Frasers Centrepoint brings cheer to market with sale of 80 units at Caspian's preview THE year's first major release of a private housing project has shown that there's still demand for projects priced attractively. Frasers Centrepoint had sold close to 80 units at its Caspian condo near Jurong Lake by late last night, the company's CEO, Lim Ee Seng, told BT. About 70 per cent of buyers are estimated to...
As of December last year, the government spent $3.2 million subsidising energy audits in 121 buildings in Singapore. This resulted in energy savings of close to $30 million a year. At Singapore Post (SingPost), changes to the air conditioning system alone saved the organisation $1.2 million in electricity bills a year. To reduce friction and therefore lower energy consumption, renovations were made so...
A shorter queue for the needy to rent a flat from the government. That's what National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan hopes to achieve when he announced stricter rules for Singaporeans who want to rent a flat at subsidised rates from the Housing and Development Board (HDB). Currently, it takes about two years to rent a HDB flat. But the waiting time may be reduced to one year, with stricter rules for...
The National Development Ministry has announced a slew of measures to ensure Singaporeans have a roof over their heads, especially during these difficult times. Speaking in Parliament on Friday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said the key thrusts are to keep home ownership affordable, help home owners with financial difficulties, increase help for the needy and safeguard rental flats. Madam...
ERA Realty Network is implementing a set of measures to improve transparency and accountability on the part of its agents. The move - the first of its kind in Singapore - comes on the heels of a court decision criticising the behaviour of two ERA agents for breach of duty and fraud. On Thursday, the High Court ordered ERA to pay S$257,000 to a couple who had engaged one of the agents to sell their...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is tightening its rental flat eligibility criteria with immediate effect to ensure that these heavily subsidised flats go to the truly needy. HDB rental flats come cheap. With rent rebates and discounts, 85 per cent of tenants pay very low rent, according to the National Development Ministry. Taking into account the increased rebates under the Goods and Services...
Property developer GuocoLand has reported a net loss of S$2 million for the half year ended 31 December 2008. This compared to its net profit of S$60.6 million recorded in the same period last year. The group said there was an unrealised translation loss of S$22.1 million. This was due mainly to the revaluation of US$300 million worth of bank loans, as the greenback appreciated against the Singapore...
The Singapore government will implement more measures to stabilise the property market if needed. The assurance came from National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan in Parliament on Friday. Mr Mah said the government will go also go ahead with multi-billion dollars worth of infrastructural projects. Marina Bay, Singapore's new premier business district, is taking shape. So far, the government has...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will temporarily reduce or defer loan repayments for up to six months to help households affected by the current recession. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, speaking during the debate on his ministry's budget estimates in Parliament, said this move aims to help homeowners who have had their incomes affected by retrenchments or pay cuts. "This gives them...
From Mar 1, HDB will accept applications for the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS). LBS is a new monetisation option to help elderly households in three-room or smaller flats unlock their housing equity to meet their retirement needs. This was announced by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan in Parliament on Friday. Under this scheme, HDB will buy back the tail-end of the lease of their flats, leaving...