Digest
Market for larger sites in Beijing on the wane
Only 50 development sites, have been sold in Beijing this year, the fewest in five years, the China Securities Journal reported. The sites had a total gross floor area of more than 7.65 million square metres, 47.3 per cent less than the gross floor area of sites sold a year ago. The average price paid for the residential sites was 4,869 yuan per square metre, down 33.5 per cent on last year. Nearly a quarter of the sites sold this year were suburban, compared with only 3.4 per cent a year ago. Land sales were particularly strong in the Huairou and Mentougou districts, where a lot of private housing is planned. Yvonne Liu
Property glut causes drop in secondary home rents
Rents for secondary-market homes in Hong Kong fell the most in nearly three years last month, according to Centaline Property Agency. Average rents on the 85 large residential estates Centaline monitors dropped 2 per cent from HK$20.50 per square foot in October to HK$20.10. The company attributed the drop to an increase in homes available for rent rather than investors selling out because of a fall in prices. Paggie Leung
Office movements in major HK blocks slow
Revenue from the sale of major office properties in Hong Kong was HK$4.7 billion in the first 11 months of this year, the lowest in three years, data from Centaline Property Agency shows. Revenue was down 24.5 per cent on last year, when it was HK$6.22 billion. Only 78 deals were recorded during the period, two-thirds the number last year and the fewest in nine years. Nine Queen's Road Central accounted for a quarter of the revenue. Yvonne Liu
