https://www.scmp.com/rss/46/feed Pick the brains of our property experts en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Some of Hong Kong’s largest developers are looking to pets, teens, kids and aficionados of digital avatars to lure people back to shopping malls as Hong Kong emerges from its worst phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) is investing HK$300 million (US$38 million) to renovate its New Town Plaza in Sha Tin, adding 80,000 square feet of entertainment zones tailored for pet lovers, teens and kids. Sino Land’s Tmtplaza in Tuen Mun, meanwhile, is banking on luring fashion fans... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3183348/sun-hung-kai-properties-sino-land-invest-malls-luring-shoppers-upgrades?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3183348/sun-hung-kai-properties-sino-land-invest-malls-luring-shoppers-upgrades?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jun 2022 00:30:26 +0000 Major Chinese property developers have slimmed down their debt levels by spending less on land acquisition and speeding up sales to meet government limits on borrowing, according to annual result filings. Country Garden Holdings, China’s second-largest developer by sales, had cut debt by 43.1 billion yuan (US$6.6 billion) to 326.5 billion yuan last year, according to its annual results filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday. “Our financial position is healthy and we hope to lower... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3127034/country-garden-guangzhou-r-f-among-chinese-property-developers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3127034/country-garden-guangzhou-r-f-among-chinese-property-developers?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Mar 2021 23:00:10 +0000 Chicago-based real estate investment firm Heitman is betting on the self-storage market as an emerging theme in commercial properties in Asia. Heitman, which oversees US$41.7 billion in assets, hopes to expand its investments in mini-storage concepts in Asia, adding to a portfolio of such holdings in Australia, Singapore, and Japan. Mary Ludgin, senior managing director and director of global investment research at Heitman, said self-storage makes sense in Hong Kong, given the small size of the... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3003351/asias-self-storage-market-offers-attractive-rental-yields?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3003351/asias-self-storage-market-offers-attractive-rental-yields?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Mar 2019 00:00:10 +0000 Navigating property investment in China can be a tricky task. Everything can be working well and look perfectly on track, before something unexpected throws a spanner in the works: policy changes, a meltdown in cashflow or chicanery by partners, can wreak havoc on entire businesses. Xie Ping, founding partner and president of Yinghan Assets, a Shanghai-based real estate private equity (PE) firm that manage 16 billion yuan($2.4 billion) asset, knows this all too well. “Many real estate PE... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2106874/yinghan-assets-makes-post-investment-management-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2106874/yinghan-assets-makes-post-investment-management-its?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Aug 2017 07:13:53 +0000 When it comes to property investing, the most important variable to keep in mind is timing, even as intangibles such as the government’s ability to apply cooling measures have complicated the task, according to Vivien Chan, founder and chairman of V Group. Chan, who is also the former chairman of Estate Agents Authority, said investors can benefit from sensing when the government will lean against what they perceive as an overheated property market by applying cooling measures such as a special... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2103977/vivien-chan-queen-service-apartments-says-timing-key?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2103977/vivien-chan-queen-service-apartments-says-timing-key?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jul 2017 03:55:13 +0000 Chinese buying of US residential property hit a record high of US$31.7 billion in 2016, up at least US$4 billion, according to the country’s National Association of Realtors (NAR). Released on Tuesday, its 2017 Profile of International Activity in U.S. Residential Real Estate, found that between April 2016 and March 2017, China maintained its top position in terms of dollar sales for the fourth straight year. That US$31.7 billion is up from last year’s US$27.3 billion but down slightly on 2015’s... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2103314/chinese-buying-us-residential-property-hits-record-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2103314/chinese-buying-us-residential-property-hits-record-high?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jul 2017 14:01:19 +0000 Champion Reit, the real estate investment trust controlled by the Hong Kong family behind Great Eagle Holdings, is offering its office tower at Langham Place in Mongkok for sale with an estimated price of HK$26 billion (US$3.33 billion). The landlord is targeting mainland buyers, according to property consultant Savills. Langham Place Office Tower, which is the second highest commercial building in Kowloon, is under global tender sale by Savills, as appointed by owner Champion Reit. China Life... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2102998/champion-reit-offers-sell-office-tower-langham-place-hk26-billion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2102998/champion-reit-offers-sell-office-tower-langham-place-hk26-billion?