First Look Asia – In Studio, “The Property Brothers” | channelnewsasia.com
Want to fix your home and looking for some renovation tips and ideas? The Property Brothers joined us in studio to explain how they turn nightmare homes into dream ones.
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First Look Asia – Real Deal, “Investing Overseas” | channelnewsasia.com
Buying property is a popular form of investment in Asia. But what are the perks and risks when buying overseas? Sean Tan, General Manager, at iProperty.com shared some investment tips and insights on trends to look out for in 2015.
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Record number of new home completions this year could show up in higher asset values as well as liabilities on household balance sheet | businesstimes.com.sg
S’pore households’ net worth grows a slower 2.3% | businesstimes.com.sg
SINGAPORE: Growth in Singapore households’ net worth continued to moderate last year as the rise in the value of their financial assets slowed and the aggregate value of residential properties on their balance sheet dipped despite the higher number of dwelling units.
Data released by the Singapore Department of Statistics showed a 2.3 per cent rise in households’ net worth (assets less liabilities) from a year ago to S$1.47 trillion at the end of 2014, easing from a 4.2 per cent rise in 2013 and 8.2 per cent growth in 2012.
As expected, households saw a 1.1 per cent dip in the value of residential property assets to S$819.6 billion, with the main drag coming from public housing.
In line with the drop in HDB resale prices last year, the total value of public housing assets on households’ balance sheet contracted 4.4 per cent to S$394.7 billion – steeper than the 0.7 per cent fall seen in 2013. The steeper fall in value occurred despite a 0.4 per cent increase in HDB households to 965,200 in 2014.
Private housing assets held up better, with their total value on households’ balance sheet up 2.2 per cent at S$425 billion. A 10.8 per cent jump in private property households possibly offset the impact of a 4 per cent drop in private residential prices last year. As at end-2014, there were 231,200 private property households. Read more here >>
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New office space could go as fast as firms seek quality | asiaone.com
SINGAPORE: The surge in the supply of new office space over the next two years is likely to be absorbed fairly quickly as firms want high-quality facilities, property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield said yesterday.
It also noted that the technology sector was quickly becoming one of the biggest drivers of demand.
“Unlike in previous years during boom times, office tenants last year were mainly driven by relocations to better-value propositions in newer buildings, rather than the need to upsize,” said Cushman & Wakefield research head Christine Li.
Calling this trend a “flight to quality”, she said Grade A office rents may climb a further 5 per cent to 6 per cent this year.
Office rents in the Central Business District (CBD) shot up 14 per cent last year, the biggest increase in Asia, according to consultancy JLL. But analysts reckon that a bumper crop of new office completions over the next two years could put a lid on rents. Read more here >>
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Building social inclusiveness through property design | channelnewsasia.com
SINGAPORE: Building rental units next to new Build-to-Order flats and getting real estate students to also study social sciences – some of the ideas raised by Social and Family Development Minister Chan Chun Sing to have more social inclusiveness in Singapore.
Mr Chan was speaking to 50 engineering and real estate students from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) at a dialogue on Wednesday (Feb 25).
Homes today provide greater privacy – for instance, common corridors are no longer seen at newer blocks. Flat owners can have greater privacy this way, but it can have social implications, said Mr Chan.
“In short, today’s privacy will be tomorrow’s social isolation,” said Mr Chan.
“That common corridor doesn’t just serve a functional role to allow people to get from the lift lobby or staircase back to their house – it allows mixing, it allows people to get to know their neighbours, it allows people to walk past and greet each other,” he explained.
“When we take away that in the name of privacy, then we have to ask ourselves the next design that we need to incorporate that will allow people to have privacy and at the same time, not create a situation where in 20 to 30 years’ time, we will have an aged population with a social problem.”
Mr Chan said in fostering social interaction, those in the real estate industry have an important role. Developers could consider building different types of flats, including rental units, in a single project to bring together people of different social and economic status. Read more here >>
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SG Best Investment 