US mortgage applications fall as refinancing hits a new low
For the first time in a month, the consumer demand for home loans in the US dropped last week, as low interest rates failed to attract borrowers to refinance their mortgage payments, according to the data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).The data showed that the overall volume...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2010
KL office rents remain at a stable level
Kuala Lumpur remains one of the most competitive office locations in Asia and with more than one million square feet of new office space for the next three years, average rental rates are expected to remain stable, said one leading property firm.Over the next three years, more than nine million...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2010
Wyndham Group to introduce two new hotels to Singapore
Wyndham Group, the largest hotel company in the world, is starting operations in Singapore and will be managing two new hotels in Balestier Road.This is a joint venture (JV) between Wyndham Group and local property developers Superbowl and Hiap Hoe Holdings. This is also the JV’s initial...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2010
Minister Mah: Public housing must meet changing needs
Public housing in the 21st century must evolve to meet changing needs, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.However, HDB’s core mission of building cohesive communities and providing Singaporeans with affordable quality homes remains unchanged.During his speech at the...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2010
HDB considering imposing a quota on PRs purchasing resale flats
The Housing & Development Board (HDB) is looking at imposing a quota on Permanent Residents (PRs) purchasing resale HDB flats. The implementation could be the same as the imposition of racial quotas to avoid an ethnic enclave. The proposed move was revealed by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2010
UK mortgage approvals in December hit highest level since Sept 07
UK mortgage approvals in December hit the highest level since September 2007, according to the latest data from the BBA.In December, the number of seasonally adjusted mortgage approvals increased to 45,897 from 44,965 in November, and was the highest level since 54,913 mortgage approvals were...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2010
Asian markets begin 2010 with losses
Asian markets started 2010 with declines recorded, raising concerns that the region could experience a modest correction amid its strong economy. Reports said that Chinese banks will restrain lending, and data from South Korea sent markets across the region into negative territory. HK’s...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2010
Malaysian property market expected to see increased transactions in 2010
The Malaysian property market is expected to improve further this year in line with the recovery of the global economy. It is estimated to have had RM75.42 billion (US$22.1 billion) worth of transactions registered last year. Compared with the 340,240 properties valued at RM88.34 billion in 2008,...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2010
FCT to raise up to $182.2m through private placement
Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) will launch a private placement of 137 million new units to partly finance the acquisition of YewTee Point and Northpoint 2 malls.The issue price ranges from S$1.29 to S$1.33 per new unit, which reflects a discount of 3.7 percent to 6.6 percent to the adjusted...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2010
PM Lee: Govt to keep new HDB flats affordable
While the government remains committed to keeping prices of new HDB flats affordable for Singaporeans, it has no complete control over prices in the resale market, according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. PM Lee highlighted this yesterday when he commented on one of the most controversial...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2010
USA Mortgage breaks all-time high for home loans
USA Mortgage said that it has recorded an all-time high of $1.2 billion worth of home loans last year, more than twice the $586 million for loans in 2008.Doug Schukar, CEO of USA Mortgage said the retail loan volume of the company hit $1.2 billion last year.Creve Coeur, USA Mortgage’s...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2010
Pick-up in sales of private homes indicates a mild property fever
To date, over 900 private homes have been sold by developers this month, based on a survey conducted on property agents and developers. With another week to go, it is expected to cross 1,000 units by the end of the month.Besides Holland Residences by Allgreen Properties, Wing Tai is believed to...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2010
Horizon Towers saga begins a new chapter with fresh lawsuit
A new lawsuit has just been filed against Horizon Towers’ failed collective sale. A group of minority owners at Horizon Towers have filed a lawsuit against some members of the original sales committee for their handling of the collective sale. These minority owners had originally opposed...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2010
Keppel Land to build 5,500 homes across Asia
Keppel Land, which saw its Q4 earnings increase by 56 percent as the Asian property market recovered, has expressed plans to launch over 5,500 residential homes across the Asian region this year.“Keppel Land is moving into 2010 with optimism on the back of its stronger financial position,...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2010
Private home purchases by HDB upgraders declines
The strong recovery of private home prices in 2009 reduced the purchases by HDB upgraders to 33.8 percent in the fourth quarter last year compared to 56.2 percent in the first quarter, according to the latest caveats analysis of Jones Lang LaSalle. HDB upgraders made up 44.4 percent of...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2010
Nearly 120 units sold at Cube 8 preview
City Developments Ltd (CDL) has sold nearly 120 units at Cube 8 as of Friday evening, during the two-day preview of the condo at Thomson Road.CDL initially released 80 units at an average price of $1,250 per square foot (psf), but due to strong demand, it offered an additional 40 units. Prices of...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2010
Majority getting unsatisfactory real estate services
A latest survey conducted in Singapore showed that 80 percent of all property deals transacted in the country are done through property agents, with most of the transactions ending with customers complaining about some sort of ‘bad service’.This was part of the findings on the...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2010
Inflation warning for mortgage borrowers
Borrowers who took-up variable-rate mortgage deals should prepare for increasing monthly repayments due to inflation.Home owners have enjoyed tracker transactions and low standard variable mortgage rates, which indicates changes to the base rate in the Bank of England, since the rate dropped to...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2010
Colliers International and FirstService REA to combine
Colliers International has collaborated with FirstService Real Estate Advisors to establish the world’s third largest commercial property services firm. Colliers International and FirstService Real Estate Advisors (“FirstService REA”) announced that they will integrate...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2010
Australia's high-end property market picking up
The market for high-end apartments and units within the Central Business District (CBD) of Melbourne is back, fuelled by a quick economic recovery and housing shortages.The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) has released a median sales figure for the December quarter, showing that prices of...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2010