News and media releases
Property News
Wilmar CEO’s nephew, sister-in-law paying S$49 million for Astrid Hill GCB
A STEADY stream of transactions is continuing to surface in the creme de la creme of the Singapore landed housing segment: Good Class Bungalows (GCBs).
Developers’ new home sales sink to lowest on record for H1 after slow June
NEW private home sales slumped to a record low for the first half of 2024, pulled down by a lack of new launches and price resistance amid weak sentiment.
Hong Kong tycoon Adrian Cheng to list his venture fund in Switzerland
HONG Kong property tycoon Adrian Cheng is listing his venture fund C Capital on the Swiss Stock Exchange through a merger.
China property crash is hurting niche pocket of ESG finance
CHINA’S property downturn is weighing on yet another corner of financial markets: ESG-labelled securitised debt.
Sound reasons to ease rules on letting out homes for short stays
THINKING of letting out your home for a month to earn some extra income while you are out of town? Think again. It’s illegal.
China home prices fall sharply despite latest rescue plan
CHINA’S home prices fell again in June, underscoring the challenge for policymakers to halt the property market slump that’s hurting developers and the economy.
UK home sellers cut asking prices for the first time in 2024
BRITAIN’S’ home sellers cut the prices they’re asking for properties for the first time this year as uncertainty around the election and stubbornly high mortgage rates held back confidence.
New Zealand house prices up 0.2% but total sales fall: REINZ
NEW Zealand house prices rose in June and total sales dropped sharply, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) said on Monday.
Chicago’s priciest home listing gets buyer after four price cuts
CHICAGO’S most expensive home listing has found a buyer after years on the market and four price cuts.
US office delinquencies ticked higher in June, ratings agencies say
THE delinquency rate among US office loans rose in June, driven in part by increasing vacancies and elevated interest rates, according to recent reports from ratings agencies.
The one who got away: Ex-staff of fugitive linked to S$3b money laundering bust lifts veil on boss’ high life
JUST hours after police raided several luxury homes across Singapore on Aug 15, 2023, a white Toyota Alphard drove past a good class bungalow (GCB) in Third Avenue.
San Francisco mansion sells for US$70 million, record for city
A MANSION in San Francisco’s posh Pacific Heights neighbourhood sold for about US$70 million, property records show, setting a record for a home in the city.
Rich Americans flexi-working on French Riviera fuel property boom
AFFLUENT Americans with the flexibility to work remotely have been snapping up luxury houses on the French Riviera, sparking a surge in property prices in a region known for its stunning beaches, fancy yachts and the glamorous Cannes Film Festival.
US mortgage rates decrease as Fed rate-cut expectations mount
MORTGAGE rates in the US dropped for the fifth time in six weeks.
Victor Li’s CKI considers London among second listing venues
CK INFRASTRUCTURE Holdings (CKI), backed by Hong Kong tycoon Victor Li, is considering a second listing on an overseas stock exchange such as London’s, potentially becoming the first company to take advantage of new listing rules in the British capital.
Cuscaden Peak, Kajima put Woodleigh Mall up for sale for about S$800 million
FOR the third time in the past 12 months, Cuscaden Peak Investments group (including Paragon Real Estate Investment Trust) has put on the market its stake in a Singapore retail asset.
Large distressed Hong Kong realty deals set to rise as more sellers accept losses
HIGHER-for-longer interest costs and ample office vacancies have pushed the sales of distressed investment properties in Hong Kong higher in the second quarter, a trend realtors expect to continue in an already tepid real estate market.
Manhattan renter bidding wars hit record high in heated market
MANHATTAN’S apartment market reached new levels of competitiveness in June.
UK property surveyors expect rise in home sales after election
UNITED Kingdom home sales are likely to rebound as buyers draw more confidence that interest rates will fall and the uncertainties of last week’s general election pass, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said.
Jersey City’s luxury housing boom fuels pitch for ‘SoHo West’
THE pool at Hudson House, a luxury building in SoHo West, was scattered with people swimming, tanning and working on laptops against the scorching sun of a recent Thursday (Jul 11) afternoon.
