Policy changes could lead to lower private home demand
The Housing & Development Board’s (HDB) two recent policy changes may affect the market for mass market private homes, according to a report by Credit Suisse.In an effort to make its public flats more attractive to couples looking for their first homes, the HDB announced last week that...
Continue Reading • 2 Jun 2011
Not all estates can have BTO projects, says Khaw
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on his blog that while he has ordered the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to launch more new flats in mature estates next year, it will not be possible to accommodate build-to-order (BTO) projects in every mature estate.Mr. Khaw noted that...
Continue Reading • 2 Jun 2011
Eunosville HUDC flats privatised
The Eunosville HUDC Estate has been privatised under the Land Titles (Strata) Act.The privatisation, which took effect on 1 June, enabled the individual owners of the 330-unit estate to own their respective strata units, including common property such as the open landscaped areas and car parks....
Continue Reading • 2 Jun 2011
The Viridian begins previews today
Industrial property developer Global Orion Properties has entered the residential market with The Viridian in Balestier, with a private preview today.“The Viridian is an urban sanctuary with a lot of green elements such as landscaping and trees on the sky terrace. Other features include...
Continue Reading • 1 Jun 2011
OCBC's HDB loan documents crystal clear
HDB mortgage application forms are usually filled with terminology that most customers find difficult to understand. Acknowledging this, OCBC recently achieved the Crystal Mark for making its HDB Home Loan documents understandable and clear for customers.The Singapore-based bank is the first...
Continue Reading • 1 Jun 2011
Asia Pacific property transaction volumes up
Asia Pacific property transaction volumes have been climbing since early 2009, although volumes slipped 23 percent quarter-on-quarter to US$21.4 billion in the first quarter this year, according to a report released by the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA) and Real Capital Analytics...
Continue Reading • 1 Jun 2011
Pasir Ris site tender attracts 9 bids
The tender for a 103-year leasehold land parcel at Pasir Ris Central / Pasir Ris Drive 1 has attracted a total of nine bids, with Singxpress Land (Pasir Ris) Pte Ltd and Kay Lim Holdings Pte Ltd offering the highest bid of approximately S$123.88 million (S$3,023.64 psm).Zoned for public housing...
Continue Reading • 1 Jun 2011
Raffles to establish university in Iskandar Malaysia
Raffles Education Malaysia Ltd (REM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raffles Education Corporation Limited (REC), has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Education@Iskandar Sdn Bhd (EISB) to develop Raffles University Iskandar (RUI) in EduCity, Iskandar Malaysia (EduCity@Iskandar).The...
Continue Reading • 1 Jun 2011
Roxy-Pacific wins top award
Roxy-Pacific Holdings Limited, a Singapore-based real estate and hospitality group, has won the top award in Singapore for “Best Small Cap Company” category in the recent Asia’s Best Managed Companies Poll, conducted by FinanceAsia.The award marks the first year that...
Continue Reading • 1 Jun 2011
HDB releases EC site in Serangoon
An executive condominium (EC) site at Upper Serangoon View has been made available for sale under the reserve list of the 1H2011 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.Under the government’s reserve list system, developers who are interested in acquiring the site can submit their...
Continue Reading • 1 Jun 2011
Jones Lang merges with King Sturge
Global commercial property company Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has announced that it will merge with international real estate consultancy King Sturge.With significantly improved strength and depth of service capabilities across the region, the merged company will be the clear leader in the UK, as...
Continue Reading • 31 May 2011
UK banks urged to continue with strict mortgage rules
UK banks should continue imposing their tough mortgage lending criteria to help prevent another home price bubble in the future, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).The group also argued that mortgages should be limited at 90 percent of a property’s value, while...
Continue Reading • 31 May 2011
CapitaValue Homes to develop 4th residential project in Asia
CapitaValue Homes Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand that focuses on building good value homes in Asia, has acquired a 65 percent stake in Quoc Cuong Sai Gon Company Ltd (QCSG) through its unit CVH Sparkle Ltd, for a cash consideration of VND121.2 billion (S$7.3 million).QCSG owns...
Continue Reading • 31 May 2011
Khaw asks HDB to build more BTO flats in mature towns
In his third blog posting, Minister of National Development Khaw Boon Wan has asked the HDB to consider building more Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in mature estates.Entitled “Making A Calculated Move”, Mr. Khaw’s third entry acknowledged that his ministry has been hesitant to...
Continue Reading • 31 May 2011
Dragon Mansion up for collective sale
Dragon Mansion, an 18-storey prime freehold residential property at the fringe of the Central Business District (CBD), has been offered for collective sale with an indicative price of between S$150 million and S$156 million.This works out to around S$1,340 to S$1,392 psf ppr, said sole marketing...
Continue Reading • 31 May 2011
Private home prices trickle up in April
Prices of mass market condos in Singapore have been edging up, as the NUS Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) rose 14.1 percent year-on-year in April for the Non-Central Region and 5.6 percent year-on-year for the Central Region, which covers districts 1 to 4 and 9 to 11.The index, which...
Continue Reading • 31 May 2011
Developers buy 2 freehold residential development sites
Two freehold residential development sites have been sold recently, according to a Business Times report.The 30,540 sq foot Austral View at Tanjong Rhu was sold for S$81 million through an en bloc sale to a Chinese developer, which had, in April, acquired the adjacent Fortredale.Over in the...
Continue Reading • 31 May 2011
URA awards tenders for 2 sites
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has awarded the tender for a residential site at the junction of Sembawang Road and Jalan Sendudok to Hao Yuan Investment Ltd, after it offered the highest bid of S$191.8 million.The 99-year leasehold site, which was launched for sale on 29 March 2011, has...
Continue Reading • 31 May 2011
Aussie banks offer larger discounts to attract big borrowers
Australian homeowners are being offered large discounts on increasingly high mortgages, as banks attempt to revive the lending market.Customers who borrow over A$250,000 can have at least 0.7 percent off the interest rate on a standard variable mortgage and 0.8 percent off a A$500,000 loan.This...
Continue Reading • 30 May 2011
URA conserves Bukit Timah Railway Station
The Bukit Timah Railway Station has been officially gazetted by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) as a conserved building.This follows the gazetting of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station as a National Monument on 8 April 2011.At a retreat last year, the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and...
Continue Reading • 30 May 2011