IN A bid to increase its slice of the housing pie, Maybank has rolled out a three-year fixed-rate loan package with first-year interest at 1.6 per cent - the lowest of its kind in Singapore. With second- and third-year interest at 2.2 and 2.9 per cent respectively, that works out to an average of 2.23 per cent per annum over three years. This is even lower than the HDB‚s concessionary rate of 2.6 per...
Finance
Avoid foreclosure by granting moratoriums on loan repayment AS THE economic crisis deepens, banks should expect more people to default on their housing loan repayments. Under the circumstances, is it in the interest of the banks to implement the commonly-practised course of action of repossessing the property and foreclosing the loan? Granting the struggling debtor a moratorium and waiting for a better...
Three years ago, Mr Gurdev Singh was working in a security firm for a monthly pay of $1,200. The divorcee with a son, had just started dating. He and his girlfriend were thinking of starting a family, so he bought a flat. "Six months later, we broke off. I tried ways to keep the 5-room flat. I tried my very best until I couldn't make it," he recalled. Mr Singh negotiated with the Housing Development...
Some mortgage rates are rising; shop around before making a choice As global interest rates fall, you would expect more homeowners to be tempted into taking up mortgages pegged to the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (Sibor) or Swap Offer Rate (SOR). After all, the three-month Sibor rate is currently around 0.68 per cent - just shy of its all-time low of 0.63 per cent. However, instead of resulting in...
Managed Mortgage Why put up with ambiguous mortgage rates when you can enjoy absolute transparency with DBS Managed Mortgage? Taking up a mortgage is probably one of the most important financial decisions you'll ever make. After all, it is a lot of money for a very long time. So instead of accepting mortgage rates that are subject to the discretion of banks’, make the switch to our Singapore Interbank...
A group representing Asian property investors and developers has asked the Singapore government to step in, if necessary, to help real estate investment trusts (REITs) to refinance an estimated S$4 billion in debt due this year. The Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA) has written a background paper on the issue. It said that real estate is a capital-intensive business, but at present there is...
More people are looking to refinance their home loans in the past few months with lower interest rates, but not without difficulties. Key benchmark interest rates have been dropping since governments around the world embarked on their rate cutting campaign a few months ago to revive the slumping economy. As a result, the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) has more than halved in the past three to...
The global credit crunch and increasing competition for funding spell tough times ahead for Commercial-Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) in Singapore. Fitch Ratings says such securities will face difficulties when it comes to refinancing this year. This is due in part to growing competition for funding from various real estate and casino developments in Singapore. However, the recent strong cash flow...
Investment trusts are losing their attraction as good defensive options for investors in the current turbulent markets. As lending from banks begins to dry up, these trusts are facing refinancing difficulties. Analysts said their once attractive yields no longer seem as enticing, and real estate investment trusts (REITs) are no exception. REITs that have the backing of sponsors such as Mapletree and City...
A SPIKE in the three-month Singapore interbank offered rate (Sibor) may spell higher housing loan rates for some, but mortgage experts say there is no cause for worry given the low base enjoyed by home owners for the past few months. The benchmark Sibor, the rate at which banks lend to each other, for three months fell as low as 1 per cent in August. Amid recent financial turbulence, it soared from 1.76...