Outside Central Region (OCR) units most sought after in August

Posted on 18 Sep 2014 | Comments Off on Outside Central Region (OCR) units most sought after in August

Sales in the Outside Central Region (OCR) made the greatest contribution to new home sales in August, according to an OrangeTee report.

Sales in the OCR totalled 223 units making up 51.6 percent, while sales in Core Central Region (CCR) went down to 44 units and the Rest of Central Region (RCR) also dipped to 165 units, translating to 10.2 percent and 38.2 percent respectively.

“In August, the aggregate number of sales eased 42.9 percent, compared with the same period of last year.”

The report also noted the bestselling project in August was The Panorama , which sold 40 units out of 54 units launched at a median price of $ 1,249 psf.

Best-selling projects in August 2014

Located at Ang Mo Kio, the 698-unit residential project is developed by Wheelock Properties Singapore and will be ready in 2019. The project is near CHIJ St Nicholas’ Girls School and is a short walk away from the upcoming Mayflower MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line.

Coco Palms in Pasir Ris was in second place, selling 23 units out of 30 units launched at a median price of $1,046 psf. “Noticeably, this development has seen quite decent monthly sales so far this year,” the report added.

The 944-unit project by City Developments Limited is slated to be ready in 2019.

Image source: thepanorama.org

Comments Off on Outside Central Region (OCR) units most sought after in August

Posted in Property Market / Real Estate

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Fewer foreigners being hired, lowest since 2009

Posted on 18 Sep 2014 | Comments Off on Fewer foreigners being hired, lowest since 2009

The number of jobs that went to foreigners fell to 3,800 in the second quarter of 2014, its lowest level since Q3 2009 when 700 jobs were created for foreign workers, according to a recent statement from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on labour market developments for the first six months of the year.

The decline in foreign hiring contributed to lower year-on-year total employment growth of 3.8 percent in Q2 2014.

But the hiring of Singaporeans remained robust with 4.2 percent growth year-on-year in local employment in June 2014, supported by the greater participation of women and the elderly in the jobs market.

Meanwhile, there were 41,000 jobs created for Singapore citizens in H1 2014 while a total of 52,000 hires took place during that period, excluding foreign domestic workers.

Going forward, MOM said that Singapore will continue to face a manpower lean environment.

“The key to firms coping with tighter labour market conditions and sustaining higher wages is through productivity. More needs to be done to raise productivity, most critically in the construction sector, as well as the more manpower-intensive industries within the services sector,” the ministry said.

To boost building productivity, the government is looking at further measures to improve the quality of construction workers.

On a positive note, the unemployment rate here remains low. The seasonally-adjusted citizen unemployment rate was 2.9 percent in Q2, down from three percent in Q1 2014.

Comments Off on Fewer foreigners being hired, lowest since 2009

Posted in General

Tagged , , , , ,