Residential sector leads Singapore investment sales
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The residential market in Singapore dominated investment sales, contributing 54 percent of total transactions in Q2 2012, according to a report by Savills Research. As for total investment sales, the consultancy said it grew 52.4 percent from S$4.9 billion in Q1 to S$7.4...
Continue Reading • 25 Jul 2012
Fish House, Sentosa's most ecofriendly property
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Private homeowners in Singapore are now exercising greater effort to integrate the latest environmentally-friendly features into their homes, according to an article first published in The New Paper. For instance, a two-storey bungalow at Sentosa called The Fish House...
Continue Reading • 23 Jul 2012
Parc Centros over 60% sold
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:More than 60 percent or 370 of the 618 units at the 99-year leasehold Parc Centros condo (pictured) were sold at an average price of S$950 psf last week. According to sources, three- and four-bedroom units saw brisk sales while one-bedders were sold at a slower pace....
Continue Reading • 23 Jul 2012
V On Shenton units to launch by month end
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: United Industrial Corporation (UIC) is set to launch the residential component of its V On Shenton development (pictured) by the end of the month. Located along Shenton Way, the 99-year leasehold mixed development will offer 510 housing units catering to...
Continue Reading • 20 Jul 2012
Geylang homeowners unfazed by sleaze and noise
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Property buyers who acquired homes close to the red-light district of Geylang (pictured) are generally aware of the trade-offs in the area, noted an article first published in The New Paper. Despite the presence of prostitutes and pimps plying their trade and kerb...
Continue Reading • 20 Jul 2012
More buyers opting for private resale homes
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Private resale homes attract more buyers as they offer better value compared to new launches, according to analysis by Dennis Wee Group (DWG). The report noted that the gap in prices between new and resale homes has tightened. Caveats for secondary homes rose 33 percent...
Continue Reading • 19 Jul 2012
Tepid response at Jones Lang auction
By Andrew Batt: A two-bedroom apartment at Euro-Asia Park in District 13 was the only property to be sold at yesterday’s monthly Jones Lang LaSalle property auction.The 1,001 sq ft freehold property with vacant possession attracted a total of 21 bids before being sold for S$1.1...
Continue Reading • 19 Jul 2012
URA to launch tender for Farrer Road site
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The public tender for a residential site at Farrer Road (pictured) may be launched in about two weeks, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).This comes after the URA accepted an application from a developer which committed a minimum bid of S$28.88 million...
Continue Reading • 19 Jul 2012
Developers take on ABSD burden as foreigners push money elsewhere
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Following the imposition of the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) on foreign buyers in December 2011, property sales to non-Singaporean residents plummeted 75 percent, according to data by Knight Frank in an article by The New York Times. As a result, some...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2012
Parc Centros launch scheduled for next Saturday
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Wee Hur Holdings is set to unveil its Parc Centros condo project (pictured) in Punggol Central on Saturday, 21 July.Considered the firm’s largest residential project to date, Parc Centros will also be the first condo in Punggol to offer five-bedroom units. ...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2012
Koh Brothers Concept Home draws the crowds
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: More than one hundred applicants (pictured) turned up at Koh Brothers office during a four-hour window period this past Saturday to submit their 100-word essay on Why we deserve the best experience in life, part of the developer’s commitment to collect feedback...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2012
Analysts cautious on Singapore property stocks
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Taking a cautious approach on property stocks, DBS Vickers said that it prefers stocks with diversified exposure like CapitaLand and those with strong niche activities such as CapitaMalls Asia (CMA) and GLP. “Though developers have adopted a quick asset turn...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2012
Sophia Mansions sold en bloc for S$43.3m to Roxy-Pacific
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Roxy-Pacific Holdings Limited will acquire the 19-unit Sophia Mansions (pictured) at Mount Sophia for S$43.3 million.With a land area of 17,545 sq ft, the price for the 20-year-old freehold site works out to S$1,175 psf ppr based on a gross plot ratio of 2.1, said...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2012
Haus@Serangoon Garden seeing strong demand from buyers
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The newly-launched Haus@Serangoon Garden (pictured) has seen strong interest from buyers during its weekend preview, with 70 percent or 28 of the 40 units released in Phase One already sold. A joint venture (JV) between City Developments Limited (CDL) and Hong Realty,...
Continue Reading • 18 Jul 2012
48% surge in Q2 real estate investment activity
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Real estate investment activity in Singapore surged 48 percent to S$6.9 billion in Q2 2012, according to DTZ Research. However, for the first-half of 2012, investment deals fell 32 percent year-on-year to S$11.6 billion from S$17.1 billion. Government land sales also...
Continue Reading • 17 Jul 2012
Private home prices poised to rise despite lacklustre sales
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Conditions in the private property market are still ripe for moderate price growth despite slower sales in the last few months which hit an all-time low for the year in June.According to latest figures released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), 1,371 private...
Continue Reading • 17 Jul 2012
More collective sales hit the market
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Chancery Garden (pictured), a prime freehold mixed landed development at District 11 has been put up for collective sale by tender. Located near Orchard Road, Chancery Garden offers a site area of 29,468 sq ft and could house six strata semi-detached plus 10 strata...
Continue Reading • 17 Jul 2012
Two sites in Upper Serangoon for sale by tender
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Colliers International has launched the tender for two adjoining freehold residential sites at 790 Upper Serangoon Road (pictured) and 1 Surin Avenue at an indicative price of S$40 million. “Including a development charge of S$6.1 million, the price works out to be...
Continue Reading • 17 Jul 2012
Private home sales hit new low
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: New home sales for the month of June hit an all-time low in 2012. 1,371 private homes were sold during the month, a 19 percent decline month-on-month (m/m) from the 1,702 seen in May. Including executive condominiums (ECs), home sales fell 16 percent m/m and reached...
Continue Reading • 16 Jul 2012
New residential launches attract keen buyers
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Parc Olympia (pictured), a new 486-unit condo development at Flora Drive, has sold around 80 of the 118 units released. Koh Brothers, the project’s developer, was offering the units at an average price of S$820 psf after a 16 percent early-bird discount. Market...
Continue Reading • 16 Jul 2012