Posts

Showing posts from April, 2013

44 Novena Regency units snapped up

The Business Times  |  April 22 , 2013 Mix of residential, retail units a draw due to freehold tenure and location Buyers snapped up 44 residential and retail units at Novena Regency within a week of its launch last week. The mixed development by Fragrance Realty - a subsidiary of the Fragrance Group - released 72 units on April 13. Its freehold tenure and city fringe location along Thomson Road are the most attractive features of the property, as it will sit on the current Novena Ville site. The 45 shop units are priced from $7,000 per square foot (psf), while the 55 residential units start at $2,300 psf. Among the residential units, there are 43 apartments (one-, two- and three-bedroom units) and 12 penthouses (two-, three- and four-bedroom units). Fragrance Group executive chairman and chief executive Koh Wee Meng said: "We are fairly confident that buyers will be attracted to its location - an exclusive private estate enclave within the No

Shunfu walkway saga set to drag on

The Straits Times  |  April 21, 2013 Talks fail to kick off as invited residents of privatised estate fail to turn up The saga over a 20m walkway separating two estates looks set to drag on for at least several more months, as talks between the two failed to even kick off yesterday. Elderly Thomson Garden residents used the path as a short cut to a bus stop, Shunfu market, kindergarten and Marymount MRT station. But that all stopped last Thursday, when the newly privatised Shunfu Ville fenced up its area. This outraged some Thomson Garden residents who had been using the pathway for years and now have to take a 500m detour. Yesterday some 110 met their new MP, Minister of State for Finance and Transport Josephine Teo, for a closed-door dialogue on the matter. Its neighbourhood committee chairman Eugene Lee said invitations were sent to some Shunfu Ville residents as well - but none turned up. Mr Lee said he also sent out three proposals to some Shunfu Ville resi

HK home prices fall on govt price curbs

The Business Times  |  April 20, 2013 Dip is the sharpest in three years; drop of 1.41 per cent in the week ended April 14 is fourth straight weekly decline [HONG KONG] HOME prices in Hong Kong fell the most in almost three years after the government imposed its harshest measures yet to curb prices and as the city's lenders raised mortgage rates for the first time since 2011. Prices fell 1.41 per cent in the week ended April 14, the fourth straight weekly decline, according to an index compiled by Centaline Property Agency Ltd, Hong Kong's biggest closely held realtor. It was the biggest drop since May 2010, the company said in a statement. Before February's measures, a housing shortage, low mortgage costs and buying by mainland Chinese helped prices more than double since the start of 2009 even as policymakers attempted to rein in gains amid an outcry over affordability. The government on Feb 22 doubled the stamp duty on all property tr

Mall upgrades boost CapitaMall Trust's Q1 rental earnings

The Straits Times  |  April 20, 2013 Renovations and upgrading works at three malls boosted rental returns and helped push up earnings at CapitaMall Trust (CMT) in the first quarter. Gross revenue grew 14.8 per cent from $155.2 million last year to $178.2 million, while net property income was up 15.5 per cent at $125.1 million for the three months to March 31. Its distributable income came in at $85.3 million, up 11.3 per cent on the $76.6 million recorded in the same period last year. First-quarter distribution per unit (DPU) rose 7 per cent to 2.46 cents from the same period last year. CMT reported that its annualised distribution yield was 4.42 per cent based on its closing price of $2.26 per unit yesterday. Unit-holders can expect to receive their DPU on May 30, said the real estate investment trust. CapitaMall Trust Management chairman Danny Teoh said the refurbishments at JCube, Bugis+ and The Atrium@Orchard boosted the first-quarte

Higher office rents add shine to CCT's bottom line

The Straits Times  |  April 20, 2013 Higher interest income, lower interest expense also lift Q1 results Higher rents from its office buildings and an increase in interest income helped Capita-Commercial Trust (CCT) improve its numbers for the first quarter. Distribution income for the three months to March 31 increased 3.3 per cent from a year earlier to $55.7 million. The trust's distribution per unit for the quarter was 1.96 cents, up 3.2 per cent from a year earlier. CCT said the better results were mainly due to higher contributions from Twenty Anson, which was acquired in March last year, and higher rents from HSBC Building, collected from the end of April last year. An increase in interest income from shareholder loans and lower interest expenses also helped lift distribution income. Net property income for the quarter increased 7.1 per cent to $74.9 million. CCT management chairman Kee Teck Koon said: "CCT's office p