Pending home sales down in November by 16%
The volume of contracts to purchase previously-owned US homes slid more than the November forecast, as Americans waited for first-time buyer tax credit to be extended. According to the National Association of Realtors, the pending home sales index or signed purchase agreements dropped 16 percent...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2010
Mortgage rates protected
ICBC (Asia) gave assurances that banks are not driving mortgage rates down because of heavy industry competition.Stanley Wong Yuen-Fai, the director and deputy general manager, said that all banks agreed to have the same mortgage rates and rejected claims that banks have reduced their mortgage...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2010
Hotels at Sentosa IR set to open
Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) announced yesterday that it will open the hotels at Sentosa IR on January 20, but those who want to play at the casino or visit Universal Studios Singapore will still have to wait for a while.Announcing the much awaited opening date, RWS said that on January 20, four...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2010
Commercial and residential site at Ten Mile Junction up for tender
A commercial and residential site located at the junction of Choa Chua Kang Road and Woodlands Road has just been launched. Analysts expect a strong bid for the first-ever government land sales tender.The Ten Mile Junction shopping mall, which currently sits on the site, will be integrated with...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2010
CityDev shares up by 4.7 percent
Shares of City Developments (CityDev) climbed 4.7 percent on Tuesday, as confidence in the Singapore property market increased.CityDev is gaining more from the rising real estate values, as the company owns various properties, unlike its rival CapitaLand, which distributes its properties to other...
Continue Reading • 6 Jan 2010
Tuas View Lane lot still available following the dismissal of the leaseback agreement
First Real Estate Investment Trust (First REIT) said that it has dismissed the option agreement to purchase a private lot located at Tuas View Lane from Tech-Link Storage Engineering.The sale and leaseback deal was supposed to be completed by the end of 2009, but the two parties were unable to...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2010
Private home prices rose 7.3% in Q4
Prices of private homes in Singapore jumped 7.3 percent in Q4 last year, compared to a 15.8 percent increase in the third quarter.For the whole of 2009, private home prices climbed 1.7 percent, rebounding from the 4.7 percent slump in 2008, according to estimates by the Urban Redevelopment...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2010
Prime mortgage foreclosures seen rising in the US
The next big risk for the US housing market will concern homeowners with the best credit.“There will be continuing foreclosures, and not just sub-prime, it will be prime mortgages,” said Professor Robert Shiller of Yale University in an interview. “This is creating a huge shadow...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2010
Knight Frank reorganizes its operations
Knight Frank Singapore is reorganizing its operations along five divisions – property management, residential, commercial, retail and advisory. Each division is headed by a managing director, who will provide strategic leadership to the unit, as well as identify and train the next...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2010
Dubai launches world’s tallest skyscraper
Dubai opened the world’s tallest tower on Monday. The 828-metre-tall skyscraper will be renamed Burj Khalifa, to honour Abu Dhabi President Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who pumped billions of dollars into Dubai last year, as it struggled from its enormous debt. The US$1.5 billion Burj...
Continue Reading • 5 Jan 2010
Singapore residential market expected to recover this year
2010 will see a recovery of the residential market in Singapore, said Chief Executive Lim Ee Seng of Frasers Centrepoint.“We expected 2009 to be a very bad year for us but it turned out to be a good year,” said Managing Director Lim Yew Soon of EL Development.Dr. Chua Yang Liang,...
Continue Reading • 4 Jan 2010
Property speculators now target the APAC region
The meltdown of US property prices did not affect the enthusiasm of many home buyers in other countries, especially in Asia.Home prices in most parts of Asia-Pacific continue to surge. But solid demand for apartments, houses and villas, coupled with a stimulus package and low interest rates,...
Continue Reading • 4 Jan 2010
Construction on Menara YNH to begin in six months
YNH Property Bhd is expecting to start work of its proposed Menara YNH project in the next six months.Although Kuwait Finance House Bhd (KFH) cancelled the plan to purchase one of the two office blocks at Menara YNH two weeks ago, YNH said it would still carry on with the development of the...
Continue Reading • 4 Jan 2010
Main market themes for 2010
It is interesting to ponder what the main market themes for 2010 may be, as the second-liners and window-dressing of blue chips had been completed for 2009. Property brokers have been busy over the past month with their market outlook reports, which all leans towards the positive. However, what...
Continue Reading • 4 Jan 2010
2009 was an easy year for investors; and now comes 2010
Investing in 2009 was very easy for some people – just invest in oversold riskier assets and wait for them to rise. However, 2010 could be a difficult time, requiring selection and market timing to get the best results.Many investors felt that the financial system would not collapse into a...
Continue Reading • 4 Jan 2010
CapLand launches 5th Raffles City China
More than just believing in the recovery story of China, Liew Mun Leong, the chief executive at CapitaLand, also says that the growth strategy for CapitaLand is “emboldened by it”.During the launch of the fifth Raffles City-brand project in China last Saturday, Liew said that...
Continue Reading • 31 Dec 2009
MI-REIT downgraded to “Caa1”
The corporate family rating of MacArthurCook Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (MI-REIT) has been downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service to “Caa1” from its previous rating of “B2.”The rating, which already has a negative outlook, could still be downgraded...
Continue Reading • 31 Dec 2009
Strong private home sales
In June 2009, private home sales remain strong in Singapore. According to the developer of Far East Organisation, they have already sold 74 apartments in their 280-unit Vista Residences during the private preview in the third week of June. The company has also released 88 units at a weekend...
Continue Reading • 31 Dec 2009
STI surpasses analysts' expectations in H1 2009
The Singapore stock market exceeded the expectations of market watchers in the first half of 2009. The STI climbed to the present level of 2,333, a 60 percent increased from a year-to-date low of just below 1,500 early in March. This figure posted the sharpest increase in the region, partly...
Continue Reading • 31 Dec 2009
Private residential property prices to climb 5-10% in H2: analysts
According to Singapore market observers, prices of private residential properties can increase to an average of 5 to 10 percent during the second half of the year.In the recent months, strong sales have driven up the prices in spite of the economic downturn. Various concerns have been raised over...
Continue Reading • 31 Dec 2009