Changi Airport tops travel retail and best airport polls
Changi Airport has scored again, bagging two awards in Singapore and London. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has been voted “The Airport Authority with the Most Supportive Approach to Travel-Retail”. The title was given at the Duty Free News International (DFNI) Awards for Travel-Retail Excellence in the Asia-Pacific Region. The awards were presented … Read more
US Q1 home prices fall 7.7% from year ago
The median value of existing US single-family home sales in metropolitan areas fell 7.7 per cent in the first quarter from a year ago, the National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday. The quarterly survey of metro region prices also showed that median prices in 100 of 149 metro areas fell in the first quarter … Read more
Luxury home prices down 2.1%, says report
Number of foreign purchases fall; many buying homes in suburban areas HIGH-END homes have become the first to buckle under the pressure of volatile market conditions and gloomy buyer sentiment. Prices of luxury developments dipped in the first three months of this year, even as foreign buyers – a traditional source of demand for such … Read more
A bull market is still some way away
STOCK market bulls have been quick to proclaim the end of the bear market and the re-emergence of a fresh bull. The turning point, it is said, came in March when the US Federal Reserve helped bail out failed US bank Bear Stearns and announced various extraordinary term lending facilities that flooded credit markets with … Read more
Japan’s housing glut adding to growth fears
Scandal over falsified engineering data at root of housing problem When a regulatory hitch hit Japan’s housing sector last year, Tokyo assumed the crunch would be short-lived. But almost a year later, a growing backlog of unsold apartments threatens to dent already feeble economic growth. Rather than making a modest positive contribution to overall growth … Read more
NZ house sales slump to 16-yr low
New Zealand house sales fell to their lowest level in 16 years in April, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) said yesterday. Sales by Real Estate Institute members fell to 4,464 houses in the month, a fall of 13 per cent on March. The figure was 45.5 per cent lower than a year … Read more
‘Walkaway’ homeowners in US market might be an urban myth
No hard evidence solvent borrowers are voluntarily defaulting on their loans Bankers and housing market analysts are warning of a chilling new trend in the mortgage world: homeowners voluntarily defaulting on their loans even though they can actually afford to make the payments. It’s known colloquially as ‘walking away’, or more jocularly as ‘jingle mail’, … Read more
Bathe in a new light
Whether you are selling your home or staying put, a stylish loo is always welcome. So go on, make over your bathroom ADMIT it: You’re thinking about a facelift. You’ve noticed the little lines forming here, darkened areas emerging there. Features once fresh and sparkling are looking worn and dull. When you switch on the … Read more
Old army barracks now a hip hangout for students
A FORMER home of British and Malayan soldiers has been converted into a hip hangout for students of the Singapore Polytechnic’s Dover Road campus. Called Moberly, the old barracks, refurbished at a cost of over $1 million, is the last colonial building on the campus. The building’s original facade is the only thing that has … Read more
What kind of paperwork deserves that much money for property agents?
I WRITE to join Mr Patrick Sio’s discussion on the contentious issue of the 1 per cent property sales commission. Let me state that I am all for real estate agents who deserve their due. If a buyer has commissioned an agent to represent them as they have no time to look for a HDB … Read more
