DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 1 March 2016

Singapore Economy

Singapore tourism could register only tepid growth in 2016
Singapore’s tourism sector could see as little as zero growth this year, if the global economy remains weak and corporates continue to cut back on travel budgets, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) on Monday. This would extend the lacklustre performance of 2015, when tourism receipts fell 6.8 per cent year-on-year to S$22 billion; that was the first decline in six years, and the lowest overall spend since 2010.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-tourism-could-register-only-tepid-growth-in-2016

Singapore Real Estate

No plans to allow singles to rent public rental flat alone: MND
In the last two years, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has received more than 230 requests from those living in public rental flats for a change of tenant under the Joint Singles Scheme, Minister of State for National Development Koh Poh Koon said in Parliament on Monday (Feb 29).
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/no-plans-to-allow-singles/2559800.html

Private housing resale market shines as buyers get off sidelines
After waiting more than one year for an opportune time to purchase a condominium to house his family of three, Mr Amrit took the plunge in early 2015 after coming across a resale unit in his choice location with a “reasonable” price tag. He had always intended to upgrade to a private home, and when prices for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats started falling in 2013, he decided to cash out before the value of their four-room flat dipped further.
http://www.todayonline.com/business/property/private-housing-resale-market-shines-buyers-get-sidelines

Prices of completed, non-landed private homes up 0.1% in January
Prices of completed non-landed private homes inched up 0.1 per cent in January compared to the month before, led by small units and units in the non-central region. This is based on flash estimates from the National University of Singapore (NUS) for the Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI), after a revised 0.6 per cent price fall for completed private homes in December.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/prices-of-completed-non-landed-private-homes-up-01-in-january
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/prices-of-completed-private-homes-up-01-in-jan

Singapore office vacancies to rise as economy falters
Vacancies at Singapore’s gleaming office towers are nearing their highest level in almost a decade, with construction of the city-state’s tallest building – GuocoLand Ltd’s 64-floor block in the financial district – wrapping up just as the economy slows. Singapore’s export-oriented economy has been hit by the slowdown in China and beyond, which has also put pressure on key sectors such as marine oil and gas, commodity trading and banks. Last year, the economy grew just 2 per cent, its slowest pace since 2009.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-office/2561132.html
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/let-singapore-office-vacancies-rise-economy-falters

Government eases DC rates for key use groups
Amid the overall price and rental weakness across various segments of the property market, the government has trimmed development charge rates for most of the major use groups for the Mar 1 to Aug 31 period this year. Development charge (DC) is payable for enhancing the use of some sites or to build bigger projects on them.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/government-eases-dc-rates-for-key-use-groups
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/development-charge-rates-cut-in-weak-property-market
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore/development-charge-rates/2559958.html

City View @ Boon Keng unit fetches over $1m
A top-floor unit at City View @ Boon Keng has been sold for more than $1 million, confirming predictions that the premium public housing project would turn some flat owners there into millionaires. The five-room flat at the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) development in Boon Keng Road went for $1,028,000 last Saturday, after just two weeks on the market.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/city-view-boon-keng-unit-fetches-over-1m

Companies’ Brief

UOL Group
UOL derives a significant about 50 per cent of revenue from its retail, office and hotel segments which should continue delivering stable cashflows. We expect its portfolio of commercial properties (office & retail) to be resilient in the face of headwinds from both the office and retail sectors.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/brokers-take-233

Global Economy & Global Real Estate

A hint of HDB in Jakarta’s new estates
Nasi padang hawker Nurhayati and her family of eight used to live in a dingy shophouse in Kalijodo, Jakarta’s infamous red-light district. They would usually fall asleep to the cackling laughter of prostitutes and dangdut music from the nearby bars and brothels.
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/a-hint-of-hdb-in-jakartas-new-estates

UK mortgage approvals hit 2-year high
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/uk-mortgage-approvals-hit-2-year-high

US abandons plan to swap obsolete buildings
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/us-abandons-plan-to-swap-obsolete-buildings

Pending Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Fall by Most in Two Years
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-29/pending-sales-of-u-s-existing-homes-fall-by-most-in-two-years

A $20 Billion Megaproject’s Key Ingredient: The Luxury Food Court
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-29/not-enough-cooks-in-this-20-billion-new-york-kitchen

Mom-Pop Investors Rush Into Swiss Property at Riskiest Time
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-29/mom-and-pop-investors-pile-into-swiss-property-market

NYC Penthouse Gets Sliced in Two as Luxury Market Falters
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-29/manhattan-penthouse-gets-sliced-in-two-as-luxury-market-falters