 Mar 2012
Banks must provide borrowers with mortgage fact sheets
Home buyers will need to do more active checking before signing off on their loans, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) now requiring banks to provide prospective borrowers with a fact sheet during credit facility discussions.The fact sheet aims to help potential borrowers get the...
Continue Reading • 1 Mar 2012
PropNex, SingCapital launch rental protection service
PropNex Realty, in collaboration with financial advisory firm SingCapital, has introduced a Rent Protection Insurance (RPI) programme for landlords in Singapore, aimed at transferring the risk of loss of rental income suffered by a landlord to the insurer.“The introduction of the RPI will...
Continue Reading • 1 Mar 2012
Government revises DC rates
The Ministry of National Development (MND) has announced revisions on the development charges (DC) rates for the period covering 1 March to 31 August this year. Under the revisions, the DC rates for Group A (Commercial) was boosted by an average of six percent, with the biggest increase of 52...
Continue Reading • 1 Mar 2012
The Residences at The St. Regis Bangkok close to selling out
Over 75 percent of units at The Residences at The St. Regis Bangkok (pictured) are now sold, with only 13 four-bedroom luxury residences still available less than a year after its global launch.With a number of design awards received, The Residences at The St. Regis Bangkok has become a...
Continue Reading • 1 Mar 2012
HDB to install more lifts at multi-storey carparks
Motorists parking their cars at HDB multi-storey carparks will no longer have to walk up and down flights of stairs, as the housing board will install lifts in all of its older multi-storey carparks, according to National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.Out of the 622 carparks affected, 74...
Continue Reading • 1 Mar 2012
Fewer PRs buying landed homes
The number of permanent residents (PRs) buying landed homes in Singapore fell in 2011, as tough measures discouraged them from entering that segment of the real estate market.According to latest figures released by DTZ Research, PRs acquired 109 landed homes in 2011, down 53.6 percent from the...
Continue Reading • 1 Mar 2012
CDL's Q4 profit down 32%
Property firm City Developments Limited (CDL) has posted a 32 percent decline in net profit to S$163.2 million for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2011, mainly attributed to lower profits in the property rental segment.Revenue for the three-month period soared 7.4 percent to S$721.5...
Continue Reading • 1 Mar 2012
Sentosa Cove bungalow goes for record S$39m
A sea-fronting bungalow in Sentosa Cove (pictured) has smashed the price record, having been sold for S$39 million, the highest absolute price for a bungalow in the area. The new record beats the previous high of S$36 million for a Paradise Island bungalow back in 2010. That price translated to...
Continue Reading • 1 Mar 2012
CIMB still offering loans to shoebox buyers
CIMB Bank has countered allegations that it has stopped approving new mortgages for shoebox apartments because of the risks involved, according to a report by The Business Times.This was in response to an article featured in The PropertyGuru newspaper and online last week which highlighted that...
Continue Reading • 29 Feb 2012
Foreign buyers promised stamp duty ‘reimbursement'
Foreign property buyers in Singapore are being promised a ‘partial reimbursement’ of the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) which was introduced in early December 2011 in an attempt to curb overseas interest.Property developer Far East Organization is giving foreigners at its...
Continue Reading • 29 Feb 2012
Marymount residents upset over NSE payout appeal
A number of residents living off Marymount Road are disappointed over the way their homes are being acquired for the construction of the North-South Expressway (NSE).They claim that the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is putting pressure on them to withdraw their appeal regarding the compensation...
Continue Reading • 29 Feb 2012
London continues to attract property investment
Properties in prime central London continue to attract investors since the start of the global economic crisis in 2008, as the area offers investment opportunities with promising capital gains, strong fundamentals and solid yields.“Prices in prime central London have been resilient,...
Continue Reading • 29 Feb 2012
99-year leasehold homes on freehold sites harder to en bloc
Residential units with a leasehold period of 99 years and built on a freehold site could be harder to sell in the collective sales market, according to experts.They noted that a collective sale for such property can only be attained through an agreement with the land owner, as the freehold rights...
Continue Reading • 29 Feb 2012
Shorten leases to lower flat prices, say MPs
HDB units should be sold on shorter lease terms to make them affordable for low-income families and younger people, according to MP Gan Thiam Poh of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.He revealed that rising home prices have alarmed many couples and upgrading families, while noting a “worrying”...
Continue Reading • 29 Feb 2012
Ho Bee's full-year results weak
Singapore-listed property firm Ho Bee Investment Ltd has posted a 39 percent drop in net profit to S$202.5 million for the financial year ended 31 December 2011, with revenue also falling 43 percent to S$341.5 million.The company said the decline was attributed to “the higher revenue...
Continue Reading • 29 Feb 2012
Resale property prices down yet again
Overall resale prices of non-landed private homes fell 0.4 percent in January, continuing the downtrend seen in December when overall property prices dipped 0.8 percent.According to the latest Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) statistics released by the Institute of Real Estate Studies at...
Continue Reading • 29 Feb 2012
Mass market already seeing recovery after ABSD
After suffering the impact of the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) introduced in early December, the mass-market segment is beginning to recover with prices for completed private apartments in the Non-Central Region climbing one percent in January.This was revealed by the latest flash...
Continue Reading • 29 Feb 2012
Home sales volume down in 2011: DTZ
Private home transactions fell in 2011 with decreased sales volumes in both the primary and secondary markets, said DTZ Research. “Demand was more affected in the prime areas compared to the suburban areas which continued to be supported by HDB upgraders and local investors who are drawn by...
Continue Reading • 28 Feb 2012