More of Singapore's affluent are looking to buy properties in global cities like London, to take advantage of the strengthening Singapore dollar which has gained against overseas currencies such as the UK pound, said bankers. The Singapore dollar has risen more than 25 per cent against the British pound since the collaspe of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. In August 2010, local bank OCBC allowed its...
UK Property
The Candy brothers claim they are on track to make a £1-billion (S$2.05 billion) profit from their luxury residential development at One Hyde Park in central London. The colourful property developers, who were roundly mocked for starting the extravagant project four years ago, say that 50 apartments have now been sold, with fewer than 30 left to go. One of the penthouses was sold for more than £135...
The falling British pound has made London and other properties in the United Kingdom a bargain for Asian buyers, and its little wonder then that property agents are beating a path here to sell real estate. International property consultants Savills yesterday offered 52 units of one of London's most iconic apartment buildings, Strata SE1, to potential buyers here for an average of £781 ($1,580) per sq ft,...
The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) and a Canadian pension fund could reportedly make a bid for Bluewater, a British mall. The Sunday Telegraph reported that GIC, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the property arm of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System were all expected to table a bid within the next two weeks. The stake is estimated to be worth 120 million pounds, the...
London properties are increasingly attracting interest from Singaporeans. And one key reason is the prospects of good capital appreciation. The lower British pound and good returns are two main reasons Singapore investors are drawn to London properties. Glentree Estates Agents managing director Trevor Abrahmsohn said: "I think it's an absolutely perfect opportunity because prices are probably 10 per...
Beverley Kirby gave up trying to buy a house on her own in London's Chelsea area after twice getting burned by owners reneging on agreements to sell to her. The night before Ms Kirby was due to sign for one £4.5 million (S$9.5 million) house a year ago, she was trumped by an offer that was £500,000 higher. The aborted deal cost her £4,000 in fees and left her with a few months to vacate the apartment...
ASIAN investors, including those from Singapore, attracted by a weak pound and rising rents, made up almost half of all buyers in the London residential property market in the past year, according to research by Knight Frank. Investors from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia accounted for 28 per cent of London home purchases in the year to March, the London- based broker said in an e-mailed...
BRITISH PROPERTY INVESTORS who managed to hang on to their assets during the worst credit crunch and economic slump in a generation are about to be dealt another blow by the country’s new government. As part of urgent efforts to address the UK’s huge budget deficit, the new Cameron-Clegg coalition administration is proposing to increase capital gains tax on all non-business assets from the current 18%,...
The quicker-than-expected recovery in property markets in many countries may have caught many investors by surprise. Property investors looking for investment homes to ride on this recovery may have missed out on the recent boom that saw Singapore's private and public resale home prices rise a further 5.1 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively, in the first quarter of this year. But looking further...