WeWork to convert New York City spot into first-of-its-kind lounge
WEWORK will turn a floor at a Manhattan office tower into a work lounge that can be used by all of the building’s tenants, a first for the co-working company.
About 50 resale listings removed from HDB Flat Portal for unrealistic pricing, misinformation
ABOUT 50 listings for resale Housing Board flats have been removed from the HDB Flat Portal for having unrealistic pricing or misleading information.
Mapletree Investments eyes average ROE of 9% to 12% by FY2029, bets big on four sectors
MAPLETREE Investments will sharpen its focus on four core sectors – data centres, logistics, offices and student housing – through strategic investments and increased development activity, it said in its annual report for the financial year ended Mar 31.
US commercial property crash is set to deepen the pain elsewhere
DISTRESSED investors see one of the best opportunities in a generation to buy troubled US real estate assets as the commercial property crash continues to roil the market.
Crest Nicholson likely to agree merger with Bellway to create £4 billion UK homebuilder
BRITISH homebuilder Crest Nicholson said on Wednesday (Jul 10) it may recommend to its shareholders a sweetened £701.4 million (S$1.2 billion) all-share takeover deal from bigger rival Bellway if the latter comes up with a firm offer.
Report tracks impact of global elections on luxury housing market
ELECTIONS around the world are set to have a profound, albeit temporary, impact on luxury housing, according to a new mid-year Luxury Outlook report from Sotheby’s International Realty.
UK homebuilders splash cash to bypass busted planning system
BRITAIN’S biggest developers are increasingly turning to a costly service to try to sidestep delays in the country’s broken planning system, a trend that underlines the extent of the challenge awaiting the new Labour government as it looks to make reforms.
New York City penthouse sells for US$135 million in priciest deal since 2022
A PENTHOUSE at Aman New York has sold for US$135 million, making it the most expensive home purchased in Manhattan this year.
China Vanke warns of 9 billion yuan loss on country’s housing slump
CHINA Vanke warned of hefty losses in the first half, as the country’s property downturn took a toll on the closely watched developer that is trying to secure cash to pay off debts.
Wah Loon Engineering founder’s family sells Jervois Hill GCB for S$58 million
THE daughter of Wah Loon Engineering founder Alan Chong has sold a bungalow in Jervois Hill for S$58 million to a grandson of Sinar Mas founder Eka Tjipta Widjaja.
The US housing crisis is really about low-wage jobs
Kathryn Anne Edwards
German real estate deals pick up amid slow recovery for offices
WHILE a recovery in German commercial real estate deals is picking up, helped by buyer interest in industrial and logistics properties, sluggish demand continues to sour investor appetite for office properties, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.
Prime residential sales remain firm in H1; high-value transactions surge
PRIME home transactions in Singapore remained brisk in the first half of 2024, exceeding H2 2023’s figures across all residential types in terms of both sales value and transaction numbers.
Saudi Arabia to lure ultra-luxe travellers with palace stays
IN THE south of Riyadh, nestled into downtown streets steeped in rare desert greenery, sits a 365,000 square foot palace once lived in by King Saud bin Abdulaziz, the second ruler of modern Saudi Arabia.
The problem with housing subsidies
THAT most Singapore residents own their homes is something to be lauded. Generous subsidies from the government, which help shave the effective purchase cost of public housing, improve affordability for sure. The aid extended also helps prop up household net worth, given that a big chunk of wealth is contributed by the value of residential assets.
Ascott ties up with Chelsea FC as it looks to deepen European presence
ASCOTT, the wholly-owned lodging business unit of CapitaLand Investment (CLI), has inked a multi-year partnership with Chelsea Football Club (Chelsea FC) as part of its push to deepen its hold in Europe.
Hong Kong peak mansion sale price cut by 12% in three months
SELLERS of a Hong Kong mansion on the Peak reduced their asking price by 12 per cent from April, a sign of continued weakness in the luxury property market.