Daily Briefing: Prime residential rents down 3.3%; Property curbs to give developers headaches

And here are four well-paying jobs that don't require degrees.

From PropertyGuru via Yahoo!: Singapore saw prime residential rents drop 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2016 from the previous year, according to a Knight Frank report. This comes as Knight Frank’s Prime Global Rental Index fell marginally by 0.4% in 2016. The report noted that whilst rents generally declined in 2016, 10 of the 17 cities tracked in the index registered rental growth last year, up from seven in 2015.

From Bloomberg: Singapore’s recent unwinding of some property curbs, which initially appeared to boost prospects for developers, may instead be creating new problems. After regulators closed a tax loophole that allowed developers to offload apartments in bulk to institutional investors and wealthy Singaporeans, many of the city’s builders now face an unpalatable choice: discount unsold luxury homes or pay stiff penalties for missing government-mandated sales deadlines. Opting for discounts could push home prices even lower, prolonging a three-year slide in property values. The alternative could be even more costly. About 2,098 homes remain unsold in 57 projects and penalties on these could total about $647m this year, according to industry estimates based on official data.

From MoneySmart via Yahoo!: There’s a reason Singaporean kids wear such thick glasses and are more likely to be seen labouring over assessment books than frolicking at a playground. The wage gap between degree and non-degree holders is huge, which leads many to believe that if you don’t get that bachelor degree, you’re doomed to a life of poverty. But just as having a degree doesn’t shield you from earning a pittance if you choose a less-than-lucrative field to work in, not having one doesn’t have to be financial suicide if you choose jobs such as the following.