The Resale Price Index (RPI) for HDB flats for the full year of 2013 has dropped 0.6 per cent, the first annual decline since 2005. Data released by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) showed that the RPI fell 1.5 per cent from 204.8 in the third quarter of 2013 to 201.7 in the fourth quarter of 2013. The number of resale transactions for the full year of 2013 dropped 28 per cent to 18,100 -- the...
General
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said it will monitor and review the outcome of Singapore's first retirement village before deciding if it will release more land for similar projects in the future, or tweak any parameters. It added that as retirement housing is a relatively new concept in Singapore, it saw merit in giving the market and the developer the flexibility to determine the concept for...
Prime commercial development, The Arcade, is being put up for tender at a guide price of S$900 million. The 20-storey building located at Collyer Quay, which is partly owned by City Developments, has a maximum allowable gross floor area of some 303,000 square feet, and total existing strata area of some 157,000 square feet. Under the 2008 Master Plan, the site is zoned for "commercial" use with an...
Private healthcare provider Raffles Medical Group is acquiring a site next to Raffles Hospital at North Bridge Road for S$105.2 million. In a statement, the hospital group said the total development cost of the project, including the purchase price of the site, construction costs and improvement works to the existing hospital, is estimated to be about S$310 million. The construction period is...
SGX-listed Aspial Corp has acquired a property in Melbourne, Australia, which it plans to redevelop into the city’s tallest building. The A$42.3 million (S$48 million) deal is for a freehold low-rise commercial building in downtown Melbourne which has a total land area of about 2,625 square metres. In a statement on Wednesday, Aspial said the property has two active planning permits, of which one...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has launched six Build-To-Order (BTO) projects on Wednesday, the first exercise this year. A total of 3,139 new flats will be offered to meet the diverse needs of first-timers, second-timers, multi-generation families, the elderly and singles. This is the first tranche of the 24,300 BTO flats that HDB has planned for 2014. There will be studio apartments,...
Executive condominium (EC) developer MCC Land Singapore has rolled out a festive promotion in a bid to drive sales during the Lunar New Year period. The developer told Channel NewsAsia that it is offering a small price discount for EC units at Forestville at Woodlands and Sea Horizon in Pasir Ris. Forestville is developed by Hao Yuan Investment while Sea Horizon is jointly developed by Hao Yuan...
A sales tender for a hotel site housing the former Joo Chiat police station at East Coast Road has attracted eight bids. According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), a consortium comprising Master Contract Services and Keong Hong Construction submitted the top bid of S$352.8 million. This was around 10 per cent higher than the second highest bid of S$321.3 million put in by CEL Residential...
Rental yield for non-landed private homes fell below four per cent in 2013, according to figures from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX). The median gross rental yield for non-landed private residential properties dropped from 4.2 per cent in 2012 to 3.9 per cent last year. SRX said 4 per cent represents a psychological barrier when it comes to rental yields for investors seeking income from...
A condominium touted as Singapore's first retirement village was sold out on its first day of sale. Despite concerns about The Hillford's shorter 60-year lease, buyers - both young and old - snapped up all 281 apartments. By 9am on Friday, The Hillford showflat at Upper Bukit Timah was already crowded with some 1,000 prospective buyers. Within the first one-and-a-half hours, more than 80 units...