DESPITE the current global economic downturn, home buyers today are still spoilt for choice when it comes to taking a loan from financial institutions here. Since January 2003, buyers of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats no longer have to take a loan from the Government-backed provider of more than 82 per cent of Singapore's homes. And since then, the HDB has stopped giving out what it terms...
Housing Loans
More banks here offering new competitive rates A HOME loan war is hotting up among banks in Singapore, with new player the State Bank of India (SBI) and Standard Chartered Bank launching attractive home loan packages this week that could potentially stir other banks to respond with even more competitive packages. SBI - India's largest bank that only started operations here last year - has offered a...
UNITED Overseas Bank has become the first in Singapore to tie up with Singapore Post to distribute HDB home loans, extending its mortgage services beyond its 57 branches. In recent years, more banks have started offering their services in non-traditional spaces - such as train stations, convenience stores and petrol kiosks - to reach out to customers. Yesterday, UOB said its HDB home loans will be, for...
IN A bid to increase its slice of the housing pie, Maybank has rolled out a three-year fixed-rate loan package with first-year interest at 1.6 per cent - the lowest of its kind in Singapore. With second- and third-year interest at 2.2 and 2.9 per cent respectively, that works out to an average of 2.23 per cent per annum over three years. This is even lower than the HDB‚s concessionary rate of 2.6 per...
Avoid foreclosure by granting moratoriums on loan repayment AS THE economic crisis deepens, banks should expect more people to default on their housing loan repayments. Under the circumstances, is it in the interest of the banks to implement the commonly-practised course of action of repossessing the property and foreclosing the loan? Granting the struggling debtor a moratorium and waiting for a better...
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...
Managed Mortgage Why put up with ambiguous mortgage rates when you can enjoy absolute transparency with DBS Managed Mortgage? Taking up a mortgage is probably one of the most important financial decisions you'll ever make. After all, it is a lot of money for a very long time. So instead of accepting mortgage rates that are subject to the discretion of banks’, make the switch to our Singapore Interbank...
More people are looking to refinance their home loans in the past few months with lower interest rates, but not without difficulties. Key benchmark interest rates have been dropping since governments around the world embarked on their rate cutting campaign a few months ago to revive the slumping economy. As a result, the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) has more than halved in the past three to...
Industry watchers expect more home owners to consider refinancing their mortgage loans as interest rates look set to dip further. In fact, mortgage and financial planning firm SingCapital has seen a three-fold jump in enquiries in the last two months. Property agents are also getting a crash course in mortgage planning, including answering questions about refinancing of home loans. This occurs when...
The Singapore Interbank Offered Rate or SIBOR is expected to dip a further 0.5 percentage point over the next six months. Industry watchers said this will present an opportunity for homeowners and companies to refinance loans on their properties. The US Federal Reserve recently cut its benchmark interest rate to 2.25 per cent in a bid to prop up the American economy. And this has indirectly put a drag...