December private home sales soar despite cooling measures
About 1,699 private home transactions were recorded in December 2010, the highest monthly sales for 2010 and the highest number of home deals in December for the last few years.“We normally see a dip in the number of transactions at the year-end,” said Mohamed Ismail, Chief Executive...
Continue Reading • 18 Jan 2011
UK mortgage loans drop: CML
The number of mortgages to purchase homes in the UK dropped 15 percent in November, compared to the same period in 2009, according to figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).However, the 44,000 home purchase loans in November 2010 equalled those in the preceding month of...
Continue Reading • 18 Jan 2011
China property prices higher in December
Property prices in China’s major cities saw their fourth straight monthly increase in December, official data released on Monday showed.According to the National Bureau of Statistics, property prices in 70 major cities rose 0.3 percent in December from November and up 6.4 percent from a...
Continue Reading • 18 Jan 2011
TCT secures US$120m loan facility
Treasury Holdings Real Estate, the trustee manager of Treasury China Trust (TCT), announced that it has secured a three-year multi-currency loan facility equivalent to US$120 million to refinance its Central Plaza asset in Shanghai.The loan facility finalises the company’s immediate...
Continue Reading • 18 Jan 2011
A-REIT's Q3 gross revenue up 3.7%
Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (A-REIT) has announced that its gross revenue for the third quarter ended 31 December 2010 rose 3.7 percent to S$109 million from a year ago, as completed investments produced additional rental income.Additionally, net property income climbed two percent to...
Continue Reading • 18 Jan 2011
HarbourFront Centre gets BCA's Green Mark Platinum Award
Previously known as Singapore’s World Trade Centre, HarbourFront Centre has become one of the oldest buildings to receive the Building and Construction Authority (BCA)’s Green Mark Platinum Award.The Platinum standard is the highest rating under the Green Mark scheme, which was...
Continue Reading • 18 Jan 2011
Ying Mansions, Villa D'Este up for sale
CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has launched the public tender for the sale of Ying Mansions, located at 25 Robin Road, and the re-launch of Villa D’Este.Ying Mansions is an eight-unit apartment development sitting in an exclusive area off Bukit Timah Road in District 10. With an area of about...
Continue Reading • 18 Jan 2011
Fewer landed homes launched in Singapore
About 2,900 new landed homes were launched in the first nine months of 2010, which accounted for 2.9 percent of all the 99,200 new private homes launched during that period, down from 8.2 percent in 2000.Out of the 52,700 new private homes launched in 2000, 4,300 were landed.“The drop in...
Continue Reading • 18 Jan 2011
HSBC: Government faces risk on property market
HSBC said it is too early to tell if the measures implemented by the government to curb the property market are sufficient.Capital inflows and low interest rates have left financial conditions loose, driving up property prices in the country. The property market has also been the beneficiary of...
Continue Reading • 17 Jan 2011
China's Wuhan City limits housing purchases
Wuhan City in China has issued new rules which allows each household to purchase only one home in the downtown area, starting January 15, according to a report by Shanghai Securites News, as Wuhan joined other big Chinese cities in curbing property prices.The newspaper added that the provincial...
Continue Reading • 17 Jan 2011
Land values near KL's rail system may rise six-fold
The Kuala Lumpur mass rail transit (MRT) will likely become a structural catalyst for the increase in value of surrounding properties, with a stockbroking firm even expecting land values in hot spots to climb by up to six times over the next five years.The blue line, the first of the three...
Continue Reading • 17 Jan 2011
Home prices, sales volume to drop: CEO CapitaLand
Private home prices and sales volume will likely drop, following the government’s latest set of measures to cool the real estate market, said Liew Mun Leong, CEO of CapitaLand.However, Mr. Liew said he is “not too unhappy” with the property measures as they will make it easier...
Continue Reading • 17 Jan 2011
MAS to get tough on mortgage equity loans
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has proposed an imposition of the same lower loan limits as the new real estate measures, in an effort to close a loophole on mortgage equity financing (MEF).MAS proposed that MEF should be subject to the same loan-to-value (LTV) limit of 50 percent for...
Continue Reading • 17 Jan 2011
Golden Development acquires Gopeng Street site
A hotel site at the junction of Gopeng Street and Peck Seah Street has been awarded to Golden Development Private Limited, after it offered the highest bid of S$194.77 million in a public tender that closed on January 11.The 99-year leasehold site was put up for sale on November 15, under the...
Continue Reading • 17 Jan 2011
Developers cut prices following new measures
Property developers have begun reducing prices and offering discounts on a case-by-case basis in an effort to stop buyers from withdrawing from planned purchases.Roxy-Pacific Holdings might lower asking prices for the upcoming launch of Spottiswoode 18. Following Thursday’s announcement of...
Continue Reading • 17 Jan 2011
Hong Kong's mass residential, luxury property deals on the rise
Mass residential and luxury property transactions in Hong Kong are seeing an upward trend, following recovery from a dip in November 2010, said Knight Frank in its January 2011 monthly real estate report.“The quick revival was attributed to the fading impact of the new measures, on the back...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2011
Strata SE1 debuts in Asia
Strata SE1, a new residential tower in London, is debuting in the Asian market with a series of invitation-only events in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, offering well-off Asian buyers an opportunity to buy into the newest urban landmark of London.“We are thrilled to have this unique...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2011
Singapore: World's second freest economy this year
Singapore was ranked the world’s second freest economy this year, just behind Hong Kong and above Australia, scoring 87.2 in the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom.According to the Index prepared by the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation, Singapore’s score this year rose 1.1...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2011
Loft@Holland sold out soon after launch
Oxley Holdings Limited announced that Loft@Holland has received strong response, with all 41 apartments taken up within two hours of the project’s soft launch on Thursday.With the strong demand, balloting will be conducted for all except two units, said Oxley.Each unit received about three...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2011
Changes to Residential Property Act kick in Monday
The Residential Property (Amendment) Act 2010, which was enacted by Parliament on November 22, is set to come into effect on January 17.One of the major changes to the Residential Property Act (RPA) is the requirement for individuals who renounce or lose their Singapore Citizenship or Permanent...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2011