Hideaways Club eyeing Singapore's top properties
The Hideaways Club is checking out top apartments in Singapore for a new timeshare portfolio known as The Hideaways Club — City Collection, said a report by Today newspaper.Last week, founder Mike Balfour was in Singapore, viewing luxury properties and seemingly eyeing a few choice units....
Continue Reading • 22 Feb 2011
Wheelock's Q4 revenue up 40.1%
Singapore-based Wheelock Properties has announced that its revenue for the fourth quarter rose 40.1 percent to S$126.2 million, attributed to higher revenue contribution from Scotts Square, based on the progress of construction works last year.The company said it plans to begin construction of...
Continue Reading • 22 Feb 2011
UK mortgage lending falls by 13%
Mortgage lending in the United Kingdom dropped 13 percent from December to January, hitting its lowest level in a year, said the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).Lenders lent only £9.2 billion in January 2011, though this was still five percent higher than £8.8 billion in January...
Continue Reading • 22 Feb 2011
More mainland cities tighten home purchase rules
More mainland cities have followed Beijing in restricting further purchases of third homes, with cities like Shanghai responding to the government’s latest measures to curb property speculation.Shanghai and Nanjing announced a new set of restrictions, prohibiting families from acquiring...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2011
Debt levels increasing among Reits
The levels of borrowings among real estate investment trusts (Reits) are rising. Out of 16 Singapore Reits, about 10 had a higher aggregate leverage or gearing ratios as of end December 2010 than in the previous year.Many Reits had relied significantly on debt to support growth, until the onset...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2011
Property investors to face demanding 2011
The speedy global economic recovery and fast-moving capital markets will create a demanding environment for property investors this year, said LaSalle Investment Management.The multi-speed economic recovery will create a long, slow return to equilibrium in Japan, the Eurozone, the UK and the US,...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2011
Special CPF housing grant for low-income families
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has announced a Special Central Provident Fund (CPF) Housing Grant aimed at helping low-income families buy their first Built-to-Order (BTO) flat from the Housing Development Board (HDB).The government will also spend S$10 billion to revive HDB heartlands...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2011
OCBC's mortgage applications see 20% dip
Mortgage applications at OCBC bank fell 20 percent in January, though it is still unclear how much the latest property measures have affected demand, the tighter home ownership rules and financing have curbed demand for new mortgage loans, especially for cheaper properties.“The speculative...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2011
CapitaLand China to develop waterfront homes in Guangzhou
CapitaLand has announced that its China unit, CapitaLand China Holdings, along with two Hong Kong-based partners, will develop 7,800 low-density and high-rise homes in a 575,787 sq m waterfront site in Panyu District in Guangzhou, China.The site, which is located along the Pearl River, has a...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2011
Singapore Land, UIC recover from 2009 losses
Singapore Land has announced that its net earnings for the year ended 31 December 2010 reached S$661.7 million, on the back of a S$538.5 million fair-value gain on investment properties.This is a reversal from the company’s net loss of about S$266 million in 2009, due to a S$608.6 million...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2011
Scheme for siblings to buy HDB flats scrapped
The Singapore government has acted quickly to end a programme that enables siblings whose parents live abroad to purchase Housing Development Board (HDB) flats, after discontent recently surfaced online over how it appeared to favour permanent residents (PRs) over citizens.The Housing Board will...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2011
US mortgage delinquency drops in Q4
The mortgage delinquency rate in the US dropped in the fourth quarter, as the economy eased but home foreclosures rose, said the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).Mortgage delinquency rate on single-family homes declined to 8.22 percent in Q4 from 9.13 percent in Q3, according to the MBA...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
Singapore to strengthen position as financial hub
Singapore will work towards boosting its position as a financial centre by improving its capabilities in various areas, said Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang.While Asia is not immune to risks from external shocks, particularly from the developed world, its potential and growth over...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
Singapore economy blossoms by 14.5% in 2010
Singapore’s economy increased 14.5 percent last year, driven by the strong output in the manufacturing sector, which rebounded 29.7 percent in 2010.Ministry of Trade in Industry said the 14.5 percent growth in the economy last year was also attributed to the increase in electronics and...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
Singapore landed properties still hot
Singapore landed properties will likely see strong demand this year, as buyers will occupy them, as opposed to simply speculating for earnings, said analysts.These buyers will thus be unaffected by the series of cooling measures announced by the government. Demand will also be fuelled by low...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
Roxy-Pacific sees record earnings in 2010
Roxy-Pacific Holdings Limited has announced that its net profit for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2010 reached S$12 million, up 103 percent from S$5.9 million over the same period in 2009.This increase came on the back of an eight percent growth in revenue to S$47.5 million in Q4, mainly...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
Lucas Chow joins FEO
Private real estate developer Far East Organization (FEO) has appointed Lucas Chow, former Chief Executive of MediaCorp, as its Executive Director, effective August 2011.Mr. Chow will provide strategic counsel to Philip Ng, Chief Executive of Far East, on new business growth and brand development...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
China's property price data report system amended
Economists have cautiously welcomed changes in China’s system of reporting real estate price data, saying that the reforms would enhance earlier methods that seriously underestimated inflation in the housing sector.The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said it was scrapping the nationwide...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
Real estate investment in Asia looking up
Asia’s property investment recovered significantly in the second half of 2010, with China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore the most active markets, according to CB Richard Ellis’ (CBRE) Asia Investment Market report for H2 2010.Together, the four markets comprised over US$29 billion of...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
First-time borrowers in the UK get mortgage boost
The number of mortgages available to first-time home buyers who have smaller deposit has started to rise.It was revealed that mortgage lenders in the UK have been reintroducing higher loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages in recent months, with the total number of mortgage deals available at 90 percent...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2011