Any move made by the Government to tamper with the property cooling measures now could fuel speculation that further easing is on the way, and threatens to undo any price moderation the market has achieved so far by bringing back potential buyers who have been fishing for the bottom. In addition, increasing debt levels during today’s slower growth environment may have harmful consequences on the...
While it is true that it is a fool’s errand to try to time the property market, you can certainly buy at a dip. In fact, that is what you are supposed to do: Buy low and sell high. It is very human in a down market to want to buy at the absolute lowest point. The problem, though, is that no one can identify the bottom until after the fact. How many people have you met who regret not buying in 1998...
As Singapore retailers face pressure from the slowing economy, Orchard Road malls are looking for new ways to draw the crowds. Besides renovating the mall and changing the tenant mix, landlords are also throwing in free performances in a bid to attract the crowds. For example, over the weekend, shoppers at ION Orchard witnessed a series of aerial circus acts. The performances marked the completion of...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will be flexible in assisting households with a third HDB housing loan, but this will be on a case-by-case basis and typically for households that need urgent assistance but cannot secure mortgage financing from banks, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong. In Parliament on Monday (Mar 14), Mr Wong qualified by saying that these households must have...
For the third year running, Singapore is the world’s most expensive city in the world for expatriates, though Zurich and Hong Kong are a very close joint second, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Singapore has a score of 116, just ahead of Zurich and Hong Kong’s 114, in the EIU’s latest Worldwide Cost of Living report, a twice-yearly survey that compares more than 400 individual...
Two members of the well-known Danish family that founded Pandora, a company famous for its charm bracelets, are plonking down over S$31.1 million for two high-end apartments at the Orchard belt. The apartments, each of which is 4,478 square feet, are at the plush Boulevard Vue condo along Cuscaden Walk. Per Algot Enevoldsen is paying almost S$15.9 million or S$3,550 per square foot (psf) for his...
CHINA'S biggest state-owned developer Greenland Group has taken the first step of securitising its global real estate assets and has made Singapore its first port of call. For a start, it is injecting 20 hotels in China worth close to S$5 billion into Amare Investment Management Group - a special purpose vehicle set up by Singapore-based Glory Fund Management Group - with the hope of listing a Reit in...
BLACKROCK'S exclusive negotiation period on the sale of Asia Square Tower 1 to a consortium led by ARA Asset Management has ended without a deal being concluded. The asset management giant, however, is said to be still in discussions with ARA but may also reach out to other parties, including CapitaLand, which was the original preferred bidder when an expression of interest exercise for the 43-storey...
Joining a chorus of calls for property cooling measures to be relaxed, real estate agency PropNex on Wednesday (March 9) put up its case for some of the curbs to be tweaked, including cutting Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) for all groups of buyers. The move follows earlier calls from property developers amid falling prices and sales, although the Government has repeatedly said it is not time...
Rental prices for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats and non-landed private properties continued their downward trend in February, led by five-room HDB flats and homes in the city fringes. Rental prices for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats dipped 0.9 per cent from the previous month in February, according to a local property index. Year-on-year, rental prices for HDB flats in February...