Singapore home sales drop to five-month low on tariff fears
(Bloomberg) – Singapore's new private home sales fell to a five-month low in May, as global tariff tensions weighed on demand in the trade-dependent city-state.
Developer sales dropped for a third consecutive month, with just 311 units bought last month, according to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Monday.
The outlook for the Southeast Asian financial hub has dimmed, following Donald Trump's push for tariffs and the city-state's economy contracting in the first quarter. Developers have grown more cautious, launching no major projects for sale in May – a pause that further weighed on sales figures.
A first-quarter survey of senior real estate executives found that nearly 90% viewed a global economic slowdown as a risk. Their next biggest concerns were job losses and a weakening domestic economy.
Singapore faces heightened risks of a recession due to export hits brought on by tariffs, Bloomberg Economics analyst Tamara Henderson said in a report earlier this month.
Authorities have adopted a more cautious approach, offering land that could yield 4,725 private housing units in the second half of the year – a 6% drop from the first half. Instead, they expanded the so-called reserve list, where land parcels are only triggered for tender if there's sufficient demand from developers.
The market's sluggish performance is expected to persist into June, typically a slow month due to school holidays. One project in the city's east sold fewer than 10% of its 107 freehold units during its launch weekend earlier this month.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
White House aims to fast-track key Federal Reserve pick
The White House is working over the August recess to build momentum for a key Federal Reserve nominee the administration wants in place next month. Stephen Miran, whom President Donald Trump tapped to temporarily serve on the Federal Reserve's board, has been meeting with members of the Senate Banking Committee, which will need to green-light his nomination before the full Senate can vote on confirmation. Miran met Tuesday with Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), a member of the panel, and had a call last week with Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.). Miran is scheduled to have additional meetings with senators in the coming days, with invitations for one-on-ones extended to Republican members of the Banking panel. 'The White House has been aggressively pushing Dr. Miran's nomination to the Federal Reserve Board, setting the stage for his quick confirmation when the Senate returns in September,' said a White House official Tuesday. 'With the President's strong backing, there's clear momentum to get this done.' Underscoring how big of a priority it has become for the Trump administration to seat Miran quickly, Banks said in a statement he returned to Washington Tuesday to meet with him, instead of waiting until after the Senate's current weekslong break. 'It's so important that he is confirmed before the Federal Reserve's September meeting,' said Banks. Installing Miran by this time would represent a lightning-fast confirmation process for the Senate, which is in recess until Sept. 2. Banks added that Miran has 'done a great job as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to advance President Trump's pro-working class agenda and I look forward to voting for his confirmation ASAP.' Miran, who currently serves as Trump's chief economist, was tapped to temporarily fill the vacancy created on the bank's rate-setting committee by the resignation of Gov. Adriana Kugler. If confirmed, he would hold the seat until Kugler's term expires on Jan. 31, 2026. He'll be coming up for consideration at a time when multiple Senate Republicans have publicly tried to sway Trump against firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, warning that any perception of meddling in the agency's independence would have severe consequences for the market. Trump, who has relentlessly criticized Powell and surveyed a group of Republicans last month on whether he should remove him, has nevertheless said repeatedly that he doesn't intend to fire the Fed chief, whose leadership term ends in May. Still, Miran's confirmation would give Trump a close political ally at the central bank, which is designed to be insulated from short-term political pressure — and questions about Miran's links to Trump are all but guaranteed to come up as the Senate debates the nomination. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, vowed to have 'tough questions' for Miran 'about whether he'd serve the American people as an independent voice at the Fed or merely serve Donald Trump.' Yet as long as Republicans on the panel stick together, they would be able to advance Miran's nomination over opposition from Democrats. Republicans can lose three of their own members on the floor and still let Vice President JD Vance break a tie. Miran is likely preparing for the line of inquiry. Though he haspreviously called for overhauling the structure of the Federal Reserve, he told CNBC in an interview earlier this month that "I've always been clear that the independence of the Fed is of paramount importance.' Victoria Guida contributed to this report.
Fast Company
20 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Trump's bill kills clean energy tax credits. Here's exactly how much money Big Oil gave to Republican backers
The oil industry was a major donor to Donald Trump's presidential campaign, and it's gotten a return on that investment. Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' kills clean energy incentives, gives millions of dollars in tax breaks and handouts to fossil fuel companies and executives, and mandates new oil and gas lease sales on federal land. But Trump isn't the only politician in the pocket of Big Oil. The Republican lawmakers who supported that tax bill have also taken money from the fossil fuel industry—accepting more than $105 million in donations collectively, according to a recent analysis from environmental advocacy group Climate Power. That's even as the clean energy tax credits and other incentives in Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act sent more than $200 billion to Republican districts, bolstering their economies and creating thousands of jobs. 'Why did they vote to kill manufacturing jobs in their home-state energy industries and raise utility rates on their own constituents while sending their constituents' tax dollars to oil and gas executives?' Climate Power asks in its analysis. 'The mystery isn't hard to solve,' it continues. 'These Republicans in Congress are caught red-handed taking massive donations from the oil and gas industry, and voting to give them billions and to destroy their competition from their own state's clean energy industries.' All but two Republican House members and three Republican Senators voted to pass Trump's budget bill. The Climate Power report, which was first published in the Guardian, tallied up how much those supporters have received in donations from the fossil fuel industry over their entire careers. Republican House members have accepted $54.4 million, the Guardian reports, and Republican senators $51.5 million. More than $3 million from the oil industry has specifically gone to 15 Republicans whose states have major renewable energy sectors. These 15 lawmakers all backed Trump's budget bill—risking nearly 112,000 clean energy jobs in their states. Michigan, for example, is a hub for the battery sector, which was heavily supported by the Inflation Reduction Act. Representative Bill Huizenga has taken more than $200,000 in oil and gas contributions. In Arizona, a prominent state for solar power, three representatives—David Schweikert, Eli Crane, and Juan Ciscomani—have collectively accepted more than $500,000 in donations from oil and gas companies. In Iowa, more than 60% of the state's electricity came from wind energy in 2024. Wind is an industry that Trump has had particular ire for. And Iowa Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meek and Zach Nunn have accepted about $230,000 and $130,000 in oil and gas contributions, respectively. Big Oil has been lobbying politicians for decades, but the industry has found a prominent supporter in Trump. While campaigning for his second run at the presidency, he invited oil and gas executives to his Mar-A-Lago estate, promising them benefits if they donated $1 billion to his efforts. Though Trump ultimately didn't receive that massive total, the oil and gas industry did still give: In the last election cycle alone, the industry spent $445 million to influence both Trump and Congress members, a previous Climate Power analysis found. Since regaining control of the White House in January, Trump has led a uniquely damaging assault on the planet, giving free reign to polluters, rolling back dozens of environmental regulations, and freezing billions in funding to support clean technologies like solar farms and EV chargers.
Bloomberg
21 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Mexico to Propose Joint Steel Committee With US to Bolster Ties
Mexico will propose reinstating a North American steel committee to improve trade ties with the US and reduce reliance on Asian steel imports, according to a top trade official. As part of its negotiations with the US over steel tariffs, Mexico plans to float the idea of bringing back a committee comprising steel companies in both Mexico and the US, as well as government trade officials from both nations, said Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez Romano, Mexico's deputy economy minister for trade. While negotiations have focused on the bilateral relationship, the committee proposal envisions including Canada down the line.
