"Shall we apply for an HDB flat?" This is how Singaporean men propose to their beloved. So we are told - I am not sure how common this is. However, this uniquely Singaporean marriage proposal reflects a common aspiration among many young couples intending to wed - getting an HDB (Housing and Development Board) flat. This desire to own a marital home has remained unchanged over the years. But what buyers...
General
It is not just the roads that are getting ever-more congested here, it is the parking lots too. More and more motorists are complaining about not being able to park close to their homes, or perhaps not finding a legal parking place at all. It is not really a surprise, since "HDB estimates that about 10 per cent of its carparks do not have enough spaces for residents nearby", according to a ChannelNewsAsia...
The vacant lot on Mildmay Park that once was a neighbourhood dumping ground might still be that if not for Mr Graham Bizley, an architect with a talent for maximising space and a limited budget. Mr Bizley, 41, found the lot more than a decade ago while searching for property in north-east London. It had sat empty for years because of its awkward shape - a rhomboid - and the proximity of the buildings on...
Following a nearly ten-year absence, the Westin brand will stage a comeback in Singapore when a 280-room hotel opens on the top floors of Asia Square Tower 2 by 2013. Industry sources say that Starwood Hotels & Resorts has clinched the management contract to manage the hotel under the Westin brand. The hotel will be located on the 32nd to 46th floors - sitting above 26 levels of offices. There will...
INVESTORS may soon be able to own a piece of VivoCity - Singapore's largest mall - by the mid of next year, according to Mapletree Investments chief financial officer Wong Mun Hoong. Mr Wong said the firm is planning to list a commercial real estate investment trust (Reit) - Mapletree Commercial Trust - that will raise at least $500 million. It will hold about $3 billion to $4 billion of commercial...
Keppel Land is collaborating with luxury Italian interior and furniture design company Saporiti Italia to furnish Reflections @ Keppel Bay, which is slated for completion in 2012. The premier waterfront residences development features 1,129 luxurious waterfront units along a 750m shoreline, all with prominent views of Mount Faber, a golf course, lush parks and the bay. Currently, 97 percent of the 800...
Paramount Hotel and Paramount Shopping Centre are up for sale at an indicative price of $200 million. Located at 25 Marine Parade Road and 30 East Coast Road, Paramount Hotel and Paramount Shopping Centre make up a 229-room hotel-and- shopping complex. The freehold property in District 15 was last put on the market in May 2007 at the same price but did not sell. The 102,685 square foot site is zoned for...
SC Global have sold a penthouse at The Boulevard Residence recently for $30 million or $4,242 per square foot. This is the highest transaction in absolute price quantum in the development. In unit price terms, too, the $4,242 psf achieved for the most recent transaction is the highest at The Boulevard Residence, surpassing the $3,933 psf that a three-bedroom standard apartment of 2,034 sq ft sold for...
Property stocks propelled higher in the Singapore Exchange yesterday buoyed by expectations that the property cooling measures out of Hong Kong may prompt more mainland Chinese buyers to turn to Singapore for their property investments. Shares of property giant City Developments rose by 4.1 per cent to $13.30 in yesterday's trading. Keppel Land shares also got a 2.4-per-cent boost to close at $4.26,...
The latest property cooling measures in Hong Kong may prompt more mainland Chinese buyers to turn to Singapore as a destination for property investments. Market experts said this may in turn cause property prices here to escalate higher and it could even spur another round of cooling measures. Colin Tan, who is Head of Research & Consultancy at Chesterton Suntec International, said: "Every time...