Recent blog posts - Property Launches & Investments

Condos near the city, close to MRT

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

Buyers are drawn to the central location, convenience and accessibility to amenities in District 11, which covers the Chancery, Bukit Timah, Dunearn Road and Newton areas.

The Newton MRT station on the North-South Line is one stop away from the Orchard Road station, right in the heart of Singapore's most famous shopping belt.

Thomson View en bloc sale: Hearing starts

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

The huge $590 million collective sale of Thomson View Condominium finally went to court for approval yesterday, after hitting a legal snag earlier this year.

The en bloc sale needs the High Court's approval in order to proceed after some owners filed objections.

Market watchers said the outcome of the case would likely have a significant impact on the en bloc market, which only recently began showing signs of taking off.

Bids for 3 EC sites to close on same day

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

In a move to moderate tender bids and future property prices, the tender for three sites will close on the same day for the first time.

Included in this exercise is an executive condominium (EC) site at Punggol Central, one of the four sites released as part of the Government Land Sales Programme for the first half of 2013.

The other two EC sites whose tender closes on July 30 are in Punggol Drive and Yuan Ching Road.

URA reviewing key index of private home prices

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

A key indicator of private home prices is being reviewed to ensure that it continues to accurately reflect values in Singapore.

The study, which The Straits Times understands began last year, could involve revising the way the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) quarterly index is computed.

Interest still cool in Grange Road properties

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

News that the Spring Grove condominium in Grange Road could undergo a $1.045 billion collective sale has put the spotlight on other residential blocks in the same street.

The high-end sector has been down in the dumps for months, so the prospect of a big payday for Spring Grove owners has raised eyebrows among property experts.

Sengkang West Way site attracts strong interest

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

A 99-YEAR leasehold private residential land parcel at Sengkang West Way drew a top bid of $262.1 million, or about $488.84 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

The site was launched under the Government Land Sales programme by the Housing Board (HDB) on Feb 28.
UOL Group unit Secure Development made the highest bid for the approximately 179,900 sq ft site, which has a maximum gross plot ratio of 3.0.

57,000 investment homes face higher taxes

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

About a third of Singapore's 169,000 investment homes will face higher property levies once the Budget's new tax structure takes full effect in 2015.

Owners of such units with an annual value of more than $30,000 - or about 57,000 homes - will pay higher taxes, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) told The Straits Times yesterday. The progressive tax rates range from 12 per cent to 20 per cent of a property's annual value.

Expat housing here 2.7% pricier this year

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

The average cost of relocating staff to Singapore has increased 2.7 per cent to average US$5,510 per month this year - third highest in Asia and eighth globally.

Taking currency fluctuation into account, however, the cost of renting an apartment in Singapore in US dollars has fallen slightly, said Lee Quane, regional director, ECA International, Asia.

Q4 resale prices of private homes up 6.6%

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

Resale prices of non-landed private residences grew at a faster pace last year despite a fall in transaction volumes from the year before.

Buyers paid an average of $1,233 per square foot (psf) in the fourth quarter of 2012, the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) said yesterday. That was 6.6 per cent higher than the third quarter's $1,157 psf.

That means prices rose 13.4 per cent last year compared with the previous year, and outpaced the 10.4 per cent growth in 2011.

AA set to quit River Valley site

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

A landmark on River Valley Road - the AA Centre - is set to change hands.

An offer of $61.8 million has been made for the site, which has been the headquarters of the Automobile Association of Singapore (AAS) since 1967.

But the offer from Starlite Land Development, a subsidiary of listed property giant Far East Organization, is well below the indicative price that the AAS set in June when it sought expressions of interest.

Eight private estates to get upgrading

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

More than 7,000 households are set to benefit from a $29 million facelift under the government's Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP). The properties, spread across eight private estates, will see the money spent on the upgrading of parks, playgrounds and widening of footpaths.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) announced yesterday that Goldhill, Mayflower Gardens and Yio Chu Kang Gardens, Cashew and Hazel Park Terrace, Greenleaf, Bartley Neighbourhood, Carmichael, Haig Road and Limau estates have been selected to benefit from the eighth EUP.

