SMART Expo 2011 to showcase luxury properties
The SMART Investment and International Property Expo, Asia’s longest running series of overseas property exhibitions, will be held on 26 and 27 March 2011 at the SUNTEC Singapore International Exhibition & Convention Centre. The event will showcase the luxury residential properties...
Continue Reading • 24 Mar 2011
US mortgage rates remain flat
Mortgage rates in the US remained stable last week, posting only minor changes and encouraging more home owners to refinance current home loans.According to a weekly Mortgage Bankers Association report, the average interest rates on both 15- and 30-year fixed-rate home loans changed by only a...
Continue Reading • 24 Mar 2011
More Chinese nationals snapping up Sydney homes
Luxury properties are now on the “must-have” lists of an increasing number of Chinese travellers to Australia.Ray Chan Wei, Managing Director of Henson Properties, a real estate agency in Sussex Street in Sydney's Chinatown, believes the Chinese have been the biggest foreign buyers in...
Continue Reading • 24 Mar 2011
Li Ka-Shing's REIT may get 28b yuan market cap
Li Ka-Shing’s real estate investment trust (REIT) has begun to gauge investors’ interest in Hong Kong’s first yuan-denominated initial public offering (IPO).Called Hui Xian, the REIT will sell approximately 2.7 billion current shares (40 percent of the company) in the IPO,...
Continue Reading • 24 Mar 2011
More home buyers choosing smaller units
The last two rounds of the government’s property cooling measures may have driven more home buyers to opt for smaller and cheaper homes, according to new research.Property analysts attributed the trend to the tighter loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for home buyers with existing mortgages. The LTV...
Continue Reading • 24 Mar 2011
China to assess impact of property curbs
The central Chinese government has sent eight “special” teams to evaluate the effects of the real estate tightening measures implemented across the country, in a move to prevent a housing bubble from creating social unrest.“The key point (of the move) is probably to reiterate...
Continue Reading • 24 Mar 2011
Fierce competition among developers for sites
Property experts in Singapore predict aggressive competition among property developers for quality land sites in the country this year.Plots situated near regional centres or public transport hubs are currently the most in demand. From the current government land tenders, these areas have...
Continue Reading • 24 Mar 2011
FSA, UK to allow interest-only loans
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK said it will not ban interest-only housing loans in its business plan for 2011 to 2012.In October 2009, the regulator proposed significant reforms to the UK mortgage market, which included banning “self-certification” mortgages and...
Continue Reading • 23 Mar 2011
Starwood's Thailand growth mirrors rise in tourism market
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc, one of the world’s leading hotel and leisure companies, stands strong in its leadership position in Thailand’s emerging tourism market, with the launching and development of various properties across the country.The company currently owns...
Continue Reading • 23 Mar 2011
China bans luxury property advertisements
Beijing has banned outdoor advertisements and billboards promoting luxurious lifestyles, as the government aims to curb public concerns about the increasing wealth gap in China.The government has banned words such as “luxury”, “supreme” and “high class” from...
Continue Reading • 23 Mar 2011
Hong Kong's first yuan REIT hits roadblock
Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd’s planned HK$1 billion yuan-denominated REIT initial public offering (IPO) may miss its mid-April listing target pending Hong Kong regulators approval, according to a source.Sources said that the territory’s securities regulator had returned with more...
Continue Reading • 23 Mar 2011
Couple sues developer over home defects
A couple has filed a case against Kheng Leong’s real estate developer unit, asserting that the apartment sold to them was unfit for habitation.After purchasing a unit at Oasis Garden condominium, Mr. Benson Tan and his wife, Amelia, filed charges against Peak Homes Development, seeking...
Continue Reading • 23 Mar 2011
Executive condos popular among foreigners
The number of foreigners buying resale executive condominiums (ECs) is increasing, pushing prices up to record levels.According to research and consultancy firm Savills, foreigners, including permanent residents (PRs), accounted for 33 percent of the resale transactions recorded last year. It...
Continue Reading • 23 Mar 2011
EC site attracts S$170.1m bid
An executive condominium (EC) site at Choa Chu Kang Drive has attracted a total of six bids, with Camborne Developments Ltd submitting the highest bid of S$170.1 million.“The top bid of S$170.1 million reflects S$321 psf ppr and translates to a breakeven cost of around S$650 psf,”...
Continue Reading • 23 Mar 2011
Larger bonuses unable to satisfy execs
Results of the recent eFinancialCareers Global Bonus Survey revealed that Singapore-based finance professionals received a 13 percent increase in their average bonus for 2010, compared with 2009. While 53 percent of the respondents indicated that their bonus was higher than in 2009, only 45...
Continue Reading • 23 Mar 2011
New uncertainties could affect global growth
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam warned that major uncertainties across the world could significantly dampen global growth.While most market analyses saw limited impact on global and regional economies after the Japan crisis, the Minister said the triple disaster in Japan, coupled with the...
Continue Reading • 22 Mar 2011
Plum sites attracting top bids
Plum sites that were launched for tender after the government implemented its property cooling measures have attracted some of the biggest disparities between the top two bids since 2010.This was attributed to a greater divergence of views among developers on the impact of the cooling measures,...
Continue Reading • 22 Mar 2011
Property prices have stabilised
Home prices have stabilised after four rounds of measures aimed at cooling the real estate market, according to a senior government official.Peter Ong, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, said that property prices “have sort of stabilised”, during a conference on East...
Continue Reading • 22 Mar 2011
Freddie Mac extends mortgage lending contract
In an attempt to stimulate more housing loan lending, Freddie Mac has extended its eight-year contract with independent banks, enabling over 5,000 lenders more access to funds for additional home loans.The programme is aimed at independent community banks, which are facing restrictive lending...
Continue Reading • 22 Mar 2011
Inflation climbs to 5.9% in February
Inflationary threats are definitely increasing and food inflation has also been rising steadily, said DBS, adding that inflation surged to 5.9 percent in February this year.During the Lunar New Year, retailers seized the opportunity created by heightened demand for food products to increase their...
Continue Reading • 22 Mar 2011