Hougang DBSS gets lukewarm response
Less than twice as many applications as units were seen in the latest DBSS project in Hougang, as applications for units closed yesterday. The 680-unit Parkland Residences, which features three- to five-room units, had received 956 applications as of yesterday evening.The response was a little...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2012
Overwhelming majority of PRs are HDB owner-occupiers
The Ministry of National Development (MND) has revealed that over 95 percent of permanent residents (PRs) who own HDB flats are owner-occupants.This was made known in Parliament after MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, Ang Hin Kee, asked if PRs are required to occupy the flats they own.PRs in Singapore can...
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2012
3 sites up for collective sale
Three freehold sites — Ming Arcade, Asia Gardens and Jade Towers (pictured) — were released in the collective sales market yesterday, with a total price tag of more than S$500 million.Located on 21 Cuscaden Road, Ming Arcade is a prime freehold commercial development off Orchard Road....
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2012
Govt to provide more funds for HDB upgrading
The government will allocate more funds to the Home Improvement Programme (HIP), which upgrades HDB flats built before 1987 with repairs such as fixing spalling concrete and upgrading the toilets.According to Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for National Development, the government is accelerating...
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2012
KSH snags Seastrand contract worth S$110m
KSH Holdings Limited, an established property developer and management group, has successfully clinched a S$110.28 million contract for the development of the Seastrand condominium project in Pasir Ris.Under the contract, KSH will build seven 11-storey and two 12-storey residential blocks with a...
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2012
The Rainforest EC attracts high number of applications
More than 800 online applications for City Developments Ltd’s (CDL) The Rainforest EC project were received as of 5pm yesterday, the last day of applications for eligible EC buyers.“We are receiving more e-applications progressively till the end of the day,” said a spokesman...
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2012
Developers more cautious about condo site bids
As 2012’s first tender for a 99-year leasehold private condo site (at Mount Vernon Road) under the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme closes today, the cautious bidding seen for Punggol Place, 2011’s last state tender, is expected to continue, according to a Business Times report....
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2012
Prime London home prices reach new heights
Prices of luxury homes in central London soared for a 14th consecutive month in December, as foreign buyers sought safer investments and jostled for relatively fewer properties for sale, according to Knight Frank LLP.The London-based broker revealed that values of apartments and houses costing an...
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2012
Aussie mortgages up in November
The number of Australians taking up home loans climbed in November last year, according to new figures released by the Housing Industry Association (HIA).It said that property sales rose 6.8 percent in November, as more people took advantage of interest rate cuts authorised by the Reserve Bank of...
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2012
S'pore property prices to decline 12.5% in 2012
The prices of Singapore’s residential property will decline by 12.5 percent this year and a further 8 percent during 2013 according to a new report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We maintain our view of a 2012 inflection point for residential pricing driven by excess supply,...
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2012
Mortgage modification scams trap US homeowners
The foreclosure crisis that has spread across the US is creating another epidemic — mortgage modification scams that cost borrowers thousands of dollars.“There are devastating consequences to this fraud,” noted Christy Romero, Deputy Special Inspector General who oversees...
Continue Reading • 9 Jan 2012
Luxury home market to battle oversupply this year
The luxury home market will face a tough year ahead, thanks to the recent cooling measures and the possibility of an oversupply of new homes.As thousands of already launched units await buyers, developers may put off further launches until the market begins to pick up.Thankfully, interest rates...
Continue Reading • 9 Jan 2012
More estates to become elderly-friendly
Three estates — Bedok, Taman Jurong and Whampoa — will join Marine Parade in being retrofitted to make them elderly-friendly, with the development process for these estates being fast-tracked.The towns, which are among those housing Singapore’s most elderly, will be at the...
Continue Reading • 9 Jan 2012
More foreigners snapping up resale ECs
Sales of completed executive condominiums (ECs) in Singapore’s resale market recorded increased interest from foreign buyers in the January - November 2011 period, according to a report in The Business Times.Property market research firm R'ST Research said foreigners, including PRs,...
Continue Reading • 9 Jan 2012
CDL launches The Rainforest, first EC for 2012
City Developments Limited (CDL) and TID Pte Ltd - a joint venture (JV) between Mitsui Fudosan and Hong Leong Group, have launched The Rainforest, the first executive condominium (EC) project this year.Located along Choa Chu Kang Avenue 3, the new EC offers 466 units comprising 818 sq ft...
Continue Reading • 9 Jan 2012
China may spread property tax to Nanjing, Guangzhou
China may extend its property tax scheme to cities such as Nanjing and Guangzhou and some second- and third-tier cities in the country’s midwest, according to Shanghai Securities News.The government “won’t rule out the possibility of implementing the tax” in the cities...
Continue Reading • 9 Jan 2012
Govt curbs to weaken bungalow sales
Bungalow sales at Sentosa Cove are expected to fall in the coming months, in light of the 10 percent additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) foreigners must bear when buying private homes in Singapore. Sentosa Cove bungalow prices, as a result, will likely moderate, causing prices of Good...
Continue Reading • 9 Jan 2012
PropertyGuru inks content sharing agreement with REIDIN
Asia’s leading property portal, PropertyGuru.com, has signed an editorial content sharing agreement with premier real estate information company on emerging markets, REIDIN.com, to educate influential property investors around the world. Under the agreement, PropertyGuru and REIDIN...
Continue Reading • 9 Jan 2012
Home prices and rents climb, but at slower pace
Private home prices and rents across all sectors continued to rise in 2011, albeit at a slower pace than in 2010, amid hefty cooling measures such as the seller’s stamp duty and reduction in loan-to-value (LTV) limit. The take-up for the year is projected to be similar to 2010.The average...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2012
Buyers return units for fear of price decline
Some units at major projects released in November and early December 2011 are being returned to their developers, possibly indicating a reflex reaction to the implementation of the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD), according to market watchers.A report by the Business Times revealed that...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2012