City & Country revisits the quarter’s biggest headlines and headliners. Here are our picks for the Movers & Shakers of the real estate industry in 1Q2026:
Rayne Chua left Keller Williams (KW) Singapore in February to join ERA Singapore with some 80 agents under her. The former top earner at PropNex has added nearly 20 agents to her division since joining ERA.
Private investor Cheong Sim Lam, son of the late real estate tycoon Cheong Eak Chong, acquired the two-storey standalone retail mall Holland Piazza from Eng Tiong Realty for $100 million. Announced in March, the deal marked the first change of ownership for the property in more than five decades. The Cheong family owns Mainboard-listed property group Hong Fok Corporation.
See also: Movers & Shakers 1Q2026
Tony Lombardo, currently group CEO of Australian developer Lendlease, will move to Frasers Property as group chief operating officer on Oct 1, with a focus on investment activities via Frasers Property Capital.
A new face at the groundbreaking ceremony of the upcoming Ascott Shenton Way Singapore in January, Tong Yan, managing director of building owner-developer New Vision, is the wife of steel magnate You Zhenhua. You holds controlling interests in Green Esteel and Singapore-listed HG Metal Manufacturing and BRC Asia.
See also: Challenging year ahead? Fengshui consultant Joey Yap’s advice for 2026
Amid speculation of a merger between CapitaLand Investment and the unlisted Mapletree Investments, respective chiefs Lee Chee Koon and Hiew Yoon Khong have stayed mum.
Speaking at a results briefing on Feb 11, Lee said: “It’s like dating. Sometimes you get married in a month, sometimes you take a few years, and sometimes when you are almost going to get married, you decide that you cannot [proceed].”
Meanwhile, Hiew declined to comment when City & Country asked the same question in January.
Some in the real estate industry had expected law minister Edwin Tong to unveil new measures to lower the en bloc consent threshold in his speech at the REDAS Spring Festival on Feb 27, but he instead mentioned recent enhancements to the Land Betterment Charge system, a pilot for a digitalisation scheme and potentially longer tenures for state properties.
See also: Fengshui consultant Joey Yap’s outlook for 2026: Year of the Fire Horse
Malaysia-born fengshui master Joey Yap gave City & Country readers two stories’ worth of advice for 2026, from naming real estate sectors that will grow this year to helping the uninitiated discover how “Chinese metaphysics” can improve where they work, live and relax.
Photos: Rayne Chua, Frasers Property, Colliers, Samuel Isaac Chua and Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore, Ministry of Law, Joey Yap Consulting Group
