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Market Street car park to stay

CAPITACOMMERCIAL Trust (CCT) has scrapped plans to redevelop the Market Street car park into a grade A office building, which could have cost up to $1.5 billion. "The manager, after taking into consideration the uncertain market outlook, tight credit conditions, high redevelopment cost and significant size of the project, has decided to abort the project immediately," the Singapore-listed real estate...

Ex-chairman of Laguna Park charged with vandalism

When the possibility of a collective sale for Laguna Park was announced in December 2007, some residents held back, hoping it would drive up the estate’s value. But matters turned ugly later at the East Coast condominium, which was hit by a spate of vandalism after several residents opposed the sale. Cars belonging to residents against the sale were splashed with paint or scratched, while mailboxes...

Property analysts expect public housing market to do well in 2009

Singapore's public housing market is expected to do well this year, compared to the slumping real estate markets across Asia. The economic slowdown means homebuyers are likely to opt for cheaper units from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) over more expensive housing like condominiums. On the private housing front, transaction volumes and prices have fallen at an increasing pace in recent months...

CCT aborts Market Street Car Park redevelopment plans

CapitaCommercial Trust (CCT) has decided not to redevelop the Market Street Car Park into a commercial building. The redevelopment is estimated to cost up to S$1.5 billion. CCT said the decision was based on the uncertain market outlook and conditions like tight credit and high redevelopment costs. CapitaCommerical Trust Management CEO, Lynette Leong, said: "In line with our prudent approach to capital...

Visitors throng Nova 88 showflat

PROPERTY hunters put aside the gloomy economic outlook last weekend and turned out in force to check out - and even buy - new flats. At Nova 88 in Balestier - likely to be the only new official launch so far this year - about 500 visitors thronged the showflat, said developer Roxy Homes. About 20 per cent of Nova 88's units were sold, with prices ranging from $900 to $990 per sq ft. Some 20 per cent...

A tenants’ market downtown

A 30-per-cent fall in rental market expected this year TENANTS for office space are beginning to enjoy more bargaining power as increased supply for such commercial property and a weakening economy drive rents lower. This is good news for business owners such as Mr Hu Yinghan. Mr Hu, who runs an events company Apesnap in Chinatown, will be asking for much lower rent when his lease runs out at the end of...

Office occupancy down in Q4 2008 due to economic crunch

Office occupancy in Singapore is down in the last quarter of 2008 due to deteriorating global financial situation. According to real estate adviser DTZ Research, office occupancy islandwide dropped by two percentage points to 95.6 per cent, compared to the same period last year. This is because of weaker demand as companies shelved expansion plans or relocated to more cost-effective premises. DTZ said...

HDB resale price index up 1.5% in Q4

PUBLIC housing resale prices have stubbornly continued to climb even as private home prices are accelerating downhill and pundits are betting on flat prices still holding firm this year if not seeing a modest single-digit growth, then staying level for the most part. Flash estimates from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) showed that its resale price index grew by 1.5 per cent in the fourth quarter,...

Dismal home sales stats not seen since ‘98

THE comparison rings with foreboding the last time private home prices took a bigger dive than this, it was exactly a decade ago, in the midst of the Asian financial crisis. In the last three months of 2008, the private resident property price index dropped 5.7 per cent, more than double the rate of decrease a quarter ago, according to flash estimates. The final tally due for unveiling in four weeks’...

Private home prices down 5.7% in Q4, HDB resale flat prices still up

Prices of private, non-landed residential properties in Singapore fell 5.7 per cent in the last quarter of 2008. The quarter-on-quarter drop in private home prices is more than double the 2.4 per cent decrease in the July-September quarter. Experts said the steep fall is fuelled by deteriorating sentiment. Market players are also matching prices to falling valuations. Nicholas Mak, consultancy and...

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