Increases in private home prices are expected to slow down in the second quarter after climbing 5.6 percent in the first quarter. Colliers International said suburban homes could cost 2 to 3 percent more on average for the next two quarters. Prices of suburban homes have already surpassed the peak by about 10 percent. Meanwhile prices in the luxury segment have been projected to grow by up to 20 percent...
General
Singapore has emerged as the most liveable Asian city in a new index. It was ranked third worldwide coming in behind Geneva and Zurich in the Global Liveable Cities Index. Published by Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities, the index looked at 64 cities including 36 from Asia. When it comes to liveability, Singapore has been ranked up there with some of Europe's best cities. In individual rankings, it...
There's been more signs of a slowdown in the private property market here in the second quarter. Property consultant CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) forecasts some 4,000 new homes were sold in the second quarter, lower than the previous quarter's figure of 4,380. In the resale market, CBRE estimates some 3,400 to 3,600 resale homes were sold in the second quarter. If confirmed, that would be 15 to 20 percent...
French trade credit insurer Coface said Singapore is the safest place for business in Asia. It has upgraded Singapore's country rating to A1 to better reflect the financial commitments of local corporates to repay their debts. This is up from a rating of A2 during the financial crisis last year. Ports are seeing more activity as global trade improves. Experts said corporates are also in a better...
Most of the frontline services of the Manpower Ministry (MOM) will come under one roof at its new S$73m building in Bendemeer Road in about two years' time. These services are currently spread over three locations. Officiating at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new building on Tuesday, Minister Gan Kim Yong said that with most of the frontline operations housed under the same roof, MOM will be able to...
It may be three years before Double Bay Residences is completed, but some buyers of the sold-out, 646-unit condominium at Simei Street 4 have already cashed out for a profit. The 99-year leasehold project was launched in March last year amid much uncertainty in the property market. Units went for as low as $409 psf, with the average selling price in the $600 to $650 psf range. With the property market...
house in his neighbourhood was sold for $36 million and sales in the quiet and exclusive Sentosa Cove continue unabated, but shipping magnate Mahesh Iyer has no intentions of selling the bungalow he bought for just $6.8 million three years ago. "Even if I sold it, where will I find another place like this?" he said. Indeed, how many homes in Singapore have a yacht docked along a watercourse running in...
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has awarded the tender for the white site at Jurong Gateway Road to Lend Lease Retail Investments 3 and Lend Lease Commercial Investments. The company submitted the highest bid of S$748.9 million for the site. The site can be developed for commercial, residential or hotel use. It has a site area of 19,124.5 square metres, and a maximum gross floor area of 107,098...
Rents for industrial space rose for the first time after falling from its peak in the third quarter of 2008. According to DTZ Research, average monthly rents of first-storey private industrial space rose 2.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter to S$2 per square foot, while upper-storey space rose 3.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter to S$1.60 per square foot per month. Rents for hi-tech industrial properties,...
Malaysian retail investors can now own a piece of their favourite shopping malls with the planned listing of the country's first pure play shopping mall real estate investment trust. CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust, a unit of Singapore based CapitaMalls Asia, may raise up one billion ringgit (RM) - or US$308 million - through the initial public offering. It is one of the largest IPOs in South-east Asia this...