DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 2 February 2016

Singapore Real Estate

Developers’ sentiment dips further in fourth quarter
Developers’ sentiment weakened further in the fourth quarter of last year, a survey by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (Redas) has found. The Current Sentiment Index, which tracks changes in sentiment in the preceding six months, fell from 3.7 in Q3 to 3.6 in Q4.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/developers-sentiment-dips-further-in-fourth-quarter

Singapore still cost competitive for luxury home buys despite ABSD: study
Even after factoring in the hefty additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) of 15 per cent on foreign property buyers, Singapore is still cost competitive compared to London and Sydney for luxury home purchases. This was among key conclusions stemming from an inaugural Global Tax report by Knight Frank and Ernst & Young.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-still-cost-competitive-for-luxury-home-buysdespite-absd-study

Boon Keng DBSS flat sells for $855k
The first flat to be resold at City View @ Boon Keng has changed hands at a price of $855,000, according to Housing Board records. The five-room unit at the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project along Boon Keng Road was sold a few months before home owners there are allowed to put up their units for sale.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/boon-keng-dbss-flat-sells-for-855k

Companies’ Brief

Macquarie bearish on Singapore, other Asian Reits
The asset management arm of Macquarie Bank has been “underweight” on Asian real estate investment trusts (Reits), and will continue to be so until there is some stability in China’s economy. In the meantime, low valuations of Reits and real estate oversupply in Singapore may mean that some takeovers and mergers may occur in the sector this year, Bob Zenouzi, chief investment officer, real estate securities and income solutions, at Macquarie Investment Management told The Business Times.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/macquarie-bearish-on-singapore-other-asian-reits

The man who became Singapore’s guru of property by accident
Steve Melhuish knew nothing about the real-estate market in Singapore when the condominium he was renting was put up for sale in 2006. Now he dominates the region’s online market for property searches. The British-born Melhuish and his wife had just moved to the city-state 18 months earlier and they were surprised at how difficult it was to find new housing.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/the-man-who-became-singapores-guru-of-property-byaccident