AsianPrime Properties | Your Finest Property Experience

Singapore Business Reviews Published: 20 Feb 13 As a response to still-rising home prices. According to BBVA, rumors of new policy curbs in China’s property market circulated in social media sites today. "Housing prices have recently rebounded under looser credit conditions and improving market sentiment. NBS monthly property data will be released on Friday; in the meantime, we estimate that average nation-wide prices have risen by a modest 1.0% since May 2012," BBVA said. "If confirmed (which we think unlikely), new measures could include increases in down-payment requirements on second home purchases, (currently 60%) and/or increases in mortgage rates (currently not allowed to be set more than 110% below the benchmark lending rate). The last significant round of such tightening measures occurred in January 2011. In response to the rumors, the Shanghai property index fell by -4.6% today," it said further. Martin Koh | 86666 944 | R0209

Singapore Business Reviews Published: 19 Feb 13 The costliest has a median sale price of $6m+ for a new condo. Singapore Business Review sought expert’s help from Savills’ Senior Director Alan Cheong to come up with the following list of the city’s most expensive neighborhood based on median sale price for non-landed 99-year condo in 4Q12. District 6 tops the list after it posted an average sale price of $6.43m for two contracts of condos with an average size of 2,100-2,200 square feet. Cheong comments that in the near term, private residential prices are bifurcating with healthy sales from D’Leedon’s recent discounting weighing down price indices for the Core Central Region whilst prices for Outside Central Region continue their rise due to the swarm of mass market buyers who are undeterred by the latest cooling measures. He cautions though that once stocks from D’Leedon are cleared, the price indices from the Core Central Region would likely bounce up shar

Buyer sentiment still positive even after cooling measures Feb 22, 2013 - By: iProperty.com Singapore Over the next few months, around 17 new condominiums would be launched to provide some 7,500 private homes. Buyers are expected to be spoilt for choice with projects spread across the island from Tanah Merah, Pasir Ris and Hillview to upmarket areas like Marina Bay. Some launches which are slated for release include the 912-unit D'nest in Pasir Ris Grove, 868-unit Bartley Ridge in Mount Vernon Road and the 755-unit Trilinq in Jalan Lempeng. The Trilinq showflat opens today, with preview sales expected to come in early next month. Indicative average prices are around $1,500 psf. While some launches such as Q Bay Residences have seen strong sales despite being released after the property curbs, market watchers are waiting to see how subsequent launches would determine the buyer sentiments in the property market. According to Ms. Chia Siew Chuin, Director of rese

Feb 22, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg PropertyGuru, Asia’s leading property portal, will hold its second Philippines Property Show at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, Level 3 Begonia this weekend (23 – 24 February) from 11am to 7pm daily. The exhibition will showcase resort properties from Boracay as well as the latest luxury residential projects from major Philippine cities like Taguig, Makati, Quezon and Bonifacio Global City. Major developers will be participating in the event, including SMDC, Picar Development, Shang Properties, Megaworld International, Vista Land & Landscapes, Ayala Land Premier, DMCI Homes Corporate Centre, Robinsons Land Corporation and Greenfield Development Corporation. The Philippines is free from property cooling measures and is considered one of Asia’s best kept investment secrets, making it an attractive destination. In addition, the strong Singapore dollar provides buyers and investors more purchasing power. “The Philippines is

Feb 22, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg The future high-speed rail link between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur will benefit property developers and construction firms as it will reduce the price gap of properties in both countries in the long term. The project will also boost the construction and building materials sector, said PublicInvest Research. “While information is still light at this juncture, we believe the warmer relationship between the two governments now offers much comfort and we would probably see more progress on the project in the next 12 months.” On Tuesday, Singapore and Malaysia agreed to build the rail link. To be completed in 2020, it will reduce travel time between Singapore and KL to just 90 minutes. The project is expected to create job flows worth an estimated RM40 billion (S$16 billion) and RM50 billion (S$20 billion), benefiting the construction sector in the near term, and property developers especially in KL and Johor in the long term. “

Feb 22, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg Property developer CapitaLand achieved revenue of S$3.3 billion for FY2012, up 9.3 percent from a year ago. But net profit fell 12 percent in the period to S$930.3 million due to lower revaluation and portfolio gains as well as higher impairments. Despite lower profits, the firm sold 681 residential units for the year in Singapore with revenue coming mainly from The Interlace, Urban Resort Condominium and Sky Habitat.  Meanwhile, CapitaLand continues to report strong sales despite the additional cooling measures introduced last month. A total of 395 units were sold as of 15 February 2013 compared to 422 units during the second half of last year. According to the developer, the strong showing was driven by incentive schemes.  “We are still looking at some incentive schemes to boost sales,” said CapitaLand’s Group CEO Lim Ming Yan, but added that if the recent pick-up in new home sales continues, “incentives would probably be rev

