Sales of executive condominiums (ECs) are expected to remain healthy, despite a ramped-up supply this year. Some 3,000 units from land sold previously will be released this year, and the government plans to release land for another 5,000 units. Market watchers and developers believe ECs remain an attractive choice for buyers due to the higher income ceiling, from S$10,000 to S$12,000, and substantial...
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CDL China Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary and the China division of Singapore's City Developments Limited (CDL), has acquired its third site in the past 13 months. The land is located in the southwestern city of Chongqing and has a gross floor area of approximately 1.2 million square feet. CDL said it is zoned for residential and commercial purposes. The company plans to build 900 residential units and a...
The Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Singapore have agreed that the Joint Ministerial Committee should explore more ways to enhance collaboration in Iskandar Malaysia for the mutual benefit of both sides. In a joint statement issued after their retreat meeting, both Mr Najib Razak and Mr Lee Hsien Loong, have directed for a new workgroup on industrial cooperation to be formed under the Joint Ministerial...
A new hotel-cum-serviced-suites and a new shopping mall have opened their doors in one-north. The four-star Park Avenue Rochester hotel is targeted for business and leisure travellers in the Buona Vista district. It also offers residential facilities as well as amenities for research, recreational and educational activities. The 271-room hotel started operations last month. Meanwhile, the Rochester...
The rental market may improve this year, as home buyers are likely to put off purchasing amid the recent cooling measures, said analysts. Over the next year, a larger pool of tenants might stabilise the rental market or cause a five percent increase in rents. This counters earlier expectations of a downtrend in rents due to a large supply of completed units entering the market this year. Rents were...
Auctions are no longer an exit strategy for distressed properties, as sluggish mortgagee listings for Q4 2011 reached their lowest since Q1 2009. In contrast, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Auction brokered the sale of a S$6.6 million commercial property two quarters earlier. As buyers may have placed major decisions on hold until after the year-end celebrations, similar seasonal trends were seen between Q3...
China's home prices fell for a fourth month in December as the government prolonged a crackdown on speculation that risks deepening the slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy. Property values in 100 major Chinese cities dropped 0.25 per cent to 8,809 yuan (S$1,800) per sq m in December from November, according to the China Real Estate Index System and online real-estate brokerage SouFun...
Singapore's real estate investment sales hit S$28.6 billion in 2011. This is slightly more than the S$27.9 billion worth of deals concluded in 2010. This is based on data compiled by property consultancy firm DTZ Research on transactions that are above S$5 million in value. It excludes the S$1.1 billion worth of transactions in single residential units and lots that cannot be redeveloped or subdivided...
Singapore-listed TT International said it has signed an agreement with private equity real estate firm Lucrum Capital, which will invest at least S$200 million to complete the Big Box project, a mega retail warehouse located in Jurong. In a statement, TT International said it has started exclusive discussions with Lucrum's wholly-owned subsidiary Lucrum Development (Singapore) for the proposed...
Home prices in Singapore are showing signs of moderating. Flash estimates from the Urban Redevelopment Authority and Housing and Development Board (HDB) for the last quarter of 2011 saw prices increasing at a slower rate. Prices of resale flats grew by 1.7 per cent, compared to the 3.8 per cent growth seen in the third quarter. This brings the HDB Resale Price Index (RPI) - which provides information on...