Business parks are set to see occupancy rates go beyond 90 per cent by the end of June this year to hit a new peak, according to property consultants CB Richard Ellis (CBRE). At the end of March, the average occupancy rate for business parks stood at about 88 per cent. CBRE said office space shortage and persistent rent increases are driving office tenants towards industrial properties. This has pushed...
Rental
Police have arrested a 46-year-old man for cheating 11 tenants of rental deposits over the last two months. The suspect, who is unemployed, had apparently put up a three-room flat at Commonwealth Drive for rent with unsuspecting housing agents. He would disarm potential tenants by handing over copies of his identity card and flat conservancy booklet, and a bunch of keys. He would then disappear after...
Barclays Capital says market has peaked, rent to drop 5% this year and more in next 2 years Have home rentals peaked? With a looming rush of new supply, one bank is predicting that they could fall by as much as 25 per cent by 2010. That is good news for tenants, but not so good news for landlords, who saw private rentals surge an average of 41 per cent last year. This bold forecast comes in a report...
Rentals for HDB and mass market private apartments are set to rise in the coming years, with more foreign workers heading for Singapore. Property agents expect rents to climb by about 10 percent this year. They say HDB flat-owners could gain from the spike in demand. Singapore’s two integrated resorts will be ready in the next two years. Besides attracting more tourists, they are also expected to...
Office rents in Singapore are likely to rise at a slower pace this year, even as supply, especially in prime areas, remains tight. Robust demand for grade A office space by financial institutions and other companies will still contribute to overall rental growth, but it would not match the upward spiral seen last year, said property consultants. “A variety of factors indicate a slower pace of rental...
Rentals of Grade A offices in Singapore are expected to continue rising this year. According to property consultant Savills, average office rentals here may even nudge above that of Hong Kong's, currently the highest in the region. They added that Singapore's office property sector will continue to remain buoyant despite worries over the US sub-prime crisis. One Raffles Quay in Singapore's Central...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is reviewing the eligibility criteria for the Public Rental Scheme. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said this is to ensure that the heavily subsidised rental flats are targeted at those who are genuinely poor and without other housing options. More details on the review will be announced when ready. Mr Mah disclosed this in a written answer to a question...
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is offering another six residential state properties for rent. They comprise four bungalows and two semi-detached properties in Seletar, Sembawang and Lornie Road. They are being offered through an open bidding system from 16 February. The system is more transparent than the previous first-come-first-served procedure under the waiting list or balloting system. Bidders...
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has introduced a new open bidding system for a fair and transparent allocation of residential state properties. It will put up some 36 properties under this system in the first half of this year. The properties include a bungalow on Hyderabad Road with a guide monthly rent of S$13,500 and an apartment on Clemenceau Avenue North with a guide rent of S$1,150. In October...
Five blocks of flats in Tiong Bahru have been given a facelift, and they will be rented out to expatriates and foreign students. The rental for the units can cost up to S$4,500 a month. The flats are over 50 years old and are believed to be among the first to be built in Singapore. Katong Hostel successfully won the HDB tender to rent out the 120 available units. It invested S$3 million to renovate...