Q4 home price growth slows further
The rate of increase in property prices has continued to moderate, with private home prices rising just 0.2 percent in Q4, lower than the 1.3 percent increase seen in the previous quarter, according to latest figures released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).“This moderation in...
Continue Reading • 16 Feb 2012
Private home sales rise by three times
January’s private home sales were undaunted by the gloomy economic outlook and recent cooling measures, recording 2,077 transactions for the month, a whopping three times higher than December’s 670 units. Excluding executive condominiums (ECs), this marks a 55 percent year-on-year...
Continue Reading • 16 Feb 2012
HDB launches 4 residential sites for sale
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has launched the tender for four residential sites, which could yield approximately 2,070 residential units.Three of the four land parcels were released under the confirmed list, while the last plot was made available under the reserve list of the 1H2012...
Continue Reading • 16 Feb 2012
Ultra Mansion up for collective sale
Ultra Mansion (pictured), located near Novena MRT station has been launched for sale, with an indicative price of approximately S$170 million. Marketing agent Cushman & Wakefield said the development’s S$170 million price tag works out to around S$1,334 psf ppr. This translates to...
Continue Reading • 16 Feb 2012
Bishan Park canal transformed into river
A concrete canal at the 20-year-old Bishan Park has been transformed into a natural-looking river (pictured). Aside from beautifying the surrounding area, the river also serves as a flood plain that stores 40 percent more excess water than the old canal.The first canal in Singapore to be...
Continue Reading • 16 Feb 2012
UK mortgage customers face shortfall
Over 70,000 homeowners in the UK with insurance policies on mortgages will receive smaller endowments this year.Aviva, one of the largest insurers in the country, has slashed some of the bonuses it paid on its investment funds. This means that the endowments of most customers will not provide...
Continue Reading • 16 Feb 2012
More Indonesian buyers eyeing prime London homes
London property agents are seeing increasing numbers of enquiries from Southeast Asia, with the number of buyers and investors from Indonesia increasing every week.Charles Smith, Managing Director of UK’s Sotheby’s International Realty, speaking exclusively to Rumah.com, said,...
Continue Reading • 16 Feb 2012
E&O to launch Penang seaside condo this weekend
Malaysian developer Eastern & Oriental Berhad (E&O) has set the launch of the Andaman at Quayside (pictured) in Penang for this Saturday, 18 February 2012.The luxury condo project sits on a prime 21-acre plot in the developer’s Seri Tanjung Pinang development. 75 percent of all...
Continue Reading • 16 Feb 2012
US mortgage delinquencies rise to 6.01%
Mortgage delinquencies in the US increased to 6.01 percent in Q4 last year, from 5.88 percent in the preceding quarter, according to credit data giant TransUnion.The rise in delinquencies came after nearly two years of a decline. “To see that, quarter over quarter, fewer homeowners were...
Continue Reading • 15 Feb 2012
Chinese city suspends easing of curbs
The city of Wuhu (pictured) in China has suspended its decision to ease property cooling measures, in a move that underscores the country’s determination to lower home prices. The industrial city in China’s eastern province will temporarily suspend its home subsidy policy so it can...
Continue Reading • 15 Feb 2012
S'pore average household income up 11%
The average Singaporean household income increased 11 percent to SS$7,040 in 2011, from S$6,340 in 2010, according to latest figures released by the Singapore Department of Statistics.“Household income from work increased for all income groups, in tandem with strong employment creation in...
Continue Reading • 15 Feb 2012
URA awards Bedok South Ave 3 tender for S$345.9m
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has awarded the tender for a residential site at Bedok South Avenue 3 (pictured) to a consortium after it offered the highest bid of S$345.9 million in a public tender that closed on 9 February 2012.Li Hiaw Ho, Executive Director of CBRE Research, said the...
Continue Reading • 15 Feb 2012
HDB to be more active in IRH scheme
MPs have questioned the HDB’s Interim Rental Housing (IRH) scheme in Parliament, claiming that large families were assigned just one flat. In response, Maliki Osman, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of National Development, said the HDB will take on a more active role in...
Continue Reading • 15 Feb 2012
ABSD to hold back buyers for six months: CapitaLand
The additional buyers’ stamp duty (ABSD) measure imposed by the government in early December to cool housing prices may hold back potential buyers for the next few months, said Liew Mun Leong, Chief Executive and President of CapitaLand.“Developers are more skeptical — they are...
Continue Reading • 15 Feb 2012
Private home sales see rebound in January
BREAKING NEWS: Private home sales in Singapore saw a strong rebound in January 2012, as developers launched several projects across a number of popular districts. According to latest figures by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), January’s home sales soared to 2,077 units, an increase...
Continue Reading • 15 Feb 2012
Twin Waterfalls EC set for weekend launch
Twin Waterfalls (pictured), a 728-unit executive condominium (EC) development with a Vista Home concept, is set to launch this weekend.It is a joint development between Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL) and Keong Hong Construction, a wholly-owned unit of Keong Hong Holdings.“Our strengths...
Continue Reading • 14 Feb 2012
CEA receives feedback from public
While the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) considers a potentially shorter timeframe for dispute resolution, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan has responded to Singaporeans’ feedback over a recent blog post about the CEA entitled ‘A Very Busy First Year’.Mr Khaw...
Continue Reading • 14 Feb 2012
CapitaLand's full-year revenue surpasses S$1b mark again
CapitaLand Limited has announced that its net profit for 2011 reached S$1.06 billion, marking the company’s sixth consecutive year of profit in excess of S$1 billion.Boosted by higher revenue contributions from development projects in its core markets of Singapore, Australia, China and...
Continue Reading • 14 Feb 2012
Wing Tai's Q2 net profit inches up
Wing Tai Holdings recorded a net profit of S$34.2 million for the second quarter ended 31 December 2011, a slight increase of one percent from the restated S$33.9 million in the previous year.Meanwhile, the group’s revenue for the quarter increased 18 percent year-on-year to S$185.6 million...
Continue Reading • 14 Feb 2012
Australia's mortgage approvals beat forecasts
December’s volume of mortgage approvals in Australia surpassed economists' forecasts, as many home buyers rushed to acquire loans after the central bank slashed interest rates.According to the statistics bureau in Sydney, the amount of mortgages granted to buy or build houses rose 2.3...
Continue Reading • 14 Feb 2012