SHOULD the Government do something about 'Mickey Mouse-size' apartments that are all the rage now? No, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday, reiterating that market forces should continue to determine the prices and sizes of homes that will be developed. He was responding to concerns raised by Dr Amy Khor (Hong Kah GRC) about the proliferation of such small units in...
General
ALJUNIED and Jurong town councils will raise their monthly service and conservancy (S&C) charges from April for the first time in five years. They have cited higher maintenance and operating costs - particularly for the numerous new lifts in the older estates - as reasons for the hike. Charges will go up by between 50 cents and $4.50 for Singapore homeowners, depending on the type of flat. This will...
I REFER to Sunday's report, 'Property agents call for curbs on subletting'. It was mentioned that the new measures taken by the Government to reduce speculation may not be sufficient to keep prices of resale flats in check, since prices may still be driven up by those who keep flats to rent out rather than to occupy. I believe a simple solution is to limit the number of HDB owners who can rent out their...
The Quayside Collection consist of a seven-storey, 320-room marina hotel, a three-storey waterfront commercial site and two six-storey condominium development adjacent to the marina hotel. The retail and commercial development includes a wide range of lifestyle shops such as art galleries, bookstores, music and CD shops, handicraft stores, home-ware shops, fashion boutiques, jewellery stores amongst...
The government has introduced changes to the Reserve List System under its Land Sales Programme. These include a cut in the deposit when bidding for reserve sites, which is set to benefit property developers. But analysts said the revisions are unlikely to have a far-reaching impact on the property market. The government said the Reserve List System for land sales has worked well since it was introduced...
Singapore banks are not likely to see a significant jump in home loans growth this year. According to analysts, that's because they do not expect the number of transactions to increase greatly from last year as the steam runs out of the mass market property segment. But they said support could come from interest in the mid-tier to high-end property sectors. Singapore's property market has been on a run....
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan on Monday said the government will not be introducing more measures to cool the market for now. He was responding to Members of Parliament who raised concerns about property prices, during debate over the ministry's budget. Sales of private homes gained momentum in the second half of last year, driving overall prices up by some 1.8 per cent in 2009. Last month,...
An industrial site in Yishun has been put up for sale by public tender. The land parcel was made available for sale through the Reserve List system in May 2007. Under the system, a site would be released for sale only if a bid with an acceptable minimum price is received. Last month, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced that it had received an application from a developer to put up the land...
From September 2011, construction work will not be allowed near residential areas on Sundays and Public Holidays. Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said this change will be phased in to give the construction industry time to adjust. The number of complaints about construction noise on Sundays and Public Holidays has gone up. Last year, the National Environment Agency received...
Residents of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC now have more opportunities to bond and exercise. Bringing resident bonding to a higher level is a new 13-metre community tower, located at the People's Association Water Venture in Pasir Ris. It is the first of its kind in the North East district, allowing residents to take part in abseiling and sport climbing. It was officially launched by Deputy Prime Minister Teo...