Amid the sluggish property market in recent years, prices of leasehold private homes appear to have been more resilient than those which are freehold, according to a study by consultancy Cushman & Wakefield. Cushman & Wakefield said prices of non-landed freehold homes saw a steeper drop of over 4 per cent since the third quarter of 2013, compared to the 1 per cent decline for those on a 99-year...
General
The Centrepoint along Orchard Road will soon go through another facelift to make itself more attractive to shoppers and tourists. But in an increasingly competitive landscape, malls along Orchard Road must also offer other leisure activities and facilities to complement the retail experience, according to property experts. Orchard Road receives more than seven million visitors each year, but it is...
There was "strong interest" in North Park Residences during its soft launch on Sunday (Apr 5), with 313 of 430 units sold, developer Frasers Centrepoint (FC) announced in a media release on Monday. North Park Residences will be part of the Northpoint City integrated development, which will comprise the Yishun Integrated Transport Hub, Nee Soon Central Community Club, a Town Plaza, a Community Garden...
The number of private home owners illegally turning their properties into workers’ dormitories or renting them out for short-term stays have increased over the past three years. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said this as it confirmed that the Geylang apartment that caught fire last Friday (Apr 3) was illegally used as a workers' dormitory. Two Bangladeshi workers died in the blaze, and three...
The Republic has dropped to 11th position in a cost comparison report of hotel room service items and a one night stay in a four-star hotel, according to the third annual TripIndex Room Service Report. It was in 9th position last year. The annual report takes into account the cost of a club sandwich ordered through room service, the dry cleaning of one shirt as well as refreshments from the mini bar,...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) says it has received more than 2,000 enquiries on the improved Lease Buyback Scheme as of mid-March this year as enhancements to the scheme kicked in on Wednesday (Apr 1). Under the scheme, flat owners are allowed to sell part of their lease back to the Government to generate retirement income. The scheme, first announced last September, includes four key...
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has been relatively quiet this year, but the monotony may soon be broken: Real estate management firm LHN Group will launch an initial public offering on Apr 13 making it the first listing locally, this quarter. The company lodged its prospectus on Wednesday (Apr 1). LHN Group is in the business of making space more spacious. It secures master leases of properties, and...
As a sign of the sluggish property market in Singapore and competition from properties across the Causeway, sales of Far East Organization’s Alana@Sunrise Terrace have been lacklustre. This was despite the developer dangling the carrot of full reimbursements of the Additional Buyer Stamp and Buyer Stamp duties since the fourth quarter of last year. The cluster housing project in Yio Chu Kang was...
A 40-year-old housing agent was arrested for suspected involvement in unlicensed money lending targeting Housing and Devlopement Board (HDB) flat sellers, said the police in a news release on Wednesday (Apr 1). Police said officers from the Tanglin Police Division acted after receiving information, and and conducted investigations against a housing agent who was allegedly involved in unlicensed money...
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has revised its Property Price Index (PPI) to better capture price trends in Singapore's private housing market. The revised index was first adopted for the year's first quarter flash estimates, which were also released on Wednesday (Apr 1). Using the revised methodology for the PPI, the overall private residential property index fell by 1.1 per cent - the sixth...