Demand for new private residential property in Singapore rebounded in December 2012, following a sharp decline in the previous month. According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), 1,410 units of new private homes were sold last month, up by about 30 per cent from November's sales of 1,087 units. Including executive condominiums (EC), the sale of new homes came in at 2,259 units in December. The...
General
According to official figures, about 2,300 Singapore permanent residents (PRs) who own Housing and Development Board (HDB) property will be impacted by the government’s latest round of cooling measures. From last Saturday (January 12), PRs owning HDB flats are no longer allowed to sublet their entire property even after the stipulated Minimum Occupation Period (MOP). Those PRs who have been already...
The property market is likely to see a quieter period after the latest round of cooling measures. Market experts told Channel NewsAsia both buyers and developers should be taking their time before taking their next steps. The latest series of cooling measures announced on January 11 has spurred some property buying to beat Saturday's deadline. For instance, Far East Organisation (FEO) sold just 22 units...
DBS chief executive officer Piyush Gupta said the property cooling measures unveiled on January 11 have "a lot of teeth". Speaking at an event for its private banking clients on Monday, Mr Gupta said the measures were a reflection of the government willingness to trade off growth for social harmony and to rein in inflation. He warned that as a result, the Singapore economy could grow at the lower end of...
Singapore can possibly take a leaf out from other jurisdictions to look at how they curb rising property prices. Member of Parliament for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Christopher De Souza, said this includes learning from Hong Kong and Australia. Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Mr De Souza added that both jurisdictions are potential reference points for Singapore to refine its property measures. He also...
The National Development Ministry (MND) aims to implement its policy of allowing singles to buy new Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats for owner-occupation this year, said its Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Monday. In a written reply to a question in Parliament, Mr Khaw said MND is "finalising" its policy. Currently, singles cannot buy new flats from HDB by themselves. They can, however, buy a resale...
Some housing analysts said the property market has slowed since the government announced its seventh round of cooling measures on Friday. One analyst said the Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) for larger public housing resale flats could come down by about 30 per cent in coming weeks. The median cash premium for a five-room or executive flat has hovered around S$40,000 to S$50,000. But with tighter Mortgage...
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the government will continue to be vigilant of any abuse of the Executive Condominium (EC) housing scheme, and defended the scheme as still being relevant. He was responding to questions raised in Parliament on the affordability of ECs. He said: "It is a wonderful scheme. It protects middle-income Singaporeans from competition and ensures a market-friendly...
Shares of major property developers in Singapore were battered Monday after the government introduced new measures to cool the real estate market at the weekend. By midday, shares of top developers listed on the Singapore Exchange had sunk more than four per cent as investors spooked by the measures dumped the stocks. CapitaLand shed 4.11 per cent to S$3.73, City Developments fell 6.11 per cent to...
Many Singaporeans might think that shoebox units are small but there’s another type of micro home that has taken off in other parts of Asia, most notably in China and Japan. Called capsule homes, such units are much smaller than shoebox apartments. Some of these units can be as tiny as seven ft long, six ft tall and four ft wide as evidenced in some developments located in the outskirts of China’s...