The Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Singapore have agreed that the Joint Ministerial Committee should explore more ways to enhance collaboration in Iskandar Malaysia for the mutual benefit of both sides. In a joint statement issued after their retreat meeting, both Mr Najib Razak and Mr Lee Hsien Loong, have directed for a new workgroup on industrial cooperation to be formed under the Joint Ministerial...
Overseas Property
China's home prices fell for a fourth month in December as the government prolonged a crackdown on speculation that risks deepening the slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy. Property values in 100 major Chinese cities dropped 0.25 per cent to 8,809 yuan (S$1,800) per sq m in December from November, according to the China Real Estate Index System and online real-estate brokerage SouFun...
More Singaporeans have their sights trained on offshore property markets as the outlook for local prices dims, according to some real estate agents and industry watchers. A survey by PropertyGuru found that 19 per cent of more than 1,737 respondents were "tempted" to invest overseas, up from the 14 per cent registered in PropertyGuru's previous survey in June 2011. Malaysia was the top overseas...
Some local governments in China are considering measures to fine-tune property curbs and may propose these tweaks during next year's National People's Congress, the 21st Century Business Herald reported yesterday. While key cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Qingdao have decided to extend home-purchase limits and continue property-tightening measures next year, other local governments are mulling...
It appears that more Singaporeans are looking at buying private residential properties in Malaysia according to some real estate agents. Malaysia-based developer Eastern & Oriental, for instance has seen a 20 per cent increase in enquiries on its project in Penang from home hunters in Singapore. Fifty-six-year-old retiree Soh Poh Neo has been investing in properties in the US and Singapore for the...
Property prices in the territory fell 3.5 per cent in the July to October period, Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Norman Chan said yesterday, a day after authorities said they might ease housing market curbs if necessary. Housing prices are "slowly coming down and ... will continue for a bit and hopefully we will be able to achieve a soft landing ... When the environment trends downwards, we...
In sharp contrast to Singapore's move to further cool the private home market, Hong Kong will ease some of its property curbs if prices extend their decline amid Europe's worsening credit crisis and a global economic slowdown. Housing prices are "slowly coming down and ... will continue for a bit and hopefully we will be able to achieve a soft landing ... When the environment trends downwards, we will...
Sun Hung Kai Properties forecast that sales for the next fiscal year will hit HK$32 billion (S$5.3 billion), an executive from the company said Thursday. Hong Kong's largest developer by market capitalisation predicted that sales in the city alone would hit HK$26.8 billion next fiscal year, which runs through June 2012. The company also called for a revision of Hong Kong's special stamp duty, imposed a...
Chinese home prices are at a turning point and banks are concerned about a possible chain reaction if they fall by 20 per cent, the central bank said yesterday. "Real estate investment growth eased, developers' cash flows tightened, land transactions and prices fell," the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said, adding that "there are early signs that property prices are at a turning point." Chinese home...
Housing prices in 100 major cities in China dropped on a monthly basis for a third consecutive month in November and posted their biggest month-on-month decline this year, according to the privately compiled China Real Estate Index System (CREIS). The decline provides further evidence that the government's two-year tightening campaign is cooling the property market amid signals it is now trying to slow...