Recent blog posts - Property Launches & Investments

Visionaire EC next to Canberra MRT going fast

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Monday, 21 November 2016 in Property News

Click HERE for More information on Visionaire

Private homes puzzle: Why aren't prices falling proportionately?

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Friday, 18 November 2016 in Property News

Indicators are pointing to housing oversupply, while the vacancy rate for private homes is approaching recession levels. But property prices have remained firm. Channel NewsAsia asks property analysts why the rising supply has not resulted in a proportionate fall in prices.

SINGAPORE: The growing vacancy rate in the private housing market is something property developers have been harping on for the past couple of years. At 8.9 per cent, official data shows the vacancy rate for private residential units at a 16-year-high, nearing levels seen in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

India poised to become Asia fastest growing economy but lack of infrastructure investment a major drag

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 17 November 2016 in Property News

It needs improvement on PPP model.

India's economy is set to grow at the fastest pace among major economies in 2016 and 2017, although GDP growth remains constrained by various factors, including inadequate infrastructure investments, says Moody's Investors Service.

The rating agency said that enhancement of India's public-private partnership (PPP) model could help attract more private sector investments towards infrastructure projects, and thus help address the country's very large infrastructure needs.

Hefty loss incurred despite 19-year holding period

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Saturday, 12 November 2016 in Property News

A gains-and-loss analysis for the week of Oct 4 to 11 unearthed interesting deals. A 2,508 sq ft unit at Chelsea Gardens in prime District 10 was sold at a loss of $810,200, despite being held for more than 19 years. The unit was purchased from the developer in August 1997 for $1,838 psf and resold for $1,515 psf this month. The loss margin works out to 18%, or 1% annually.

Hefty losses in District 10

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Saturday, 12 November 2016 in Property News

Two condo units in prime District 10 were offloaded at losses of more than a million dollars each in the week of Oct 25 to Nov 1. The bigger loss of $1.8 million came from a 3,671 sq ft penthouse at Orange Grove Residences off Stevens Road. The fifth-floor unit fetched $6.1 million, or $1,662 psf, on Oct 27, 22% below the purchase price of $2,143 psf paid to the developer in February 2007. The seller incurred an annualised loss of 3% after having held the property for close to 10 years.

Singapore Home-Price Drop in 2016 Might Prompt Reversal of Curbs

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 10 November 2016 in Property News

A further slide in residential home prices in 2016 may finally persuade the Singapore government to take its foot off the brakes in Asia’s worst-performing property market.

Property brokers including Knight Frank LLP and Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. said the government may be swayed to lift some of the curbs that have depressed local home sales and damped values. Home prices could drop as much as 8 percent this year, extending a similar decline since their peak in 2013, if an economic slowdown in the island-state becomes severe, according to Ong Teck Hui, National Director of Research & Consultancy at Jones Lang LaSalle in Singapore.

Housing prices to bottom out by 2018

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 10 November 2016 in Property News

SINGAPORE — Residential property prices could begin bottoming out over the next few quarters, prompting a “moderate” recovery from 2018, but there would not be any easing of cooling measures until next year at the earliest, according to industry experts at a property market seminar organised by the Real Estate Developers’ Association (Redas) yesterday.

Depending on economic growth and other macroeconomic factors, said Dr Chua Yang Liang, head of research at South-east Asia at JLL, the potential recovery range is likely to be in line with gross domestic product growth, and driven largely by a pickup in the prime residential market.

Singapore’s Marina Bay Land Gets Record Bid of S$2.6 Billion

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Wednesday, 09 November 2016 in Property News

The first sale of land in Singapore’s Marina Bay in nine years generated healthy bidding from developers, with a plot in the sought-after financial district attracting a top bid of S$2.6 billion ($1.9 billion).

The offer price, equivalent to S$1,689 per square foot of gross floor area, is a record for a Singapore government land sale, exceeding the earlier highest price set in 2007 when the Asia Square Tower 1 site was sold for S$1,409 per square foot, according to CBRE Group Inc.

Condo site near Dempsey Hill and Rochester at Margaret Drive

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 November 2016 in Property News

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has a residential site in Margaret Drive, Commonwealth Avenue as part of Government Land Sales GLS. This land parcel is located in Commonwealth Avenue, Margaret Drive, Central Region of Singapore, under Queenstown Planning Area. It is listed under reserved list of sites and is allocated to be developed into a residential condominium. It has a site area of 51,772 square feet of land and is expected to house approximately 275 apartments units.

The rejuvenation of Beach Road

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Friday, 04 November 2016 in Property News

Once just a tourist destination for the area’s history and culture, Kampong Glam has become one of Singapore’s hippest enclaves. Part of the state’s plans for the Ophir-Rochor Corridor, the potential in this often overlooked region is great.

Many Singaporeans have visited Kampong Glam several times over the course of our education as part of the National Education programme. Then, we were brought into Sultan Mosque, and learned about the history of the area.

Time has brought about changes to the area, and Kampong Glam has changed drastically. Haji Lane, where some of the earliest shophouses stand, is now home to some of the hippest cafes, bars and shops in Singapore. Many of the units carry either home-grown labels or sell pre-loved vintage apparel and accessories.

How Ultra-Low Interest Rates Will Cause The Next Global Recession

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Friday, 04 November 2016 in Property News

Ever since the Great Recession, central bankers around the world have been deploying ultra-low interest rates policies to revive global economic growth.

Some central banks have gone too far, pushing official interest rates below zero (e.g., ECB and Bank of Japan).

The Fed has again kicked the can down the road on interest rates

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Wednesday, 02 November 2016 in Property News

Pressure is building to normalise rates, and each delay will lead to more volatility in the capital markets

The US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates on hold was not a surprise. But what did raise eyebrows was the dissent of three “hawkish” voting members who wanted a rate hike now, a rare split that marked only the fourth time since 1992 that three voters had broken ranks with a majority decision.

The rate hold spurred a rally across bonds, equities, industrial commodities and emerging market assets. Hong Kong’s property market, lacklustre for most of last and this year, has seen some signs of a revival in recent weeks. The glacial pace of the Fed’s tightening – whose effects in Hong Kong are transmitted through the Hong Kong-US dollar peg – may well spark another round of property speculation.

Why low interest rates are the cause, not the cure, of developed world's economic malaise

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Wednesday, 02 November 2016 in Property News

For years, central bankers in the developed world have been trying to battle poor economic growth and weak demand with ultra-low, and even negative, interest rates. It’s not working. More than 17 years after Japan cut interest rates to zero, and eight years after the financial crisis prompted central banks in the US and Europe to slash their policy rates to record lows, growth has stubbornly refused to recover to pre-crisis levels and deflation remains an ever-present threat. The response among central bankers has been to cut further, defying all historical precedent to push interest rates into negative territory.

Can Singapore’s economy shift to a lower gear?

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Monday, 31 October 2016 in Property News

Faced with slowing economic growth and a quickly aging population, Singapore has aimed to pivot towards developing an innovation ecosystem and boosting productivity.

But part of that drive has included changing the measuring sticks for success.

Singapore's growth strategy shifts

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Monday, 31 October 2016 in Property News

SINGAPORE may have achieved an economic miracle in the five decades since independence, but its growth matrix for the next 50 years will be very different - and far more complex.

As the economy matures and enters a new phase - one marked by slower but better-quality growth - the government envisions that expansion will be driven by deep skills and innovation, with Singaporeans and local enterprises at the core.