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jul 2017 12:55:33 +0000 As the amount of global capital looking for a home grows ever larger, the changing real estate landscape presents new opportunities and challenges. For example, property investors can expect to see a seismic shift in Europe’s residential market towards growth in the private rental sector, according to Alistair Elliott, senior partner and group chairman of real estate consultancy Knight Frank. And changes in consumer behaviour mean that as online shopping increasingly becomes the norm, there is... https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2099196/knight-frank-sees-boom-europes-private-rental-property-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2099196/knight-frank-sees-boom-europes-private-rental-property-market?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jun 2017 11:03:05 +0000 Richard Yue, co-founder of boutique real estate private equity management company Arch Capital, was formerly a director of Investment at AIG Global Real Estate, which had a real estate portfolio of over US$6 billion across Asia. While with AIG, he was in charge of the HK$3 billion acquisition of Hotel Furama in Hong Kong in 1999. Prior to AIG, he was at Citigroup (Real Estate Banking and Asian Debt Capital Markets). Yue experienced political and economic instability in Hong Kong in 1989 when he... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/1897915/what-slowdown-arch-capital-still-upbeat-chinas-property-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/1897915/what-slowdown-arch-capital-still-upbeat-chinas-property-market?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Jan 2016 02:45:45 +0000 After spending several years serving the mainland's two giant players in the internet and property sectors - Alibaba and Dalian Wanda - Tom Gong Yitao decided to start his own business last year. He set up AllDragon International, which employs about 40 people, to offer an online-to-offline (O2O) e-commerce platform to mainland retail centre owners. In view of the fast growing O2O e-commerce market, he hopes to provide services to about a tenth of the shopping centres on the mainland in three... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1683025/alldragon-international-sees-positive-future-online-offline-e?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1683025/alldragon-international-sees-positive-future-online-offline-e?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2015 22:00:22 +0000 Wang Zhenhua founded Future Land Development Holdings in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, in 1993 after working for two state-owned textile businesses for nearly a decade. The chairman of the Hong Kong-listed developer turned the startup into one of the country’s top 20 developers, with the number of employees soaring from five to more than 3,000. Wang, 63, was a workshop chief at a textile firm between 1983 and 1988. He then served as a general manager of a textile company at Wutang, in suburban... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1674143/wang-zhenhua-steers-future-holdings-one-chinas-top-200?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1674143/wang-zhenhua-steers-future-holdings-one-chinas-top-200?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2015 01:45:45 +0000 Q: I began renting a three-bedroom flat at Bel-Air in Cyberport with a car parking space for about HK$60,000 a month two years ago. My lease will expire in October. I hear there are more flats available for lease and rents are falling as property sales are not active. I plan to renew the lease. By how much should I ask the flat owner to cut the rent? A: I don't think the flat owner would reduce your rent as they have, in fact, risen. There were about 100 leasing transactions at luxury housing... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1274016/q-our-experts-july-3-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1274016/q-our-experts-july-3-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Q: I have just become a permanent resident and am looking to make Hong Kong my first home. My budget is up to HK$12 million. My shortlisted choices are a one-bedroom flat at Sun Hung Kai Properties' The Arch or a two-bedroom flat at Cheung Kong's Victoria Towers. I would prefer an apartment with a good view but the choices are limited. Am I right in assuming The Arch or Victoria Towers are good locations in which to buy, considering the construction of a high-speed rail link and the West Kowloon... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1232394/q-our-experts-may-8-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1232394/q-our-experts-may-8-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Q: I'm an expatriate from Europe. I plan to buy a flat in the Hong Kong Parkview estate for my own use. It will cost about HK$19 million. How much stamp duty do I need to pay and are there any other new rules I should be aware of? A: You will have to pay a stamp duty of 7.5 per cent. You also will have to pay buyer's stamp duty on top of the regular stamp duty, which is charged at a flat rate of 15 per cent. That's means you will have to pay a total levy of nearly HK$4.28 million. You will also... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1216141/q-our-experts-april-17-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1216141/q-our-experts-april-17-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Q: I'm renting a three-bedroom flat at City One Shatin. I'm interested in buying a flat in the district. However, the asking price of a similar flat is about HK$7 million, which is beyond my budget of about HK$5.5 million. Are there flats in the district that match my budget? If not, is it a good idea to buy a two-bedroom flat at City One Shatin? A: You could consider Belair Garden in Sha Tin, Sunshine City in Ma On Shan or single-block residential buildings in Tai Wai. They could meet your... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1210889/q-our-experts-april-10-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1210889/q-our-experts-april-10-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Q: I planned to buy a flat. I heard that buyers have to face a tougher stress test under the new cooling measures released by the government. I'm wondering how it affects my purchase plan. A: Yes, it would affect the loan you can obtain. For example, you need to afford a down payment of 30 per cent or HK$2.1 million if you bought a flat worth HK$7 million previously. But now you may need to afford a down payment of HK$3.5 million as you could get only a 50 per cent mortgage from the bank. Even... