Market watchers have said there may be an oversupply of private homes in two to three years' time, when most developments are completed. They cautioned that while a good economy may see these units gradually taken up, a downturn will send the property market into a depression. National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan issued a "health advisory" on his blog, urging investors and upgraders to think hard...
General
Did you know the watch tower of the Central Fire Station was once the tallest monument in Singapore when the station was completed in 1909? At 110 feet, it was also the ideal height for fire-fighters to dry their fire hoses. And just a stone's throw away is the MICA Building, which was formerly the Hill Street Police Station. It used to house 1,000 people, including policemen and their families. These...
With concerns mounting that there will be an oversupply in the private home market, property developers will be increasingly selective about the sites for sale under the Government Land Sales programme in the second half of this year, analysts said. They are likely to bid for the sites with the most attractive locations, such as those near MRT stations. Among these, the sites on Alexandra Road and Bishan...
Property developers may be less aggressive in their bids for government land in the second half of this year. This is according to analysts, who have said that most developers will be more selective in their choices as well. Developers may only have eyes for sites which are the most profitable in the government land sales programme, such as those at Alexandra Road and Bishan Street 14, which analysts said...
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has awarded the tender for a residential site at Woodlands Avenue 2/Rosewood Drive to joint bidders Fragrance Group and Aspial Corporation. The consortium submitted the highest bid of about S$151.5 million, which translates to around S$3,952 per square metre. The plot has a site area of 27,380 square metres, and a maximum gross floor area of about 38,330 square...
Hong Kong has lowered the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for home mortgages and will release enough land to build 6,000 residential units in the July-September quarter, more than double the supply in the previous three months, as it steps up measures to cool the red-hot property market. Apartments valued at between HK$10 million and HK$12 million (S$1.6 million to S$1.9 million) would have their LTV ratios...
In the past few months, there have been more warnings of a glut in the private housing market and the calls have become more strident. More recently, this warning has been blared out as one of several events that could lead to the perfect storm that the market is headed for. This is the worst-case scenario which could unfold as early as 2013 if all the events - more supply, falling demand and higher...
Private home purchases reached record highs last year and have continued to remain strong this year. Indeed, had the Government not imposed the fourth round of property market cooling measures in January, the home buying frenzy might have hit unsustainable levels on rampant speculation. One often wonders what drives the buying fervour. Given the euphoria, could traditional demand drivers have changed in...
Developer BS Capital is launching a new "shoebox" residential project off Balestier. Called The Interweave, the 169-unit freehold development located at Kim Keat Road sits on a 32,500 sq ft site and houses one 21-storey block of apartments. It offers 110 shoebox units between 344 sq ft and 431 sq ft, 57 two-bedrooms units at between 689 sq ft and 764 sq ft, and two three-bedroom units at up to 1,141 sq...
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Thursday sounded the alert on the spike in property prices in his latest blog posting. He said things can go very wrong suddenly and gave three reasons. Firstly, 35,000 private homes have already been sold - though still in construction - with payments in various stages of completion. And there are 45,000 units in the pipeline, waiting to be built and...