Cost efficiencies and incentives encouraging firms to domicile within city-state's borders THE story of Singapore as a resilient and fast-growing financial centre is not a new one. The new story, however, is that Singapore is quickly becoming Asia's real estate investment trust (Reit) hub. A Reit is a fund that allows individual investors to participate in large real estate ventures, such as acquiring...
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Higher Green Mark standards will apply to new buildings in Singapore from December. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said the move will guide the industry towards more sustainable and energy efficient practices in building design, construction and maintenance. An award made of recycled glass was conferred to BCA by international think tank Aspen Institute for its efforts in promoting "green"...
Singapore has held on to its position as the third most expensive office location in the Asia-Pacific region for the second quarter of this year, according to Colliers International's latest Asia Pacific Office Market Overview. Singapore commanded annual gross rents of about US$58 ($77) per square foot (psf) in the second quarter, while Tokyo and Hong Kong took top and second spot with rents of around...
Property developer City Developments Limited (CDL) is in talks to sell a land site in shopping belt Jalan Bukit Bintang for a price tag of more than RM3,000 ($1,282) per square feet (psf), a fee that could become Malaysia's most expensive land deal, according to the Malaysian newspaper Business Times. The sale of the land parcel in downtown Kuala Lumpur could top Malaysian developer Sunrise Berhad's...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is launching three residential sites at Hougang, Punggol and Pasir Ris for sale on Thursday. The three sites at Hougang Avenue 7, Punggol Drive/Punggol East and Pasir Ris Drive 3/Pasir Ris Drive 4 can potentially yield about 1,260 dwelling units, of which about 485 are Executive Condominium (EC) units. HDB said these sites will provide home buyers with more housing...
Mainboard-listed developer CapitaLand is back in the black in its fiscal second quarter. It made a net profit of S$476.1 million in the three months to June. That's a turnaround from the S$156.9 million loss incurred in the same period a year ago. CapitaLand said the strong profit growth compared to last year reflects a recovery in Singapore and the key markets it operates in. Revenue for the quarter...
Property developer Roxy-Pacific said its second quarter net profit rose 37 per cent to S$12.8 million on the back of a 27 per cent growth in revenue to S$55.4 million. Roxy said the improvement in turnover was a result of a 25 per cent increase in revenue from its Property Development segment, as well as a 145 per cent surge in revenue from its Property Investment segment. The group's Hotel Ownership...
Property consultants DTZ says nine properties belonging to three companies have successfully been sold for over S$175 million by an appointed liquidator. The three companies - Associated Development, Chow Cho Poon and Lee Tung Company - were wound up by a Singapore High Court decision in 2007. They belong to the three sons of late property investor Chow Cho Poon, who died in 1997. Since his death, the...
While local residents complain about escalating property prices from Guangzhou to Beijing, the comparative value for money still tempts foreign investors, especially those who have lived and worked in Chinese cities for a long time. With China's growing importance as a major international financial power coupled with the property boom post-Olympics and post-World Expo, more and more foreign buyers are...
IN THE rush to secure a home amid escalating property prices, first-time homebuyers, especially young adults, may inadvertently commit themselves to properties beyond their means. Since mortgage payments and other home bills take priority over other basic necessities, rising mortgage rates may push some homebuyers to suffer a housing-induced fall in their standards of living. It is important, thus, to...