Daily Archives: 19 Oct 2009

Number of HDB blocks eligible for lift upgrading up from 2001

Posted on 19 Oct 2009 | Comments Off on Number of HDB blocks eligible for lift upgrading up from 2001

The number of public housing blocks eligible for lift upgrading has gone up.

When the lift upgrading programme (LUP) started in 2001, 5,300 blocks did not have full lift access. Of these, 1,000 did not qualify due to the high cost of upgrading. But now, that number has dropped to 200.

Eligible blocks are those where the cost of fitting lifts on every floor, averages a maximum of S$30,000 per unit.

But due to the layout of some blocks, average costs could range from S$40,000 to over S$120,000.

That is about 40 per cent of the value of a three- to four-room flat and the Ministry of National Development said it does not make sense to have upgrading works there. Continue reading →

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Posted in HDB

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Analysts say office rental slide a necessary correction

Posted on 19 Oct 2009 | Comments Off on Analysts say office rental slide a necessary correction

Prime office rents may be on a downward trend, but analysts say there is nothing much to worry about as the decline is a necessary correction.

An oversupply of office space and low demand has knocked down prime office rentals in the central business district (CBD).

Rents have fallen as much as 40 per cent since the beginning of 2008 but observers said that rents are not in a free fall. They said the slowdown in rental rates is a correction that was going to happen due to the unusually high prices resulting from the boom in 2007.

“We could see office rentals return to a 2005 level. Office rentals have risen to such a high rate, so we must not take it that the 2007 rates are the norm,” said Nicholas Mak, Independent Property Consultant. Continue reading →

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Posted in Office / Retail / Industrial

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