New measures to ease home loans
Many bankers in Singapore are preparing for a slowdown in home loans, as the government has implemented another series of property measures to curb the market.“The new property measures will have an impact on new housing loan applications, as we expect potential homebuyers to be more...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2011
Malaysia's property market positive this year
Malaysia’s real estate market will likely enjoy a positive outlook this year, after the moderate recovery in its economy, said Rahim & Co Chartered Surveyors Sdn Bhd, one of Malaysia’s biggest property firms.The projects under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) are likely...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2011
Singapore property firms down on new measures
Shares of Singapore-listed property companies dropped on Friday after the government announced new cooling measures to curb home prices.Shares of Wing Tai Holdings fell 5.1 percent, while City Developments Ltd retreated 4.6 percent. Keppel Land and CapitaLand both declined 2.9 percent...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2011
Government raises seller's stamp duty to 16%
The government has announced a new and stronger set of demand-side cooling measures, the third in less than a year.The seller’s stamp duty for private homes will rise up to 16 percent from as high as 3 percent previously, while tighter mortgage restrictions will be implemented.Analysts said...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2011
More developers expect higher prices for new homes
The outlook of developers for the real estate sector became rosier in the fourth quarter of 2010, with a large percentage of them expecting higher prices for new residential launches.Preliminary findings from the Real Estate Sentiment Index (RESI) showed an improved sentiment from Q3, when the...
Continue Reading • 14 Jan 2011
Australian mortgage market remains resilient
Home loan demand in Australia was defied by the “super-sized” interest rate increase set by banks in November, but pundits said the unexpected resilience of borrowers will not prevent the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) from imposing another increase next month.Home loan offers rose...
Continue Reading • 13 Jan 2011
Average room rates for Singapore hotels climb
The average occupancy rate in Singapore hotels gained 3.9 percentage points year-on-year to 89 percent in November 2010, while average room rates climbed 10.5 percent year-on-year to S$220.“In light of the demand for hotel rooms, we are likely to see other well-located sites on the reserve...
Continue Reading • 13 Jan 2011
Construction demand to remain positive in 2011
Construction demand in Singapore is projected to hit S$22 billion to S$28 billion this year, as continued workload from last year saw demand reaching s$25.7 billion, up 14 percent from 2009.Demand from the public sector is expected to be the main factor this year, contributing between S$12...
Continue Reading • 13 Jan 2011
Four new MRT stations to be ready by 2016
Four new MRT stations are expected to be ready on the East-West line by 2016, extending the rail system’s operations into the Tuas industrial estate. “When completed, it will improve accessibility and connectivity for people who work in the Jurong and Tuas industrial areas. The Tuas...
Continue Reading • 13 Jan 2011
Lian Beng's net profit doubled in H1 2011
Lian Beng Group has announced that its net profit for the first half of its 2011 fiscal year doubled to S$22.6 million, from S$11.3 million in 2010, driven by higher revenue from its core construction business.The company’s strong bottomline improvement came on the back of a 58.2 percent...
Continue Reading • 13 Jan 2011
Ascott to redeploy S$1b capital into new investments
The Ascott Limited, CapitaLand’s service apartment unit, intends to redeploy capital worth S$1 billion into new investments in 2011.Ascott is seeking to strengthen its market leadership position in Asia, said Lim Ming Yan, Chief Executive of Ascott. The group also plans to expand in Europe,...
Continue Reading • 13 Jan 2011
Railway land agreement offers property development opportunities
The historic agreement between Singapore and Malaysia to settle the long-standing issue on the railway land that runs through the two countries will bring about real estate development opportunities in Singapore and Iskandar Malaysia, said a DTZ Research report.Careful land allocation has always...
Continue Reading • 13 Jan 2011
UK mortgage lending to stay subdued
Banks in the UK are unlikely to step up mortgage lending in 2011, as a lack of funds and increased regulations restrain access to credit and concerns on the economy persist, according to Hometrack Ltd.Mortgage lenders will probably approve only 1.2 million loans, the same as the number approved...
Continue Reading • 12 Jan 2011
China property market not a bubble
The real estate market in China is not a bubble, since household incomes are increasing in line with home prices, said Andy Rothman, a China macro strategist at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.Mr. Rothman said that home prices in China’s second-tier cities, where most urban Chinese live, are 75...
Continue Reading • 12 Jan 2011
Ovolo launches 48 designer serviced apartment units in HK
Leading owner-operator Ovolo has launched 48 designer units for sale at its newly-upgraded complex on 222 Hollywood Road, giving real estate investors a chance to acquire a stake in Hong Kong’s growing luxury service apartment sector.The first branded serviced apartments on the Hong Kong...
Continue Reading • 12 Jan 2011
Wing Tai wins prestigious China award
Singaporean luxury residential and commercial real estate developer Wing Tai highlighted its commitment to China when it bagged the “Hurun’s Recommended Singapore Luxury Property Developer” award at the 2011 Hurun Best of the Best Awards Ceremony, held at the Pudong Ritz Carlton...
Continue Reading • 12 Jan 2011
Gopeng Street hotel site receives seven bids
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced that the public tender for a hotel site at the junction of Gopeng Street and Peck Seah Street has received a total of seven bids, with Golden Development Private Limited offering the highest bid of S$194.77 million.Li Hiaw Ho, executive director...
Continue Reading • 12 Jan 2011
Royal Group acquires Ogilvy Centre hotel site
Royal Group Holdings Pte Ltd has acquired the Ogilvy Centre hotel site for S$86 million, after emerging as the top bidder in a public tender launched by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).The site, located at the junction of Robinson Road and Boon Tat Street, was made available for sale on 2...
Continue Reading • 12 Jan 2011
Australian borrowers urged to take home loan health check
Australian borrowers have been urged to take a ‘home loan health check’ ahead of this year’s planned interest rate increases.Alex Filipovic, a mortgage consultant at the South Australian Advertiser, said borrowers should also compare home loans and consider alternative mortgage...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2011
Shanghai, Chongqing may introduce new home taxes
Shanghai may impose a tax on new homes in the first quarter of 2011, while Chongqing may introduce a luxury-property tax around the same time, according to reports.The Ministry of Finance has agreed in principle to the tax in Chongqing and will leave the city to work out the details, said Xinhua...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2011