Hit by a spate of problems in recent years — with major tenants leaving, rats scampering around its premises and slow footfall — Marina Square has now found itself embroiled in a new battle, as a legal tussle brews between the mall and a former tenant. Court papers obtained by TODAY showed that the mall’s operator, Marina Centre Holdings, has launched legal proceedings against Caerus Holding,...

A total of S$10 million has been awarded to owners of eight partial land lots being acquired for construction of the Thomson-East Coast MRT Line. The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said the owners were paid the market value as determined by private valuers, in accordance with the Land Acquisition Act. Most of the acquired land, spanning a total of over 24,000 sqm, is in the Marine Parade and Changi...

The resale volume of Housing and Development Board (HDB) decreased 4.3 per cent month-on-month in December after shrinking 15.9 per cent in November, SRX Property said on Thursday (Jan 7). A total of 1,404 HDB resale flats were sold last month, down from the 1,467 transacted units in November. However, on a year-on-year basis, resale volume was up 8.4 per cent. Resale prices remained largely similar...

Two private equity firms are weighing separate bids for Ascendas Hospitality Trust, in a deal that could be worth around US$600 million (S$860 million), according to newswire reports on Thursday (Dec 7). Ascendas Hospitality Trust owns a total of 11 hotels in Australia, China, Japan and Singapore. The majority of its properties are in Australia. According to a Reuters report, the two interested...

GuocoLand Limited has inked a pact with AccorHotels to manage the two new hotels in its mixed-use developments in Singapore and Malaysia. The 222-room Sofitel Singapore City Centre will be part of the group's upcoming Tanjong Pagar Centre while the 312-room Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara will be part of the group's Damansara City in Kuala Lumpur. The Singapore-listed developer had originally named...

Public housing has remained largely affordable to most Singaporeans, thanks in part to changes made to housing grants to keep them in line with rising income levels, but property observers would like to see a more accurate picture of housing affordability. In a media statement on Sunday (Jan 3), the Housing and Development Board (HDB) pointed out that in 2014, first-time home buyers used less than a...

Private residential property prices fell 3.7 per cent for the whole of 2015, extending a 4 per cent decline in 2014, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) flash estimates released on Monday (Jan 4). Prices fell 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015, following a 1.3 per cent drop in the previous quarter, based on the private residential property index, which declined 0.7 points to 141.6...

Resale prices for flats fell 1.5 per cent for the whole of 2015, despite rising marginally in the fourth quarter, according to flash estimates released by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Monday (Jan 4). The Resale Price Index (RPI) for the fourth quarter came in at 134.9, up 0.2 per cent from the previous quarter, HDB said. The index provides information on the general price movements in the...

To keep flats affordable for Singaporeans, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has disbursed S$1.6 billion in Additional CPF Housing Grants (AHG) to close to 83,000 households since 2006. It has also given out S$297.61 million in Special CPF Housing Grants (SHG) since 2011 to almost 20,000 households, as of November 2015. HDB gave this update in a media statement on Sunday (Jan 3). Eligible...

The application rate for singles for Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats has fallen, HDB said on Saturday (Jan 2). In an update, HDB said that it has "made steady progress in meeting the home ownership aspirations of singles". It added that the rate is now about 7 applicants per flat in November 2015 - the most recent BTO exercise, down from 58 per flat in July 2013, when singles were first allowed...