General

Three hotels with 839 rooms in all will open on Sentosa from April next year, operator Far East Hospitality announced on Thursday (Oct 18). Two, Village Sentosa and The Outpost Hotel, will open in April 2019 while The Barracks hotel is set to open in August. The hotels, first announced last year, will target the mid-tier segment, such as families and young adults on staycation as well as business...

The average size of new private flats outside the central area will have to be at least 85 sq m, a regulatory change that will cut the number of units allowed in a project - something that developers say would sound the death knell for en bloc deals and moderate condo and land prices in the affected areas. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) also further announced on Wednesday that nine areas in...

Major property stocks fell sharply on trade on Thursday on the government’s latest move to cut the maximum number of units allowed in new private flat and condo developments outside the central area from early next year. The authorities are cutting the number of units allowed in a project and increasing the average size of new private flats outside the central area to at least 85 square metres, up...

Plans are being drawn up to transform Singapore's main shopping belt, Orchard Road, into something more than rows of boutiques and malls, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat said on Wednesday (Oct 17). These plans could include turning Orchard Road into an innovation district, where start-ups and social entrepreneurs use the precinct as a "living lab" to test out ideas for new...

A comprehensive set of plans to reshape Sentosa Island is being developed, announced Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat on Wednesday (Oct 17) at the opening of travel trade show ITB Asia 2018. Mr Chee spoke about Sentosa Island's status as a major tourism attraction in Singapore, and highlighted its need to remain competitive by constantly rejuvenating itself. "We are...

In a bid to reduce the strain new developments pose on local infrastructure, the authorities have moved to ensure that there will be fewer shoebox units offered in new private non-landed residential buildings outside the Central area. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) revised guidelines for such properties on Wednesday (Oct 17), making several changes that it said also aim to moderate the...

Sales of new private homes in Singapore rose about 42 per cent in September from a year earlier, as developers returned to the market with new launches following the previous month's slump. Data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Monday (Oct 15) showed developers sold 932 units last month, compared with 657 units in the same month last year. Compared with the 617 units sold in...

Singapore residential-property investment sales have fallen after the latest round of housing curbs put the brakes on en bloc redevelopment deals. Just two redevelopment sales worth S$353 million were completed in the third quarter, down from S$3.8 billion of transactions the previous quarter, according to data compiled by Cushman & Wakefield. That pushed total real estate investment sales down 42...

Singapore home prices may rise as much as 10 per cent by the end of next year and are on track to double by 2030 as faster income growth overpowers recent property curbs and higher interest rates, according to Morgan Stanley. Home prices rose in four of the five previous rate hike cycles, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note to clients. Faster economic growth, the city-state's attraction as a global...

The sluggish rental market for both private and HDB properties is showing no signs of improving, going by flash data from real estate portal SRX on Wednesday. Rents for condominiums and private apartments in September dipped by 0.4 per cent from the previous month. They were unchanged in August, from an earlier SRX estimate of a 0.1 per cent dip. After falling quite far from their peak and then...