China home prices must fall further, says lawmaker
China’s residential property prices need a 30 percent decline to achieve a ‘reasonable’ level, according to He Keng, a deputy director of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress.Property prices will be at a ‘reasonable’ level...
Continue Reading • 30 Jan 2012
Sim Lian unveils new EC in Tampines
Property developer Sim Lian Group has launched The Tampines Trilliant, a 670-unit executive condominium (EC) in Tampines Central 7. The project follows on from the success of the group’s top-selling condominiums in 2011, Parc Vera and A Treasure Trove.The 99-year leasehold development aims...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2012
US mortgage applications fall as interest rates rebound
Mortgage applications in the US decreased, owing to a rebound in interest rates from record lows, according to the latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).The Market Composite Index of US mortgage applications, which are a gauge of mortgage...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2012
URA awards Kovan Road residential site for S$194.6m
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has awarded the tender for a 16,994.1 sq m residential site at Kovan Road to a consortium comprising Hoi Hup Realty Pte Ltd, Investment Focus Pte Ltd and Oriental Worldwide Investments Inc, after submitting the top bid of S$194.6 million.Located at the...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2012
Ascott Reit divests Aussie property for S$15.6m
Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott Reit) has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement for the divestment of Somerset Gordon Heights Melbourne at an agreed price of around A$11.7 million (S$15.6 million).Lim Jit Poh, Chairman of Ascott Residence Trust Management Ltd (ARTML), the manager...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2012
Prefab housing plants to reduce foreign manpower: Khaw
In National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan’s latest blog entry, he highlights the need for more foreign construction workers to build the planned 25,000 BTO flats for this year. In addition to the earlier BTO projects which are still in progress, an estimated 30,000 construction...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2012
Keppel Land taking long term view of Vietnam
Property developer Keppel Land sailed through the harsh blow that hit Vietnam’s real estate market in 2011. The firm, though not completely unaffected, has fared better than most companies in the country. Confident that the resilient market can recover soon, Linson Lim, President of Keppel...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2012
Majority of Watertown buyers are Singaporeans
Over 90 percent of the more than 550 units sold so far at Watertown condo in Punggol have been snapped up by Singaporeans, proving that the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) imposed recently has succeeded in cooling foreign buying.According to a Business Times report, this is down from a share...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2012
Lacklustre earnings expected as economy slows
Analysts are expecting gloomy figures when companies post their results, with many predicting that the cooling economy will affect their net earnings.According to forecasts, profit increases may be less common than the previous year, and any increase would be muted at best.“We expect...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2012
More new launches coming soon
Several new launches will be rolled out soon, as developers ride the current strong home buying momentum created by the launch of Watertown condo in Punggol.According to a report by The Business Times, The Tampines Trilliant executive condo (EC) (pictured) and the Parc Rosewood in Woodlands are...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2012
Aussie mortgage lenders urged to boost capital levels
Australia's major mortgage lenders have been advised to increase their capital stocks as a safety measure should the property industry crash.A stress test conducted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the country’s major banks revealed that a downturn in the property market could be...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2012
Chilly New Year for HK property market
The Lunar New Year’s five-day long weekend witnessed very few property deals in both the primary and secondary markets in Hong Kong.There were no new transactions at The Coronation in West Kowloon, where sales have been high and only one unit was reserved in Chatham Gate in Hung Hom. Just...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2012
Bangkok luxury condo prices on the rise
Prices of luxury condominiums in central Bangkok rose by 11.5 percent during 2011, according to the country’s Agency for Real Estate Affairs (AREA).A survey last month noted average prices now stand at THB 145,000 per sq m (S$5,804 per sq m) at developments in the Ploenchit, Chidlom,...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2012
Hike in UK mortgage fees
The average mortgage fee in the UK increased by around £600 (S$1,185.57) in 2011, with home buyers holding larger deposits facing the steepest increase, according to comparison website Moneyfacts.The usual mortgage arrangement fee is £1,498 (S$2,959.97), up from last year’s...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2012
Luxury properties a long term investment worth making
Top-end real estate investments are expected to be a good bet in the current global economic environment, according to luxury property developer Nick Candy.“Shrewd investors with access to capital” are increasingly seeing luxury property developments as “a long-term commitment...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2012
Watertown sees robust sales over CNY
The 99-year leasehold Watertown project in Punggol has seen strong sales over the four-day Chinese New Year break, with about 215 residential units sold.As of yesterday, total sales climbed to over 500 units with prices ranging between S$980 psf and S$1,500 psf. Sales for the project began last...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2012
Risks on China's property sector may be overlooked
Year-end statistics released last week relieved the fears of a hard landing by most China-watchers, although some still anticipate a biting Year of the Dragon. Masked by the glowing numbers, the real estate sector is the biggest concern as it goes from bad to worse.Gross domestic product (GDP)...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2012
New home sales account for 46% market share
Singapore’s property sector is changing, with new home sales by developers taking up an increasing share of the private housing market.According to caveats lodged with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), primary market sales and those of executive condos (ECs) accounted for 46 percent...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2012
Legoland M'sia eyeing more visitors from S'pore
Legoland Malaysia expects its nearly-completed theme park to draw in a million visitors during the first year of its operation.Siegfried Boerst, General Manager of Legoland Malaysia, revealed that the theme park will officially open in the second quarter of 2012.“We are looking at more than...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2012
Ascott Residence Trust to see flat growth in S'pore: DBS
DBS has warned that Ascott Residence Trust (ART) will face flat growth in Singapore, and cited countries like the Philippines, Malaysia and Australia as destinations that will see continued growth.The trust’s gross profit and revenue grew two and three percent to S$40.0 million and S$75.2...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2012