The National Development Ministry has announced a slew of measures to ensure Singaporeans have a roof over their heads, especially during these difficult times. Speaking in Parliament on Friday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said the key thrusts are to keep home ownership affordable, help home owners with financial difficulties, increase help for the needy and safeguard rental flats. Madam...
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ERA Realty Network is implementing a set of measures to improve transparency and accountability on the part of its agents. The move - the first of its kind in Singapore - comes on the heels of a court decision criticising the behaviour of two ERA agents for breach of duty and fraud. On Thursday, the High Court ordered ERA to pay S$257,000 to a couple who had engaged one of the agents to sell their...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is tightening its rental flat eligibility criteria with immediate effect to ensure that these heavily subsidised flats go to the truly needy. HDB rental flats come cheap. With rent rebates and discounts, 85 per cent of tenants pay very low rent, according to the National Development Ministry. Taking into account the increased rebates under the Goods and Services...
Property developer GuocoLand has reported a net loss of S$2 million for the half year ended 31 December 2008. This compared to its net profit of S$60.6 million recorded in the same period last year. The group said there was an unrealised translation loss of S$22.1 million. This was due mainly to the revaluation of US$300 million worth of bank loans, as the greenback appreciated against the Singapore...
The Singapore government will implement more measures to stabilise the property market if needed. The assurance came from National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan in Parliament on Friday. Mr Mah said the government will go also go ahead with multi-billion dollars worth of infrastructural projects. Marina Bay, Singapore's new premier business district, is taking shape. So far, the government has...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will temporarily reduce or defer loan repayments for up to six months to help households affected by the current recession. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, speaking during the debate on his ministry's budget estimates in Parliament, said this move aims to help homeowners who have had their incomes affected by retrenchments or pay cuts. "This gives them...
From Mar 1, HDB will accept applications for the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS). LBS is a new monetisation option to help elderly households in three-room or smaller flats unlock their housing equity to meet their retirement needs. This was announced by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan in Parliament on Friday. Under this scheme, HDB will buy back the tail-end of the lease of their flats, leaving...
Analysts caution that banks here may not rush into home foreclosures THEY are flocking to the auction houses, hoping to find bargains. But each time the starting price is called out, there are audible sighs and shaking of heads. Still too high, say those who have been frequenting property auctions in recent weeks. Expectations are growing for some fire sales in the local property market, which is...
A study by real estate agency ERA has shown that the resale prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats in Jurong appreciated faster than other suburban towns in Singapore. It compared median resale prices in the fourth quarter of 2008 to those in the first quarter of the same year. The study covered three- to five-room, and executive flats in Jurong West, Tampines and Woodlands. The comparison...
A group representing Asian property investors and developers has asked the Singapore government to step in, if necessary, to help real estate investment trusts (REITs) to refinance an estimated S$4 billion in debt due this year. The Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA) has written a background paper on the issue. It said that real estate is a capital-intensive business, but at present there is...