Category Archives: Property Market / Real Estate

MBFC devt sees grand opening

Posted on 16 May 2013 | Comments Off on MBFC devt sees grand opening

Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC), the largest integrated development in Singapore’s CBD was officially opened by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday.

MBFC comprises three office towers of nearly three million sq ft of prime Grade A office space. There are also two residential towers with 649 luxury apartments and 179,000 sq ft of retail space.

Towers 1 & 2 and Marina Bay Link Mall are now fully occupied, while Tower 3 has achieved an occupancy rate of 88 percent.

Commenting on the development, Moray Armstrong, Executive Director for Office Services at CBRE, said: “The office towers at MBFC are synonymous with Singapore’s emergence as a truly global financial and business hub. The development name and brand is recognised internationally and MBFC resonates with multinational occupiers. The residential units have set the benchmark for inner city living.”

Aside from the physical transformation, MBFC has also set the bar high for future office buildings in the city.

“MBFC benefits from size – with over 3 million sq ft of commercial space it is the largest office development in the city. This offers scalability for many large occupiers who might otherwise be constrained in accommodating growth. The project’s phenomenal leasing success and the strength of the tenants’ profile demonstrates this appeal,” Armstrong added.

Source – PropGuru – 16 May 2013

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Foreign demand for S’pore homes falls to lowest since global financial crisis

Posted on 16 May 2013 | Comments Off on Foreign demand for S’pore homes falls to lowest since global financial crisis

The drop in private home sales in Q1 2013 was a result of the tough property cooling measures introduced in January, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

Resale transactions of condominiums in prime districts 9, 10 and 11 declined 61 percent to 144 units during the period. Notably, foreign buyers registered the lowest level of demand since the global financial crisis. While Singaporeans had previously come to the market’s rescue, they now seem to be stepping away due to downside risks, noted the consultancy.

Supply also fell 29 percent last quarter, based on data from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

The latest measures have caused growth in capital values to decline greatly in the luxury prime market and only slightly in the typical prime market. Budget 2013 also mentioned higher taxes on luxury property “that will come into effect in 2014 and 2015, and this might have been priced into the first quarter’s weak capital value growth”.

Moving forward, Jones Lang LaSalle predicts that Singapore’s central bank may introduce stricter rules on the amount of capital banks must hold against residential mortgages. This would in turn “tighten the availability of credit and limit home price growth”.

Local and foreign home buying in the prime market is also expected to decline further following the seventh round of cooling measures and new property tax measures. Consequently, capital values of prime properties would fall by three to five percent in the next 12 months.

Source – PropGuru – 16 May 2013

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