Average prices for Singapore private homes jumped 3.1% according to the URA
At the top of today’s headlines, Singapore’s housing market is back into bull mode with prices of private homes rising 3.1 percent in the first three months of the year. In another bit of Lion City-driven news, a unit of Singapore’s Keppel Land has sailed away from a luxury yachting and condo project in southern China’s Zhongshan, while over in Shenzhen, developer Shimao Group has started construction on a skyscraper slated to be China’s loftiest. Also in the headlines, e-commerce titan JD.com has reached a deal to build a sprawling regional headquarters in Hainan province. And the global pullback of Chinese property investors is leaving Los Angeles high and dry, so keep reading for more details.
Singapore Private Home Prices Jump 3.1% in Q1
Continuing an upward trend in the property market, private home prices in Singapore rose 3.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, according to flash estimates released on Monday (Apr 2) by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
The rise is compared to the 0.8 per cent increase in the previous quarter. Overall, the private residential property index increased 4.3 points from 138.7 points in 4th quarter 2017 to 143.0 points in 1st quarter 2018. Read more>>
Keppel Completes Sale of Zhongshan Marina Project for $462M
Keppel Corporation said before Monday trading hours it has completed substantially the divestment of an indirect stake in Sunsea Yacht Club (Zhongshan) Co held by a subsidiary of the conglomerate’s property arm. Sunsea owns Keppel Cove, a residential cum marina development on Modao Island, Zhongshan City of China.
Keppel Land China has received about RMB 2.87 billion (S$597.5 million) towards the sale of its wholly owned Keppel China Marina Holdings, which owns an indirect 80 per cent effective stake in Sunsea Yacht Club (Zhongshan) Co. The amount received by Keppel Land China represents the entire consideration agreed with the buyer, Delight Prime, back in October 2017. Keppel Land China is expected to receive on Monday a further amount of about S$7 million. Read more>>
JD.com Eyes 400,000 SQM Regional HQ in Hainan
China’s second-biggest e-commerce operator JD.Com Inc. is setting up a RMB 2 billion ($319 million) regional headquarters in the country’s southern island province of Hainan as it looks to adopt new logistics models, such as drone deliveries and staffless warehousing, after rapidly expanding in the area over the last two years.
The Beijing-based firm penned a deal with Chengmai county government yesterday, local newspaper Hainan Daily reported. The new premises will be built in the Jinma Logistics Center and span 400,000 square meters, housing areas for big businesses, smart package sorting, staffless warehousing and order generation. Read more>>
Singapore JV Buys Cairnhill Heights Condo for $55M
A joint venture between construction and engineering firm Tiong Seng Holdings and civil engineering company Ocean Sky International has agreed to acquire Cairnhill Heights condominium for S$72.6 million ($55.4 million), less than the sellers’ initial asking price of more than S$80 million.
Tiong Seng holds a 60 percent stake in the joint venture company TSky Development, while Ocean Sky holds the remainder. TSky had earlier acquired Sloane Court Hotel and a small adjoining parcel in Balmoral Road last year for S$80.5 million. It is developing a 12-storey, 80-unit condominium on the land. Read more>>
Country Garden Tops Chinese Builders with $30B in Q1 Sales
China’s “big three” developers continued to dominate the country’s home sales in the first quarter, according to a leading industry ranking. But their sales momentum slowed considerably. Country Garden, China’s largest developer in terms of 2017 sales value, continued to lead the market with RMB 187.8 billion ($29.9 billion) worth in the first three months, a 29.3 percent rise on a year ago.
China Evergrande Group ranked second with RMB 161.8 billion in sales, 51.4 percent more than a year ago and the fastest growing of the three. China Vanke ranked third, with its sales worth RMB 152 billion, growing just 1.6 percent on-year, compared with a 98.9 per cent growth in the first quarter of 2017. Read more>>
Chinese Investors Retreat from LA Property
Last year, Chinese investors interested in buying or developing property in Southern California peppered World Trade Center Los Angeles officials with questions about how best to break into the market. What’s the difference between city governments and county governments, they might ask. Or, are tax incentives for hotel builders better in Los Angeles or Santa Monica?
But daily questions such as those have nearly ceased as China’s feared pullback from overseas investments has been borne out. Stephen Cheung, president of the nonprofit agency that promotes international trade and business, said the agency is now getting about one request a month for guidance. Read more>>
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