S’pore getting more expensive for expats: Mercer survey

S’pore getting more expensive for expats: Mercer survey
 
It moves up a spot in two categories - to No. 5 in Asia and No. 13 in the world
 
By Francis Chan
 
SINGAPORE is now the fifth most expensive Asian city for expatriates, up a notch from an earlier survey, human resources consultancy Mercer said yesterday.
 
The annual [...]

Where else can you buy your home in 5 years?

COST OF LIVING: SHELTER
 
Where else can you buy your home in 5 years?
 
I REFER to Tuesday’s letter by Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, ‘Singapore not necessarily costlier than Sweden”.
 
I too was surprised by the claim by Ms Heng Siew Cheng that it is cheaper (and better) to [...]

Oversupply Worse than Expected?

Oversupply Worse than Expected?
 
There is a distinct possibility of lower prices with so many developmentsset to be completed at the same time
 
RECENT arguments against earlier predictions of a private housing oversupply are overblown, and cannot be further from the truth. In fact, those predicting an oversupply are probably understating their case. How bad [...]

High housing costs and office rents prompt highest levelof dissatisfaction since 2006

More pain ahead?
 
High housing costs and office rents prompt highest levelof dissatisfaction since 2006
 
INCREASINGLY frustrated by cost pressures and a shortage of places for their children at international schools, American companies foresee yet more pain ahead, including a recession back home. This, they say, will hurt their Asia operations.
 
The American Chamber of [...]

Hotel rates up while occupancy dips

Hotel rates up while occupancy dips
ADRs at 5 and 4-star hotels rise 20% and 26% from last year
 
 
IN the first five months of this year, average daily rates (ADRs) for five and four-star hotels in Singapore increased 20 per cent to $331 and 26 per cent to $234 respectively from 2007. But occupancy rates dipped [...]

Property rates here leave US execs grumpy

Property rates here leave US execs grumpy
New high of 74% unhappy with cost of housing and office leases: survey
 
AMERICAN executives’ grouses about the cost of housing and office leases here hit a new high this year, according to the latest Asean Business Outlook Survey by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Singapore.
 
In its report, [...]

Buzz on Orchard Rd as Ion rents hit $80 psf

Buzz on Orchard Rd as Ion rents hit $80 psf
Luxury retail rentals enter unfamiliar territory with new benchmark
 
(SINGAPORE) A new benchmark for retail rents on Orchard Road has been set at Ion Orchard with tenants paying a base rent of up to $80 psf per month. This is 60-80 per cent higher than the current [...]

Hotel investments in Asia likely to drop to US$3b in 2008

Hotel investments in Asia likely to drop to US$3b in 2008
 
SINGAPORE: Asia is likely to register a sharp slowdown in hotel investments across the region this year, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.
 
The hotel investment advisory company said hotel sales in Asia may drop by as much as 75 per cent, compared to last [...]

Corporate tenant demand in UK at decade low

Corporate tenant demand in UK at decade low
 
(LONDON) Tenant demand for commercial property space in the UK fell in the April-June period at the fastest quarterly rate in at least 10 years as an economic slowdown gathered pace, a key report showed yesterday.
 
According to a national survey of property professionals by the Royal Institution of [...]

UK home prices fall for first time since 2002

UK home prices fall for first time since 2002
 
(LONDON) UK house prices dropped this month from a year earlier for the first time since Rightmove plc started measuring them in 2002, as the squeeze on lending pushed up the number of unsold properties to a record.
 
The average asking price for a home fell an [...]