The private housing market remained in the doldrums in August, with sales of homes falling 15 per cent from the previous month as developers continued to scale back new launches. Excluding executive condominiums (ECs), developers sold 432 new units last month, down from the 509 units sold in July, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed on Monday (Sep 15). Including ECs, 490 new units were...
General
A HDB flat was repossessed and an unlicensed agent fined S$16,000 for an illegal real estate transaction that took place in 2012. Jordan Goh Swee Thye, a 48-year-old Singaporean, will face six weeks' imprisonment if he defaults on paying the fine after he was convicted and sentenced in court on Sep 10, the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) said in a media release on Monday (Sep 15). CEA...
The private housing market showed signs of life in August with resale prices rising for the first time in five months, shrugging off the traditionally inauspicious Hungry Ghost month, but analysts have warned it is too early to say a sustained turnaround is on the cards. Resale prices of non-landed private homes registered a month-on-month increase of 0.4 per cent last month, reversing the previous four...
Contrary to common perception, Singapore is not short of space. Across the spectrum from residential to commercial and industrial property, the volume of vacant space is turning out to be a blessing for tenants, who now have much better bargaining power than before. The latest official data show a total of 21,268 private residential units were unoccupied in the second quarter of this year, translating...
Home prices in Singapore will decline at a steeper pace, falling by 20 per cent between this year and 2016, as economic restructuring as well as property and loan curbs continue to weigh on the housing market, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) said in its research report released Tuesday (Sep 9). “Overly tight population policies will imply the dominance of ageing-resident demographics over the...
A "Smart HDB Town Framework", which maps out how the Housing and Development Board (HDB) aims to introduce the "smart" element in HDB towns and estates, was announced on Thursday (Sep 11). In a press release, HDB CEO Dr Cheong Koon Hean said that HDB's "next exciting step" is to embark on the development of the Smart HDB Town. "We want to leverage on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to...
In the past month, 176 flat sellers have requested for a temporary extension of stay in their flats, an arrangement which allows them to stay in their former homes for up to three months. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) introduced this practice in July, which is intended to help sellers who are transiting to their new homes, such as those who may need more time for renovation or those awaiting...
The real estate market in the United States has become one of the latest contenders for a slice of Singaporean investors’ growing interest in overseas properties, joining the ranks of traditionally popular markets such as Malaysia, Australia and Britain. In recent months, Singapore developers, including Keppel Land and Pontiac Land, have flocked to the US, taking stakes in American projects as they...
The first housing projects at Bidadari and Tampines North will yield more than 2,500 units, and residents can look forward to more greenery, open spaces and seamless connectivity to transportation networks, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) announced on Tuesday (Sep 9). Development plans for the two areas were first announced last year. The first public housing project for Bidadari, a former...
Resale prices of non-landed private homes in August rose 0.4 per cent month-on-month, according to flash estimates from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) on Monday (Sep 8). Still, when compared with August 2013, resale prices of non-landed private homes have dropped 5 per cent. Compared with the recent peak in January 2014, prices have declined 5.3 per cent, SRX said. Resale prices of private...