Office occupancy down in Q4 2008 due to economic crunch
Office occupancy in Singapore is down in the last quarter of 2008 due to deteriorating global financial situation. According to real estate adviser DTZ Research, office occupancy islandwide dropped by two percentage points to 95.6 per cent, compared to the same period last year. This is because of weaker demand as companies shelved expansion plans … Read more
ARA buys China building for $340 mln
ARA Asset Management said on Monday it bought a 51-storey office cum retail building in Nanjing, China, for about S$340 million (US$232.9 million). The purchase of the 51-storey Nanjing International Finance Center was done through ARA Asia Dragon Fund, the Singapore firm’s flagship private real estate fund. John Lim, Group CEO of ARA, said:’We are … Read more
Reit model under pressure
SINGAPORE-listed real estate investment trusts (Reits) are now victims of their own success. Over the past three years, most Reits here have taken an aggressive growth path, snapping up expensive properties and pushing up rentals in their properties as they took advantage of the property boom. This has allowed them to increase net property incomes … Read more
Pillar of strength in a wilting economy
Cost and pricing advantages and public spending set to put construction industry in a good spot The construction sector looks to be the only pillar of growth in the Singapore economy this year, especially if there are significant increases in public infrastructure spending. Latest official flash estimates reveal that the sector continued to grow in … Read more
Home loans: No interest savings despite falling market rates
I REFER to last Wednesday’s letter, ‘Bank unfair to existing home loan clients’, and would like to share my experience with another bank. I took a mortgage loan with OCBC Bank in May 2007 to finance the purchase of a property. Predicting that the interest rate was on a downward trend, I signed up for … Read more
Property counters shine
DESPITE news that private home prices dropped by a sharp 5.7 per cent last quarter, shares of property developers shone on Friday which helped the related warrants to post strong gains. CapitaLand and City Developments rallied on 2009′s first day of trading. CapitaLand hit an intra-day high of $3.30 on Friday, eventually closing 16 cents … Read more
Time again for interest-only loans
SIGNS of the credit squeeze are emerging everywhere in Singapore. After a final, Christmas sales spending binge, consumers are really starting to tighten their belts. This has cast a shadow over the traditionally joyous mood before each Chinese New Year. News of job cuts at multinational firms such as Philips and in the financial sector … Read more
