Evergreen estates in District 15 such as Marine Parade, Siglap and Katong remained on the top lists for home buyers in 2010, though some new areas gained popularity as well. About 4,053 non-landed property transactions were recorded in District 15, nearly 12 percent of the total 34,767 caveats recorded, strengthening its position as the most preferred district for Singapore home buyers. This was followed...
General
Homeowners who have kept their units at Queens since their launch in 2000 have seen prices appreciate over the years. Recently, some took the opportunity to cash out as prices climbed above $1,100 psf, booking gains of more than 50%. Last year, prices hit a high of $1,284 psf when a 914 sq ft unit on the 38th floor was sold for $1.175 million in November. This is close to the peak of $1,328 psf when a...
Real estate giant CapitaLand is exploring the idea of building more schools for underprivileged children in Asia. These are likely to be in India, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations. CapitaLand already has 15 such schools in China. The schools have dormitories for students, which save them the trouble of trekking long distances to classrooms in rural areas. The buildings also help to keep...
The Lunar New Year period is traditionally a quiet one for the property market, with developers holding back on new launches. But for one development, the gamble appears to have paid off. A healthy crowd turned up at the Waterfront Isle showroom on Saturday, the third day of the Lunar New Year celebrations. And as of 5.30pm, 29 of 59 units that were released on Saturday were sold. The number later rose...
The Marina Bay Link Mall, one of Singapore's newest underground malls, is reporting brisk business after just a month of opening. Some tenants said sales have doubled since they started operations. The mall has a catchment of about 55,000 workers and residents in the area. The number is expected to grow with additional condominiums being built. Currently, four in 10 of the retail space is occupied by...
Singapore's latest national project - Gardens by the Bay - moves closer to its November completion date. The large-scale green space just minutes from the city centre features 18 giant concrete trees and two special conservatories that showcase plants found outside this region. Rising nine to 16 storeys above ground, the 18 giant concrete trees - named the "super trees" - are probably a familiar sight to...
Tourism in Sentosa is being given an additional boost with the S$80-million makeover of Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort. It reopened after a 10-month facelift in January. The resort, one of 11 hotels on Sentosa, is the only resort in Singapore that has a beach front location. It undertook the renovation to raise the profile of the island. Ben Bousnina, GM of Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort, said:...
Sustained economic growth and strong tourist arrivals in the next two years are expected to spur growth in retail sales. This could bode well for real estate investment trusts (REITs) that own shopping malls. Some analysts are singling out retail-linked REITs as good investment bets. They are bullish, in particular, about those that own shopping malls in the prime Orchard Road area. Mall owners in the...
United Overseas Land Group (UOL Group), has appointed Mr Liam Wee Sin as group president. He takes over from Mr Lian Kheng Gwee, who is currently also the group chief executive of UOL. Mr Liam, who is 51 years old, was the chief operating officer of UOL Group from 2006 to December last year. He joined UOL in 1993 as project manager and worked his way up through senior and top management in the...
CapitaLand Residential chief executive officer Wong Heang Fine has been appointed the new president of the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (REDAS). Sources say that this followed Amara Holdings CEO Albert Teo's decision to decline the position. Mr Wong will be president for the REDAS management committee term of 2011 and 2012, taking over from Mr Simon Cheong, the chairman of SC Global...