Daily Briefing: Singapore is unlikely tourist hotspot; Luxury home prices up 5.4%

And here’s the deal on the slash in condo prices.

Singapore is no longer just a stop-over point for tourists catching connecting flights to beaches in Thailand and Bali. More travelers are making the city state their final destination, in large part after ending a decades-old ban on casinos that’s helped to double the number of Chinese visitors to the country. Read more here.

Singapore recorded the eighth largest growth in luxury home prices in Knight Frank’s latest Prime Global Cities Index, with values rising 5.4 percent in Q1 2016 from a year ago. “The annual price increase signals ‘green shoots of recovery’ for the ultra-luxury segment, as high-net worth individuals see rising value proposition for Singapore luxury homes after a prolonged two-year period of price declines,” said Alice Tan, Research Head at Knight Frank Singapore. Find out more here.

Certain condo developers have reduced the prices of their unsold projects in Singapore to boost sales, garnering some 20 units each within a month of their relaunch. Some of these projects are within the prime districts of Orchard and Cairnhill. For example, prices at Ardmore Three in Ardmore Park and Starlight Suites in River Valley Close have been reduced since they first launched. Read more here.