Tag Archives: IOL

Ready to welcome the crowds again

Posted on 19 Sep 2009 | Comments Off on Ready to welcome the crowds again

Hungry Ghost Festival is over and buyers are set to return, say analysts

DESPITE Monday’s announcement by the Government to cool the hot property market, observers expect private property showrooms to continue to be packed with eager homebuyers and investors this weekend.

Some property agents whom Weekend Today spoke to said that enquiries over the past week have been brisk, with some asking about early bird discounts and some even booking units without viewing the showflat.

“Since this weekend is the first weekend after Hungry Ghost Festival, enquiries about a few developments have increased, my confirmed appointments for showroom-viewing this weekend alone is about eight to nine customers.

“During the Hungry Ghost Festival, I saw only about three to four customers during the weekends,” said property agent Melinda Koh.

Market watchers also said developers or marketing agents do not need to resort to any unusual gimmicks to draw visitors to showrooms.

“Gimmicks will only be used in a down market. For now, the volume of the market is still alright,” said ERA’s associate director of Asia-Pacific Eugene Lim. Continue reading →

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Posted in Property Market / Real Estate

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IAS: banks calm, but analyst says they’ll take a hit

Posted on 16 Sep 2009 | Comments Off on IAS: banks calm, but analyst says they’ll take a hit

Banks here seem to have shrugged off the government’s announcement on Monday that the interest absorption scheme (IAS) will be banned with immediate effect, but analysts are less sanguine.

Lower home sales and the resulting slowdown in housing loans growth could hit the three local banks’ profits, analysts said. There could also be a ripple effect in the form of a drop-off in loans made to developers and builders.

Banks told BT that the government’s decision to disallow the IAS and the similar interest-only housing loans (IOL) with immediate effect will not hurt them too badly.

‘While the take-up rate for IAS is good, our normal progressive home loan packages are actually more attractive and popular with homebuyers,’ said United Overseas Bank’s (UOB) head of loans division Chia Siew Cheng. ‘These measures (the ban of IAS and IOL) are not likely to have a significant impact on the bank’s loan business as most customers have opted for the normal progressive loan scheme, which is more attractive.’

But Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) analyst Trevor Kalcic expects the earnings of the three local banks to be reduced by around 0.5 per cent though a negative impact on both volumes and margins. Continue reading →

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Posted in Loan / Mortgage / Finance

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