Straits Times Forum: HDB flats: Low figure is building costs alone

I REFER to the letter, ‘Affordable HDB flats: Costings don’t add up’ by Mr Steven Yeo (July 22).
Mr Yeo cited a Forum page letter published on July 12, 2004, where the writer gave the construction cost of a new flat as S$50,400.
This does not give the full picture of how much it costs to build [...]

Straits Times Forum: En-bloc sales a menace to society

SOCIETY watches in disbelief at what is happening at Laguna Park. And now we hear of the ugliness in other condos too.
If collective property sales lead to gangsterism and bullying tactics in normally law- abiding Singapore, shouldn’t the sales be stopped?
The ingredients of greed, dismissing neighbours’ wishes, community strife and now criminal damage to cars [...]

Others: Vietnam – The long road ahead

Vietnam has grown and developed in recent years at an incredible pace, and alongside that growth its real estate industry has similarly expanded. The Economist ran a special 14-page report on Vietnam in April entitled “Half-way from rags to riches”, which aptly demonstrates the positioning of Vietnam and its status as a country to be [...]

Business Times: CapitaLand quarterly profits seen sharply lower

Slower sales, absence of one-time gains cited; CityDev seen holding steady
(SINGAPORE) South-east Asia’s biggest property developer, CapitaLand, should report sharply lower quarterly profits as home sales slowed, and as it is unable to repeat large one-off gains recorded a year ago.
But earnings for its main rival City Developments, Singapore’s No 2 developer by stock market [...]

Business Times: Allgreen Q2 profit falls 36.5% as revenue slumps

Company expects lower earnings from development properties in H2
By LYNETTE KHOO
DENTED by continued weak sentiment in the property market, Allgreen Properties’ net profit for the second quarter ended June 30 fell 36.5 per cent to S$17.19 million.
This came as revenue for the quarter slumped 39 per cent to S$74.12 million due mainly to [...]

Business Times: PropNex expands into auction, management

REAL estate firm PropNex is adding auction and management consultancy services to its repertoire in a bid to diversify its revenue stream, it said yesterday.
PropNex’s auction division, set up three months ago, will conduct its first auction in September. The firm will focus on private homes and commercial properties, said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail.
And [...]