Private property market bounces back in March
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) monthly sales volume for private residential units rose 25.7 percent to 1,543 units in March, with Executive Condominiums (EC) comprising 10.2 percent or 157 units sold.“The pent-up demand sustained after the last round of cooling measures on 13...
Continue Reading • 18 Apr 2011
Mah: Lowering land costs will affect S'pore's reserves
Lowering land costs in order to cut new HDB flat prices is equivalent to raiding Singapore’s reserves, according to Minister of National Development Mah Bow Tan.This is because the Chief Valuer sets the price for all land sold and the proceeds of the sales go into the reserves.In the latest...
Continue Reading • 18 Apr 2011
Shenzhen implements own property cooling measures
Shenzhen has followed in the footsteps of Chongqing and Shanghai in using measures to curb increasing home prices.The imposition on new flat prices of an average cap of 22,000 yuan (HK$26,190) psm has made Hong Kong’s neighbour the first second-tier mainland city to regulate real estate...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
Top bank in Hong Kong raises mortgage rates again
Effective today, HSBC’s HIBOR-based rates in Hong Kong will be raised for the second time after last month’s hike.Currently, HSBC’s one-month HIBOR rate rests at 0.2 percent, while its three-month rate stands at 0.26 percent. The new mortgage rates will range at HIBOR plus one...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
Final premier units in Metro Residences up for sale
The final 91 apartments, comprising of two-, three- and four-bedroom skyhomes and penthouses on the upper 18 levels at the Metro Residences at Chatswood will be released for sale on 16 April.Metro Grand, the highest of the three buildings to be developed above the Transport Interchange in...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
Favourable landscape for global property firms
The global economic and business environment is expected to be favourable for global property companies over the next few quarters, according to LaSalle Investment Management (Securities) in its recent Quarterly Review and Outlook.“The resilience of the world’s economy is an important...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
CapitaLand acquires 40% stake in Surbana Corp
CapitaLand Ltd, the largest property developer in Southeast Asia, has revealed its acquisition a 40 percent stake in Surbana Corporation, a private limited company, for S$360 million (US$288.8 million).“We entered into this partnership with Surbana to accelerate our expansion into the value...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
SP Setia acquires Singapore site for S$65m
SP Setia Berhad Group, through its unit SP Setia International (Singapore), has inked a private agreement with all 27 owners of Leong Bee Court to acquire the property for S$65 million (S$824 psf ppr), marking its venture into the Singapore property market.The group is planning to develop the...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
EC site attracts four bids
The Housing Development Board (HDB) has closed the tender for a residential site at Tampines Central 7, after receiving a total of four bids.Sim Lian Land offered the highest bid of S$278.8 million (S$4,224.24 psm), followed by Qingdao Construction (Singapore) Ltd, which offered S$243 million.A...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
S$977b recorded in Q1 property investment sales
Singapore’s property investment sales in the first quarter amassed S$977 billion, with the residential sector contributing a total of S$970 billion, according to Colliers International.The commercial brokerage firm said this represents 37.8 percent of the total transactions recorded in the...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
Govt plans more housing in Central, West regions
The Singapore government will boost housing in line with the population growth, and plans to expand towns like Sengkang, Choa Chu Kang, Yishun and Punggol over the next 45 to 50 years, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan at the URA Corporate Plan Seminar 2011.“Our current towns...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
UK mortgage fraud attempts jump 14%
Mortgage fraud attempts in the UK grew 14 percent to 32 in every 10,000 applications last year, according to research conducted by Experian, which also revealed that first-party fraudsters were responsible for 97 percent of the reported cases.The credit rating agency said that typical fraud...
Continue Reading • 14 Apr 2011
Lee Shau-kee's land bank could supply 45,000 new homes
Henderson Land Development can supply Hong Kong with 45,000 new flats from its own land bank, more than the government’s annual target, Chairman Lee Shau-kee has boasted in his official biography.According to the book, Lee Shau-kee, who currently owns more than 40 million sq ft of rural...
Continue Reading • 14 Apr 2011
New rules to regulate HK property agents
Effective 1 May, real estate agencies in Hong Kong could have their licenses permanently revoked if they violate new regulations on the sales of primary residential properties, according to the Estate Agents Authority.The authority has updated its guidelines for property sales in order to prevent...
Continue Reading • 14 Apr 2011
S P Setia to tackle Singapore property market
Malaysia’s leading property developer S P Setia Bhd Group is planning to enter the Singapore property market this year, said Liew Kee Sin, Chief Executive Officer of SP Setia.“Singapore is a good market to enter but we will do it step by step,” said Mr. Liew at the Invest...
Continue Reading • 14 Apr 2011
Singapore economy remains robust
The Singapore economy continued to grow in the first quarter, climbing 23.5 percent on a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter annualised basis, compared to 12.0 percent in the previous quarter.According to estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the economy grew 8.5 percent...
Continue Reading • 14 Apr 2011
Singapore dollar rising, inflation a threat
As Singapore’s economy recovered from the global financial crisis and powered ahead in 2010, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s aim was clear. With inflationary pressures increasing, the central bank allowed the Singapore dollar to climb, moving the exchange rate policy band uphill...
Continue Reading • 13 Apr 2011
HK mortgage costs on the rise again
A new round of mortgage rate increases has come after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released a circular which requires lenders to be cautious of rapid credit growth.The Bank of East Asia, the fifth largest mortgage lender by market share, has taken the lead. It has revised its loan...
Continue Reading • 13 Apr 2011
Analysts sceptical of govt's inflation forecast
Inflation has likely reached its peak and is expected to ease for the rest of the year, according to Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang.Assuming there will be no further oil price hikes, inflation should stay within three and four percent.“This means CPI (consumer price index)...
Continue Reading • 13 Apr 2011
Lian Beng's net profit doubles as construction expands
Singapore-based building construction group Lian Beng Group has announced that its net profit doubled to S$36.6 million in the first nine months ended 28 February, while revenue jumped 58 percent to S$379.9 million, from S$240.5 million over the same period last year.The company said higher...
Continue Reading • 13 Apr 2011