Frasers to expand China presence through Modena brand
To further strengthen its presence in the short-stay service residence market, Frasers Hospitality will add 11 properties under the recently launched Modena brand in the next few years, six of which will open by 2012.This growth is expected to continue, with the brand likely to see the number of...
Continue Reading • 20 Oct 2010
BofA to resume foreclosures in 23 states
The Bank of America (BofA) has announced that it will partially lift its moratorium on foreclosures, a sign that the crisis over the US bank’s mortgage practices may be easing.BofA’s move marked one of the first positive developments after the financial sector came under pressure...
Continue Reading • 20 Oct 2010
URA to launch Robinson Road site for tender
The URA has announced that it has accepted an application from a developer to launch a hotel site at Robinson Road / Boon Tat Street for sale through a public tender.The land site was made available for sale on June 22 through the government’s Reserve List system. The URA said the 60-year...
Continue Reading • 20 Oct 2010
Rent-to-buy scheme may be expanded, says Tsang
Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has suggested that the rent-to-buy scheme, supposedly a temporary relief measure for better-off home buyers, could be expanded if it receives good response.Mr. Tsang also challenged his critics and supporters of the old home ownership scheme (HOS)...
Continue Reading • 20 Oct 2010
CRCT distribution income up 3.2% in Q3
CapitaRetail China Trust (CRCT), a Singapore-based real estate investment trust (REIT), announced that its distribution income rose 3.2 percent to S$13 million in Q3, translating to an increase of 3 percent distribution per unit (DPU) to 2.08 cents.The strong distribution income result for the...
Continue Reading • 20 Oct 2010
MIT expected to raise S1.19b from IPO
The IPO of Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT) has seen a strong take-up rate with an oversubscription of approximately 37.9 times, headed by demand from institutional players.This take-up means that a total of $20.1 billion of application money was released for the IPO, said MIT.MIT is expected to...
Continue Reading • 20 Oct 2010
Soilbuild tops bid for Yishun site
Soilbuild Group Holdings has offered the highest bid of $64.01 million, or $51.10 psf ppr, for an industrial site at Yishun St 23/Ave 9.The 60-year leasehold industrial plot received a total of four bids in a public tender that closed yesterday.Soilbuild's top bid was 12.3 percent higher than the...
Continue Reading • 19 Oct 2010
Local, overseas properties to undergo spot checks
Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said yesterday that flat owners will be subjected to spot checks both locally and abroad to see if they are telling the truth about private property ownership in Singapore or overseas.HDB flat buyers are required to declare any interest or ownership...
Continue Reading • 19 Oct 2010
Overseas developers to face tougher regulations here
The law governing foreign ownership of landed residential property in Singapore is set to be amended, making it more expensive for foreign property developers to speculate in land in the country.The Amendment Bill to the Residential Property Act (RPA), which was introduced in parliament...
Continue Reading • 19 Oct 2010
Barclays launches new mortgage deal in the UK
Global financial services firm Barclays has announced that it is launching “The Great Escape” remortgage deal in the UK to lure homeowners off their lenders' standard variable rate (SVR).As part of the new move, Barclays is offering homeowners who remortgage to it a lifetime tracker...
Continue Reading • 19 Oct 2010
A-REIT to enhance 3 properties
Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (A-REIT) has announced that it will be investing about $97 million to enhance three properties in its portfolio.The business space and industrial REIT made the announcement as it released results for the second quarter that ended September 30.A-REIT posted a...
Continue Reading • 19 Oct 2010
KepLand acquires two residential sites in Chengdu
Hillwest Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Land, has acquired two prime land sites in Xinjin County and Jinjiang District in Chengdu for RMB617 million (S$127 million) and RMB1.21 billion (S$249 million), respectively.The land acquisition in Xinjin County comprises of two sites with a...
Continue Reading • 19 Oct 2010
K-REIT Asia's distributable income climbs 22.2%
K-REIT Asia has seen a 22.2 percent increase in distributable income for the first nine months of 2010 at $62.5 million over the same period last year.The growth was attributed to lower interest expense and higher net property income (NPI) from the 29 percent additional interest in Prudential...
Continue Reading • 19 Oct 2010
Locals driving up home sales
Most of the private home buyers in Singapore are still made up of local Singaporeans, with permanent residents (PRs) comprising 13 percent and foreigners 12 percent of total sales in the second quarter.Also, speculative activity in the private property market is driven mostly by Singaporeans. PRs...
Continue Reading • 19 Oct 2010
CDL to launch new condo on Copthorne Orchid Hotel site
City Developments Limited (CDL) is expected to launch The Glyndebourne, a proposed freehold condo project slated to be developed on the Copthorne Orchid Hotel site, as early as next week.Some market watchers suggest the average price for the new development could fetch around $2,000 psf, with...
Continue Reading • 19 Oct 2010
Recent cooling measures fall short of expectations
The URA monthly sales volume saw a 28 percent month-on-month decline to 911 units in September following state intervention in the previous month. Compared with the previous two sets of measures introduced on September 15, 2009 and February 20, 2010 respectively, the latest measures fell short of...
Continue Reading • 18 Oct 2010
US mortgage interest rates sink to record low
Mortgage rates in the US have reached another record low, according to a new survey conducted by Freddie Mac.The average 30-year fixed rate mortgages was 4.19 percent in the week that ended October 14, down from 4.27 percent in the previous week, which could have been the lowest rates on...
Continue Reading • 18 Oct 2010
China property prices rise in September
China saw an increase in property prices for the first time in four months in September, indicating that the market is set to pounce on any let-up by the government in its actions against property speculation.Officials had already noticed the return of property inflation, strengthening its...
Continue Reading • 18 Oct 2010
Parkway Life Reit eyeing local nursing home sector
Parkway Life REIT is looking at the local nursing home market after it ventured into properties that offer long-term care services for the elderly in Japan.“We are looking to explore opportunities to collaborate with credible nursing care operators locally and regionally, as well as to...
Continue Reading • 18 Oct 2010
Chinese buyers acquired 35% of HK luxury homes
Chinese buyers purchased more than one in three new luxury flats in Hong Kong in the first half of 2010, an increase of over 50 percent than in the second half of 2009.“Hong Kong property prices have become around 25 percent cheaper to China buyers because of the appreciation of the yuan in...
Continue Reading • 18 Oct 2010