DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 5th April 2018

Singapore Real Estate

Rate hike fears pushing home buyers to fixed-rate loans
Home buyers are catching on that interest rates are rising and more are taking up fixed rate loans, say banks. Amid the home buying frenzy which has sent prices soaring, borrowers are locking in the interest rates for their mortgages although they cost more than the current floating rate loans.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/rate-hike-fears-pushing-home-buyers-to-fixed-rate-loans

Perennial forms JV with Qingjian to develop former Goodluck Garden site
Perennial Real Estate Holdings has entered into a joint venture (JV) with Qingjian Group to jointly develop the former Goodluck Garden residential site in Singapore. Perennial said on Wednesday that it has through its subsidiary, PRE 9, entered into a 40-60 JV with China-based Qingjian Group of companies – comprising subsidiaries of Hong Kong-listed CNQC International Holdings and its minority partners – to jointly develop the site.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/perennial-forms-jv-with-qingjian-to-develop-former-goodluck-garden-site

Far East Consortium bags Estoril for S$224m
Hong Kong-listed Far East Consortium International (FEC), which has just been awarded the collective sale of The Estoril on Holland Road at S$223.938 million, plans to amalgamate the site with that of the adjacent Hollandia that it clinched last month. “We’re planning to redevelop the combined site into a 12-storey condo project with about 350 units averaging 70 square metres, subject to approval by the relevant authorities,” said Dennis Chiu, executive director of FEC, when contacted by BT on Wednesday evening.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/far-east-consortium-bags-estoril-for-s224m
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/far-east-consortium-bags-the-estoril-for-2239m

Four adjoining Jalan Besar shophouses up for sale
Four adjoining freehold shophouses at the corner of Jalan Besar and Upper Weld Road have been put on the market. The guide price for 71, 73 ,73A and 73B Jalan Besar is understood to be S$20-24 million.

The property is currently owned by a company that has held it for a long time
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/four-adjoining-jalan-besar-shophouses-up-for-sale

Companies’ Brief

TUV SUD steps up investments in S’pore
A German firm that tests and certifies technology products started building a $100 million centre here yesterday. It is TUV SUD’s first major real estate investment outside of its headquarters in Munich. The eight-storey hub, spanning 18,900 sq m in gross area, will be built around its existing electromagnetic compatibility laboratory – which tests electromagnetic disturbances from different products – at the International Business Park in Jurong.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/tuv-sud-steps-up-investments-in-spore

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM & Others

More private capital and fresh ideas are key to unlocking Asean’s growth potential
Asean needs at least a trillion dollars of infrastructure investment in the next five years to keep pace with economic growth, and to meet the goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Access to reliable and affordable infrastructure is crucial for any economy to create jobs and promote sustainability, and current development spending in the region falls far short of what is needed to meet the global goals by 2030.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/more-private-capital-and-fresh-ideas-are-key-to-unlocking-aseans-growth-potential

Tweak collective sale rules to avoid dislocation in market
The rules for collective sales need a re-examination and could do with some tweaking so that owners can be spared much trouble and stress from needless exercises. Once a development starts the process for a collective sale, the flats there are no longer put up for sale as sellers hope for a windfall from an en bloc sale, and buyers fear incurring the seller’s stamp duty should they purchase a flat and a collective sale happens.
http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/tweak-collective-sale-rules-to-avoid-dislocation-in-market