Some mortgage rates are rising; shop around before making a choice As global interest rates fall, you would expect more homeowners to be tempted into taking up mortgages pegged to the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (Sibor) or Swap Offer Rate (SOR). After all, the three-month Sibor rate is currently around 0.68 per cent - just shy of its all-time low of 0.63 per cent. However, instead of resulting in...
The Thomson-Balestier area is transforming from a quiet mature locale to a rejuvenated community of trendy food establishments, interesting entertainment places and fresh living spaces. And soon to settle into this locale with just the right breath of contemporary living is CDL’s upcoming development – The Arte. A masterpiece of modern living, this 336-unit freehold development will inject an air of...
Real estate developer Ho Bee Investment has said its full-year net profit fell 66 per cent in 2008 to S$93 million. Ho Bee said the fall was due to lower turnover and the absence of fair value gains on its investment properties. The reversal of write down of properties also contributed to the decline. Ho Bee's share of loss of JV Entities of S$5.1 million also added to its profit decline. Full-year...
Property developer and construction firm Koh Brothers has said its full-year net profit fell 30 per cent in 2008 to S$27.7 million. The fall was mainly due to the absence of revaluation gains which it had booked in the previous financial year. Revenue for the 12 months ended December dropped 24 per cent to S$216 million. CEO Francis Koh said the company is in the midst of a challenging period and will...
Property developer UOL has booked an 81 per cent drop in full-year earnings to S$147.2 million in 2008. The decline was largely due to fair value losses and impairments. UOL said revenue climbed 27 per cent over the same period to hit S$899 million. It is expecting the environment for office space to become more difficult in the coming quarters. UOL said that at the operating level, profit grew by 21 per...
Mainboard listed property developer SC Global said its full-year profit rose 57 per cent on-year to S$44.5 million. The bottomline was lifted by the progressive recognition of sales from the group's development projects in Singapore and China. Revenue for the year was unchanged at S$129 million. SC Global booked a fair value gain of S$33 million for the year on its investment property called Newton...
Singapore's public housing estates could well be powered by sunlight in future, if a pilot project currently underway proves successful. Already, the Energy Save Programme - spearheaded by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), the National Environment Agency and the Energy Market Authority - has shown positive results. The aim of the programme is to bring down energy consumption in all HDB estates by...
Developers have achieved an 18-month high in private homes sold in a month, with the 1,000-unit mark having already been breached so far in February. Most of the developers who are prepared to pare their price expectations to more affordable levels continue to be rewarded. A near 10 per cent price chop was all it took for GuocoLand to sell off almost 90 per cent of the 182 units at The Quartz condo in...
Some want to pay investors part-units instead of all cash WHEN the property market was booming, investors picked up real estate investment trusts (Reits) for their policy of paying out most of their profits in cash. But with the economy now slowing and asset prices falling, these one-time market darlings are looking for ways to conserve cash - and that may lead some of them to pay investors partly in...
WE REFER to Mr Quek Soo Beng‚s letter "A second chance at home" (Feb 10), on the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS). The LBS is a generous scheme specially designed to meet the needs of the elderly. It allows them to continue living in the same HDB flat and neighbourhood, while leading a more financially secure retirement. It is an option to unlock the value of the flat, in addition to subletting a room or...