Leasing activity for Grade A offices in Singapore came to a halt during the "circuit-breaker" period and remained sluggish during the third quarter this year, according to a press statement by Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) on Tuesday. In the face of business uncertainty, tenants with immediate lease expiries are seeking short-term renewals. And with office space underutilised as work from home remains the...

Leasing volume for multiple-user factory spaces in Singapore dropped 34.4 per cent on the year to 1,577 transactions in July and August, amounting to S$5.7 million, Knight Frank said on Tuesday. This comes as strong challenges faced during the Singapore "circuit breaker" period and economic uncertainties continue to subdue substantial movements in the leasing market, the real estate consultancy said in...

Flat owners may have their flats seized by the Housing Board (HDB) if they intentionally make misleading or false statements when transferring flat ownership, following changes to a law that Parliament passed on Tuesday (Oct 6). Currently, such compulsory acquisition is allowed only when flat owners deliberately make a misleading or false statements for the purchase of flats, and not for the transfer of...

The Lim Chu Kang area is set to be transformed into a high-tech agri-food cluster, in a move that will strengthen Singapore’s food security and also create jobs for Singaporeans. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) announced the master plan exercise on Friday (Oct 2), saying that the redeveloped Lim Chu Kang agri-food cluster should be able to produce more than three times its current food production when...

Private home prices in Singapore rose by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, according to flash estimates released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Thursday (Oct 1). The private residential property index rose by 1.2 points, from 152.6 points in the second quarter to 153.8 points in the third quarter. The increase is slightly more than the 0.3 per cent rise...

Resale prices in the public housing market rose 1.4 per cent in the third quarter, according to flash estimates released by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). This comes after prices inched up 0.3 per cent in the second quarter and held steady in the first quarter. The resale price index, which provides information on the general price movements in the resale public housing market, rose from...

Amazon is planning to take over some of Citigroup's office space in Singapore at a time when a number of the e-commerce giant's Chinese tech rivals are expanding here. The online retail giant will lease three floors covering about 90,000 square feet at Asia Square Tower 1 in the heart of the financial district, according to people with knowledge of the plans. Staff will move into the new offices...

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will further extend the suspension of late payment charges on HDB mortgage arrears to Mar 31 next year, to help cushion the impact of COVID-19, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee on Thursday (Oct 1). HDB suspended late payment charges on mortgage arrears for three months in April, then extended it to Sep 30. In a Facebook post, Mr Lee said that...

Singapore’s economy contracted 13.2 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, leading the Government to downgrade its forecast for the country’s gross domestic product to shrink between 5 and 7 per cent, instead of between 4 and 7 per cent. This would be the nation’s worst recession since independence. It’s also not a pretty picture on the job front. A total of 11,350 people were laid off...

HDB upgraders recycling their flats into private homes will likely continue to buttress private residential projects, based on recent strong sales at the latter, notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic. Sales volumes at private residential projects continued to be driven by Singaporeans as the key buyers, DBS Group Research wrote on Tuesday while dubbing the Singapore property market "a bed of...