Property Market

China demands property cooling policies be enforced

2 Mar 2013

The State Council on Friday released guidelines instructing local governments to strictly follow policies introduced to cool the mainland's housing market.

Hong Kong must build housing for people, not just investors

2 Mar 2013

It is becoming increasingly clear that while the government has something approaching a property policy, it has very little by way of a housing policy.

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Market forces mean home prices are likely to carry on climbing

26 Feb 2013

When will property prices stop rising? That was the question a colleague asked when she was editing my report about Hong Kong property prices setting new records on three consecutive weeks this...

Sales in second-hand property market double after stamp duty

25 Feb 2013

Sales in Hong Kong's secondary market for 10 major private housing estates doubled over the weekend, with most being first-time buyers, according to figures from Centaline.

Mainland home price rises accelerate

23 Feb 2013

Prices of new homes rose in 53 of 70 cities surveyed, against gains in 54 cities in December, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Prices in seven cities remained flat, and those in...

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Buyers rush to avoid new property taxes at midnight

A developer last night brought forward the sale of flats to beat the introduction at midnight of the latest round of government cooling measures that were announced on Friday.

Investors' fears of fiscal tightening by Beijing are over-blown

All it took was a warning from Beijing that the mainland's local governments should keep a tight rein on property market speculation, coupled with a move from the central bank to drain some...

Tax havens remain upbeat

Where do the wealthy go when the taxman demands too much? The British Isles is one choice. Positioning themselves as fully-fledged tax havens, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands, such as Jersey...

PROPERTY

Mainland developers post strong rise in January sales and prices

Major mainland developers reported strong property sales and prices for last month, triggering concern that the country's legislature and top political advisory body might urge Beijing to tighten...

New housing projects attract end-users

New home sales rose during the Lunar New Year holiday as project releases attracted end-users and investors.

Sales in the secondary market slowed but prices reached a record high, according...

HONG KONG

John Tsang sees better economy in Year of the Snake

"The European and US markets seem to be more stable than last year, while there are signs that the mainland economic growth is accelerating," Tsang said on his blog on Sunday. "Hong Kong's economy...