Straits Times: Fire sale? Don’t hold your breath

Panic selling of homes unlikely this year and next as investors sitting on comfortable profits are in no hurry to exit market, say analysts
By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter
The panic selling of homes that some property experts had forecast months ago has not materialised after all – not this year, anyway. Market watchers had previously [...]

Straits Times: What’s a development charge?

FINANCIAL QUOTIENT
* Where do you see this?
Mainly when a plot of land that is already built on is sold to be redeveloped, such as in a collective sale of an existing estate.
* What does it mean?
When a developer buys a site for redevelopment, it will submit a proposal to the Government to build a new [...]

Straits Times: HDB Rental Flats – Over 4,000 on waiting list

All of the HDB’s lettable rental flats are occupied. Rents for one- or two-room units range from as low as S$26 to S$275.
Of the 40,732 rental households, over 75 per cent are small households (fewer than three people), and 70 per cent of residents are above 50 years old.
As of June this year, there were [...]

Straits Times: Rental Flats – Are they really needy?

Spotted in rental flats: plasma TVs, laptops, pets. But MPs say majority are deserving cases
By Jamie Ee Wen Wei and Gracia Chiang
Just who are ‘really needy’ among those living in heavily subsidised rental flats?
Should those who own a car or plasma TV set, employ a maid or install air-conditioners be ineligible?
There are some who enjoy [...]

Business Times: Lian Beng files S$9.4m suit against ex-partner Manhattan

CONTRACTOR Lian Beng Group has sued its former partner Manhattan Resources for alleged breach of a deal to buy the former’s half stake in a joint venture.
Lian Beng said in a statement yesterday that it has filed a claim with the High Court against Manhattan for allegedly defaulting on a sales and purchase agreement signed [...]

Business Times: UK officials under fire over stamp duty issue

POLICY-MAKERS in the United Kingdom have found themselves in hot water over a loose proposal to suspend stamp duty as a lifeline to the flagging property sector.
Although hints at a stamp duty holiday have sparked ferocious debate, it is the lack of decision which is now drawing fire as prospective homeowners wait on the sidelines.
According [...]

Straits Times Forum: HDB has ways to cut waiting time for flats

I REFER to the letter by Mr Sam Sim, ‘Missed one… the three to four years of waiting to buy a HDB flat after marriage’ (Aug 20).
Buying a flat is a long-term commitment and couples are advised to plan ahead for their housing needs. Buyers looking for a new HDB flat should also take into [...]

Straits Times: Fragrance is top bidder for old Changi military camp

CHANGI CAMP HOTEL BID
S$125,000-a-month offer is more than double the second-highest bid
By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent
THE Fragrance Group, a hotel and property developer, has submitted a whopper bid in a tender for the use of two blocks at the old Changi military camp.
Its Fragrance Hotel Management has offered a monthly rent of S$125,000, or [...]

Straits Times: Outlook still rosy for Marina Bay IR

Its meetings & exhibition business should help it ride out rough tourism weather, say top bosses
By Lim Wei Chean
DARK clouds may be looming over Singapore’s tourism landscape, but the company behind the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort (IR) is not worried.
The reason: Unlike IRs elsewhere, which focus mainly on their casino operations, the Marina [...]

Business Times: Allco Reit gets BB long-term rating from S&P

Agency also places rating on CreditWatch with positive implications
By ANGELA TAN
STANDARD & Poor’s Ratings Services yesterday said it has assigned its ‘BB’ long-term corporate credit rating to Allco Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (Allco Reit).
At the same time, it placed the rating on CreditWatch with positive implications.
The rating on Allco Reit reflects the trust’s smaller [...]

Straits Times: Swissotel Merchant Court up for sale

Swissotel Merchant Court could fetch S$350m in tender
By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent
SWISSOTEL Merchant Court, a 476-room hotel near Clarke Quay, has been put up for sale by global tender.
It could fetch about S$350 million, given the growth potential in Singapore’s hospitality sector, consultants said. Room rates start from about S$250 a night, hotel booking [...]

Straits Times: Campus No. 3 for Global Indian International School

With Balestier campus, Global Indian International School’s student intake now tops 4,000
By Jane Ng & Nilanjana Sengupta
IT STARTED with 48 students in 2002. Six years on, the Global Indian International School (GIIS) has more than 4,000 students at three campuses.
And although there are about 2,000 vacancies at its campuses in Balestier, Queenstown and East [...]

Business Times: Sim Lian net profit up a third to S$44m

PROPERTY and construction group Sim Lian has posted a 33 per cent jump in fiscal full-year net profit to S$44.1 million despite rising raw materials costs, thanks to higher revenue, a reversed impairment loss and a divestment.
Sim Lian also plans to launch three projects in fiscal 2009 at Surrey Road, Keng Lee Road and its [...]

Business Times: Developers weigh odds for launches after Ghost Month

Some may want to test market now rather than risk deterioration in sentiment
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
(SINGAPORE) Some developers have been quietly oiling their launch machinery in the past few weeks as they get ready for previews and launches, especially with the Hungry Ghosts Month ending this Saturday.
With the property outlook expected to worsen before it gets [...]

Straits Times: Property shares lose shine

BULLS AND BEARS
Developers not exposed to mortgage crisis in US but investors still wary
By Goh Eng Yeow, Markets Correspondent
THERE is no link between the deepening mortgage crisis in the United States and Singapore property counters, but try telling that to investors.
Real estate counters have taken a beating recently despite enjoying one of the biggest run-ups [...]