If a citizen can afford a second or third property through the existing Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) regime, should he also have to pay Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), Mr Christopher De Souza asked in Parliament on Monday (Jan 25). The Member of Parliament for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC called for the Government to consider removing ABSD for Singaporeans, while retaining the TDSR for...
Prices of office space in the Republic remained flat for the whole of 2015, dropping just 0.1 per cent from the year before, while rentals declined by 6.5 per cent. For the fourth quarter, prices of office space also decreased 0.1 per cent from the previous quarter. Rentals, however, fell 1.8 per cent in the fourth quarter, compared to the 2.9 per cent drop in the third quarter of 2015. As of the...
Prices of retail space declined 0.8 per cent and rentals by 4.1 per cent for the whole of 2015, according to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (Jan 22). The islandwide vacancy rate of retail space rose to 7.2 per cent at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 7 per cent at the end of the third quarter. This was a result of a 22,000sqm increase in the stock of retail...
As part of plans to make walking, cycling and taking public transport the primary means of commuting in Singapore, the Land Transport Authority unveiled what it called two "signature" conversion projects - incorporating more cyclist and pedestrian-friendly dimensions to the original plans for the North-South Expressway and Bencoolen Street. The planned North-South Expressway - originally conceived as a...
Keppel Corp will consolidate its interests in four asset management businesses under one subsidiary, saying the move will help expand its capital platform. The restructuring would not change the unit-holdings in the property trusts or investments in the funds, it said in a statement. The businesses currently manage S$26 billion of assets. The consolidation would include the managers of Keppel...
The consortium comprising Lendlease and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) that last year bagged a plum site in Paya Lebar Central, has obtained provisional permission from Singapore's planning authority to build a project that will comprise offices, retail space as well as 429 apartments. Going by market talk, the apartments are expected to be launched for sale probably next...
Commercial property prices and rentals fell further in the fourth quarter of last year, as supply outpaced demand. According to figures released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), office rents fell by 1.8 per cent in Q4, albeit at a slower pace of decline than the 2.9 per cent decrease in Q3. This led to a full-year drop of 6.5 per cent, which eroded most of the gains achieved in 2014 when...
AS A sign of the current market conditions, a total of 104 property agencies and 3,573 real estate agents left the industry after the latest licence renewal exercise with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA). The CEA had licensed 1,369 estate agents and registered 29,262 salespeople as at Jan 1, 2016. In the past year, there were 1,299 new salespeople who joined the industry, said CEA, which...
Prices of private homes fell 3.7 per cent for the whole of 2015, easing from a 4 per cent decline in 2014, according to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (Jan 22). Prices fell 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, compared with the 1.3 per cent decline in the previous quarter. For the whole of 2015, prices of non-landed properties in the Core Central Region (CCR), Rest...
Resale prices for flats fell 1.6 per cent for the whole of 2015, according to data released by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Friday (Jan 22). The Resale Price Index (RPI) for the fourth quarter came in at 134.8, up just 0.1 per cent from the previous quarter’s 134.6, HDB said. The index provides information on the general price movements in the resale public housing market. Resale...