China land sales surged 70% last year
Land sales in China rose by 70 percent in 2010, as the country’s land and resources minister warned of social unrest among Chinese buyers who were unable to acquire affordable homes.Minister Xu Shaoshi said on the ministry's website that land transactions hit 2.7 trillion yuan (S$527...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2011
Mapletree Commercial Trust preparing for $1bn IPO
Mapletree Commercial Trust, a unit of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd, has hired banks for a $1 billion initial share sale in the first quarter, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.The trust hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Deutsche Bank AG, DBS Group Holdings Ltd and CIMB Group...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2011
Newton View re-launched for collective sale
Newton View, located at 26 Newton Road, has, for the second time in less than six months, been launched for collective sale, with a slight decrease in asking price.The owners of the freehold project are now asking for $150 million, slightly lower than the $153 million to $155 million they had...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2011
Owners install lap pools to increase property values
An increasing number of Singaporeans are turning to small swimming pools — the latest trend in home design — as a fast way to increase the value of their property.According to The Straits Times, pool contractors have seen business double in the last three years, due to new designs...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2011
TCT's property portfolio value up 4.61% in 2010
Singapore-listed Treasury China Trust (TCT) has announced that property portfolio value reached RMB9.61 billion in the 12 months ended 31 December 2010, up 4.61 percent or RMB423 million over the same period in 2009.“TCT experienced strong operating performance across its portfolio during...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2011
Landed home crisis to worsen
The landed home crunch will likely worsen in the coming years, due to limited available stock.The number of landed homes has risen by only six percent in the last 10 years, while the number of apartments has gone up by 47 percent.As of the third quarter of last year, 69,701 of the 256,513 private...
Continue Reading • 11 Jan 2011
US mortgage costs to skyrocket this year
Though home prices in the US are down, mortgage costs are heading up, according to a memo released by Fannie Mae in late December.The government-controlled GSE has implemented a new schedule for higher add-on fees since the new year, similar to what Freddie Mac imposed since Thanksgiving 2010....
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2011
Beijing plans 'seven-star' hotel with Saudi Arabia
Beijing is planning to build a seven-star hotel worth US$1.3 billion in a joint project with Saudi Arabia.According to the Beijing Morning Post, the hotel will be built in western Beijing's Mentougou district, some 30 km away from Beijing’s centre.A district official, who confirmed the...
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2011
CapitaLand to launch 1,700 upmarket homes this year
Southeast Asia’s largest property developer, CapitaLand, plans to launch 1,700 new homes this year, as it rides on the expected 10 to 15 percent growth in luxury home prices.“We remain bullish about (the prospects of) the residential market in Singapore, particularly for the segment...
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2011
China urban home prices climb in 2010
Home prices in major cities in China surged by over a fifth in 2010, after repeated government efforts to moderate the red-hot property sector, according to private research.Residential prices rose the fastest in Hangzhou by 47.1 percent, followed by 37.9 percent and 37.1 percent in Chongqing and...
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2011
CEA misplaced 125 applications
The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) said it had not yet updated some registration applications as it had misplaced them.There were 125 affected applications, which have not been updated in the Public Register of the CEA, it said in a statement."CEA is working with the affected salespersons...
Continue Reading • 10 Jan 2011
US mortgage applications soar from 12-month low
Mortgage applications in the US increased from a 12-month low last week, as refinancing rose for the first time since early November, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) index.The index also showed that loan applications rose 2.3 percent after declining 3.9 percent in the...
Continue Reading • 7 Jan 2011
Beijing's resale property transaction prices climbed 14% in 2010
The average transaction prices of resale properties in Beijing climbed 14 percent year-on-year to RMB27,253 psm in 2010, according to a report.However, only 212,466 resale properties were sold in Beijing in 2010, down 27 percent from 278,120 units sold in 2009, since the central government...
Continue Reading • 7 Jan 2011
HK luxury property transactions increase in value
Luxury property transactions in Hong Kong rose 40 percent last year, surpassing the level seen during the 1997 property peak, according to a research report from Centaline Property Ltd.The report said that transaction values of HK luxury properties – or those worth HK$10 million or more...
Continue Reading • 7 Jan 2011
AIT launches IPO for property ownership in India
Singapore-based Ascendas India Trust (AIT) has launched the first ever initial public offering (IPO), which raised funds on the Singapore Stock Exchange, aiming to own property in India.The size of the IPO was S$500 million, while the offer price was S$1.18, said officials of JPMorgan, the joint...
Continue Reading • 7 Jan 2011
CCL appoints new CEO
CapitaLand Commercial Ltd (CCL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, has appointed Chong Lit Cheong as the new chief executive officer, effective 10 February 2011. He will replace Mr. Ee Chee Hong, who will assume a new appointment within the CapitaLand Group upon his return from a...
Continue Reading • 7 Jan 2011
HK, Singapore best economies for investment in Asia-Pacific
Hong Kong and Singapore have been voted Asia-Pacific’s best economies for investment, according to a new poll conducted by Vriens & Partners.Hong Kong emerged on top in the survey of 18 countries, followed by Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.Titled 'Good Governance for International...
Continue Reading • 7 Jan 2011
Rents remain strong amid increased supply
Residential rents in Hong Kong have stayed strong, despite a large increase in the number of flats available for lease since the government announced cooling measures to control real estate speculation at end-November.”Many investors responded to the increase in stamp duties on short-term...
Continue Reading • 7 Jan 2011
Surge in newly registered homes in Greater Bangkok
Newly registered home units in Greater Bangkok rose 10 percent in the first 10 months of last year to approximately 80,000 units from 72,950 units over the same period in 2009, according to data released by Thailand’s Real Estate Information Centre (REIC).Of the newly registered units,...
Continue Reading • 7 Jan 2011
CMA offers one-year, three-year bonds worth $200m
Mall developer and manager CapitaMalls Asia (CMA) is offering one-year and three-year bonds worth up to $200 million to retail investors and possibly, institutional investors.CMA may look at issuing more retail bonds in the future if there is demand.The one-year bonds that will mature in 2012...
Continue Reading • 7 Jan 2011