Prices weakened in March, extending sequential erosion since May 2023. China’s efforts to stem declines in home prices have not produced the desired results, prompting Goldman Sachs to predict a more aggressive policy response.

Philippine chain Hotel101 Global targets 1 million rooms and a presence in more than 100 countries after signing an agreement to merge with a Hong Kong company, which aims to list on Nasdaq in New York.

A total of 130, or 70 per cent, of the 184 units on offer were sold on Saturday, according to sales agents.

The proposal to buy Far East Shopping Centre fell through after a firm linked to Du failed to get approval from the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Shanghai-based developer, facing 61.86 billion yuan (US$8.5 billion) in debts, says it needs more time to consider restructuring plan amid slumping sales and slow asset disposal as the property market crisis grinds on.

Rents in Singapore’s office market rose in the first three months of the year, shaking off two consecutive quarters of declines as some tenants snapped up limited premium spaces and others renewed their leases instead of relocating owing to cost considerations, according to Colliers.

Lianjia has teamed up with coffee chain operator Manner to open a cafe in one of its outlets in Shanghai, launching a crossover marketing campaign to drive transactions amid lack of homebuying interest.

Truong My Lan, 67, was found guilty of embezzlement, bribery, and banking regulation violations for orchestrating a massive fraud using hundreds of ghost companies.

The city’s commercial real estate market recovered partially in the first quarter of 2024 and is gearing up for further stabilisation this year as a rebound in consumption and policy support drive demand for leasing and investment, analysts say.

A wholly-owned unit of Lai Sun Development Company, a Hong Kong property firm, has sold its equity stake in the AIA Central skyscraper for HK$1.42 billion (US$180 million) in a bid to boost its liquidity.

Troubled property developer Shimao Group Holdings is facing a liquidation suit brought by China Construction Bank, the country’s second-largest lender, for a financial obligation amounting to around HK$1.58 billion (US$201.8 million).

Sales of pre-owned homes in 25 major cities jumped by nearly 25 per cent in January and February, compared with the same period in 2022, as activity is on the rise in top-tier cities, analysts say.

‘Foreign investor appetite could not be stronger for Japan at the moment,’ JLL analyst says.

The launch of Blue Coast marks the biggest residential offering since the city government removed property curbs and relaxed its mortgage policies in February.

Even in the absence of the buying restrictions, a healthy supply and elevated interest rates mean the city’s infamously expensive house prices are unlikely to return to the kind of breakneck growth seen in the past, analysts say.

Transactions involving lived-in homes in Shanghai shot up in March as owners offered discounts to bargain hunters, but the outlook for the city’s housing market remains cloudy due to concerns about a bleak economy.

‘We want to be careful and we want to cement real businesses, which are happening at the moment … there are talks already,’ Amira Lobaton from prince’s private office says.

Grace Wee Jingsi, the youngest child of United Overseas Bank Ltd. CEO Wee Ee Cheong, is taking advantage of a lull in the city state’s high-end housing market to buy a ‘good class bungalow’, according to property filings.

Hong Kong property sales rose to a 10-month high in March, surpassing 5,000 deals a month after the government lifted all property cooling measures, data from the government shows.

Prices of second-hand homes in 100 mainland cities fell in March, extending a sequential monthly drop that began in April 2022 as buyers held out for better terms.

Hong Kong has been shut out of the rankings in a survey of innovation and concentration of talent in which cities in the Asia-Pacific region took five of the top 10 spots.

Chinese developers suffered another dismal month in March as new home sales tumbled 46 per cent from a year earlier. It would be premature to expect a turnaround amid an ongoing liquidity crisis.

An influx of non-local higher-education students is creating opportunities for property investors and hotel owners as a shortfall of accommodation widens, according to industry insiders.

Housing director Rosanna Law says she is ‘not very worried’ about slowdown in subsidised homes market and highlights number of people ‘waiting in line’ for public flats.

Second price list for Wong Chuk Hang project includes two- and three-bedroom flats priced from HK$9.05 million (US$1.16 million) to HK$24.7 million.

Trends are likely to cap any rental gains in the retail property segment, where recovery will proceed in a gradual manner, analysts say.