Feb 22, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg The Far East has built a relationship with Scotland through salmon and whiskey, but this is now slowly extending to property. According to UK-based property investment firm Grant Property, buyers from the Far East spend £1 million (S$1.89 million) on average for their Scottish properties.  While average home prices in the UK have soared to new highs with London being the most expensive averaging £394,000 (S$745,675), Scotland is seen as a more affordable alternative with an average price of £181,000 (S$342,556). Peter Grant, CEO of Grant Property, is confident that investors would benefit greatly by investing in Scottish properties. “Years ago everyone was urging wealthy clients to invest in London because it was the financial heart of the UK. A lot has changed in the last ten years. Commerce has grown at lightning speed in places like Aberdeen with its ever expanding oil and gas sector.” He added that Scotland's univer

Channelnewsasia.com Posted: 22 February 2013 1909 hrs HONG KONG : Hong Kong unveiled fresh measures Friday to cool its red-hot property market, as the finance minister warned that an asset bubble is forming in the southern Chinese city. Property prices in the Asian financial hub, famous for its sky-high rent, have surged over the past few years due to record low interest rates and a flood of wealthy people from mainland China snapping up homes. The government last year implemented several measures to curb the rise, including an unprecedented bid to restrict the number of non-local homebuyers with a 15 percent property tax on foreign investors, but prices have continued to climb. "The risk of an asset bubble is increasing," finance minister John Tsang told a news conference, after saying that residential prices had jumped 120 percent since 2008, while prices for commercial properties had also soared. He announced higher stamp duties, with the top rate

Channelnewsasia.com Posted: 22 February 2013 2124 hrs KUALA LUMPUR : Industry experts in Malaysia are already counting on the multiplier effects from the proposed high-speed rail link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore even before its targeted completion in 2020. They say the benefits are expected to far-reaching. The project was jointly announced by the Prime Ministers of Singapore and Malaysia at their recent retreat. There is still no official word on how much project will cost, but initial industry estimates put the construction and land cost at about US$8 billion. With those figures in mind, the proposed high-speed rail link between KL and Singapore has sparked excitement among some sectors. Among the biggest gainers are likely to be property and construction sector companies. Experts are predicting increased demand for property in the Klang Valley, the southern state of Johor and the possible stops along the route. Paul Whiteway, COO, iproper

Channelnewsasia.com Posted: 22 February 2013 2124 hrs KUALA LUMPUR : Industry experts in Malaysia are already counting on the multiplier effects from the proposed high-speed rail link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore even before its targeted completion in 2020. They say the benefits are expected to far-reaching. The project was jointly announced by the Prime Ministers of Singapore and Malaysia at their recent retreat. There is still no official word on how much project will cost, but initial industry estimates put the construction and land cost at about US$8 billion. With those figures in mind, the proposed high-speed rail link between KL and Singapore has sparked excitement among some sectors. Among the biggest gainers are likely to be property and construction sector companies. Experts are predicting increased demand for property in the Klang Valley, the southern state of Johor and the possible stops along the route. Paul Whiteway, COO, iproper

Feb 21, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg PropertyGuru, Asia’s leading property portal, will hold its second Philippines Property Show at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, Level 3 Begonia this weekend (23 – 24 February) from 11am to 7pm daily. The exhibition will showcase resort properties from Boracay as well as the latest luxury residential projects from major Philippine cities like Taguig, Makati, Quezon and Bonifacio Global City. Major developers will be participating in the event, including SMDC, Picar Development, Shang Properties, Megaworld International, Vista Land & Landscapes, Ayala Land Premier, DMCI Homes Corporate Centre, Robinsons Land Corporation and Greenfield Development Corporation. The Philippines is free from property cooling measures and is considered one of Asia’s best kept investment secrets, making it an attractive destination. In addition, the strong Singapore dollar provides buyers and investors more purchasing power. “The Philippines is

