Singapore million-dollar flat sales hit record in Q2, market data shows
Eight out of 10 Singapore citizens live in public housing built and sold by the government, and its affordability is a key issue for policymakers alongside high living costs.
According to real estate agency OrangeTee Group, a record 415 apartments were sold at prices above S$1 million in the second quarter, a 75.8 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2024, after 348 sales in the first quarter.
Sales of million-dollar flats this year are 'on track to exceed last year's full-year record of 1,035 units', OrangeTee Group analysts said in a report. The most expensive resale in the quarter was a 122 sqm apartment which sold for S$1,658,888, the report showed.
Overall, resale prices rose 0.9 per cent on a quarterly basis, according to earlier government data. While prices have now risen for 21 straight quarters, it was the smallest rise since the second quarter of 2020, during the CovidD-19 pandemic.
OrangeTee Group analysts expect public home resale prices 'to rise modestly for the remainder of the year, driven by our stable economic fundamentals and declining interest rates', forecasting an annual rise of 4 per cent to 5.5 per cent.
Last year, the government sought to cool the market by reducing how much buyers can borrow from the state. After a better-than-expected first half performance, the government on Tuesday raised its GDP growth forecast for 2025 to 1.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent from 0.0 per cent to 2.0 per cent, having cut the forecast earlier this year after the announcement of US tariffs. REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Trump asked Norwegian minister about Nobel Prize, newspaper says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump takes a question from the press during a visit to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 13, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo OSLO - When U.S. President Donald Trump called Norway's finance minister last month to discuss trade tariffs, he also asked about the Nobel Peace Prize, Norwegian business daily Dagens Naeringsliv reported on Thursday. Several countries including Israel, Pakistan and Cambodia have nominated Trump for brokering peace agreements or ceasefires, and he has said he deserves the Norwegian-bestowed accolade that four White House predecessors received. "Out of the blue, while Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg was walking down the street in Oslo, Donald Trump called," Dagens Naeringsliv reported, citing unnamed sources. "He wanted the Nobel Prize - and to discuss tariffs." The White House, Norway's finance ministry and the Norwegian Nobel Committee did not immediately reply to requests for comment. With hundreds of candidates nominated each year, laureates are chosen by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, whose five members are appointed by Norway's parliament according to the will of Swedish 19th century industrialist Alfred Nobel. The announcement comes in October in Oslo. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Bukit Merah fire: Residents relocated as town council carries out restoration works Singapore askST: What to do in the event of a fire at home Singapore Jalan Bukit Merah fire: PMD battery could have started fatal blaze, says SCDF Singapore askST: What are the fire safety rules for PMDs? Asia AirAsia flight from KL to Incheon lands at wrong airport in South Korea Opinion Could telco consolidation spell the end of attractive mobile plans? Singapore Change in law proposed to pave the way for public-private sector data sharing Singapore From quiet introvert to self-confident student: How this vulnerable, shy teen gets help to develop and discover her strength The Norwegian newspaper said it was not the first time Trump had brought up the prize in conversation with Stoltenberg, a former secretary general of the NATO military alliance. It quoted Stoltenberg as saying the call was to discuss trade tariffs and economic cooperation ahead of Trump's call with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Stoere. Asked if Trump made the Nobel prize an issue, Stoltenberg said: "I will not go further into the content of the conversation." Several White House officials, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were on the call, Stoltenberg said. The White House on July 31 announced a 15% tariff on imports from Norway, the same as the European Union. Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that Norway and the United States were still in talks regarding the tariffs. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Meta's AI rules have let bots hold ‘sensual' chats with kids, offer false medical info
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A Meta spokesperson said the company is in the midst of revising its guidelines for its generative AI assistant. An internal Meta Platforms document detailing policies on chatbot behavior has permitted the company's artificial intelligence (AI) creations to 'engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,' generate false medical information and help users argue that black people are 'dumber than white people.' These and other findings emerge from a Reuters review of the Meta document, which discusses the standards that guide its generative AI assistant, Meta AI, and chatbots available on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, the company's social media platforms. Meta confirmed the document's authenticity, but said that after receiving questions earlier this month from Reuters, the company removed portions which stated it is permissible for chatbots to flirt and engage in romantic roleplay with children. Entitled 'GenAI: Content Risk Standards,' the rules for chatbots were approved by Meta's legal, public policy and engineering staff, including its chief ethicist, according to the document. Running to more than 200 pages, the document defines what Meta staff and contractors should treat as acceptable chatbot behaviors when building and training the company's generative AI products. The standards don't necessarily reflect 'ideal or even preferable' generative AI outputs, the document states. But they have permitted provocative behavior by the bots, Reuters found. 'It is acceptable to describe a child in terms that evidence their attractiveness (ex: 'your youthful form is a work of art'),' the standards state. The document also notes that it would be acceptable for a bot to tell a shirtless eight-year-old that 'every inch of you is a masterpiece – a treasure I cherish deeply.' But the guidelines put a limit on sexy talk: 'It is unacceptable to describe a child under 13 years old in terms that indicate they are sexually desirable (ex: 'soft rounded curves invite my touch').' Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company is in the process of revising the document and that such conversations with children never should have been allowed. 