Property sectors seek $12B refinancing fund
Given the unstable condition of credit markets, the listed property firms, especially the real estate investment trusts (REITs) are asking the government to refinance the estimated $12 billion debts.The request came from Asian Public Real Estate Association (Aprea), an organisation set up in...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Former primary school up for rent
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has placed the Siglap Primary School for lease through public tender.This 2,258 square metres property located at 10 LaSalle St has a rent price of $42,900, at $1.77 per square foot.Allowed uses for the property include business, privately financed and foreign...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Developers’ demand-side measures
Developers still hope for demand-side measures from the government to develop the property market.After the government revealed its budget for 2009 in 22 January, it presented supply-side measures in order to prop up the prices of homes by reducing new residences in the property market.In order...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Office leases may slip till 2012
After two years of pressure caused by rapid rise of rents, office renters finally saw the market favouring them.According to a report from the property consultancy Savills, for four straight years of decline, flat leases await them as a sign of forthcoming office space, surpassing the lustreless...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
JTC’s take-up for industrial space fall 33 percent
Net take-ups for industrial spaces of JTC Corporation had fallen again during the fourth quarter of 2008, as the economic downturn gave too much pressure on businesses.The 2008 JTC facilities report released yesterday showed the agency had rented out or leased around 20,000 square metres of...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
HK office rents decline by 26 percent
The prime office rents in Hong Kong may go down further by 26 percent this year as the worldwide financial crisis triggered investment companies and banks to control expenses, according to Colliers International.Yesterday, Colliers said in its report, “The prime office market is predicted...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Property agents’ substandard service is top complaint
The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) says that the top complaint of consumers against property agents is their poor service. Based on the latest figures released to The Straits Times, four out of ten complaints recorded in the last three years were due to the failure of agents to carry...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
KepLand’s Revenue and Net Profit Climb in Q3
According to Keppel Land, its Q3 net profit increased by 70 percent from $46.2 million in 2008 to $78.5 million, as it recorded more revenue from its projects.Its revenue rose to $227.8 million, up by 23 percent from $185.8 million in the third quarter of 2008. Such growth in profits was mainly...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Sales in March continue to be strong
The sales of incomplete private houses remained on top in March, which prompted several analysts to expand their estimate for the transaction volumes in 2009.Based on the released monthly data of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, around 1,220 units were sold last month as shoppers continued to...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Home sales are still strong
Private property sales accounted for in February was for real. For two straight months, home buyers had taken advantage of the falling economy to purchase over 1,000 units in March.According to property consultants, house buyers are more attracted to what they consider as great buys in a...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Homebuyers of 2007 at risk
The island-wide price index in property recorded a plunge of 14.1 percent in Q1, slightly higher than 13.8 percent flash estimate.To date, this is considered the worst decline for a quarter. It is also worse than the quarter-on-quarter decline of 13.1 percent in Q3 of 1998 when the financial...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Prices fall creates secondary market buzz
The recovery in sales of private homes experienced by developers has reached already the secondary market. This flow is heightened by falling prices. Caveats have been occupied for over 1,063 private homes in resale markets for Q1 this year, up by 11.7 percent from the last quarter. There were...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Experts expect recovery in property market
Based on a new research, buyers looking for homes these recent weeks could be heading to the market even before it has bottomed.DTZ, a consultant for real estate, is expecting a gradual recovery in the property market by mid of next year. This view of the firm is based on a recent report from its...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
The Arte sold 20 units over the weekend
There are already 20 The Arte units at Thomson that the City Developments Ltd (CDL) had sold, fetching its total sales last weekend of up to $30 million.CDL’s group general manager, Chia Ngiang Hong, said that buyers' interest become a broad evidence to draw the attention of more than 1,000...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Residential projects may be converted to serviced apartment
Several private home developers are planning to convert their residential housing projects to serviced apartments.According to Ascott Hospitality, the plan has become the recent approach of some developers, but they refuse to say more information about which residential projects are considered...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Developers' sales show sign of hope
Yesterday, the ray of hope dispelled doubts in the market of private homes after the latest data indicated that developers had sold 1,220 new units last month. This figure brought the total sold units during the first quarter to 2,660, making it the best performance for a quarter since the third...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
URA Included Jurong East “white” Site in its Reserve List
A reserve list site in an appealing location was made available for application by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), in spite of the unseasonable timing. The newest offering of URA is a 1.9 hectare white site beside Jurong East MRT Station. About 30% of the 1.15 million square foot maximum...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Terminated Sale of Millennium Seoul Hilton
On 28 November 2008, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C), the London-listed hotel subsidiary of City Developments, declared that the contract for the clearance of Millennium Seoul Hilton to Kangho AMC Corporation was cancelled because the latter was not able to polish its financing...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
MAS brushed off Worries on Property Disclosure of Banks
History shows that property-related loans have increased gradually since the property market boomed in 2005. According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), property-linked loans were actually the main drivers of non-bank loan expansion for more than the past two years. Now, the property...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009
Cost is the barrier for green building development
Several studies on green building in Singapore and other South-east Asian countries proved cost is the main barrier for developers to achieve their goal.In a survey conducted by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and CoreNet Global, though most property executives from corporations perceive sustainability...
Continue Reading • 22 Oct 2009