Feb 21, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg Local developer Roxy-Pacific Holdings posted record results for FY2012 with net profit rising 13 percent to S$58.3 million, while revenue grew four percent to hit S$190.6 million from the previous year. The strong performance was largely due to higher revenue from its property development business, especially from projects like Spottiswoode 18, Jupiter 18, Space@Kovan, Treescape and The MKZ. Meanwhile, earnings per share in Q4 2012 rose 95 percent to 2.44 cents from 1.25 cents in Q4 2011. Roxy-Pacific’s Executive Chairman and CEO, Teo Hong Lim (pictured), said: “Our strong financial performance was achieved through our focus on good mix of property portfolio comprising residential, commercial and mixed-use developments.” Despite the recent slew of cooling measures, the group remains upbeat on future developments lined up in the coming years. The firm’s Group CFO, Koh Seng Geok, told PropertyGuru: “We take the view that our

Feb 21, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg The cover of the 1969 album by The Beatles made Abbey Road a famous spot in London. And now, home buyers from Singapore can practically walk on the same street with the nearby Manor Apartments (pictured) by UK-based Residential Land launching here over the weekend, said marketing agent Knight Frank. Comprising 17 apartments within a mansion block, unit sizes range from 721 sq ft for a two-bedder to 1,292 sq ft for three-bedders. Prices start from £999,950 (S$1.89 million). The project blends contemporary interiors with a classic red-brick exterior and apartments come with polished oak floors, crystal lighting, custom kitchen units, integrated audio-visual and lighting systems. Given its location in the prime St John’s Wood area, Manor Apartments is expected to enjoy increased capital values and rents in the next few years. Moreover, it is within close proximity to retail outlets, restaurants, schools and parks. Linda Chern, Dir

Feb 21, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg Asia’s leading property professionals and hoteliers will converge in Kuala Lumpur in May to celebrate the Asia Pacific region’s finest developments, architecture and interior design from 23 countries.  The 2013 Asia Pacific Property & Hospitality Show, which will take place at the Shangri-la Hotel on May 9-10, will host the annual Asia Pacific Property Awards and the Asia Pacific Hotel Awards sponsored by Virgin Atlantic and Samsung.  In addition to the two awards ceremonies, the 2013 Asia Pacific Property & Hospitality Show will serve as an exhibition and networking event with seminars and discussion tables. The Asia Pacific awards, combined with the other regional awards’ programmes for Arabia, Europe, Africa and the Americas, form the globally renowned International Property Awards. Now entering their 19th year, they are the world’s most prestigious property competition and cover residential as well as commercial categor

New record for HDB resale flats The Straits Times - February 21, 2013 A NEW record has been set for Housing Board resale flats, with a 1,750 sq ft executive maisonette in Bishan changing hands for $1.01 million last month. It broke the previous record of $1 million, set by a 1,615 sq ft executive apartment in Queenstown last year. Fresh data from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX), which collects transaction information from larger property firms, also revealed that such sky-high prices are not one-offs. While only one resale flat transaction breached the $900,000 mark in 2011, there were 18 last year. This year, even before two months have gone, the number has already reached 18. Property analysts said these flats, mostly in established estates, are still value for money on a per sq ft (psf) basis when compared to private homes. They expect resale records to be broken when choice units like those at the Pinnacle@Duxton hit the market in the next two yea

Feb 20, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg The upcoming high-speed rail link project between Singapore and Malaysia is expected to boost property prices in both countries, according to property analysts. “We believe a high-speed rail link is going to boost the property value not only in Singapore but also in Kuala Lumpur,” said Dr. Yeah Kim Leng, Chief Economist at RAM Holdings Group. “We expect more foreigners especially in Singapore to commute between Singapore and possibly Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur, and buy more properties in Kuala Lumpur.” Upon completion, the train service will speed up economic integration between the two countries causing spillover benefits to other sectors such as tourism and construction. Moreover, it would improve the political relationship of Singapore and Malaysia, Bernama reported. “Finally, after 15 years, this development is about to be realised,” said Dr. Nazri Khan, Vice President and Head of retail research at Affin Investment Bank.

Feb 20, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg Plans for a new high-speed rail link connecting Singapore to Kuala Lumpur have been confirmed. According to media reports, the train service is similar to those in China, Japan and Europe, where trains travel at high speeds. This is expected to cut travel time from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes. With this latest development, trade, tourism and commerce in both countries is expected to be affected. More workers from Malaysia could move to Singapore for higher paying jobs. Meanwhile, more tourism could spillover from Singapore. In terms of its effect on Singapore’s property market, rentals are unlikely to rise given that workers from across the causeway will likely travel to and from work rather than rent a place here, depending on the price of train tickets. But interest for property in Kuala Lumpur is expected to rise as Singaporeans look to the city as a possible retirement destination or holiday getaway. Meanwhi