Property investments in APAC region to double in 2010
The Asia Pacific region will have around $85 billion to spend for direct investment in property by next year. The amount is twice the $43 billion transacted in the past 12 months, according to DTZ Research.The $85 billion translates to 27 percent of the total capital worth $315 billion, which...
Continue Reading • 21 Dec 2009
Prices of prime real-estate sets new high
Prices of resale landed homes have already set high records this year despite the uncertain economic recovery, according to a recent report.The report by DTZ Research highlights the prices of resale landed homes in the prime districts of 9, 10 and 11, including the Bukit Timah, Orchard and...
Continue Reading • 21 Dec 2009
Mortgagee sales volume at 12-year low
Many are expecting to see a surge in the volume of home loan defaults, with the worst recession in the history of Singapore and the growing tide of unemployed people who struggle with mortgage installments.It turns out that nothing could be further from the truth. The volume of properties up for...
Continue Reading • 21 Dec 2009
Non-residential property values tripled in 2009
Singapore’s non-residential property values have more than tripled this year.Auction house of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) said yesterday the quantum of non-residential properties surged to $101.18 million from last year’s $26.9 million.It said the increase is mainly due to...
Continue Reading • 18 Dec 2009
Where are property prices in Asia heading
Property prices in some parts of Asia have climbed sharply, prompting policymakers to rein in the sector and triggering worries about the formation of bubbles.Here are some questions and answers on where prices are headed, where potential bubbles are, how they affect shares, and the policies that...
Continue Reading • 18 Dec 2009
Hong Leong, Far East and Frasers lead property market poll
Hong Leong Group, Frasers Centrepoint and Far East Organization have been the most active companies in the local property market this year. The three companies most likely gained over $6 billion from selling more than 5,000 private homes, mostly from mid-tier and mass-market sites.This data came...
Continue Reading • 18 Dec 2009
2009 property auction sales double to $168.4 million
Property auction sales are expected to continue rising in 2010, stimulated by interest in the high-end residential market, Colliers International said. The total value of properties sold at auctions may exceed $200 million next year, after the figure doubled in 2009 from $83.7 million last year...
Continue Reading • 18 Dec 2009
Prime office rents in CBD core drop 4.9 percent
The average rents for Prime Grade A office buildings in the CBD core area dropped 4.9 percent in Q4 from Q3, according to the data released by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).This decline is much smaller compared to the 13.7 percent drop in Q3, the 11.6 percent in Q2 and the 28.1 percent decline in Q1...
Continue Reading • 17 Dec 2009
1st Citadines project by Ascott launched in Malaysia
Ascott Ltd, the wholly-owned serviced residence arm of CapitaLand, yesterday launched its first Citadines project in Malaysia.The Citadines Kuching Uplands, together with other projects that are scheduled to open in Malaysia, will more than double the current portfolio of Ascott in the area to a...
Continue Reading • 17 Dec 2009
Singapore shares closed mixed in thin trade
Yesterday, Singapore shares ended mixed in thin trade as the market slides down towards the end of 2009, said dealers.The blue-chip Straits Times Index (STI) closed 15.23 points or 0.54 percent at 2,813.93 on a volume of 1.32 billion shares amounting to $1.29 billion. In the broader market,...
Continue Reading • 17 Dec 2009
Excellent year for the GCB market
The Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market recorded 100 transactions in the first 11 months of 2009, which is worth $1.6 billion in totality.The figure, which is based on analysis done by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), is nearly double the $827 million, or 51 deals valued for 2008.The value also exceeded the...
Continue Reading • 17 Dec 2009
Number of US homeowners receiving foreclosure notices falls
The number of homeowners receiving foreclosure notices fell in November, the fourth consecutive monthly decline, as mortgage firms evaluated whether borrowers were qualified for assistance.One in every 417 homes or 307,000 households on the verge of foreclosure were down to 8 percent from a month...
Continue Reading • 16 Dec 2009
Sales of uncompleted private homes remain down in November
Singapore’s sales of uncompleted private homes in November dropped 26 percent, making it the 4th successive month of decline.About 600 units were sold in November, the second lowest level since January 2009 when private home sales dropped below 1,000 units.But several experts said that 600...
Continue Reading • 16 Dec 2009
Bedok site now open for application
A 99-year leasehold site next to Bedok MRT Station is now open for application by developers through the reserve list of the government. The site is considered by some property consultants to be worth over $500 million.The 2.49-hectare plot is intended for residential and commercial use....
Continue Reading • 16 Dec 2009
Singapore office market turns resilient
The Singapore office market in 2009 was marked by falling rentals, on the expectations that some 2.2 million sq ft of space was to come on-stream island-wide in this recessionary year. In 4Q09, the positive outlook of an economic recovery in US and Asia lifted business sentiments and led to a...
Continue Reading • 16 Dec 2009
Investors’ market as upgraders cool down
URA’s figures for private property sales in November 2009 fell to a mere 600 transactions, the lowest since January this year.“These are signs that mass market buyers are exercising greater caution,” says PropNex CEO Mohamed Ismail. Due to the Government’s recent...
Continue Reading • 15 Dec 2009
UK housing price recovery stalls
The recovery of the housing market in the UK will peter out next year, as supply of homes surge due to forced sales, said Rightmove plc.The average asking price will idle in 2010 after a 2 percent increase this year, said the biggest property website in the UK. Prices dropped 2.2 percent this...
Continue Reading • 15 Dec 2009
14,500 new home sales expected in 2009
Around 14,500 new homes are expected to be sold for the whole of this year, second only to the 2007 record of 14,811 units.According to property consultancy firm CBRE, despite the high volume of sales, caveats lodged so far indicated that the total selling price paid in 2009 for new homes was 58...
Continue Reading • 15 Dec 2009
ARA and Qatar Group to jointly invest in Singapore Islamic REIT
ARA Asset Management and Qatar's Regency Group have collaborated to launch the first ever real estate investment trust in Singapore, and the property will be introduced in a way that all Islamic principles are considered, with the investor's interest coming back to the REIT sector.The proposed...
Continue Reading • 15 Dec 2009
Industrial rents may fall further in 2010
Production lines may have continued its operations but market watchers are not expecting the industrial property sector to recover in 2010.The uncertainty of the economy, greater supply of industrial spaces and relocation of offices could cause rents to fall even further, although at a more...
Continue Reading • 15 Dec 2009