Rental growth for hi-tech industrial space in Singapore, which includes business parks, rose at a faster pace in the second quarter than in the first quarter of this year, according to DTZ Research. The real estate services firm said the average monthly gross rent for private high-tech space increased 4.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter to S$3.45 per square foot (psf) per month in the April-June quarter,...
General
Interest in GuocoLand’s Paterson Residence has been creeping up recently as three units in the development were sold in June for as much as $2,200 per sq ft (psf). On June 7, a 1,658 sq ft apartment on the 14th floor was sold for nearly $3.65 million. It was bought in July 2006 for $2.45 million, or $1,477 psf, which means the owner made about $1.16 million in profit from the sale. On June 8, a similar...
The National Development Ministry is studying ways to retain the old KTM railway tracks as a green spine for nature and leisure. The railway line running through Singapore was closed after the KTM train station at Tanjong Pagar moved to Woodlands on July 1. Writing in his blog on Saturday, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said he sees a "green opportunity" for urban development that will not...
Interest rates are at an all-time low, but what will happen if rates begin to rise, asks Colin Tan These days, when I am asked in casual conversations about the local housing market, I am at a loss for words. Do I describe the market assuming that housing interest rates remain as they are, which has been abnormally low for about two and a half years now, or do I launch straight into the explanation of...
After three rounds of cooling measures, what's next for Singapore buyers, asks Tan Kok Keong Recently, I was on a panel discussion at Bank of America's Asian Stars 2011 conference. The topic that day was "Regional Housing Policy: How Bad Can it Get?", and panelists included the head of research of Centaline Group, the vice-chairman of Hong Kong Housing Society and the vice-president of Malaysia Property...
Many buyers are prepared to pay a premium for developments in good locations, so shouldn't the HDB take that into account when pricing flats, asks Colin Tan If there was to be just one lesson one could take away from the recent fiasco over the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project in Tampines launched last month, it has to be that property is essentially all about location - not tenure, not designs...
Ku Swee Yong dives into the details of the OCR to get a clearer view of where property prices in Singapore are trending As a follow up to "Massive home supply to hit outskirts" (Today, June 24), I'd like to take a closer look at the residential transactions in the Outside Central Region (OCR). In the June 24 commentary, I was concerned that "the proportion of units in the outskirts and mid-tier locations...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has confirmed that a Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) land sales tender at Sengkang will be withdrawn. The tender was originally scheduled to close on July 20. The Ministry of National Development said the withdrawal is part of its overall review of housing policies. It also said that no new DBSS site will be released for sale until the review is...
City Developments Limited (CDL) has launched its latest development, a 602-unit Executive Condominium (EC), in Bukit Panjang. Called Blossom Residences, it is located along Segar Road, with views of surrounding nature parks, including Bukit Panjang Park, Upper Seletar Reservoir and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Bookings for the development began on Thursday and 150 units have been sold on its first day of...
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C) made its first investment in the Japanese hotel market. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, CDL Hotels has bought a property in the Ginza district of Tokyo for 9.5 billion yen (73.6 million pounds). The M&C said it intends to build a hotel on the site and construction is targeted to be completed by the end of 2014. The development project will be project managed...