The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has said the output productivity for building projects in the construction industry has risen by 1 to 2 per cent in the last couple of years. But it believes more can be done and it hopes developers can adopt new technologies such as the Prefabricated, Pre-finished Volumetric Construction and Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) in their projects. Whether it is...
General
Real estate agents are increasingly turning from the once-lucrative resale market to rentals, as they hunt for a living to preserve their careers and clients during what is expected to be another challenging year for the industry. The shift comes as the rental market holds its own in the housing sector, which has been hit by slowing demand following several rounds of cooling measures and lending curbs,...
The Jumabhoy family, once the richest Indian family in Singapore, is developing luxury villas in the Indian city of Bangalore, and the units will be made available to investors in Singapore in a private preview this Saturday. This is the first property development under the Jumabhoy family name in more than a decade. The Jumabhoy family migrated from western India to Singapore in 1916, and made a...
Property agencies say some developers are offering a higher commission to help boost sales at their projects. This comes amid slowing demand as government property-cooling measures and tighter home loan regulations take effect. Agents say the commission could be as high as 3.5 to 4 percent for hard-to-sell units, and that's the highest commission rate in five years. As a result, some agents are...
Singapore has jumped to the top of the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) ranking of the world's most expensive cities, overtaking the likes of Tokyo and Osaka as the Singapore dollar appreciated against the yen. Singapore was ranked sixth in the EIU's survey last year, behind the two Japanese cities, Sydney, Oslo and Melbourne. According to the EIU, Osaka and Tokyo fell off the top of its cost of...
The en bloc market, which has been subdued following additional tightening measures imposed on the property sector last year, is expected to remain quiet this year as developers turn increasingly cautious, while sellers are reluctant to budge on asking prices. According to data provided by property firm CBRE to TODAY, the number of en bloc sales fell to only seven last year from 25 in the previous year...
The first land parcel in the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme for the first half of this year was released for sale by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday, with analysts expecting keen interest for the attractively located site as developers look to build up their land banks. However, bids for the 99-year leasehold Prince Charles Crescent site are likely to fall well short of the...
The commercial property sector has been hit by the largest hikes in development charges (DC) — taxes payable on the enhancement in land value — in the latest half-yearly review, with the increases spread across many parts of Singapore, the Ministry of National Development said yesterday. Commercial DC rates for March to August this year have been revised upwards by an average of 15 per cent in 89...
From June 1 this year, new party-wall residential developments will need to have a minimum plot size of 600 square metres. The Urban Redevelopment Authority said this is to ensure the quality of the living environment. Party-wall residential developments are built from wall to wall with no empty space in between. Currently, developers do not have to adhere to a minimum plot size. This has...
The majority shareholder of Singapore Land (SingLand) is offering to take the company private by buying the remaining 19.64 per cent of shares in a deal valued at S$761.7 million. SingLand is one of Singapore's largest landlords. Its properties include Singapore Land Tower and Clifford Centre in the heart of the central business district, SGX Centre which houses the Singapore Stock Exchange, and the...