Daily Briefing: Signs that point to economic gloom; Gov’t to increase HDB shops funding

And Singapore property developer sentiment remains bleak.

You’ve probably heard your fair share of how Singapore is going through dark times with its economy slowing down. Just to reiterate this serious matter, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in its latest analysis and assessment of macroeconomic workings that affect our economy, indicated that ‘an outright recession is unlikely’ though we all should brace ourselves for a darker gloom cloaking our economy. Read more here.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Monday (9 May) announced that it will provide bigger upgrading budget for HDB shops following the review of the Revitalisation of Shops (ROS) Scheme. Under the enhanced scheme the upgrading budget for each shop will be raised by 75 percent from S$20,000 to S$35,000 so that owners can opt for a wider scope of upgrading works. Find out more here.

Property developers in Singapore remain pessimistic over the current state of the residential market and its outlook, according to the latest NUS-Redas Real Estate Sentiment Index, reported The Business Times. The quarterly report uses a survey to collect data on respondents’ perceptions and expectations of current and future property market conditions. Read more here.