News At A Glance

On July 14, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced it would re-centre the mid-point of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate policy band to help slow the momentum of inflation and ensure medium-term price stability. MAS expected core inflation to come in between 3.0% and 4.0%, up from the earlier forecast range of 2.5% to 3.5%. However, data released on July 25 showed that Singapore’s annual inflation rate rose the highest since September 2008 to 6.7% in June 2022, leaping from 5.6% in May, as prices of food, transport, housing and clothing surg...

Income At Raffles has been bought over by Singapore-based Bright Ruby Resources. Located at 16 Collyer Quay, the 37-storey, 999-year leasehold office asset was sold by Mercatus, the real estate arm of NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative, in late-June. According to sources, the purchase price of around S$1 billion translates to S$3,617 psf of the net lettable area (NLA). Income At Raffles’ NLA comprises 253,664 sq ft of offices and 22,787 sq ft of retail space (on Levels 1 and 2). The building also has 148 car parking lots in the basement levels. Its existing gross floor area (GFA) of 415,4...

On 6 June 2022, URA launched “Spaces for Our Dreams” exhibition to showcase the planning concepts, strategies and proposals to guide Singapore’s long-term development over the next 50 years. Held at The URA Centre Atrium, this exhibition is open to the public for viewing and feedback until 4 August 2022. Since the first Concept Plan in 1971, Singapore’s long-term plans are reviewed every 10 years to safeguard land for a quality living environment based on evolving trends and changing needs. In this latest Long-Term Plan Review, the planning concepts and strategies that will shape Singapor...

Effective from May 9, 2022, Additional Buyers Stamp Duties (ABSD) of 35% will be imposed on any transfer of a home into a living trust and is payable upfront. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance said, “ABSD (Trust) addresses and closes the earlier gap in the ABSD regime, by applying ABSD on transfers of residential property into living trusts, even when there is no identifiable beneficial owner.” In summary, this will prevent buyers from using trusts to acquire properties while delaying the payment of ABSD for a long time. Parents using trusts to buy private homes for their ch...

As at April 5, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has received 12 outline applications under the CBD Incentive Scheme (CBDI). Eight of these have been given in-principle approval. Meanwhile, URA has given in-principle approval for four outline applications under the Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) Scheme. The names of the buildings have not been disclosed due to confidentiality reasons. Industry players whom  The Business Times  spoke to revealed that the buildings that have received in-principle approval under the CBDI include 80 Anson Road (formerly Fuji Xerox Towers, 345,000...

Property investment activity is expected to pick up further this year as Singapore re-opens and the economy gets back on its feet. Singapore remains an appealing destination in the Asia-Pacific for investors given its safe haven status and pro-business environment. While interest rates are heading north as central banks seek to subdue inflation, industry players are of the view that the office sector will shine as the growth in rents could outstrip higher funding costs. Moreover, the latest cooling measures – which were introduced to rein in the exuberance in the residential market...

On April 12, 2022, the Government announced that a new housing development comprising 9,000 residential units – about 6,000 public housing flats and about 3,000 private residential units – will be developed on the 48-hectare site of Keppel Club on Singapore’s southern waterfront. The first build-to-order (BTO) HDB flats on the site are slated to launch within 3 years; the remaining units are scheduled for launch in the next 3 to 5 years, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). According to the Housing Development Board (HDB), whether these flats will come under the...

In view of the wide-ranging recovery in most segments of Singapore’s property market in the past 6 months, the government has raised development charge (DC) rates for the landed and non-landed residential, commercial and industrial use groups in its latest biannual revision exercise.  The Ministry of National Development has raised DC rates for the landed residential use group by an average of 4.8% and those for non-landed residential use by an average of 0.3% for the March 1-August 31 period this year. The biggest hike of 10% for landed residential use applies to Sector 67 (which in...

On 15 March 2022, URA announced that commercial developments as well as the commercial components of mixed-use developments located in prominent areas and routes in Singapore’s Central Area are no longer allowed to be subdivided into individual units. In the case of existing developments that are strata subdivided, the restriction will apply to future redevelopment. For all other developments, the new rule takes effect immediately. The guidelines apply to locations such as Orchard Road, Tanglin Road, Scotts Road (Orchard Road corridor), Shenton Way, Robinson Road, Anson Road, Raffle...

Measures to curb wealth inequality can range from levying taxes on business, capital gains, inheritance and property, as well as schemes to help the less well-off own their homes and invest to build retirement nest eggs. Private-home owners here pay recurrent property taxes as well as stamp duties on transactions that include buyer’s stamp duty (BSD) and additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD). The property cooling measures do not stop rich locals or foreigners from buying multiple homes here so long as they are willing to pay the high transaction costs. No cap applies to th...