Food and beverage outlets have been eating into commercial and retail spaces at office buildings and shopping malls, as landlords realise the power of such outlets when it comes to drawing the crowds. Property consultants say many landlords now allocate up to 35 per cent of the net lettable floor area to F&B uses, compared to just 5 to 10 per cent a decade ago. Groups such as families who visit malls...
General
The Housing Development Board (HDB) allowed 1,800 applicants to sublet their flats within the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) in 2012 and 2013. This is about three per cent of the 57,200 flat owners who gained approval over the two years. In a written reply to a question posed in Parliament on Monday (Sep 8), Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan said that these flat owners were unable to...
Under the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS), the value of the flat’s lease is determined from the market value of the flat, based on industry-accepted standards and valuation practice, Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament on Monday (Sep 8). Responding to a question from MP Foo Mee Har, who asked how HDB determines the value of the lease under the scheme, Mr Khaw said: “The...
As part of plans to makeover the Mandai area, the authorities are looking into relocating the Bird Park from Jurong to Mandai. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed this during the "Ask the Prime Minister" forum which aired on Channel NewsAsia on Thursday (Sep 4). Some property experts say there is potential for the land vacated by the Bird Park to be redeveloped into a residential area, but that...
Property observers are expecting more new launches in the private residential market in September and October. They said August was a slow month as it coincided with the Hungry Ghost Month, which is seen by some to be an inauspicious time to buy homes. One private residential development soon to be launched is the 500-unit Highline Residences at Tiong Bahru. A private preview for the development will be...
A land parcel for executive condominium (EC) development at Choa Chu Kang Drive attracted eight bids at the close of its tender on Thursday (Sep 4). The Housing and Development Board (HDB) announced that Sim Lian Land Pte Ltd submitted the highest bid of S$207.4 million. This translates to a unit price of about S$361 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). The second-highest bid was about 2.2 per...
Singapore-based real estate giant Frasers Centrepoint (FCL) has secured a 98.39 per cent interest in Australand at the close of its takeover offer of the Australian property group on Friday (Sep 5). FCL offered A$4.48 (S$ 5.25) for each Australand stapled security. The offer, which values Australand at around A$2.6 billion (S$3 billion), closed on Thursday (Sept 4). Under Australian law, FCL can...
The softening retail market in Singapore could start to hurt retail landlords and retail tenants. They have to cope with higher costs arising from restrictions on foreign labour, and at the same time battle slowing sales, as a result of falling local and tourist spending. To make the outlook even tougher, new mall supply is coming on over the next two years. Analysts said these factors have made it more...
SGX-listed Straits Trading Company plans to sell its Straits Trading Building to Sun Venture Group for S$450 million. In a filing to the Singapore Exchange on Friday (Sep 5), the company said the sale is in line with its strategy of redeploying its low-yielding investment properties into potentially higher return real estate opportunities. Straits Trading is expected to realise an estimated capital...
Resale prices for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats fell for a seventh straight month, slipping 1.1 per cent month-on-month in August - marking a 31-month low since January 2012, according to the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX). According to the SRX HDB flash report released on Thursday (Sep 4), June's HDB resale prices dropped 7.1 per cent year-on-year in August. Compared to the peak...