Australia to ban mortgage exit fees from July
Starting July 1, mortgage exit fees for new home loans in Australia will be removed in line with efforts to overhaul banking laws.The move will allow the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to look into any possible price signalling between National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ and...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2011
SGX records growth in turnover value
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) saw an 8.6 percent year-on-year growth in turnover value to $401.946 billion in 2010, though total securities trading volume dropped 13.3 percent year-on-year with 400.446 billion shares sold.The value of turnover for December reached $28.4 billion, down from $40.4...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2011
Malaysia property market: cautious optimism
Property prices in Malaysia’s popular locations achieved record levels in 2010, and investors in landed properties have enjoyed strong capital appreciation of between 20 percent and 30 percent in recent years.Many experts said Malaysia’s strong economy will guarantee a continued...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2011
Royal Group tops bid for Ogilvy site tender
The Ogilvy site tender has attracted a total of 8 bids in a public tender that closed on January 5, with Royal Group Holdings Pte Ltd placing the highest bid of $86 million.The site, which is located at the junction of Robinson Road and Boon Tat Street, was made available for sale on November 2...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2011
Wilmar finalises property JV, set to develop 6 China sites
Wilmar International has announced that it has finalised a joint venture (JV) to develop six sites in China.This comes following a separate successful joint bid with Shangri-La Asia and Kerry Properties for the sites in Laobian District, Yingkou City, Liaoning Province, China for 1.35 billion...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2011
Robertson Quay site up for sale through tender
The URA has put a hotel site at Robertson Quay up for sale through public tender.The site was offered for sale under the reserve list system on April 22, 2010. On December 23, the URA said it had received an application from a developer who committed to bid at least $51.5 million for the siteWith...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2011
Two private home developments up for sale
Two private home developments – Whitley Heights off Whitley Road and Residence 81 at Telok Kurau – have been launched for collective sale.With a land area of 130,165 sq ft, the owners of Whitley Heights are asking for $185 million to $210 million, which works out to about $1,421 psf...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2011
Yuan Ching Road site attracts six bids
A land parcel at Yuan Ching Road has attracted six bids in a public tender that closed on January 5, with a joint bid between Hoi Hup Realty Pte Ltd, Sunway Developments Pte Ltd and SC Wong Holdings Pte Ltd offering the highest bid of $131.6 million.This translates to around $192 psf ppr for the...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2011
Shiki Niseko set to launch in Singapore
Following the successful preview of Shiki Niseko in Kuala Lumpur on December 11 and 12, the iconic and luxurious ski resort is set to launch in Singapore on January 8 and 9.Located in upper Hirafu village in Japan, Shiki Niseko is often called the Aspen of the East, known for its powder skiing...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2011
Investment into emerging markets up in Q4
Net investment into Asian and emerging market equity funds soared in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to latest data from international fund flow consultant EPFR Global.However, despite the inflows, total acquisitions of Asia equity funds, excluding Japan, dropped to US$21.5 billion last...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2011
CMA to invest $2bn in new projects
Mall developer and manager CapitaMalls Asia (CMA), a 65.5 percent owned subsidiary of CapitaLand, is looking to invest about $2 billion in new projects in 2011 after it committed a similar amount in 2010, said Lim Beng Chee, chief executive of CMA.With zero net gearing and about $1.4 billion of...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2011
Shanghai resists property cooling measures
The Shanghai property market has resisted the central government’s move to curb home prices, with the city’s combined property value for 2010 hitting 207 billion yuan ($31.4 billion).The figures from the China Real Estate Information Corp (CRIC) revealed that average unit prices in...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2011
UK home loan approvals surge unexpectedly
Home loan approvals in the UK rose unexpectedly in November to its highest level since July, according to new figures released by the Bank of England.About 48,019 home loans were approved in November, a slight increase from previous months, despite analysts predicting a decline.However, despite...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2011
Asian investors looking to tap into Australia
The Australian property market may yet see good investment opportunities in 2011, as some Asian investors have remained undeterred by some of the country’s foreign property ownership restrictions.Buyers from Singapore, Malaysia and China are continuing to lead demand in the Australian...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2011
Tiong Seng unit to build prefab hub in Tuas
Robin Village Developments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tiong Seng Holdings, is building a $26 million prefab hub in Tuas to supply precast concrete components.This move follows the government’s call for higher productivity through wider adoption of precast construction methods.The...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2011
China to lead global IPO market in 2011
China will still lead the global IPO market in 2011 in terms of the amount of capital raised and the number of new listings, said international accounting firm PwC.The total number of new listings this year will reach 320 including 290 listings on the ChiNext and Shenzhen SME Board and 30 in...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2011
Former CEO of CapitaMall Trust plans IPO in Singapore
Mr. Pua Seck Guan, former chief executive of CapitaMall Trust, intends to raise around S$1 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) of a real estate investment trust (REIT) in Singapore, said a source familiar with the situation.The trust, to be launched by Perennial Real Estate, a real...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2011
Council for Estate Agencies swamped on first day
The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), the new statutory board responsible for regulating and licensing real estate agents in Singapore had a tough first day of business on Monday.The Toa Payoh premises of the CEA was swamped with people, mostly disgruntled agents or their bosses, who had come to...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2011
US property ranked in top spot for investment
The US commercial property market has been ranked by foreign investors as their top choice for investment this year and considered as the best opportunity for price appreciation, according to a survey of foreign property investors.When ranked among markets targeted for property investment this...
Continue Reading • 4 Jan 2011
HDB resale and private home prices growths stabilise
The property cooling measures implemented by the government in end-August are now taking effect, with both the URA residential price index and HDB Resale Price Index (RPI) flash estimates reflecting a smaller quarter-on-quarter growth in Q4 2010.The URA residential price index climbed 2.7 percent...
Continue Reading • 4 Jan 2011