Perspective

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Over the weekend of May 6-7, joint developers Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Property sold 216 units (26.5%) of their 816-unit freehold condominium, The Continuum. The average price of units sold at the project on Thiam Siew Avenue -- just off Haig Road and Tanjong Katong Road -- was $2,732 psf. "It's a strong showing considering the recent cooling measures and cloudy economic outlook,"...

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - HDB has announced changes to its processes for assessing flat buyers’ incomes and eligibility for housing subsidies, effective May 9. The changes come in tandem with the introduction of a new HDB flat eligibility (HFE) letter to replace the existing HDB loan eligibility letter. The HFE letter informs flat buyers upfront about their eligibility for a new or resale flat purchase, as...

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Commercial real estate investment activity in Asia Pacific (Apac) clocked in at US$27 billion ($36 billion) in 1Q2023, according to data compiled by global real estate consulting firm JLL. This represents a 30% y-o-y drop compared to 1Q2022. The fall in investment volume follows interest rate headwinds and asset price adjustments, states JLL. “The market continues to be...

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Knight Frank’s Prime International Residential Index 100 (PIRI 100), which tracks and analyses prime price performance in 100 cities and second home markets worldwide, increased by 8.4% in 2021, up from 2% in 2020, according to the real estate consultancy’s annual The Wealth Report. This is the highest annual increase in the value of the index since it was launched in...

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - HDB will offer to buy back public housing flats from owners who face difficulties in selling due to the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) quotas.

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Property developers sold 527 private residential units (excluding executive condos) in February, a 22.5% m-o-m drop from January’s 680 units, according to URA. On a y-o-y basis, it is an 18.3% drop from 645 units in February 2021.“February is traditionally a slow month as the Lunar New Year tends to fall in this month,” notes Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia senior director of...

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has announced that strata subdivision of commercial complexes or mixed-use developments with a commercial component will no longer be allowed in Central areas. This includes the Orchard Road and Scotts Road stretch, the CBD areas of Robinson Road and Shenton Way and the areas surrounding the Padang and War Memorial Park.“In general,...

Singapore (Edgeprop) - Total shophouse transaction value in Singapore crossed the billion-dollar mark in 2021, reaching a total of $1.9 billion in sales, according to a research report by Knight Frank.Historically, this is the highest transaction value ever recorded for shophouses, beating values achieved in both 2019 and 2020 combined. Sales values in 2019 and 2020 came in at $915.9 million and $912.7...

Singapore (Edgeprop) - An annual survey by CBRE has found that Singapore is the third preferred destination for cross-border real estate investment in 2022, after Tokyo and Shanghai. The survey, which covers all property types, polled more than 530 Asia Pacific-based investors. This is the third consecutive year Tokyo has topped the list. Greg Hyland, CBRE’s head of capital markets, Asia Pacific,...

Singapore (Edgeprop) - Developers sold 650 new residential units (excluding executive condos or ECs) in December 2021 - a decline of 58% from the 1,547 units sold in November.Including ECs, new home sales fell by 55.4% m-o-m, from 1,611 units sold in November, to 719 units in December.Compared to 2020, new sales excluding ECs declined by 46.6% y-o-y from 1,217 units.Consultants say the lower sales volume...