A-REIT to acquire three properties for $228.5 million
The mainboard-listed Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (A-REIT) said it will acquire three new properties amounting to $228.5 million.A-REIT has signed a memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of a property under development and two sale and purchase agreements. Under one sale...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2010
Ho Bee, Yanlord acquire prime residential site in Shanghai
Property developers Ho Bee and Yanlord have jointly acquired a 13.69 hectare prime residential development site in Qingpu District in Shanghai for about $784 million.The development site is located about 5.5 km away from Hongqiao Commercial District, which is set to become the next fully...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2010
Private home sales kick off
The private residential market in Singapore roared back to life in January.According to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Wednesday, 1,476 units were sold in January 2010, about three times the 481 units sold in December 2009.The increase in the number of private homes...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2010
Malaysians are top foreign buyers
According to a recent report, Malaysians are buying more private homes in Singapore, compared with any other nationality. DTZ Debenham Tie Leung found that 27 percent of the total transactions last year came from non-Singaporeans, including foreigners and permanent residents (PRs).The study,...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2010
Mortgage competition in Australia increases as AMP cuts interest rates
Australian mortgage lender AMP has cut down interest rates in a sign that mortgage borrowers are taking advantage of the competition in the mortgage market. AMP is reducing its basic mortgage rate by 10 percentage points to 6.24 percent for first-time homebuyers, and is "hopeful we will...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2010
Trendy lofts in HK creating an underground market
The escalating rental rates and prices of apartments in Hong Kong are helping to start a new trend of converting older commercial and industrial buildings into trendy lofts.According to property agents, lofts are the latest trend in HK and they are often created from old or unused offices and...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2010
RWS draws a vast number of visitors
When Lim Kok Thay, Chairman of Genting Group, cut the ribbon to officially open the first casino in Singapore on Sunday, he said: “We have waited a long time for this.”The casino at the new Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) was so packed within hours of opening that it had to close its...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2010
FEO sells 100 units at its latest project
Far East Organization (FEO) said it has sold 100 units at the Altez in Enggor Street, its latest residential project comprising of 280 units.According to FEO, 100 of the 104 units released during a preview for priority customers last week were sold. Prices ranged from $1,600 psf to $2,000 psf.The...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2010
Property launches set to increase
Property developers are set to launch new offerings for home-buyers now that the holidays are over.While some will have new phases released or have started preview sales, at least six projects are being set for launch.In the high-end property segment, Wing Tai is preparing to sell its 147-unit...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2010
Tiger Year will bring opportunities in the property market
The year of the Golden Tiger is expected to bring a lot of opportunities in the real estate market.Many analysts agree that 2010 presents opportunities for investors to purchase in anticipation of a price recovery, with the economy expected to expand between 3 percent and 5 percent this year and...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2010
Requests for mortgage guidance in the UK surged in 2009
Consumers in the UK who asked for guidance in acquiring their first mortgage comprised the majority of enquiries to market advisors last year. This is according to statistics from unbiased.co.uk.According to the website, out of the 70,000 clients who sought for mortgage guidance last year, 40...
Continue Reading • 12 Feb 2010
No Q2 distribution for Saizen REIT proposed
On Thursday, Saizen REIT in Singapore said that it proposed not to declare any distribution for Q2 after reporting a loss.The company reported a net loss of 94.3 million yen or as much as $1.48 million for three months that ended December last year. This was a sharp contrast to the...
Continue Reading • 12 Feb 2010
Universal Studios Singapore opens on Sunday
Together with Universal Studios’ partial opening, the first casino in Singapore will open on Sunday at around 12:18pm.It will be a day of festivities at the Integrated Resort on the red-letter day. Planned activities include the evening previews at its Universal Studios theme park and the...
Continue Reading • 12 Feb 2010
Collective sales set to launch again
As many as 50 collective sales may be launched in 2010, but the deals may take longer because of rising price expectations and revised rules.According to property agents polled by The Business Times, as many as 50 collective sales are set to take off in 2010, though at least half of these could...
Continue Reading • 12 Feb 2010
Demands for home loans in the US drops 7%
The volume of home loan applications in the US fell 1.2 percent last week, compared with the previous week. The decline was largely due to the drop in mortgage applications to purchase a home, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).Applications for home loans plunged to a seasonally...
Continue Reading • 11 Feb 2010
Emaar to sell stake in Singapore retailer RSH
Emaar Properties has reportedly hired DBS to advice on the sale of its majority stake in RSH Holdings, a Singapore-listed sports retailer, which has a current value of $164 million.The Dubai-based real estate giant has declined to deny or confirm the reported development.“RSH is a listed...
Continue Reading • 11 Feb 2010
CapitaLand's profit in Q4 increases
CapitaLand, Southeast Asia's largest property developer, said its net profit in Q4 that ended in 31 December 2009 increased to $885.7 million, more than 11 times over the same period in 2008.The increased profit was boosted by gains from the sale of Raffles City Hangzhou to the Raffles City...
Continue Reading • 11 Feb 2010
Singapore office rents drop 46.2% in Q4 2009
Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo were still the top three most expensive office locations in the Asia-Pacific region during Q4 2009, according to Colliers International.However, Singapore’s Grade A office rents suffered a huge decline last year across all Asia-Pacific markets. Grade A office...
Continue Reading • 11 Feb 2010
Shimao Property hires two banks for $400m loan
Shimao Property Holdings Limited, controlled by Chinese billionaire Xu Rongmao, hired Standard Chartered Plc and HSBC Holdings Plc for a $400 million three-year loan, according to sources.Last month, Shimao received the bondholder consents it needed to amend terms of some of its notes. According...
Continue Reading • 11 Feb 2010
ING President urges Canadian officials not to tighten mortgage rules
After commenting on the potential housing bubble in Canada, ING Direct Canada President Peter Aceto said it is unnecessary for Ottawa to tighten its mortgage rules."High level, one-stroke fixes are too simple, and can have a very large impact," said Mr. Aceto. "I worry about...
Continue Reading • 10 Feb 2010