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Investing

Singapore: Jalan Merbok site offered for senior living, bids by 6 November

A 94,907 sq ft plot at Jalan Merbok with a fresh 103-year lease is for sale by expression of interest, with senior living and care named as the preferred uses.

10 min read
New developments

Singapore: Lucerne Grand 61% sold as The Serra Residences previews

City Developments sold 350 of 570 units at Lucerne Grand on its launch weekend, while Far East Organization opened the preview of a freehold Novena tower on land held since 2010.

10 min read
Agents

How to become and stay a registered property agent in Singapore

From the RES course and examination to registration, yearly training and the Currency Requirement that starts in 2027: the full path of a Singapore property salesperson.

19 min read
Fraud prevention

Rental scams in Singapore: how fake property agent listings work

How scammers in Singapore pose as registered property agents on rental listings, the warning signs the regulator lists, and the checks it and the police recommend before any payment.

19 min read
Rentals

Renting out a home in Singapore: HDB and private property rules

Who may let an HDB flat or its bedrooms, the three-month minimum stay in private homes, and the occupancy caps, including the eight-person relaxation and its two published end dates.

20 min read
Settlement & closing

Singapore resale private homes: from option to purchase to completion

How a resale private home changes hands in Singapore: what the option to purchase grants, how it is exercised, who holds the deposit and what completion day requires.

19 min read
Investing

Singapore shophouse sales rise to 21 in the third quarter as value falls

Huttons Asia counts 21 shophouse deals worth S$157.7 million in the third quarter of 2026: more sales than in the second quarter, less money, and rents that did not move.

10 min read
Finance & lending

How much can you borrow for a home in the UAE, and what Dubai charges

The Central Bank of the UAE caps a home loan by property value, by income and by term. This guide sets out each limit, then how a mortgage is registered and enforced in Dubai.

19 min read
Finance & lending

US 30-year mortgage rate climbs to 7.40%, a fourth weekly rise

Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.40% on 8 October 2026, up from 7.28% a week earlier and 6.30% a year ago. What moved, and who feels it.

10 min read
Finance & lending

US buyers turn to adjustable-rate mortgages as fixed rates pass 7%

ICE's October 2026 Mortgage Monitor, reported by Inman, puts adjustable-rate loans at nearly 11% of US rate locks and the typical payment at 31.7% of income.

9 min read
Agencies

USA: eXp parent AGNT names Leo Pareja chief executive at eXpcon

Glenn Sanford has handed the top job at eXp Realty's parent to Leo Pareja. The same convention brought a mortgage venture, a pay-at-close programme and a showing marketplace.

10 min read
Digital settlement

How eClosings, eNotes and remote notarisation work in the United States

What Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require before a United States mortgage can be signed, notarised and stored electronically, and why the sources count the states differently.

18 min read
AI

USA: eXp lets agents connect their own AI assistants to its data

eXp Realty unveiled an 'MCP First, AI of Choice' strategy at its convention in Salt Lake City, Inman reports. What was announced, how it works and what stays open.

10 min read
Regulation

US Fair Housing Act: what it bans, who is exempt, how to complain

A plain guide to the federal Fair Housing Act in the United States: the seven protected characteristics, the conduct it bans, the narrow exemptions and the complaint deadlines.

20 min read
Finance & lending

US: FHA makes new appraisal format optional as Fannie, Freddie bend

The FHA now accepts appraisals in the redesigned UAD 3.6 format without requiring it, days after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offered lenders a one-time delay into 2027.

11 min read
Foreign buyers

USA: FHA home loans to non-permanent residents fall to near zero

ICE data reported by HousingWire show non-permanent residents went from 5.8% of FHA purchase loans to about 0.1% after HUD's 2025 residency rule.

10 min read
Fraud prevention

Is FinCEN's all-cash home purchase rule in force in the United States?

A federal court vacated FinCEN's Residential Real Estate Rule on 19 March 2026 and an appeal is under way. What the rule required, and how buyers guard a closing wire.

19 min read
Auctions

US: Freddie Mac auctions 1,968 delinquent loans, Fannie Mae opens bids

Freddie Mac named the winners of a US$428 million auction of deeply delinquent mortgages on 8 October, the day Fannie Mae put about 1,244 more loans up for bids.

10 min read
Tax & duty

US home sale exclusion: the US$250,000 limit and its three tests

How the federal exclusion of gain on a main home works in the United States: the two limits, the ownership, residence and look-back tests, partial exclusions and the gain itself.

19 min read
Regulation

United States: HUD opens Fair Housing Act probe into Wells Fargo scheme

The US housing department says it is investigating whether a Wells Fargo programme to raise Black homeownership breaches the Fair Housing Act. No finding has been made.

10 min read