Tag Archives: Singapore Property

Luxury, luxury everywhere: but what does it really mean?

The Luxury Expert looks at Singapore’s high-end property market and defines luxury for HNWI’s.

Let’s make it clear, not every property that the developer calls ’luxury’ is a luxury or choice property. In many, if not most cases in Singapore, the property that is up for a launch hails itself as a ’true luxury’ or ’luxury living’. Its advertisement is splashed with lush greeneries around the upcoming condo, usually accompanied by a smiling, dressed-up teenage model, who also strikes a pose by the swimming pool. I have never teenage girls buying luxury condominiums and I hope the readers do not confuse such properties with our Continue reading

S’pore property picking up

New mega projects, government support to help revive sector

The property market in Singapore is showing signs of recovery after the global financial meltdown and analysts as well as developers are optimistic this uptrend will continue, especially with the government’s strong support.

The latest CB Richard Ellis Market View Report showed that property transactions in the republic peaked to about S$54bil in 2007.

It tumbled by about 66% to S$18bil in 2008 – impacted by the global financial crisis – before plummeting to insignificant levels of transactions in the first quarter this year.

However, the report also indicated that the property sector may have bottomed out, going by the investment transactions worth several billion dollars in the second quarter compared with the first quarter.

The report also showed that the pace of rental drop had eased as stability in the market returned, especially in office space, while pent-up demand for residential sector was seen in the mass market, mid-tier and prime segments.

There was also a significant increase in the volume of resale homes and sub-sales in the secondary market of the residential sector.

But the industrial sector remained sluggish with a slow rate of decline in rental and capital appreciation.

The retail sector showed new supply and new concepts that spelt an exciting era for businesses.

Raffles Quay Asset Management Pte Ltd (RQAM) general manager Wilson Kwong said the company was seeing some early signs of recovery in the property sector and the momentum should improve going into 2010. Continue reading