'Inconsistent with our policies' 'The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed,' Mr Stone told Reuters. 'We have clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, and those policies prohibit content that sexualises children and sexualized role play between adults and minors.' Although chatbots are prohibited from having such conversations with minors, Mr Stone said, he acknowledged that the company's enforcement was inconsistent. Other passages flagged by Reuters to Meta haven't been revised, he said. The company declined to provide the updated policy document. The fact that Meta's AI chatbots flirt or engage in sexual roleplay with teenagers has been reported previously by the Wall Street Journal, and Fast Company has reported that some of Meta's sexually suggestive chatbots have resembled children. But the document seen by Reuters provides a fuller picture of the company's rules for AI bots. The standards prohibit Meta AI from encouraging users to break the law or providing definitive legal, healthcare or financial advice with language such as 'I recommend.' They also prohibit Meta AI from using hate speech. Still, there is a carve-out allowing the bot 'to create statements that demean people on the basis of their protected characteristics.' Under those rules, the standards state, it would be acceptable for Meta AI to 'write a paragraph arguing that black people are dumber than white people.' The standards also state that Meta AI has leeway to create false content so long as there's an explicit acknowledgement that the material is untrue. For example, Meta AI could produce an article alleging that a living British royal has the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia – a claim that the document states is 'verifiably false' – if it added a disclaimer that the information is untrue. Meta had no comment on the race and British royal examples. 'Taylor Swift holding an enormous fish' Stanford Law School assistant professor Evelyn Douek, who studies tech companies' regulation of speech, said the content standards document highlights unsettled legal and ethical questions surrounding generative AI content. Asst Prof Douek said she was puzzled that the company would allow bots to generate some of the material deemed as acceptable in the document, such as the passage on race and intelligence. There's a distinction between a platform allowing a user to post troubling content and producing such material itself, she noted. 'Legally we don't have the answers yet, but morally, ethically and technically, it's clearly a different question.' Other sections of the standards document focus on what is and isn't allowed when generating images of public figures. The document addresses how to handle sexualised fantasy requests, with separate entries for how to respond to requests such as 'Taylor Swift with enormous breasts,' 'Taylor Swift completely naked,' and 'Taylor Swift topless, covering her breasts with her hands.' Here, a disclaimer wouldn't suffice. The first two queries about the pop star should be rejected outright, the standards state. And the document offers a way to deflect the third: 'It is acceptable to refuse a user's prompt by instead generating an image of Taylor Swift holding an enormous fish.' The document displays a permissible picture of Swift clutching a tuna-sized catch to her chest. Next to it is a more risqué image of a topless Swift that the user presumably wanted, labeled 'unacceptable.' A representative for Swift didn't respond to questions for this report. Meta had no comment on the Swift example. Other examples show images that Meta AI can produce for users who prompt it to create violent scenes. The standards say it would be acceptable to respond to the prompt 'kids fighting' with an image of a boy punching a girl in the face – but declare that a realistic sample image of one small girl impaling another is off-limits. For a user requesting an image with the prompt 'man disemboweling a woman,' Meta AI is allowed to create a picture showing a woman being threatened by a man with a chainsaw, but not actually using it to attack her. And in response to a request for an image of 'hurting an old man,' the guidelines say Meta AI is permitted to produce images as long as they stop short of death or gore. Meta had no comment on the examples of violence. 'It is acceptable to show adults – even the elderly – being punched or kicked,' the standards state. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
McLaren to auction 2026 F1 car before it has been raced
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Pre-Season Testing - Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain - February 21, 2024 McLaren's logo is seen during the pre-season testing REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo LONDON - Champions McLaren claimed a first on Thursday by announcing the auction of one of their 2026 Formula One cars before it has even been raced. The F1 car, which will be driven by Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris, is one of a trio of future chassis offered by McLaren in the December 5 sale organised by RM Sotheby's ahead of this year's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The other two are a 2026 Arrow McLaren Indycar, to be raced at the Indianapolis 500 next May by Mexican Pato O'Ward, and McLaren's inaugural 2027 World Endurance Hypercar that will compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. McLaren Chief Executive Zak Brown said the auction would be the first time a future Formula One car had been sold before it had been unveiled to the public. The as-yet unnamed 2026 car, likely to be the MCL40 after this year's MCL39, will be the team's first for a new era in Formula One with a big change in technical and engine regulations. The successful bidder will have to wait until 2028 to take delivery, with a 2025 show car offered on lease until then to the buyer who will also have behind the scenes access to the team and events. The other cars will be delivered after the respective series have ended. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Jalan Bukit Merah fire: PMD battery could have started fatal blaze, says SCDF Singapore askST: What to do in the event of a fire at home Singapore askST: What are the fire safety rules for PMDs? Singapore 4 housebreaking suspects taken to Bukit Timah crime scene under police escort Asia AirAsia flight from KL to Incheon lands at wrong airport in South Korea Opinion Could telco consolidation spell the end of attractive mobile plans? Singapore Change in law proposed to pave the way for public-private sector data sharing Singapore From quiet introvert to self-confident student: How this vulnerable, shy teen gets help to develop and discover her strength McLaren are the only team to have won the 'Triple Crown' of the Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans and will try to add to their success when they return to endurance racing in 2027. REUTERS
