St Regis to make debut in Kuala Lumpur by 2014
THE St Regis brand is set to make its debut in Kuala Lumpur in 2014 following the signing of an agreement between its parent Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and ONE IFC. Owned by ONE IFC, the St Regis Kuala Lumpur will be built at the Kuala Lumpur Sentral Precinct (KL Sentral). It will have … Read more
Furama buys 3 Thai hotels for $32.3m
HOTEL operator Furama said yesterday it has bought three boutique hotels in Bangkok for $32.3 million, citing opportunities in the strong Thai tourism sector. Furama acquired the hotels from Thai real estate firm Unico Holdings through three separate joint ventures, according to a company announcement. ‘This is an opportune time for the group to venture … Read more
US home foreclosures reach another high in May
Surging US home foreclosures rose to another record in May, according to a survey Friday which showed home foreclosure actions hit a fresh all-time high of 261,255. A building up for auction in Baltimore The survey by research firm RealtyTrac said the percentage of foreclosure actions — including default, auction sale notices and bank repossessions … Read more
China’s May property prices up 9.2%
China’s urban property prices rose 9.2 per cent in May from a year earlier but eased from 10.1 per cent growth in April, according to official data. Average property prices across 70 large and medium-sized cities rose 0.1 per cent in May from the previous month, the National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic … Read more
Singapore private home sales down 40% in Q1
Sentiments in the Singapore residential property market continued to weaken in the first quarter on the back of a possible recession in the United States. Private home sales dropped by 40 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with the last quarter of 2007, according to a report by DTZ Research. Transactions of … Read more
Sino Construction falls 7.7% in S’pore debut
Sino Construction, which has building and civil engineering projects in China’s Daqing City, opened 7.7 per cent below its initial public offering price of $0.39 (US$0.28) in its market debut on Thursday. The stock was trading at $0.365 by 0103 GMT after opening at $0.36. The company, which plans to use most of its $35.6 … Read more
UK banks, valuers tighten conveyancing
Concern that current procedures do not capture discounts and other incentives Britain’s mortgage banks and property valuers are to tighten up their conveyancing procedures in the wake of a housing downturn that has exposed some sharp practices on newly built homes. Fair deal: From Sept 1, lenders will require builders of any newly built, converted … Read more
UK commercial property rents fall in May
Commercial property rents in the UK fell for the first time since 2003 in May, confirming analysts’ fears and adding a fresh dimension to the country’s property slump, data from CB Richard Ellis Group Inc showed on Tuesday. Worse still for investors banking on a quick end to the market’s slide, the data showed an … Read more
NZ home sales in May at 16-year low
New Zealand home sales slumped 53 per cent to a 16-year low last month, reinforcing speculation that the central bank will cut interest rates from a record high. The number of houses sold dropped to 4,373 last month from 9,285 a year ago, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Inc said in a report … Read more
S Korea eases property controls for small cities
South Korea said yesterday that it was easing measures aimed at curbing a sharp rise in domestic housing prices for small cities to support ailing property markets. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said in a statement that the government had decided to lift the maximum loan-to-value ratio for unsold houses to 70 … Read more
