Prices of non-landed homes sold in Singapore in the second quarter of this year rose 28 per cent from the first quarter. CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) said the quarter-on-quarter increase was the largest for sales of new freehold non-landed residential projects. Prices of freehold units averaged S$938,000 in the second quarter, up from S$733,000 the previous quarter. A large proportion of the units sold were...
2009
Investors are optimistic that the Asian real estate market will bounce back soon after being battered by the global financial crisis. A survey by the Asian Real Estate Association (AREA) showed that more than half of the investors polled expect signs of improvements in the market by 2010. This optimism has prompted investors to allocate more funds into all real estate investment categories in the next...
Almost all of ION Orchard's space has been leased out and it is eager to pull in the crowds with its fashion and lifestyle boutiques. The upcoming shopping mall above the Orchard MRT station is set to open on July 21. Some 94 per cent of the leasable space has been committed - 70 per cent of which is taken up by flagship stores and new or new-to-market concepts stores. Food will also be big on the plate....
Developer Frasers Centrepoint said Tuesday 91 per cent of its 8@Woodleigh residential project has been sold following a weekend preview. The mass market development comprises 330 units, out of which 302 have been snapped up during the past four days. Frasers said it will now release the remaining units for sale and there will be no public launch. The 99-year leasehold property comprises a mix of two to...
344 Singaporeans have signed up for the Housing and Development Board's Lease Buyback Scheme since its launch in March. HDB gave out its first batch of upfront payment of S$5,000 to flat owners on Tuesday. Residents in the 30-year-old Queenstown estate were the first to receive the initial payouts from the HDB Lease Buyback Scheme. Under the scheme, senior citizens aged 62 years and above from...
Cities worldwide will soon have an opportunity to exchange urban city solutions with one another. That's what organisers of the newly-established Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize hope the award will achieve. The international award will be given out once every two years. By 2030, more than half of the world's population will be living in cities. But rapid urbanisation brings with it many challenges such...
Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust has proposed a rights issue to raise some S$337 million. It plans to use the proceeds to reduce debt and fund possible acquisitions. The Singapore-listed property trust is controlled by Malaysia's YTL Corp. Under the plan, it will offer unit-holders one new unit for every existing one held, at an issue price of 35 cents per rights unit. YTL, which owns 26.6...
IT APPEARS that there is an urgent need to review the role of the Strata Titles Boards (STB), especially regarding collective or en bloc property sales in the light of recent court judgments that saw the board come under criticism. The most recent involved the decision by the Court of Appeal to call off the sale of Horizon Towers after a tussle between various owners over the condominium’s sale to a...
THE last time the estate he lived in was upgraded, Mr Winston Lim’s street just missed the cut-off boundary for inclusion in the works. In the ten years since, there have not been enough funds for the public areas of Hwan Gardens in Serangoon to be given a facelift. “Our drains are not covered; there is always the threat of mosquito breeding,” said Mr Lim, 45, who works in sales. But with a...
PART-TIME crane operator Lee Kim Seng and his family of seven are now living in a newly-renovated three-room flat in Kim Keat Avenue without having paid a single cent for the makeover. Thanks to a community project by the Renovation and Decoration Advisory Council (Radac), the Lees were one of two needy families selected to receive a free home makeover in March. Mr Lee and his wife, who is a part-time...