Tai Seng industrial area hots up with MRT's arrival

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

Property investors are paying close attention to Tai Seng, an industrial area whose appeal has grown markedly since the arrival of an MRT station in 2010.

It is one of the few industrial areas with easy MRT access and the prices of strata factories, for instance, have jumped accordingly.

Big fall in property prices unlikely: report

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

It would take an interest rate shock, poor GDP growth, or both, to bring down private property prices here noticeably over the next five years, a study said.

Analysts are anticipating that prices will fall as a record supply of land comes on stream and as the US Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy.

It is forecasted that prices will rise by about 8 per cent by the end of 2017, based on the central scenario from a modelling. The report also said that not all of the government's cooling measures have been effective in bringing down prices, even if they have dampened transactions temporarily.

Fusionopolis Phase 5 project kicks off

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

Ascendas Land Pte Ltd and its joint venture partner, Mitsui & Co Ltd, yesterday broke ground for Fusionopolis Phase 5, a $370 million project touted as the first development to introduce a "work office home office" (Woho) concept.

The new development in the heart of Fusionopolis in one-north is a 75:25 venture between Ascendas and Mitsui. The venture, Ascendas Fusion 5, was established as a special-purpose company (SPC) under Japanese law.

New $18b Thomson Line ready by 2019

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

THE new Thomson Line, which will connect neighbourhoods in the north to the city, will have more stations, cover more ground and use longer trains.

When completed, Singapore's sixth rail project will have 22 stations spanning 30km - four stations and 3km longer than originally planned in 2008.

New buzz soon for quiet Hillview

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

The sleepy Hillview enclave between Bukit Batok and Bukit Panjang is about to get a shake-up with a range of new projects to be completed over the next few years. Property consultants say the new additions will boost the desirability of the upper-middle class area among home seekers, given that many condominiums there are now at least a decade old. At least 1,500 new homes are expected to be completed in the next few years, including units to be built on a plot in Hillview Avenue that can yield 534 units. Kingsford Development bought the 99-year-leasehold site in March. Other projects include Far East Organization’s The Hillier, which has sold 506 units out of a total of 528 at an average price of $1,267 per sq ft (psf) since its launch in January.

12 of 18 HUDC estates already privatised

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

HUDC units were introduced in the 1970s for middle-income families who could afford bigger flats. There were 18 HUDC projects, comprising 7,731 units. All were on 99-year leases.

The Housing Board stopped building them in 1987 after private property prices fell and interest in HUDC units dwindled.

S'pore inflation rate edges up 2% on-year in August

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 October 2013 in Property News

SINGAPORE: Singapore's headline inflation rate edged up to 2.0 per cent year-on-year in August, up from 1.9 per cent in July.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the higher CPI-All Items inflation was due to higher costs of accommodation, services and food, which was partly offset by the smaller gain in private road transport cost.

August's headline inflation rate, which represented the fourth straight month of increase, is in line with economists' forecasts.

5,293 BTO flats launched by HDB Three-Generation 4-bedroom flats debut at Yishun

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Friday, 04 October 2013 in Property News

-GRAPHICS: BT, Hyrie Rahmat

[SINGAPORE] The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is offering 5,293 flats in its latest launch, which will see the debut of new Three-Generation (3Gen) flats and more choices for buyers.

The flats offered yesterday in the latest Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise comprise 4,156 new BTO flats across six projects in Punggol and Yishun. Another 1,137 two-room units from previous BTO exercises were also made available to meet strong demand from singles.

Singapore Firms Hit by Foreign Labor Laws

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Friday, 04 October 2013 in Property News

Bloomberg | Getty Images

From designing the decor to drawing up the dessert menu, Venezuelan national Carlina Maldonado and her husband spent months preparing for the launch of their new restaurant venture in the Asian financial hub of Singapore. But as the opening day approached, there was just one thing missing: staff to serve their South American fare.

PROPERTY LAUNCHES & INVESTMENTS

Property Launches & Investments