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1200381/q-our-experts-march-27-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1200381/q-our-experts-march-27-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Q:I have saved about HK$500,000. I want to use it for the down payment for a mortgage on my first home. Where can I find properties priced slightly over HK$2 million? What are the options? A: With a down payment of about HK$500,000, given the fact that you can borrow up to 80 per cent of the value of the flat, you could afford a property priced at between HK$2.5 million and HK$3 million. There aren't many choices with such price tags on the market right now. One option is Kingswood Villas, in... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1194760/q-our-experts-march-20-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1194760/q-our-experts-march-20-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Q: My employer pays me a monthly rental allowance of over HK$10,000 and I am entitled to this for two more years. I have been using it to rent an apartment, but as property prices keep climbing, I am thinking about buying. Should I give up the rental allowance now or wait till later? A: I think the current economic environment is favourable for buying property because there are factors such as lower interest rates. Otherwise the government would not have launched another round of cooling... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1180115/q-our-experts-march-6-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1180115/q-our-experts-march-6-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Q: I am an expat who is currently renting an apartment in North Point. But the lease will expire soon and I am planning to move to Wan Chai which is more vibrant. With a budget of less than HK$20,000 a month, what are the options on the market if I want to look for a one-bedroom flat? A: You can consider Southorn Garden in Wan Chai, where 670 sq ft apartments (or about 517 sq ft based on saleable area) were leased for between HK$17,000 and HK$19,000 per month recently. Opposite it is a single... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1143786/q-our-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1143786/q-our-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Q: I have visited a number of flats recently and most owners are asking for crazily high prices. Is it the right time to buy or better to wait for the next market correction? With a budget of HK$6 million to HK$7 million, I am targeting Wan Chai, Quarry Bay and Sai Wan Ho. Which district has the best upside potential? A: Residential prices are likely to go on increasing unless the government introduces drastic measures to suppress demand. Whether you should enter the market is difficult to tell... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1068045/q-our-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1068045/q-our-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Q: I want to buy a flat which costs about HK$4.2 million. I have saved about HK$1 million so far and my initial thought was to enter the market when I save enough to make a down payment of 30 per cent. I don't want to pay for the mortgage insurance and feel safer if I am financially more capable of buying a flat. However, with the new round of quantitative measures, I am afraid that property prices will surge very quickly. Should I enter the market now? With HK$1 million saved, how much do I... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1057096/q-our-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1057096/q-our-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Q: I live in Sha Tin but plan to move closer to my daughter's school in Kowloon City. I would like to buy a two-bedroom flat in districts such as Kowloon City or To Kwa Wan. My budget is less than HK$4 million but I don't want to buy a flat in an old housing estate. Could you give me some suggestions? A: If you are looking for a flat in a large housing estate, you could consider small flats sized 500 to 523 sqft below the 10th floor at the 6-year-old Grand Waterfront in To Kwa Wan. Flats fitting... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1034278/qa-our-experts-september-12-2012?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1034278/qa-our-experts-september-12-2012?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Q: We live in the New Territories. My son gained admission to the University of Hong Kong so we are thinking about renting a flat in the neighbourhood so that he does not need to travel a long way to university every day. We prefer a flat to a university dormitory because he can then enjoy more privacy and can concentrate on his studies. It may also provide a place for his brother to stay in when he is in town. What are the options in the market? A: Monthly rents of two-bedroom flats in the... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1029463/qa-our-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1029463/qa-our-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Q: I read in a newspaper that Cheung Kong paid a high price for a waterfront site at Tsuen Wan West station last week. I own a two-bedroom flat at Vision City and plan to buy a bigger flat in the same estate. Do you think prices in the area will go up further? Should I sell my flat and buy a bigger one now? A: Yes, the property market has benefited from the surprisingly good sale of the Tsuen Wan West station site. I think it would be all right to buy a bigger flat, subject to your financial... https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1014775/q-our-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/experts-qa/article/1014775/q-our-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000