News At A Glance

Private home sales hit a high in August with more than 1,256 new homes sold, amid the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the data released by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), sales increased 16.3 per cent compared to a month ago, extending the growth in volume into a fourth straight month. In comparison to last year, the number of units sold was up 11.9% year-on-year.   New home sales have been rising after the circuit breaker period. This is the highest monthly sales in the first 8 months of 2020 – aided by the momentum which started in July and several factors such as so...

The latest revision of development charge (DC) rates were released for the next half-year period. DC is a tax levied when planning permission is granted by the government to allow developer to build a bigger project on a site or to enhance the use of the site. On average, DC rates have declined by 3.6 per cent for commercial use, 0.8 per cent for non-landed residential use, 7.8 per cent for hotel/hospital use and 0.9 per cent for industrial use. Hotels and commercial property, having been most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, are the use groups with the largest cuts in DC ra...

The Singapore government has announced a further S$8 billion to support the economy and businesses in view of Covid-19. This amount will be funded by transferring monies from other areas, such as development expenditures delayed due to the pandemic. The government will not be drawing on past reserves for this round of support. Under the Job Support Scheme (JSS), the government co-funded 25-75% of the first S$4,600 of gross monthly salaries until end August. With the deterioration in the economy, the JSS will be extended until end March 2021 albeit with a smaller level of subsidies. T...

The much-delayed Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link project was finalised on 30 July. The cross-border project first announced in 2010 will be operated by a joint venture operating company between Singapore’s SMRT Corporation and Malaysia’s Prasarana RTS Operations. The 4km link connecting Woodlands North station on the Singapore’s Thomson-East Coast MRT line to a planned terminal at Bukit Chagar, Johor Bahru is expected to serve about 10,000 commuters at peak periods, every hour. It will feature co-location of customs, im...

Family offices planning to rebalance their portfolios would turn to real estate, which offers stable cash flows, tax breaks and leverage opportunities. The weaker property prices in the wake of the Covid-19 situation have created opportunities for investors with long-term outlook.  According to UBS Global Family Office Report 2020, almost half the 121 family offices surveyed are looking to increase their allocation in real estate. Singapore saw 998 new private homes sales in June, 105 percent increase from the previous month due to pent-up demand and an increase in for...

Indonesia saw its GNI per capita rise to US$4,050 (S$5,648) last year, surpassing the income threshold for upper-middle income, from US$3,840 in 2018. According to the World Bank’s latest country classifications by income level, Indonesia is now officially an upper-middle income country, an upgrade from its previous status as lower-middle income. Upper-middle income status categorises countries with a GNI per capita of US$4,046 to US$12,535. The classifications are based on gross national income (GNI) per capita. The World Bank uses the indicator to decide whether a country may...

Singapore moved into the second phase of re-opening in June, last month.  Construction has nearly stopped altogether when the circuit breaker measures come into place, shrinking 95.6% q-o-q according to the advance forecast from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Even though construction activities are picking up, delays continue as manpower issues remain a challenge. Border restrictions impeded the possibility of getting new foreign workers into Singapore, adding to the manpower crunch. Contractors have to implement health and safety measures before getting more workers on sit...

The Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for the second half of 2020 comprises three Confirmed List sites and nine Reserve List sites. These sites can yield about 6,670 private residential units, 101,500 sqm gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space and 1,070 hotel rooms. Taking into consideration the economic contraction and uncertain business outlook caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the supply of private residential units on the Confirmed List was reduced. There will also not be any new sites for predominantly commercial or hotel use in the GLS Programme for H2 2020. A good selection...

Singapore retained its top spot as world’s most competitive economy in the latest Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking. Its win came on the back of its strong economic performance which stems from the country’s robust international trade and investment, availability of skilled labour force and labour market measures. Apart from the relative ease of setting up business, other key strengths include its stable performances in both the education system and technological infrastructure – comprising telecommunications, Internet bandwidth spe...

Since the pandemic struck, there were much changes as developers adjust to the market conditions. Sales have stalled with show galleries shuttered on 7 April 2020 when the circuit breaker measures set in. Developers have turned to technology from digital marketing to virtual viewing and tele-commuting to engage with prospective buyers. Some developers are offering discounts ranging from a meagre S$3,000 for a one-bedroom unit at Treasure at Tampines to S$100,000 for a strata terrace house at Riverfront Residences. For projects such as Starlight Suites that are already completed and hav...