‘It’s overall a pretty outstanding location, and pretty outstanding locations will be successful,’ Christian Ulbrich says.

Property agents have raised sales forecasts for the year amid project launches at discounted prices, but say a lack of a rate cut could pare those estimates.

Vanke has held discussions with parties including state-owned investment company Guangdong Holdings and a Tianjin-based state-owned firm to exit its investment, said people familiar with the matter.

China’s banks are removing some of their long-term fixed-income products and cutting rates offered to depositors in an effort to shore up profitability, as challenges including a slumping property sector, mounting local government debt, and slow consumption recovery weigh on bank earnings.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Dalian Wanda Group, the parent of Wanda Commercial and the country’s largest shopping centre operator, has been grappling with a liquidity crisis over the past two years, and has been selling assets to repay debt.

Distressed Chinese property developer downplays the possibility of a liquidation after it hired the financial advisory firm to assess the amount of money creditors could recover in such an event.

China’s troubled property market is on track for a gradual return to stability despite the many challenges it still faces, China Resources Land said as it posted close to a 12 per cent profit gain for 2023.

The lived-in home-price index fell 1.7 per cent in February versus 1.2 per cent in January, according to the Rating and Valuation Department. Prices have fallen for 10 months in a row, losing 13.7 per cent in value.

Embattled property developer Country Garden said it is injecting funds into an unfinished skyscraper project by introducing a new partner, an announcement which sent its shares soaring.

Wang On Properties will be launching the most new projects since it was listed eight years ago, CEO Nick Tang Ho-hong says. Policy support and potential rate cuts later this year will lift home and rental prices.

‘We are trying to overcome it, so that people will come back to Hong Kong and experience all of the good things it has to offer’, CEO Clement Kwok says. ‘That will take some time.’

The developer of Belgravia Place says it will launch 7,100 new homes this year, 5 per cent fewer than the 7,655 units offered in 2023. The firm reported flat underlying profit of US$1.2 billion last year.

A loan for China Vanke, one of China’s largest developers, could provide temporary relief to a sector rocked by defaults and by a court order for the liquidation of China Evergrande Group, the world’s most indebted developer.

Hong Kong’s current property market downturn is cyclical and not structural, with home prices set to decline by as much as 10 per cent this year as elevated interest rates keep demand in check, S&P says

Simon Siu, chairman of Estate Agents Authority, says decision to scrap extra stamp duties last month was ‘shot in the arm’ for ailing property market.

The 90-year-old converted mansion, Jessville Manor, has changed hands for HK$207 million (US$26.5 million), adding to evidence that the recent scrapping of property curbs may be starting to revive the luxury housing market.

‘China faces considerable domestic challenges, from a sluggish property market to weak consumer sentiment, Wharf says. After a poor result in 2023, more time is needed to revive the property markets, it says.